Discovering

Comput
ersInteractive Guide
Your
2012
to the Digital World
Objectives Overview

Differentiate among various Describe the control unit

Identify chips, adapter
styles of system units on and arithmetic logic unit
cards, and other
desktop computers, components of a processor,
components of a
notebook computers, and and explain the four steps in
motherboard
mobile devices a machine cycle

Identify characteristics of
various personal computer Define a bit and describe Explain how program
processors on the market how a series of bits instructions transfer in and
today, and describe the represents data out of memory
ways processors are cooled

See Page 209 Discovering Computers 2012: Chapter 4 2

for Detailed Objectives
Objectives Overview

Differentiate between a port and

Describe the purpose and types
a connector, and explain the
of expansion slots and adapter
Differentiate among the various differences among a USB port,
cards, and differentiate among
types of memory FireWire port, Bluetooth port,
slots for various removable flash
SCSI port, eSATA port, IrDA port,
memory devices
serial port, and MIDI port

Describe the types of buses in a Explain the purpose of a power Understand how to clean a
supply and describe how it keeps system unit on a computer or
computer
cool mobile device

See Page 209 Discovering Computers 2012: Chapter 4 3

for Detailed Objectives
The System Unit

• The system unit is

a case that
contains
electronic
components of
the computer
used to process
data

Page 210 Discovering Computers 2012: Chapter 4 4

Figure 4-1
The System Unit

• The inside of the system unit on a desktop

personal computer includes:
Drive bay(s)

Power supply

Sound card

Video card

Processor

Memory
Page 211 Discovering Computers 2012: Chapter 4 5
Figure 4-2
The System Unit

• The motherboard is the main circuit board of the

system unit
– A computer chip contains integrated circuits

Page 212 Discovering Computers 2012: Chapter 4 6

Figure 4-3
Processor

• The processor, also called the central processing

unit (CPU), interprets and carries out the basic
instructions that operate a computer
– Contain a control unit and an arithmetic logic unit
(ALU)

Multi-core Dual-core Quad-core

processor processor processor

Page 213 Discovering Computers 2012: Chapter 4 7
Processor

Page 213 Discovering Computers 2012: Chapter 4 8

Figure 4-4
Processor

• The control unit is the component of the

processor that directs and coordinates most of
the operations in the computer
• The arithmetic logic unit (ALU) performs
arithmetic, comparison, and other operations

Page 214 Discovering Computers 2012: Chapter 4 9

Processor

• For every instruction, a processor repeats a set of

four basic operations, which comprise a machine
cycle

Page 215 Discovering Computers 2012: Chapter 4 10

Figure 4-5
Processor

• Most current personal

computers support
pipelining
– Processor begins
fetching a second
instruction before it
completes the machine
cycle for the first
instruction

Pages 215 – 216 Discovering Computers 2012: Chapter 4 11

Figure 4-6
Processor

The processor contains registers, that

temporarily hold data and instructions

The system clock controls the timing

of all computer operations
• The pace of the system clock is called the clock
speed, and is measured in gigahertz (GHz)
Page 216 Discovering Computers 2012: Chapter 4 12
Processor

• A processor chip
generates heat that
could cause the chip to
burn up
• Require additional
cooling
– Heat sinks
– Liquid cooling
technology

Pages 219 - 220 Discovering Computers 2012: Chapter 4 15

Figures 4-9 – 4-10
Processor

• Parallel processing uses multiple processors

simultaneously to execute a single program or task
– Massively parallel processing involves hundreds or thousands of
processors

Page 220 Discovering Computers 2012: Chapter 4 16

Figure 4-11
Data Representation

Analog signals are continuous and vary in

strength and quality

Digital signals are in one of two states: on

or off
• Most computers are digital
• The binary system uses two unique digits (0 and 1)
• Bits and bytes
Page 221 Discovering Computers 2012: Chapter 4 17
Data Representation
A computer circuit represents Eight bits grouped together as a
the 0 or the 1 electronically by unit are called a byte. A byte
the presence or absence of an represents a single character in
electrical charge the computer

Page 221 Discovering Computers 2012: Chapter 4 18

Figures 4-12 – 4-13
Data Representation

Page 222 Discovering Computers 2012: Chapter 4 20

Figure 4-15
Memory

• Memory consists of electronic components that

store instructions waiting to be executed by the
processor, data needed by those instructions, and
the results of processing the data
• Stores three basic categories of items:
Data being
The operating
Application processed and the
system and other
programs resulting
system software
information

Page 223 Discovering Computers 2012: Chapter 4 21

Memory

• Each location in memory has an address

• Memory size is measured in kilobytes (KB or K),
megabytes (MB), gigabytes (GB), or terabytes
(TB)

Page 223 Discovering Computers 2012: Chapter 4 22

Figure 4-17
Memory

• The system unit contains two types of memory:

Volatile memory Nonvolatile

memory
Loses its contents when Does not lose contents
power is turned off when power is removed

Examples include ROM,

Example includes RAM flash memory, and
CMOS

Pages 223 - 224 Discovering Computers 2012: Chapter 4 23

Memory

Page 224 Discovering Computers 2012: Chapter 4 24

Figure 4-18
Memory

• RAM chips usually reside on a memory module

and are inserted into memory slots

Page 225 Discovering Computers 2012: Chapter 4 24

Figure 4-18
Memory

• The amount of RAM necessary in a computer

often depends on the types of software you plan
to use

Page 226 Discovering Computers 2012: Chapter 4 24

Figure 4-18
Memory

• Memory cache speeds the processes of the computer

because it stores frequently used instructions and data

Page 227 Discovering Computers 2012: Chapter 4 24

Figure 4-18
Memory

Read-only memory (ROM) refers to memory chips

storing permanent data and instructions

A PROM (programmable read-only memory) chip is

a blank ROM chip that can be written to
permanently
• EEPROM can be erased

Page 228 Discovering Computers 2012: Chapter 4 29

Memory

• Access time is the amount of time it takes the

processor to read from memory
– Measured in nanoseconds

Page 229 Discovering Computers 2012: Chapter 4 31

Figures 4-24 – 4-25
Expansion Slots and Adapter Cards

• An expansion slot is a
socket on the motherboard
that can hold an adapter
card
• An adapter card enhances
functions of a component of
the system unit and/or
provides connections to
peripherals
– Sound card and video
card

Page 230 Discovering Computers 2012: Chapter 4 32

Figure 4-26
Expansion Slots and Adapter Cards

• With Plug and Play, the computer automatically

can configure adapter cards and other peripherals
as you install them

Pages 230 – 231 Discovering Computers 2012: Chapter 4 33

Figure 4-27
Expansion Slots and Adapter Cards

• Removable flash memory includes:

– Memory cards, USB flash drives, and PC
Cards/ExpressCard modules

Page 231 Discovering Computers 2012: Chapter 4 34

Figure 4-28
Ports and Connectors

A port is the point at which a peripheral attaches to or

communicates with a system unit (sometimes referred
to as a jack)

A connector joins a cable to a port

Page 232 Discovering Computers 2012: Chapter 4 35

Ports and Connectors

Page 232 Discovering Computers 2012: Chapter 4 36

Figure 4-29
Ports and Connectors

• On a notebook computer, the ports are on the

back, front, and/or sides

Pages 232 - 233 Discovering Computers 2012: Chapter 4 37

Figure 4-30
Ports and Connectors

Page 233 Discovering Computers 2012: Chapter 4 38

Figure 4-31
Buses
• A bus allows the various
devices both inside and
attached to the system
unit to communicate with
each other
– Data bus
– Address bus
• Word size is the number
of bits the processor can
interpret and execute at a
given time

Page 237 Discovering Computers 2012: Chapter 4 43

Figure 4-36
Bay
s
• A bay is an opening
inside the system unit in
which you can install
additional equipment
– A drive bay typically
holds disk drives

Page 238 Discovering Computers 2012: Chapter 4 45

Figure 4-37
Summary

Sequence of operations
How memory stores
Components of the that occur when a
data, instructions, and
system unit computer executes an
information
instruction

Comparison of various
How to clean the
personal computer
exterior and interior of
processors on the
a system unit
market today

Page 241 Discovering Computers 2012: Chapter 4 50

Discovering
Comput
ersInteractive Guide
Your
2012
to the Digital World
Chapter 4 Complete