1. THE COMPONENTS OF THE SYSTEM UNIT Peyton Farley & Katelyn Dunham

2. The System Unit  Motherboard- is the main circuit board of the system unit. (also called a system board)  In the motherboard there is adapter cards, processor chips in a processor slot, memory module, and an expansion slots for adapter cards.  In a motherboard electronic components usually attach to it but, other are built in.

3. The Control Unit  Control Unit- the component if the processor that directs and coordinated most of the operations in the computer.  In a Control Unit has a role. It initiates the appropriate action that it is programmed.

4. The Arithmetic Logic Unit  Arithmetic Logic Unit- another component of the processor, performs arithmetic, comparison, and other operations.  Arithmetic operation include basic calculations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.

5. The Arithmetic Logic Unit  Comparison operations involve comparing one data item with another to determine whether the first item greater than, equal to, or lass than the other item.  The ALU can instruct employees payment that they get. It is used for calculations.

6. Machine Cycle  The Machine Cycle – processor repeats a set of four basic operations. Step 1- Fetching Step 2- decoding Step 3- executing (if necessary) Step 4- storing

7. Machine Cycle  Fetching- is the process of obtaining a program instructions or data item form memory.  Executing- is the process of carrying out the commands.  Storing- writing the results memory.  In a computer is has to finish all of the four steps before is goes on to anything else.

8. Registers  Register- A processor that contains small, high- speed storage locations. They also temporarily hold data and instructions.  There are many different types of registers that each have there own different type of storage functions.  The functions in a register our fetching, storing, and decodes it.

9. The System Clock  System Clock- a processor relies on a small quartz crystal circuit. (controls timing)  They have a clock speed that paces the system clock.  Each tick is a clock cycle, today they call is a superscalar.

10. Comparison of Personal Computer Processors  The leading processor chip manufactures for personal computers are Intel, AMD, Transmeta, IBM, and Motorola.  Manufacturers identify their processor chips by a model name or model number.  A dual-core processor is a chip that has two separate processors  A multicore processor is a chip similar to the dual-core processor.  A system on a chip is a processor that performs the functions of a processor, memory, and video card.

11. Heat Sinks  Processor chips generate a lot of heat which can cause the chip to burn up, so you need to use cooling.  A heat sink is a metal part with fins on its surface that absorbs heat made from a processor.  Some heat sinks are packaged as part of a processor, and some are installed at the top of the chip.  A heat sink takes up a lot of space, so therefore it needs a heat pipe.

12. Heat Pipes  A heat pipe is a device that cools down processors in computers.  Transfer heat without a large increase in temperature  The transfer allows them to transport heat from the heat generator.

13. Liquid Cooling  Computers use liquid cooling technology to decrease the temperature of a processor.  Liquid cooling technology is a process that transfers heated fluid from the processor to a grill which cools the liquid and then returns it.

14. Parallel Processing  Parallel processing is a process that uses multiple processors to delete a program or task.  Parallel processing separates a problem into sections so multiple processors can work on their own section at the same time.  Requires software that detects how to separate the problem and then bring it back together.  Used for applications such as weather forecasting

15. Special Purpose Ports  The four special-purpose ports are MIDI, SCSI, IrDA, and Bluetooth.  You must customize your computer when you purchase the order.  MIDI Port- special type of serial that connects the system unit to a musical instrument, such as an electronic keyboard.  MIDI is short for Musical Instrument Digital Interface

16. Special Purpose Parts o MIDI defines how devices, such as sound cards and synthesizers. o Synthesizer creates sound from digital instructions. o SCSI Port- A special high- speed parallel ports. o Allows you to attach peripherals such as disk drivers, and printers. o SCSI is small computer system interface. o You can daisy chain either 7 or 15 devices together.

17. Special Purpose Parts  IRDA Ports – Transmit data via infrared light waves.  IRDA stands for Infrared Data Association.  To make sure the light wave is in it’s path you must align the IRDA port on the device with the IRDA on the computer.  Several of these devices use a high- speed IrDA port, that is called fast infrared port.

18. Special Purpose Parts  Bluetooth Port- Uses radio waves to transmit data between two devices.  Do not have to be aligned with each other.  Examples: PDA’s, smarts phones, cars, and other consumers.  You can purchase a Bluthtooth wireless port adapter.

19. Bays Bay- An opening inside the system unit which you can install additional equipment. Drive bays hold disk drives. Two types are external and internal. External bays- access the drive from outside the system. Internal Bay- concealed within the system unit.

20. Power Supply  Power supply- the component of the system unit that converts the wall outlet AC power into DC power.  Different motherboard and computers wattages on the power supply.  A fan is built into the power supply to cool all units.  New components have additional fans near processor, hard disk, and ports.  AC adapter- external power supply like, external modem, speakers, or a tape.

21.  An expansion slot is a slot on the motherboard that can hold an adapter card.  Sometimes referred as an expansion port  If you wanted to install a video card in your computer, you'd buy a video expansion card and install that card into the expansion slot.  Adds new capabilities to the computer  Come in half-size and full- size

22.  An expansion card is a circuit board that enhances functions of a component of the system unit and provides connections to peripherals.  Adds more function to a desktop computer  Also known as an expansion board  Computers from Apple do not accept expansion cards

23.  Notebook and other mobile computers have at least one PC card.  A PC is a small device that adds memory, storage, sound, fax, network, and many other things.  Because it’s so small, digital cameras use these  Developed by Personal Computer Memory Card International Association

24.  A port is the point at which a peripheral attaches to or communicates with a system unit so it can send data to or receive information from the computer.  Devices such as the keyboard, monitor, printer, mouse, and microphone all attach to a port on the system unit.  The term jack is often referred to as an audio or video port.  The back of the system unit contains many ports.

25.  A bus allows the various devices both inside and attached to the system unit to communicate with each other.  Bits travel on a bus  Buses transfer bits from input devices to memory, from memory to the processor, from the processor to memory, and from the memory to output or storage devices.  An expansion bus allows the processor to communicate with the peripheral attached to the adapter card.  Expansion buses are commonly found in today’s personal computers