Intro to ICT - Chapter 2 By Dr.

Naeem Ahmed

Chapter 2
The Systems Unit:
Processing and Memory

By
Dr. Naeem Ahmed 1

Overview

• Explain how computers represent data and program

instructions.
• Explain how the CPU and memory are arranged with other
components inside the system unit.
• Explain how a CPU performs processing tasks.
• Identify strategies that can be used today to create faster and
better computers in the future.

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Data and Program Representation

• Digital Data Representation

– Coding Systems
• Used to represent data and programs in a manner
understood by the computer
– Digital Computers
• Can only understand two states, off and on
(0 and 1)
– Digital Data Representation
• The process of representing
data in digital form so it can be
understood by a computer

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Digital Data Representation

– Bit
• The smallest unit of data that a
binary computer can recognize
(a single 1 or 0)
– Byte = 8 bits
• Byte terminology used to express
the size of documents and other
files, programs, etc.
– Prefixes are often used to express larger quantities of
bytes: kilobyte (KB), megabyte (MB), gigabyte (GB),
terabyte (TB), petabyte (PB), exabyte (EB), zettabyte (ZB),
yottabyte (YB).

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Representing Numerical Data

• The Binary Numbering System

– Numbering system
• A way of representing numbers
– Decimal numbering system
• Uses 10 symbols (0-9)
– Binary numbering system
• Uses only two symbols (1 and 0) to represent all
possible numbers
– In both systems, the position of the digits determines the
power to which the base number (such as 10 or 2) is raised

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Representing Numerical Data

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Coding Systems for Text-Based Data

• ASCII (American Standard Code for

Information Interchange)
– Coding system traditionally used
with personal computers
• EBCDIC (Extended Binary-Coded
Decimal Interchange Code)
– Developed by IBM, primarily for
mainframes

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Coding Systems for Text-Based Data

• Unicode
– Newer code (32 bits per character is common)
– Universal coding standard designed to represent text-
based data written in any ancient or modern language
– Replacing ASCII as the primary text-coding system

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Coding Systems for Other Types of

Data
• Graphics Data (still images such as photos or drawings)
– Bitmapped images
• Image made of up of a grid of small dots called pixels
• Monochrome graphic can only be one of two colors
– Requires just one bit for color storage
• Images with more than two colors
– Can use 4, 8, or 24 bits to store the color data for
each pixel
– More bits = more colors

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Coding Systems for Other Types of

Data

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Coding Systems for Other Types of

Data
• Audio Data
– Must be in digital form in order to be stored on or
processed by a computer
– Often compressed when sent over the Internet
• MP3 files are 10 times smaller than their uncompressed
digital versions
• Download more quickly and take up less storage space
• Video Data
– Displayed using a collection of frames, each frame contains
a still image
– Amount of data can be substantial, but can be compressed

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Representing Software Programs

• Machine language
– Binary-based language for representing computer
programs the computer can execute directly
– Early programs were written in machine language
– Today’s programs still need to be translated into machine
language in order to be understood by the computer

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Quick Quiz

1. Another way to say “one million bytes” is

a. one kilobyte
b. one gigabyte
c. one megabyte
2. True or False: MP3 files are stored using 0s and 1s.
3. The numbering system is used by computers
to perform mathematical computations.

Answers:
1) c; 2) True; 3) binary

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Inside the System Unit

• System Unit
– The main case of a computer
– Houses the processing hardware for a computer
– Also contains storage devices, the power supply, and
cooling fans
– Houses processor, memory, interfaces to connect to
peripheral devices (printers, etc), and other components
– With a desktop computer, usually looks like a rectangular
box

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Inside the System Unit

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Inside the System Unit

• The Motherboard
– Computer Chip
• Very small pieces of silicon or other semi-conducting
material onto which integrated circuits are embedded
– Circuit Board
• A thin board containing computer chips and other
electronic components
– System Board
• The main circuit board inside the system unit to which
all devices must connect

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Inside the System Unit

• External devices (monitors, keyboards, mice, printers)

• Wireless devices (e.g., Bluetooth)
• Power Supply
– Connects to the motherboard to deliver electricity
(personal computer)
– Portable computers use rechargeable battery pack
• Nonremovable batteries more difficult and expensive
to replace

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Inside the System Unit

• Drive Bays
– Rectangular metal racks inside the system unit that house
storage devices
• Hard drive, CD/DVD drive, flash memory card reader
• Connected to the motherboard with a cable
• Processors
– The CPU (Central Processing Unit)
• Circuitry and components packaged together and connected
directly to the motherboard
• Does the vast majority of processing for a computer
• Also called a processor; called a microprocessor when talking
about personal computers

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Inside the System Unit

– Dual-core CPU
• Contains the processing components (cores) of two
separate processors on a single CPU
– Quad-core CPU
• Contains four cores
– Multi-core processors allow computers to work on more
than one task at a time
– Typically different CPUs for desktop computers, portable
computers, servers, mobile devices, consumer devices, etc.
• Personal computer CPU often made by Intel or AMD
• Media tablets and mobile phones use processors made
by other companies such as ARM

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Inside the System Unit

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Inside the System Unit

– The GPU (graphics processing unit)

• Takes care of the processing needed to display images
(including still images, animations) on the screen
• Can be located on
the motherboard,
on a video graphics
board, on in the
CPU package

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How It Works Box

GPUs and Transformers: The Ride 3D at Universal Studios

– Uses a 2,000 foot-long track, 14 huge screens, and 34
projectors
– Motion is synchronized with the action
– Images are 3D, 4K
– Used GPUs to see 3D
animations in real time
as they were being
developed

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Inside the System Unit

• Processing Speed
– CPU clock speed is one measurement of processing speed
– Rated in megahertz (MHz) or gigahertz (GHz)
– Higher CPU clock speed = more instructions processed per
second
– Alternate measure of processing speed is the number of
instructions a CPU can process per second
• Megaflops (millions), gigaflops (billions), teraflops
(trillions)
– Benchmark tests can be used to evaluate overall
processing speed

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Inside the System Unit

• Word Size
– The amount of data that a CPU can manipulate at one time
– Typically 32 or 64 bits
• Cache Memory
– Special group of very fast memory chips located on or
close to the CPU
– Level 1 is fastest, then Level 2, then Level 3
– More cache memory typically means faster processing
– Usually internal cache (built into the CPU)

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Inside the System Unit

• Bus Width, Bus Speed, and Bandwidth

– A bus is an electronic path over which data can
travel
– Found inside the CPU and on the motherboard
– Bus width is the number of wires in the bus over
which data can travel
• A wider bus allows more data to be transferred
at one time

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Inside the System Unit

• Bus width and speed determine

the throughput or bandwidth of
the bus
– The amount of data that can
be transferred by the bus in
a given time period

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Memory

• Memory
– Refers to chip-based storage located inside the system unit
– Storage refers to the amount of long-term storage
available to a computer
– Random Access Memory (RAM)
• Computer’s main memory
• Consists of chips arranged on a circuit board called a
memory module which are plugged into the
motherboard
• Stores essential parts of operating system, programs,
and data the computer is currently using

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Memory

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Memory

• Volatile
– RAM content lost when the computer is shut off
– ROM and flash memory are non-volatile
• Measured in bytes
– Amount installed depends on the CPU and
operating system being used
• Most personal computers use SD-RAM
• MRAM and PRAM - non-volatile RAM under
development

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Memory

• Each location in memory

has an address
– Each location
typically holds one
byte
– Computer system
sets up and
maintains directory
tables to facilitate
retrieval of the data

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Memory

– Registers
• High-speed memory built into the CPU
• Used to store data and intermediary results during
processing
• Fastest type of memory
– ROM (read-only memory)
• Non-volatile chips located on the motherboard into
which data or programs have been permanently stored
• Retrieved by the computer when needed
• Being replaced with flash memory

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Memory

– Flash Memory
• Nonvolatile memory chips that can be used for storage
• Have begun to replace ROM for storing system
information
• Now stores firmware for personal computers and other
devices
• Built into many types of devices (media tablets, mobile
phones, and digital cameras) for user storage

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Cooling Components

• Fans
– Fans used on most personal computers to help cool the
CPU and system unit
– Heat is an ongoing problem for CPU and computer
manufacturers
• Can damage components
• Cooler chips run faster
• Heat Sinks
– Small components typically made out of aluminum with
fins that help to dissipate heat

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Cooling Components

• Cooling Systems
– Liquid cooling systems
• Cool the computer with liquid-filled tubes
– Immersion cooling
• Hardware is actually submerged into units filled with a
liquid cooling solution
– Notebook cooling stand
• Cools the underside of a notebook computer
– Other cooling methods, such as ion pump cooling systems,
are under development

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Cooling Components

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Expansion

• Expansion Slots, Expansion Cards, and ExpressCard Modules

– Expansion Slot
• A location on the motherboard into which expansion
cards are inserted
– Expansion Card
• A circuit board inserted into an expansion slot
• Used to add additional functionality or to attach a
peripheral device
– ExpressCard Modules
• Designed to add additional functionality to notebooks

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Expansion

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Buses

• Bus
– An electronic path within a computer over which data travels
• Located within the CPU and etched onto the motherboard
– Expansion Bus
• Connects the CPU to peripheral (typically input and output)
devices
– Memory Bus
• Connects CPU directly to RAM
– Frontside Bus (FSB)
• Connects CPU to the chipset that connects the CPU to the
rest of the bus architecture

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Buses

– PCI and PCI Express (PCIe) Bus

• PCI has been one of the most common types
• Today, PCI Express bus, which is extremely fast, has
replaced the PCI bus
– Universal Serial Bus (USB)
• Extremely versatile
• Allows 127 different devices to connect to a computer
via a single USB port
– FireWire Bus
• Developed by Apple to connect multimedia devices to a
computer

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Ports and Connectors

• Port
– A connector on the exterior of a computer’s system unit to
which a device may be attached
– Typical desktop computer ports include:
• Power connector, Firewire, VGA monitor, Network, USB,
Audio, and HDMI
– Others include IrDA and Bluetooth ports, eSATA ports,
Thunderbolt ports (Apple devices)
– Most computers support the Plug and Play standard

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Ports and Connectors

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Ports and Connectors

– Portable computers have ports similar to desktop

computers, but often not as many
– Smartphones and mobile devices have more limited
expansion capabilities
• Usually have a USB port, HDMI port, and/or flash
memory card slot
• Flash memory cards often use the Secure Digital (SD)
format
• MiniSD and microSD cars are smaller than regular SD
cards

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Ports and Connectors

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Trend Box

Tablet Docks
– Used to help with tablet productivity
– Some are just a stand
– Many include a keyboard
– Some include ports (USB,
monitor, etc.) to connect
peripherals
– Some contain a battery

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Quick Quiz

1. Which type of memory is erased when the power goes out?

a. ROM
b. RAM
c. flash memory
2. True or False: The CPU can also be called the motherboard.
3. A(n) electronic path within a computer over which data travels
is called a(n) .

Answers:
1) b; 2) False; 3) bus

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How the CPU Works

• CPU (Central Processing Unit)

– Consists of a variety of circuitry and components packaged
together
– Transistor: Key element of the microprocessor
• Made of semi-conductor material that acts like a switch
controlling the flow of electrons inside a chip
– Today’s CPUs contain hundreds of millions of transistors;
the number doubles about every 18 months (Moore’s Law)

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Inside the Industry Box

Moore’s Law
– In 1965, Gordon Moore
predicted that the number of
transistors per square inch on
chips had doubled every two
years and that trend would
continue
– Moore’s Law is still relevant
today for processors as well as
other computer components

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How the CPU Works

• Typical CPU Components

– Arithmetic/Logic Unit (ALU)
• Performs arithmetic involving integers and logical
operations
– Floating Point Unit (FPU)
• Performs decimal arithmetic
– Control Unit
• Coordinates and controls activities within a CPU core
– Prefetch Unit
• Attempts to retrieve data and instructions before they
are needed for processing in order to avoid delays

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How the CPU Works

– Decode Unit
• Translates instructions from the prefetch unit so they
are understood by the control unit, ALU, and FPU
– Registers and Internal Cache Memory
• Store data and instructions needed by the CPU
– Bus Interface Unit
• Allows the core to communicate with other CPU
components

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How the CPU Works

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The System Clock and the Machine

Cycle
• System Clock
– Small quartz crystal on the motherboard
– Timing mechanism within the computer system that
synchronizes the computer’s operations
• Sends out a signal on a regular basis to all computer
components
• Each signal is a cycle
• Number of cycles per second is measured in
hertz (Hz)
• One megahertz = one million ticks of the
system clock

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The System Clock and the Machine

Cycle
• Many PC system clocks run at 200 MHz
• Computers can run at a multiple or fraction of the
system clock speed
• A CPU clock speed of 2 GHz means the CPU clock
“ticks” 10 times during each system clock tick
• During each CPU clock tick, one or more pieces of
microcode are processed
• A CPU with a higher clock speed processes more
instructions per second than the same CPU with a
lower CPU clock speed

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The System Clock and the Machine

Cycle
• Machine Cycle
– The series of operations
involved in the execution of a
single machine level instruction

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Making Computers Faster and Better

Now and in the Future

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Future Trends

• Nanotechnology
– The science of creating tiny computers and components
less than 100 nanometers in size
– Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) used in many products today
– Nanofilters and nanosensors
– Future applications may be
built by working at the
individual atomic and
molecular levels

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Future Trends

• Quantum Computing
– Applies the principles of quantum physics and quantum
mechanics to computers
– Utilizes atoms or nuclei working together as quantum bits
(qubits)
– Qubits function simultaneously as the computer’s
processor and memory and can represent more than two
states
– Expected to be used for specialized applications, such as
encryption and code breaking

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Future Trends

• Optical Computing
– Uses light, from laser beams or infrared beams, to perform
digital computations
– Opto-electronic computers use both optical and electronic
components
• Silicon Photonics
– The process of making optical devices using silicon
manufacturing techniques
• Possible low-cost solution to future data-intensive
computing applications—telemedicine, cloud data
centers

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Future Trends

• Tera-Scale Computing
– The ability to process one trillion floating-point operations
per second (teraflops)
– Terascale research is focusing on creating multi-core
processors with tens to hundreds of cores
– Intel has created a Single-chip Cloud Computer which
contains 48 cores on one silicon chip
– Expected to be needed for future applications

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Future Trends

• 3D Chips
– Contain transistors that are
layered to cut down on the
surface area required
– Created by layering individual
silicon wafers on top of one
another
– Being used with memory, flash
memory, and CPUs

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Quick Quiz

1. Optical computers use which of the following to transmit and

process data?
a. Liquid
b. Light
c. Silicon
2. True or False: If your computer is running slowly, adding more
memory might speed it up.
3. A quantum bit is known as a(n) .

Answers:
1) b; 2) True; 3) qubit

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