How Computers Work The Four Basic Operations The Boot Process Hardware Components & Their Functions Differences in Portable Devices

The Four Basic Computer Operations Input – Getting data from the outside world into the computer Processing – Manipulating the information Output – Presenting data from the computer to the outside Storage – Efficiently and inexpensively holding data for later use.

Hardware to Provide Four Functions

The Boot Process The Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) setup program loads and runs The Power-On-Self-Test (POST) runs The Operating System loads System Configuration System utilities load BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) stored in EPROM ROM → PROM → EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory)

PC Components Case Processor Power Supply Motherboard Memory Hard Drives Removable Media Drives Video, Audio Functionality Monitor Mouse, Keyboard Draw chart of component selection

The Processor Single core vs. Dual core Intel vs. AMD Trade-off between price and speed The newest, fastest processors are always overpriced. Best "bang for the buck" is with the next step down.

System Memory How much? What kind? Single core or dual core processor Types of applications What kind? Types SDRAM DDR SDRAM DDR2 SDRAM Motherboard and CPU must support. SDRAM – Synchronized Dynamic Random Access Memory DDR (Double Data Rate) – Doubles the rate by passing information twice in one clock cycle. DDR2 – Doubles the effective transmission rate of DDR with better engineering. Less power required than DDR1.

Choosing a Power Supply Enough power for high class video cards Special connectors available for SATA Hard Drives and PCI-E video cards Motherboard may have a 20-pin or 24-pin main connector Provide 4 voltages on 3 "rails" - +5 v, -5v, +12v, +3.3v To handle 20- or 24-pin, some PS have 20 and 4, that can get plugged in next to each other

Storage Hard Drives Optical Drives Floppy Drive? How much, based on applications used What type (SATA or PATA)? Optical Drives CD Burner, DVD-ROM, DVD Burner (Single Layer or Dual Layer) How many? Two really make copying disks easy. Floppy Drive? SATA – Serial Advanced Technology Attachment PATA (IDE) – Parallel Advanced Technology Attachment

Hard Drives IDE (ATA) SATA – Serial ATA EIDE – ATA2 aka Fast ATA ATA3 – Ultra ATA - Improved interface, hard drives can report status information to the MB. Two devices per channel (or cable) SATA – Serial ATA One device per channel SCSI – Many devices can be daisy- chained. IDE – Integrated Drive Electronics ATA – Advanced Technology Attachment

Choosing a Motherboard Supports the chosen Processor Storage connectors ( PATA [aka IDE], SATA150, SATA 3.0) Memory type and amount Built-ins (Video, Audio, LAN) Graphic Card support (PCI-e, AGP) PCI Expansion slots RAID support Show pictures of MB and describe

Factors in Choosing a Case 4 Form Factors Desktop Mid-Size Tower Full-Size Tower Little, Teeny, Tiny Cases (VSFF) External and Internal Drive Bays Front (Top) Panel Multi-Media Connectors Cooling System (can also add-on) Form Factor – How is the PC going to be used How many external bays do I need? Is the computer going to be on a desk or on the floor?

Display Made up of two components Monitor Video card or circuitry

Monitors CRT Flat Panel Cheaper Takes up more desktop real estate Can tire your eyes Flat Panel More expensive Saves space Sharper Image

Video Cards PCI Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) PCI Express (PCIe) Fits in a standard expansion slot General purpose video Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) AGP 2X/4X, AGP 4X/8X, AGP Pro 4X/8X PCI Express (PCIe) PCIe x1, PCIe x4, PCIe x8, PCIe x16

Replacing a Video Card Make sure you don't buy too much card for the monitor. It doesn't matter if the original video was built-in to the motherboard. Installing a video card and loading drivers "takes over" from the old video. Get a card the motherboard supports.