ICT - Unit 2: P1

Internal system unit components:

Processor - CPU is the part of hardware in computer that is responsible for interpreting and executing most of the commands from the computer's hardware and software. Modern CPUs are small and square and contain multiple metallic connectors or pins on the underside. The CPU is attached directly to a CPU slot on the motherboard. Modern CPUs are getting very hot so it is necessary to attach a heat sink and fan directly on top of the CPU. Those devices are usually bundled with a CPU. There exist more advanced cooling options that includes water cooling kits and phase change units.

Motherboard - Motherboard also known as mainboard, system board, MB or logic board is the main printed circuit boar in computer. It serves to connect all of the parts of a computer together so CPU, memory, hard drives, optical drives, video card, sound card and other expansion cards all connect to it. Motherboards vary in types of components they support therefor for example, each motherboard supports a single type of CPU and a short list of memory types. Information about component compatibilities should be provided by manufacturer.

BIOS - The Basic Input Output System is software program stored on small memory chip on the motherboard. All modern computers contain it. BIOS instructs the computer on how to perform some of basic functions such as booting and keyboard control and configures the hardware in a computer like the hard drive, optical drive, CPU, etc. You can access it and configure it through the BIOS Setup Utility.

Power supply - The power supply unit also known as PSU, power supply, power pack or power converter is part of hardware used to convert the power from outside into usable power for all parts of the computer. It is not usually user serviceable. It is rated by wattage to show how much power it can provide to the computer and because every computer part require different amount of power to function properly, it is necessary to have a PSU that provides the right amount.

Fan and heat sink or cooling -  Computer cooling is necessary to remove the waste heat produced by computer components in order to keep them in their operating temperature limits. Most of the components like CPU, chipset, graphic card or hard disk drive need cooling because otherwise they would overheat. Fans and heatsinks cooled by airflow from fan are used for cooling.

Hard drive and the configuration/controller for example SATA or IDE or EIDE - A hard disk drive is a data storage device that is used for storing and retrieving digital data. It can keep its data even while being turned off. It is using rapidly rotating disks that are coated with magnetic material. Main characteristics of and hard drive are its performance and capacity. Serial Advanced Technology Attachment also called SATA enables hard drives and optical drives to communicate with motherboard by high-speed serial cable over two pairs of conductors. There are three controllers modes: IDE , AHCI (Advanced Host Controller Interface), or RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks). IDE mode is the simplest one. AHCI mode enables the use of advanced features such as hot swapping and Native Command Queuing and RAID mode allows several hard disk drives to work as one storage area in order to provide data redundancy or faster performance.

Ports USB and/or parallel and/or serial - USB means Universal Serial Bus and it allows data to be transferred between devices or provide electric power through cable to devices that haven’t their own source of power. USB port is standard cable connection on personal computers and it allows electronic devices to be connected via cables to a computer or to each other. USB can be wired or wireless but only the wired version involves USB ports and cables.

Internal memory RAM, ROM and cache - Every computers have internal memory chip that provides memory available to programs. There are two types of them, ROM and RAM, both types allow random access so any byte of memory can be accessed without touching preceding bytes. RAM means Random Access Memory and any software that is run at the computer is copied into RAM and run from there. ROM means Read Only Memory and is used for storing programs that perform diagnostics and boot the computer. In contrast to RAM that lose all data after computer is turned off, ROM doesn’t lose any data. Cache is a high-speed access area that is storing data in order to serve that data faster if they will be requested in future.

Specialized cards network and/or graphic cards - Specialized cards are cards that can be added to a system. There is many types of those cards for example network cards or graphics card. A graphics card is piece of hardware that controls the output to a display screen. While buying graphics card the it is important to buy such that will support the best resolution that the monitor is capable of.

Peripherals:

Printer - Printer is peripheral that prints text or images on lists of paper or creates 3D dimensional objects. There is several types of printers. Personal printers that are used by individual users and their printing speed is ranging from 6 to around 25 pages per minute. Networked printers that are usually shared by many users and their printing speed is ranging from 45 to around 100 pages per minute. A 3D printer is device that can make three dimensional objects by laying down layers of material on each other so they create desired shape.

Scanner - Scanner is peripheral that optically scans images, printed text, handwriting, or an object and then converts it to a digital image in form of data. Scanners often come with software that helps user to resize and modify a captured images.

Twisted pair cabling - Twisted pair cabling is a type of cable in which two conductors of a single are twisted around one another. This type of wiring helps to reduce crosstalk and electromagnetic induction.

Backing Storage:

Pen drive/memory stick - Pen drive also known as USB flash drive is device for storing data that includes flash memory with an integrated Universal Serial Bus interface. USB flash drives are usually used for the same purpose as CDs or floppy disks were used, for storage, back-up and transfer of data. Memory stick is a flash memory card used by Sony products for storing data.

Portable hard drive - Portable hard drive is a type of digital storage device. It can be used for storage, transfer of data or back-up. The best thing about portable hard drive is it’s storage capacity that is usually higher than the other available options.