ITE7 Chp1

Chapter 1: Introduction to
Personal
Computer
Hardware
Bashir Sheikh Abdullahi Jama
IT Essentials 7.0
1 PC Components
© 2016 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 3
PC Components
Cases
 The case houses the internal components such as the power supply, motherboard, central
processing unit (CPU), memory, disk drives, and assorted adapter cards.
 The term form factor refers to the physical design and look of a case. Common desktop
computers are available in form factors including:
 Horizontal case
 Full-Size Tower Many case manufacturers may have their own naming
 Compact Tower conventions, including super tower, full tower, mid
 All-in-one tower, mini tower, cube case, and more.
PC Components
Power Supplies
 Computers use a power supply to convert AC power into a lower voltage DC power required by
internal components.
 Desktop computer power supply form factors include:
• Advanced Technology (AT) – original power supply for

legacy computer systems
• AT Extended (ATX) – updated version of the AT
• ATX12V – the most common power supply on the

market today
• EPS12V – originally designed for network servers but is

now commonly used in high-end desktop models.
PC Components
Connectors
 A power supply includes several different
connectors. They are used to power various
internal components such as the motherboard
and disk drives.
 Some examples are:
• 20-pin or 24-pin slotted connector
• SATA keyed connector
• Molex keyed connector
• Berg keyed connector
• 4-pin to 8-pin auxiliary power connector
• 6/8-pin PCIe power connector
PC Components
Power Supply Voltage
 The different connectors in a power supply also provide different voltages.
 The most common voltages supplied are 3.3 volts, 5 volts, and 12 volts.
 The 3.3 volt and 5 volt supplies are typically used by digital circuits, while the 12 volt
supply is used to run motors in disk drives and fans.
 Power supplies can also be single rail, dual
rail, or multi rail.
 A rail is the printed circuit board (PCB) inside
the power supply to which the external cables
are connected.
A computer can accept slight fluctuations in
power, but a significant deviation can cause the
power supply to fail.
PC Components
Motherboards
 The motherboard is the backbone of the

computer.
 It is a printed circuit board (PCB) that
contains buses, or electrical pathways, that
interconnect electronic components.
 These components may be joined directly
to the motherboard, or added using
sockets, expansion slots, and ports.
PC Components
Motherboard Components
 Major components on a motherboard
include:
• Central Processing Unit (CPU)
• Random Access Memory (RAM)
• Expansion slots
• Chipset
• Basic input/output system (BIOS) chip and
Unified Extensible Firmware Interface
(UEFI) chip
• SATA connectors
• Internal USB connector
PC Components
Motherboard Chipset
 Chipset consists of the integrated circuits on
the motherboard that control how system
hardware interacts with the CPU and
motherboard.
 Most chipsets consist of the following two
types:
• Northbridge – Controls high speed access to the
RAM and video card.
• Southbridge – Allows the CPU to communicate
with slower speed devices including hard drives,
Universal Serial Bus (USB) ports, and expansion
slots.
PC Components
What is CPU?
 The central processing unit (CPU) is responsible for interpreting and executing commands .
 The CPU is a small microchip that resides within a CPU package .
 The CPU socket is the connection between the

motherboard and the processor.
 Modern CPU sockets and processor packages are built
in following architectures:
• Pin Grid Array (PGA) - the pins are on the underside of the
processor package and is inserted into the motherboard CPU
socket.
• Land Grid Array (LGA) - the pins are in the socket instead of
on the processor.
PC Components
Cooling Systems
 Computer components perform better when kept cool.
 Computers are kept cool using active and passive cooling solutions.
 Active solutions require power while passive solutions do not.
 Passive solutions for cooling usually

involve reducing the speed at which
a component is operating or adding
heat sinks to computer chips.
 A case fan is considered as active
cooling.
PC Components
Types of Memory
 A computer might use different types of memory chips.
 All memory chips store data in the form of bytes.

• A byte is a block of eight bits stored as either 0 or 1 in the memory chip.
 Read-Only Memory (ROM) – such as ROM chip.
 Random Access Memory (RAM) is the temporary
working storage for data and programs that are being
accessed by the CPU. RAM is volatile memory.
 Adding more RAM in a computer develops the
system performance. However, the maximum amount
of RAM that can be installed is limited by the
motherboard.
PC Components
Types of RAM
 Types of Random Access Memory (RAM) include:
• Dynamic RAM (DRAM)
• Static RAM (SRAM)
• Synchronous Dynamic RAM (SDRAM)
• Double Data Rate Synchronous Dynamic RAM (DDR SDRAM)
• DDR2 Synchronous Dynamic RAM (DDR2 SDRAM)
• GDDR Synchronous Dynamic RAM (GDDR SDRAM)
PC Components
Memory Modules (Cont.)
 The speed of memory has a direct impact on how much data a processor can
process in a given period of time.
 The fastest memory is typically static RAM (SRAM) which is used as cache memory
for storing the most recently used data and instructions by the CPU.
 The three most common types of cache memory are:

• L1 cache – integrated into the CPU
• L2 cache – was original mounted on the motherboard, but now
integrated into the CPU
• L3 cache – used some high-end workstations and server CPUs
PC Components
Memory Modules (Cont.)
 Memory errors occur when the data is not stored correctly in the memory chips. The
computer uses different methods to detect and correct data errors in memory.
 Different types of error checking methods include:

• Nonparity – Nonparity memory does not check errors in
memory.
• Parity – Parity memory contains 8 bits for data and 1 bit for
error checking.
• ECC – Error Correction Code memory can detect multiple bit
errors in memory and correct single bit errors in memory
PC Components
Adapter Cards
 Adapter cards increase the functionality of a computer by adding controllers for
specific devices or by replacing malfunctioning ports.
 Common adapter cards include:

• Sound adapter
• Network Interface Card (NIC)
• Wireless NIC
• Video adapter or display adapter
• Capture card
• TV tuner card
• Universal Serial Bus (USB) controller card
PC Components
Adapter Cards (Cont.)
 Computers have expansion slots on the motherboard to install adapter cards.
 The type of adapter card connector must match the expansion slot.
 Common expansion slots include:

• Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI)
• Mini-PCI
• PCI eXtended (PCI-X)
• PCI Express (PCIe)
• Riser card
• Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP)
PC Components
Types of Storage Devices
 Data drives provide non-volatile storage of data.
 Some drives have fixed media, and other drives have removable media.
 Data storage devices can be

classified according to the media on
which the data is stored:
• Magnetic – like hard disk drive and
tape drive
• Solid state – like solid state drive
• Optical – like CD and DVD
PC Components
Storage Device Interfaces
 Storage devices inside a computer connect to the motherboard using Serial AT
Attachment (SATA) connections. The legacy interface is Parallel ATA (EIDE).
 The interface standards define the way that data is transferred, the transfer rates,
and physical characteristics of the cables and connectors.
 There are three main versions of the SATA standard: SATA 1, SATA 2, and SATA 3.
 The cables and connectors are the same, but the data transfer speeds are different.
PC Components
Magnetic Media Storage
 This type of storage represents binary values as magnetized or non-magnetized
physical areas of magnetic media.
 Common types of magnetic media storage
drives:
• Hard Disk Drive (HDD) – the traditional
magnetic disk devices with storage capacity
ranging from gigabytes (GBs) to terabytes
(TBs).
• Tape Drive – most often used for archiving data.
• Tape drives use a magnetic read/write head and
removable tape cartridge.
• Common tape storage capacities vary between a few
GBs to many TBs.
PC Components
Semiconductor Storage
 Solid-state drives (SSD) store data as electrical charges in semiconductor flash
memory. This makes SSDs much faster than magnetic HDDs.
 SSDs have no moving parts, make no noise, are more energy efficient, and produce
less heat than HDDs.
 SSDs come in three form factors:
• Disc drive form factor – similar to an HDD
• Expansion cards – plugs directly into the
motherboard and mounts in the computer
case like other expansion cards
• mSata or M.2 modules – these packages
may use a special socket. M.2 is a
standard for computer expansion cards.
PC Components
Types of Optical Storage Devices
 Optical drives are removable media storage devices that use lasers to read and
write data on optical media.
 They were developed to overcome the storage capacity limitations of removable
magnetic media such as floppy discs.
 There are three types of optical drives:

• Compact Disc (CD) - audio and data
• Digital Versatile Disc (DVD) - digital
video and data
• Blu-ray Disc (BD) - HD digital video and
data
PC Components
Types of Optical Storage Devices (Cont.)
 CD, DVD, and BD media can be pre-recorded (read only), recordable (write once),
or re-recordable (read and write multiple times).
 DVD and BD media can also be single layer (SL) or dual layer (DL). Dual layer
media roughly doubles the capacity of a single disc.
PC Components
Video Ports and Cables
 A video port connects a monitor to a computer using a cable.
 Video ports and monitor cables transfer analog signals, digital signals, or both.
 Video ports and cables include:

• Digital Visual Interface (DVI)
• DisplayPort
• High-Definition Multimedia Interface
(HDMI)
• Thunderbolt 1 or 2
• Thunderbolt 3
• Video Graphics Array (VGA)
• Radio Corporation of America (RCA)
PC Components
Other Ports and Cables
 Input/output (I/O) ports on a computer connect peripheral devices, such as printers,
scanners, and portable drives.
 A computer may have other ports:

• Personal System 2 (PS/2)
• Audio and game port
• Network
• Serial AT Attachment (SATA)
• Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE)
• The Universal Serial Bus (USB)
PC Components
Adapters and Converters
 There are many connection standards in use today. These components are called
adapters and converters:
• Converter – performing the same function as an adapter but also translates the signals from
one technology to the other.
• Adapter – physically connecting one technology to another
 Example of adapters include:

• DVI to VGA Adapter
• USB to Ethernet adapter
• USB to PS/2 adapter
• DVI to HDMI adapter
• Molex to SATA adapter
• HDMI to VGA converter
PC Components
The Original Input Devices
 Input devices all the user to communicate with a computer.
 Some of the first input devices include:

• Keyboard and Mouse – these are the two most commonly used input devices
• Flatbed Scanner – these devices digitize an image or document
• Joystick and Gamepad – these devices are used for playing games
• KVM Switch – a hardware device that can be used to control more than one computer
while using a single keyboard, monitor, and mouse
PC Components
New Input Devices
 Some new input devices include touch screen, stylus, magnetic strip reader, and
barcode scanner:
• Touch screen – input devices with touch or pressure sensitive screens
• Stylus – a type of digitizer that allows a designer or artist to create artwork by using a pen-
like tool
• Magnetic strip reader – a device that reads information magnetically encoded on the back
of plastic cards
• Barcode scanner – a device that reads the information contained in the barcodes affixed to
products
PC Components
More New Input Devices
 A few newer input devices:
• Digital camera – devices that capture digital images and videos
• Webcams – video cameras that can be integrated into a computer
• Signature pad– a device that electronically captures a person’s signature
• Smart card reader – a device used on a computer to authenticate the user. A smart card
may be the size of a credit card with an embedded microprocessor that is typically under a
gold contact pad on one side of the card.
• Microphone – a device that allows a user to speak into a computer and have their voice
digitized
PC Components
Most Recent Input Devices
 The newest input devices include NFC devices and terminals, facial recognition
scanners, fingerprint scanners, voice recognition scanners, and virtual reality
headsets:
• NFC devices and terminals – Near Field Communication (NFC) tap to pay devices
• Facial recognition scanners – devices identifying a user based on unique facial features
• Fingerprint scanners – devices identifying a user based on unique fingerprint
• Voice recognition scanners – devices identifying a user based on unique voice
• Virtual reality headset – used with computer games, simulators, and training applications
with virtual reality functionalities.
PC Components
What are Output Devices?
 An output device takes binary information from the computer and converts it into a
form that is easily understood by the user.
 Examples of output devices include monitors, projectors, VR headsets, printers,
speakers, and headphones.
PC Components
Monitors and Projectors
 Most monitors use one of three types of technology:
• Liquid crystal display (LCD)
• Light-emitting diode (LED)
• Organic LED (OLED)
 Most video projectors use LCD or DLP technology.

• DLP stands for Digital Light Processing
• Different projectors have different numbers of lumens, which affects the
level of brightness of the projected image.
PC Components
Printers
 Printers are output devices that create hard
copies of files.
 A hard copy might be a on a sheet of paper. It
could also be a plastic form created from a 3D
printer.
 Different types of printers:

• Inkjet, impact, thermal, laser, and 3D printers
• Printers use wired or wireless connections
• All printers require printing material (such as ink,
toner, liquid plastic, etc.)
• Printers use a driver to communicate with OS
PC Components
Speakers and Headphones
 Speakers are a type of auditory output device.
 Most computers and mobile devices have audio support either integrated
into the motherboard or on an adapter card.
 Headphones, earbuds, and the earphones found in headsets are all auditory
output devices.
 These may be wired or wireless. Some are Wi-Fi or Bluetooth-enabled.
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Chapter 1: Introduction to

Bashir Sheikh Abdullahi Jama

• Advanced Technology (AT) – original power supply for

• AT Extended (ATX) – updated version of the AT

• ATX12V – the most common power supply on the

• EPS12V – originally designed for network servers but is

 The motherboard is the backbone of the

 The CPU is a small microchip that resides within a CPU package .

 The CPU socket is the connection between the

 Active solutions require power while passive solutions do not.

 Passive solutions for cooling usually

 All memory chips store data in the form of bytes.

 The three most common types of cache memory are:

 Different types of error checking methods include:

 Common adapter cards include:

 Common expansion slots include:

 Data storage devices can be

 There are three types of optical drives:

 Video ports and cables include:

 A computer may have other ports:

 Example of adapters include:

 Some of the first input devices include:

 Most video projectors use LCD or DLP technology.

 Different types of printers:

 Speakers are a type of auditory output device.

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