COMPONENTS OF THE SYSTEM UNIT

Specific Learning Outcomes: At the end of the lesson, the student will be able to:
• Differentiate among various styles of system units on desktop computers, notebook computers, and
mobile devices
• Describe the control unit and arithmetic logic unit components of a processor, and explain the four
steps in a machine cycle
• Differentiate among the various types of memory: RAM, cache, ROM, flash memory, and CMOS
• Describe the purpose and types of expansion slots and adapter cards
• Differentiate between a port and a connector, and explain the differences among a USB port and
other ports

The System Unit

Whether you are a home user or a business user, you most likely will purchase a new computer or
upgrade an existing computer at some time in the future. Thus, you should understand the purpose of each
component in a computer.
The system unit is a case that contains electronic components of the computer used to process data.
System units are available in a variety of shapes and sizes. The case of the system unit is made of metal or plastic
and protects the internal electronic components from damage. All computers and mobile devices have a system
unit.
On desktop personal computers, the
electronic components and most storage devices
are part of the system unit. Other devices, such as
the keyboard, mouse, microphone, monitor,
printer, USB flash drive, scanner, Web cam, and
speakers, normally occupy space outside the system
unit. An all-in-one desktop personal computer is an
exception, which houses the monitor and the
system unit in the same case. On most notebook
computers, including netbooks, the keyboard and
pointing device often occupy the area on the top of
the system unit, and the display attaches to the
system unit by hinges. The location of the system
unit on a Tablet PC varies, depending on the design
of the Tablet PC.
 The processor interprets and carries out the basic instructions that operate a computer. Memory
typically holds data waiting to be processed and instructions waiting to be executed. The electronic components
and circuitry of the system unit, such as the processor and memory, usually are part of or are connected to a
circuit board called the motherboard. Many motherboards also integrate sound, video, and networking
capabilities. Adapter cards are circuit boards that provide connections and functions not built into the
motherboard or expand on the capability of features integrated into the motherboard. For example, a sound
card and a video card are two types of adapter cards found in some desktop personal computers today. Devices
outside the system unit often attach to ports on the system unit by a connector on a cable. These devices may
include a keyboard, mouse, microphone, monitor, printer, scanner, USB flash drive, card reader/writer, Web
cam, and speakers. A drive bay holds one or more disk drives. The power supply allows electricity to travel
through a power cord from a wall outlet into a computer.

The Motherboard
The motherboard, sometimes called a system board, is the main circuit board of the system unit.
Many electronic components attach to the motherboard; others are built into it. A photo of a current desktop
personal computer motherboard and identifies its slots for adapter cards, the processor chip, and memory.
Memory chips are installed on memory cards (modules) that fit in a slot on the motherboard. A computer chip
is a small piece of semi conducting material, usually silicon, on which integrated circuits are etched. An
integrated circuit contains many microscopic pathways capable of carrying electrical current. Each integrated
circuit can contain millions of elements such as resistors, capacitors, and transistors.
Processor
The processor, also called the central processing unit (CPU), interprets, and carries out the basic
instructions that operate a computer. The processor significantly impacts overall computing power and manages
most of a computer’s operations. On a personal computer, all functions of the processor usually are on a single
chip. Some computer and chip manufacturers use the term microprocessor to refer to a personal computer
processor chip. Most processor chip manufacturers now offer multi-core processors. A processor core
contains the circuitry necessary to execute instructions. The operating system views each processor core as a
separate processor. A multi-core processor is a chip with two or more separate processor cores. Two
common multi-core processors are dual-core and quad-core. A dual-core processor is a chip that contains
two separate processor cores. Similarly, a quad-core processor is a chip with four separate processor cores.
Each processor core on a multi-core processor generally runs at a slower clock speed than a single-core
processor, but multi-core processors typically increase overall performance. For example, although a dual-core
processor does not double the processing speed of a single-core processor, it can approach those speeds. Multi-
core processors also are more energy efficient than separate multiple processors, requiring lower levels of
power consumption and emitting less heat in the system unit. Processors contain a control unit and an
arithmetic logic unit (ALU). These two components work together to perform processing operations.

Note: Most devices connected to the computer communicate with the

processor to carry out a task. When a user starts a program, for example,
its instructions transfer from a storage device to memory. Data needed
by programs enters memory from either an input device or a storage
device. The control unit interprets and executes instructions in memory,
and the ALU performs calculations on the data in memory. Resulting
information is stored in memory, from which it can be sent to an output
device or a storage device for future access, as needed.
The Control Unit
The control unit is the component of the processor that directs and coordinates most of the
operations in the computer. The control unit has a role much like a traffic cop: it interprets each
instruction issued by a program and then initiates the appropriate action to carry out the instruction.

The Arithmetic Logic Unit

The arithmetic logic unit (ALU), another component of the processor, performs arithmetic,
comparison, and other operations. Arithmetic operations include basic calculations such as addition,
subtraction, multiplication, and division. Comparison operations involve comparing one data item
with another to determine whether the first item is greater than, equal to, or less than the other item.
Depending on the result of the comparison, different actions may occur.

The System Clock

The processor relies on a small quartz crystal circuit called the system clock to control the
timing of all computer operations. Just as your heart beats at a regular rate to keep your body
functioning, the system clock generates regular electronic pulses, or ticks, that set the operating pace of
components of the system unit.
The pace of the system clock, called the clock speed, is measured by the number of ticks per
second. Current personal computer processors have clock speeds in the gigahertz range. Giga is a prefix
that stands for billion, and a hertz is one cycle per second. Thus, one gigahertz (GHz) equals one billion
ticks of the system clock per second. A computer that operates at 3 GHz has 3 billion (giga) clock cycles
 in one second (hertz). The faster the clock speed, the more instructions the processor can execute per
second. The speed of the system clock is just one factor that influences a computer’s performance.

Comparison of Personal Computer Processors

The leading manufacturers of personal computer processor chips are Intel and AMD. These
manufacturers often identify their processor chips by a model name or model number. High-
performance desktop personal computers today use a processor in the Intel Core family. Less expensive,
basic personal computers today use a brand of Intel processor in the Pentium or Celeron family. The
Xeon and Itanium families of processors are ideal for workstations and low-end servers. AMD is the
leading manufacturer of Intel-compatible processors, which have an internal design like Intel
processors, perform the same functions, and can be as powerful, but often are less expensive. In the
past, chip manufacturers listed a processor’s clock speed in marketing literature and advertisements.
As previously mentioned, though, clock speed is only one factor that impacts processing speed
in today’s computers. To help consumers evaluate various processors, manufacturers such as Intel
and AMD now use a numbering scheme that more accurately reflects the processing speed of their chips

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 (information). Memory
usually consists of one or more chips on the motherboard or some other circuit board in the computer. Memory
stores three basic categories of items:
(1) the operating system and other system software that control or maintain the computer and its
devices.
(2) application programs that carry out a specific task such as word processing; and
(3) the data being processed by the application programs and resulting information. This role of memory
to store both data and programs is known as the stored program concept.

Bytes and Addressable Memory

A byte (character) is the basic storage unit in memory. When application program instructions
and data are transferred to memory from storage devices, the instructions and data exist as bytes. Each
byte resides temporarily in a location in memory that has an address. An address simply is a unique
number that identifies the location of the byte in memory. The illustration shows how seats in an opera
house are like addresses in memory: (1) a seat, which is identified by a unique seat number, holds
one person at a time, and a location in memory, which is
identified by a unique address, holds a single byte; and (2) both
a seat, identified by a seat number, and a byte, identified by an
address, can be empty. To access data or instructions in
memory, the computer references the addresses that contain
bytes of data.
Memory Sizes
Manufacturers state the size of memory and storage devices in terms of the number of bytes the
chip or device has available for storage. Recall that storage devices hold data, instructions, and
information for future use, while most memory holds these items temporarily. A kilobyte (KB or K) is
equal to exactly 1,024 bytes. To simplify memory and storage definitions, computer users often round a
kilobyte down to 1,000 bytes. For example, if a memory chip can store 100 KB, it can hold approximately
100,000 bytes (characters). A megabyte (MB) is equal to approximately 1 million bytes. A gigabyte (GB)
equals approximately 1 billion bytes. A terabyte (TB) is equal to approximately 1 trillion bytes.

Types of Memory
The system unit contains two types of memory: volatile and nonvolatile. When the
computer’s power is turned off, volatile memory loses its contents. Nonvolatile memory, by contrast,
does not lose its contents when power is removed from the computer. Thus, volatile memory is
temporary and nonvolatile memory is permanent. RAM is the most common type of volatile memory.
Examples of nonvolatile memory include ROM, flash memory, and CMOS.

RAM
Users typically are referring to RAM when discussing computer memory. RAM (random
access memory), also called main memory, consists of memory chips that can be read from and
written to by the processor and other devices. When you turn on power to a computer, certain operating
system files (such as the files that determine how the desktop appears) load into RAM from a storage
device such as a hard disk. These files remain in RAM as long as the computer has continuous power. As
additional programs and data are requested, they also load into RAM from storage.
The processor interprets and executes a program’s instructions while the program is in RAM.
During this time, the contents of RAM may change. RAM can hold multiple programs simultaneously,
provided the computer has enough RAM to accommodate all the programs. Most RAM is volatile, which
means it loses its contents when the power is removed from the computer. For this reason, you must
save any items you may need in the future. Saving is the process of copying items from RAM to a storage
device such as a hard disk.
Three basic types of RAM chips exist: dynamic RAM, static RAM, and magnetoresistive RAM.
• Dynamic RAM (DRAM pronounced DEE-ram) chips must be re-energized constantly, or they lose their
contents. Many variations of DRAM chips exist, most of which are faster than the basic DRAM.
• Static RAM (SRAM pronounced ESS-ram) chips are faster and more reliable than any variation of DRAM
chips. These chips do not have to be re-energized as often as DRAM chips, thus, the term static.
• A newer type of RAM, called magnetoresistive RAM (MRAM pronounced EM-ram), stores data using
magnetic charges instead of electrical charges. Manufacturers claim that MRAM has greater storage
capacity, consumes less power, and has faster access times than electronic RAM.

RAM Configurations
The amount of RAM necessary in a computer often depends on the types of software you plan
to use. A computer executes programs that are in RAM. The more RAM a computer has, the faster the
computer will respond. Retail software typically indicates the minimum amount of RAM it requires. If
you want the software to perform optimally, usually you need more than the minimum specifications
for the software. Generally, home users running the latest version of Windows and using basic
application software such as word processing should have at least 1 GB of RAM. Most business users
who work with accounting, financial, or spreadsheet programs, and programs requiring multimedia
capabilities should have 2 to 8 GB of RAM. Users creating professional Web sites or using graphics-
intensive applications will want 8 GB or more of RAM. The amount of RAM in computers purchased today
ranges from 1 GB to 128 GB.

Cache
Most of today’s computers improve processing times with cache (pronounced cash). Two types
of cache are memory cache and disk cache. This lesson discusses memory cache. Memory cache helps
speed the processes of the computer because it stores frequently used instructions and data. Most
personal computers today have at least two types of memory cache: L1 cache and L2 cache.
• L1 cache is built directly in the processor chip. L1 cache usually has a very small capacity, ranging from
8 KB to 128 KB.
• L2 cache is slightly slower than L1 cache but has a much larger capacity, ranging from 64 KB to 16 MB.
Current processors include advanced transfer cache, a type of L2 cache built directly on the
processor chip. Processors that use advanced transfer cache perform at much faster rates than those
that do not use it. Personal computers today typically have from 512 KB to 12 MB of advanced transfer
cache. Cache speeds up processing time because it stores frequently used instructions and data. When
the processor needs an instruction or data, it searches memory in this order: L1 cache, then L2 cache,
then RAM — with a greater delay in processing for each level of memory it must search. If the instruction
or data is not found in memory, then it must search a slower speed storage medium such as a hard disk
or optical disc.

ROM
Read-only memory (ROM pronounced rahm) refers to memory chips storing permanent
data and instructions. The data on most ROM chips cannot be modified — hence, the name read-only.
ROM is nonvolatile, which means its contents are not lost when power is removed from the computer.
Manufacturers of ROM chips often record data, instructions, or information on the chips when they
manufacture the chips. These ROM chips, called firmware, contain permanently written data,
instructions, or information.

Flash Memory
Flash memory is a type of nonvolatile memory that can be erased electronically and rewritten.
Most computers use flash memory to hold their startup instructions because it allows the computer
easily to update its contents. For example, when the computer changes from standard time to daylight
savings time, the contents of a flash memory chip (and the real-time clock chip) change to reflect the
new time. Flash memory chips also store data and programs on many mobile computers and devices,
such as smart phones, portable media players, PDAs, printers, digital cameras, automotive devices,
digital voice recorders, and pagers. Some portable media players store music on flash memory chips.
Others store music on tiny hard disks or flash memory cards. Flash memory cards contain flash memory
on a removable device instead of a chip.
CMOS
Some RAM chips, flash memory chips, and other types of memory chips use complementary
metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS pronounced SEE-moss) technology because it provides
high speeds and consumes little power. CMOS technology uses battery power to retain information even
when the power to the computer is off. Battery-backed CMOS memory chips, for example, can keep the
calendar, date, and time current even when the computer is off. The flash memory chips that store a
computer’s startup information often use CMOS technology.

Memory Access Times

Access time is the amount of time it takes the processor to read data, instructions, and
information from memory. A computer’s access time directly affects how fast the computer processes
data. Accessing data in memory can be more than 200,000 times faster than accessing data on a hard
disk because of the mechanical motion of the hard disk. Today’s manufacturers use a variety of
terminology to state access times. Some use fractions of a second, which for memory occurs in nano
seconds. A nanosecond (abbreviated ns) is one billionth of a second. A nanosecond is extremely
fast. Other manufacturers state access times in MHz; for example, 800 MHz RAM.
While access times of memory greatly affect overall computer performance, manufacturers and
retailers usually list a computer’s memory in terms of its size, not its access time.

It takes about one-tenth of a second to blink your eye, which is the equivalent of
100 million nanoseconds. In the time it takes to blink your eye, a computer can
perform some operations 10 million times.