‫ْ‬ ‫َّ‬ ‫ٰ‬ ‫ْ‬ ‫َّ‬

‫هللا الرحمن الر ِحي ِم‬ ‫ْ‬

‫ِبس ِم ِ‬
 INTRODUCTION TO INFORMATION AND
COMPUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY
(Computer Hardware, System Unit & its parts)
Lecture # 06-07
By: Mr. Muhammad Tahir Sohail
Lecturer
Department of SE

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What is the system unit?

 Box-like case
that houses
the electronic
components
of the
computer

3
System Unit
The main components of system unit are
here under:
• Mother Board
• CPU
Primary Memory

Nadeem Akhtar CS & IT Dept. UOL, Lahore.

•
• Ports & connectors
• Expansion slots & Adaptor
Cards
• Buses
• Storage
• Power supply

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Mother Board

 It is the primary printed circuit board in a computer or

other electronic device
 Main circuit board in system unit
✓ Contains chips,
✓ Integrated circuits,
✓ and transistors
 Also called system board/Main board

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Assignment No 1

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The Von Neumann Architecture
➢Before discussing the CPU, memory and other system unit
components let us introduce the Von Neumann
Architecture
➢ All computers more or less based on the same basic design, the Von
Neumann Architecture

Von Neumann
Architecture
The Von Neumann Architecture

Bus

Processor (CPU)

Memory Input-Output
Control Unit

ALU
Communicate with
Store data and program
"outside world", e.g.
• Screen
Execute program
• Keyboard
Do arithmetic/logic operations • Storage devices
requested by program • ...
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 CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT
What is the central processing unit (CPU)?
 Also called the processor it interprets and carries out the basic
instructions that operate a computer
 Most devices communicate with the CPU in order to carry out a
task
 This model of the typical digital computer is often called the von
Neumann computer.

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 CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT
What are the components
of the central processing
CPU
unit (CPU )?
The CPU consists of three
main parts: Control Arithmetic/
Logic Unit
Unit
 The Control Unit - coordinates (ALU)
activities of the computer
 The Arithmetic Logic Unit
(ALU) - performs the
calculations
 Registers - store a small Registers
amount of data and
instructions
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 CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT
What is the control unit?

 Directs and coordinates most

of the operations in the
computer
CPU
The control unit repeats a set of
Control Unit four basic operations:
Fetch – obtain a program instruction or
Controldata
Unititem fromArithmetic/
memory
Logic
 Decode - translate Unit
the instruction into
commands (ALU)
 Execute - carry out the command
 Store - write the result to memory

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 CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT
What is the arithmetic/logic unit (ALU)?

 Performs arithmetic, comparison, and logical

operations
 Performs the execution part of the machine cycle

CPU

Control Unit Arithmetic/

Logic Unit
(ALU)
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 Registers
 A processor has its own memory inside it in the shape of small
cells.
 Each memory cell is called a "Register".
 Registers are used to carry data temporarily for performing
operations.
 Processors have many different types of registers, each with a
specific storage function.
 Register functions include storing the location from where an
instruction was fetched, storing and instruction while the
control unit decodes it, storing the data while the ALU
computes it, and storing the results of a calculation

Registers
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 CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT
What is a personal computer processor?
 The single processor chip found in personal
computers
 Sometimes called a microprocessor
 Processors identified by
• Manufacturer
• Model name or
model number
Athlon™
Pentium® 4

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Celeron™ Duron™
 MEMORY
What is memory?
 Temporary storage place for data, instructions, and
information
 Consists of one or more chips on the motherboard or
some other circuit board
 Bytes are the basic storage unit in memory
 Each byte is stored at a specific location in memory
called an address

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MEMORY
How is memory measured?
 Size of memory is measured by the number of bytes
available
• Kilobyte - 1,024 bytes
• Megabyte - one million bytes

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 MEMORY
What is memory access time?

 Speed at which the processor can

access data from memory directly
 Measured in fractions of a second
called nanoseconds (ns) - one billionth
of a second
 One blink of the eye is 100 million ns; a computer
performs some operations in 10 ns

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MEMORY & ITS TYPES:

Memory

1-Main 4-Virtual
2-ROM 3-Cache
Memory/RAM Memory

SRAM DRAM PROM EPROM EEROM RAM Cache Disk Cache

RAM Cache RAM Cache RAM Cache

Level-1 Level-2 Level-3

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 1-MAIN MEMORY/RAM
What is random access memory (RAM)?

Memory chips that can be read from and

written to by the processor and other devices

When the computer starts, operating system

files are loaded from a hard disk into RAM

As additional programs and data are requested,

they also load from storage into RAM

Loses its contents when the computer's

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power is turned off. RAM is volatile
1-MAIN MEMORY/RAM
There are two basic types of RAM:
1. Static RAM (SRAM)
2. Dynamic RAM (DRAM)
 SRAM is a type of memory that is faster and more reliable
than the more common DRAM (dynamic RAM).
 The term static is derived from the fact that it doesn't need
to be refreshed like dynamic RAM
 Access time around 10 nanoseconds (Note: a nanosecond
is one billionth of a second)
 Both types of RAM are volatile, meaning that they lose
their contents when the power is turned off.

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 DRAM
 Dynamic RAM needs to be refreshed thousands of
times per second.
 The term dynamic indicates that the memory must
be constantly refreshed or it will lose its contents.
 Contents are constantly refreshed 1000 times per
second
 Access time 60 – 70 nanoseconds

 Dynamic RAM is slower than Static RAM.

 It requires less power and is less expensive.

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 1-MAIN MEMORY/RAM
 SDRAM (Synchronous Dynamic RAM) is much faster
than DRAM because they are synchronized to system
clock..
 DDR SDRAM (Double Date Rate SDRAM) are faster
than SDRAM because they transfer data twice the
system cycle.
 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 per22
second. Thus, one gigahertz (GHz) equals one billion ticks of the system clock per
second
 2- NONVOLATILE MEMORY / ROM
 Does not lose its contents when the computer’s power is
turned off
 Once data has been written onto a ROM chip, it cannot
be removed and can only be read.
 Unlike main memory (RAM), ROM retains its contents
even when the computer is turned off. ROM is referred
to as being nonvolatile, whereas RAM is volatile
 Most personal computers contain a small amount of
ROM that stores critical programs such as the program
that boots the computer.
 In addition, ROMs are used extensively in calculators
and peripheral devices such as laser printers, whose 23
fonts are often stored in ROMs.
READ ONLY MEMORY(ROM)
 The contents of ROM are permanent for example
BIOS which is a sequence of instructions the
computer follows to lead the operating system &
other files when you first turn on the computer.
 The content is written onto the ROM when it is first
made.
 ROM keeps its contents even when the computer is
turned off and so is known as Non-Volatile
Memory.

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TYPES OF ROM
ROM is further divided in to three types
 PROM (Programmable Read-Only Memory)

 EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only

Memory)
 EEPROM (Electronically Erasable Programmable

Read-Only Memory)

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PROM
 A variation of a ROM is a PROM (programmable
read-only memory). PROMs are manufactured as
blank chips on which data can be written with a
special device called a PROM programmer
 For this reason, developers created a type of
ROM known as programmable read-only memory
(PROM). Blank PROM chips can be bought
inexpensively and coded by the user with a
programmer.

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EPROM
 Erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM)
addresses this issue. EPROM chips can be rewritten
many times.
 Erasing an EPROM requires a special tool that emits a
certain frequency of ultraviolet (UV) light.
 EPROMs are configured using an EPROM programmer
that provides voltage at specified levels depending on the
type of EPROM used.
 A rewritable memory chip that holds its content without
power.
 EPROM chips are written on an external programming
device before being placed on the mother board.
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EEPROM
 The chip does not have to removed to be
rewritten.
 The entire chip does not have to be completely
erased to change a specific portion of it.
 Changing the contents does not require
additional dedicated equipment.
 A rewritable memory chip that holds its content
without power.
 EEPROMs are typically used on circuit boards to
store small amounts of instructions and data.
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3 - CACHE MEMORY
What is memory cache?

 Helps speed the

processes of the computer
by storing frequently used
instructions and data

 When the processor

needs an instruction or
data, it first searches
cache. If it cannot locate
the item in cache, then it
searches RAM.
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 3 - CACHE
• A cache is a smaller, faster memory which stores
copies of the data from the most frequently used main
memory locations
• A cache is a component that transparently stores
data so that future requests for that data can be
served faster.
• The data that is stored within a cache might be
values that have been computed earlier or duplicates
of original values that are stored elsewhere.

Cache Memory is of two types:

(1) RAM Cache/ Memory Cache
(2) Disk Cache

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 3-CACHE
(1)RAM Cache/ Memory Cache:
(a) Level-1 Primary cache or Internal Cache
is built directly into processor chip, has a small capacity ranging from 8 Kb to
64 Kb. Most common size is 16Kb.
Cache that is closest to the processor: typically located inside the CPU chip.
Also referred to as primary cache or internal cache. often accessed in just a few
cycles, usually tens of kilobytes
(b) Level-2 or External cache
Has much larger capacity, ranging from 64Kb to 4 Mb.
In older computers L2 was not in processor, instead it was on separate chip on
board. Current processors include “Advance Transfer Cache “ a type of L2 built
directly on Processor chip.
• Cache may be on chip or nearby (external)
• Cache that is second closest to the processor; typically located on the system board.
Also referred to as secondary cache and external cache.
(c) Level-3 cache
If processor has L2 advance Transfer Cache, It also can use L3 cache.
L3 cache is separate from the processor Chip on the mother board.
Note: when Processor needs an instruction or data it searches memory in
this order: L1 Cache, then L2 Cache then L3 Cache (If it exists) , then
RAM 31
THE OPERATION OF CACHE MEMORY

1. Cache fetches data from 2. CPU checks to see

next to current addresses in whether the next instruction
main memory it requires is in cache

Cache
Main
Memory
Memory
(SRAM) CPU
(DRAM)

3. If it is, then the

4. If not, the CPU has to
instruction is fetched from
fetch next instruction from
the cache – a very fast
main memory - a much
position
slower process

= Bus connections 32
L2 CACHE STRUCTURE

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 DISK CACHE
What is a disk cache?
 A portion of memory that the processor uses to store
frequently accessed items.
 A cache
controller process
or
manages
cache and disk
cache
thus hard
disk
determines
which items
cache should first request for
store data — to disk
cache 35
second request for data — to
hard disk
4-WHAT IS VIRTUAL MEMORY (VM) MANAGEMENT?
 The operating system allocates a portion of a storage medium,
usually the hard disk, to function as additional RAM

Step 1: Operating
system transfers least pageswapped
page swappedout
out
recently used data and
program instructions to
disk because memory
disk
disk
is needed for other (virtual
(virtual
functions memory)
memory)

Step 2: Operating
system transfers
RAM
RAM
data and program (physical
(physical
instructions from memory)
memory)
disk to memory
when they are
needed page swapped in 36
EXPANSION SLOTS AND EXPANSION
CARDS
What is an expansion
slot?
An opening, or

Nadeem Akhtar CS & IT Dept. UOL, Lahore.


socket, where a circuit
board can be inserted
into the motherboard

 Used to add new

devices or capabilities
to the computer

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EXPANSION SLOTS AND EXPANSION
CARDS
What are four common types of expansion cards?
Video card
also called
video
adapter or
graphics Sound
card
card Network
interface
card (NIC)
also called a Modem
network card also
card called an
internal
modem 38
PORTS mouse
keyboard
What is a port? USB
USB
 Used to
serial port
connect printer (parallel
external port)
devices to the
system unit speaker
monitor
 Port is the
interface, or microphone
game port
point of
attachment, network
to the system telephone
unit telephone line out
line in
video out FM
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reception
cable TV
 PORTS
What are Types of ports:
➢ Serial
➢ Parallel
➢ PS/2 Port
➢ KB-AT Port
➢ RGB Display Port
➢ Auxiliary Port
➢ USB Port
➢ Twin Pair Ethernet Port
➢ Coaxial Ethernet Port
➢ A/V Port
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PORT TYPES
What is a serial port?
• Serial port are bi directional
• connecting devices such as Digital Cameras or PALM
Host
• Syncs sent one bit after another with some extra bits
like start bit, stop bit and parity bit to detect errors
• Connect devices that do not require fast transmission
rates
• mouse
• Keyboard

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PORT TYPES
What is a Parallel port
 But in parallel port, all the 8 bits of a byte will be sent to
the port at a time and a indication will be sent in another
line
 Used to connect Printers and Scanners to the computer

 Connects devices that can transfer more than one bit at a

time
 Usually used for printers

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PORT TYPES
KB-AT PORT
USED TO CONNECT OLDER STYLE KEYBOARDS TO THE COMPUTER

RGB DISPLAY PORT

•USED TO THE MONITOR TO THE COMPUTER
•(RGB STANDS FOR RED/GREEN/BLUE)

AUXILIARY PORT
USED TO CONNECT JOYSTICKS, GAME CONTROLLERS, AND MIDIS
(MUSICAL INSTRUMENT DATA INTERFACE) TO THE COMPUTER

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 PORTS
What is a universal serial bus port (USB)?
 Can connect up to
127 different

Nadeem Akhtar CS & IT Dept. UOL, Lahore.

peripheral devices
with a single
connector type
 Supports newer
peripherals
 Supports hot
plugging and Plug
and Play
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 BUSES
What is a bus?

 Electrical channels that

allow various devices

Nadeem Akhtar CS & IT Dept. UOL, Lahore.

inside the computer to
communicate with each
other
 Bus width determines the
number of bits
transmitted at one time

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 BUSES
 In computer architecture, a bus is a subsystem
that transfers data between components inside a
computer, or between computers

Types of Buses

System bus

Expansion bus

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 SYSTEM BUS
 System bus connects processor and RAM. It is also called
internal bus.
 it is subdivided in to two types:

1. Address bus
2. Data bus
1-ADDRESS BUS
The address bus is a unidirectional pathway that carries
addresses generated by the microprocessor to the memory.
2-DATA BUS
•
In contrast to the address bus, the data bus is bi-
directional in nature.
•
Data flows along the data bus from the microprocessor to
memory during a Write operation.
•
Conversely, data moves from memory to the microprocessor 47
during a Read operation.
POWER SUPPLY

 It supply electric supply to all components of system

unit.
 It Converts alternating current (AC) to direct current
(DC).

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STORAGE
 MEMORY VERSUS STORAGE
What is storage?
 The media on which data, instructions, and information are
kept, as well as the devices that record and retrieve these
items

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 MEMORY VERSUS STORAGE
How does storage differ from memory?

 Storage also called

secondary storage,
auxiliary storage,
permanent storage, When you
or mass storage want to work When you are
with a file, finished with
 Storage holds items you remove the file, you
such as data, it from remove it from
instructions, and storage and memory and
information for place it in return it to
future use memory storage
 Storage is
nonvolatile

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 MEMORY VERSUS STORAGE
What is reading and writing?

Reading
Process of transferring
data, instructions, Writing
and information from
a storage medium Process of
into memory transferring
items from
Serves as a source of memory to a
input storage medium
Serves as a
source of output
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 MEMORY VERSUS STORAGE
What is access time?

 The amount Cache

of time it Memory
takes the (RAM)
device to
locate an Hard Disk
item on a speed
disk cost

 Defines the Compact Disc

speed of a
disk storage
device Floppy Disk

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Tape
 ACCESS TYPES
What is sequential access vs. direct access?

Sequential access Direct access

Method used for tape Method used for floppy disks,
hard disks, and compact discs
Reading and writing data
consecutively Also called random access

You must forward or rewind You can locate a particular

the tape to a specific point to data item or file immediately,
access a specific piece of data without having to move
consecutively through items
Much slower stored in front of the desired
Utilized most often for long- data item or file
term storage and backup Faster
Used as the primary method
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of storage
 TAPES
What is tape?
 A magnetically coated ribbon of plastic capable of storing large
amounts of data and information at a low cost
 Slow access
 Sequential access ONLY
 Often used for backup/historical data

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 FLOPPY DISKS

What is a floppy disk?

 A portable,
inexpensive storage
medium
 Consists of a thin,
circular, flexible
plastic disk with a
magnetic coating
 Enclosed in a
square-shaped
plastic shell
 Today’s standard
disk is 3.5” wide,
1.44MB 56
 HARD DISKS
What a hard disk?

 Consists of several
inflexible, circular
platters that store
items electronically
 Also called a hard disk
drive or a fixed disk

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Hard disk
installed in
system unit
 HARD DISKS
What is an Internet hard drive?
 A service on the
Web that provides
storage to
computer users
 Sometimes called
online storage
 Many offer
storage free of
charge
 Revenues come
from advertisers

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 HARD DISKS
What are advantages of an Internet hard drive?

Large audio, video,

and graphics files can
be downloaded to an Files can be
Internet hard drive accessed from any
instantaneously computer or device
that has Web
access

Others can be
authorized to access
data from your Internet
hard drive
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What is a compact disc (CD)?
COMPACT DISCS
 A flat, round, portable,
metal storage medium.
CD: 650MB; DVD:4.7-
17GB
 Also called an
optical disc
 Available in a
variety of formats

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