Computer Hardware 7

Computer Hardware
The physical computer and its tangible components are known as hardware. In a computer
system, the hardware plays an important role to software, which is the real brain. Still, it’s important to
know about basic computer hardware. This lesson provides a quick overview, showing things you’ll find
on a PC that can be interesting and useful.

 Console: The main computer box is the console, although it may also be called the system unit
or the CPU (incorrect). The box contains your computer’s soul, its electronic parts. Outside of
the console are various buttons, lights, and holes into which you plug the rest of the computer
system.
 Monitor: The monitor is the device where the computer displays information —its output.
 Keyboard: It’s the thing you type on; it’s the primary input device used to communicate with
the computer.
 Mouse: An input device that lets you work with graphical objects displayed on the monitor.
 Speakers: An output device used as sound system of a pc.
 External hard drive: A drive is used to back up, or create a safety copy, of the important stuff
you store on your computer.
 Printer: It’s where you get the computer’s printed output, also called hard copy.

The Console Tour

Of all the computer hardware that makes up a computer system, the console is the most
important. All PC consoles feature the same basic hardware like CPU, hard drive, memory, CD-ROM,
motherboard but, there’s no typical computer console.

Figure on next page illustrates six common PC configurations, and the following list describes
them.
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 Mini-tower: The mini-tower is the most popular console type. It can sit on top of a desk; right
next to the monitor (refer to Figure).
 Desktop: Once the most popular type of console, the desktop PC sits flat on the desk. The
monitor usually squats on top of the console in the standard desktop configuration.
 Mini-desktop: The mini-desktop console is just too cute and tiny, about the size of a college
dictionary. That makes it ideal for places where space is tight, and where budgets are tight. The
downside is that this console is lack of internal expansion options.
 One PC: A popular and trendy computer design combines the console and monitor into a single
unit. From the front, the console looks like a monitor, though it’s thicker. On the sides, you find
the optical drive plus the variety of connectors and other peripherals.
 Tower: The tower console is essentially a taller version of the mini-tower. The bonus with the
tower is internal expansion options, making this type of console ideal for power-mad users. A
tower typically sits on the floor, located at one end of the table.
 Notebook/laptop: A special type of computer that folds into a handy, lightweight package, ideal
for travelers.

Choosing the proper PC configuration depends on your needs. Power users love the expandability of the
tower. Those on a budget may go for a mini desktop.
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Front Side of the Console

After many years, PC manufacturers discovered that it works best to put items on the front part of the
console.

 Optical drive: The computer’s primary removable storage media is the optical disc. The optical
drive reads optical discs, computer CDs, or DVDs, just like music CDs or movie DVDs.
 Future expansion: Most consoles feature blank spots. They may look interesting or useful, but
they’re not! They’re simply blanks that cover holes used for adding new features to your PC.
 Media card slots: These slots are used for reading common media cards, such as those used by
digital cameras or portable electronic gadget.
 Air vents: Air vents aren’t impressive, but they’re necessary. They keep the console cool by
helping air circulate inside. Don’t block the air vents with books or sticky notes!
 The secret panel: Whether it’s covered by a door or not, your PC most likely features a clutch
of various connectors somewhere on its front. On that area, you find places to connect joysticks,
microphones, headphones, digital video, or other handy gadget you may need to plug and unplug
from time to time.
 Buttons and lights: Most computer buttons are on the keyboard. A few of the more important
buttons are on the console, and are accompanied by many impressive, tiny lights. These buttons
and lights include:
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o Power button: It just turns the computer off or on.

o Reset button: Rare but still found on some consoles is a button that forces the computer
into a restart during times of program hang.
o Hard drive light: This wee light flashes when the PC’s primary storage media, the hard
drive, is being accessed.

Back Side of the Console

The console’s backside is its busy side. That is where you find various connectors for the many devices
in your computer system: a place to plug-in the monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers, and just about
anything else that came in the box with the PC, or which you might add later.

Use Figure below as a guide for finding important items on the back of your PC’s console. Note that
some things may look different and some may be missing because not every console is the same.
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 Power: the power connector is where you plug in the power cord. The other end plugs into the
wall.
 Fan: is where the air is sucked or blown out in the console. The purpose is to regulate the
temperature inside the system unit.
 Voltage switch: Use this switch to change power frequencies to match the specifications for
your country or region. (110 or 220 v)
 Expansion slots: These slots are available for adding new components on expansion cards to the
console and expanding your PC’s hardware. Any connectors on the expansion cards appear in
this area, such as the video connectors on a graphics adapter.
 Vents: To circulate the air, console today uses 2 or more fans. One is used as an exhaust fan and
the other is to suck the air.
 I/O panel: Aside from the power cord and anything attached to an expansion card, the rest of
your PC’s expansion options and plug-in-type things are located in a central area that called I/O
panel. Details of what you can find there are covered in the next section.

The I/O panel

The I/O panel is where you add various expansion options to the PC as well as plug in the standard
devices like keyboard, mouse, serial port, USB, etc.

Use Figure below as your guide for what’s in the I/O panel. The items you find on your PC’s I/O panel
may be labeled with text, or they may include the symbols. Keep in mind that the Figure below is only a
guide; your PC console may have a different I/O panel layout.

Details of I/O panel should be discussed later in this lesson…

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Looking Inside of the Console

Computer hardware includes system board where all electronic components are arranged and placed.

The Motherboard

A motherboard is the central printed circuit board (PCB) in

some complex electronic systems, such as modern personal
computers. The motherboard is sometimes alternatively
known as the main board, system board, or, on Apple
computers, the logic board.

Integrated peripherals

With the steadily declining costs and size of integrated

circuits, it is now possible to include support for many peripherals on the motherboard. By combining
many functions on one PCB, the physical size and total cost of the system may be reduced; highly-
integrated motherboards are thus especially popular in small form factor and budget computers.

System Board Electronic Components

Processor (or Central Processing Unit) – a single tiny electronic chip, mounted on a plastic casing
with tiny metal wires attached to it that can be connected to the CPU-Socket or slot of the motherboard.
The central processing unit is the most important component inside the case, which is responsible for all
processing tasks completed by the computer. The CPU reads and writes data and instructions to and
from storage devices, and performs calculations and other processing data.

HOW THE CPU WORKS In order to perform its functions, the CPU contains three basic components:
input/output (I/O) unit, one or more arithmetic logic unit (ALU), and control unit (CU). The
input/output (I/O) unit manages data and instructions entering and leaving the CPU. The control unit
manages all activities inside the CPU itself. The arithmetic logic unit does all comparisons and
calculations.

Memory – holds data and program instructions. Memory is sometimes called primary storage, but this
term is easily confused with disk storage. It is therefore preferable to use the term memory to refer to the
circuitry that has a direct link to the processor and use the term storage to refer to media, such as disk,
that are not directly linked to the processor.

There four major types of memory: random access memory, virtual memory, CMOS memory, and
read-only memory.

Random Access Memory (RAM) – also known as volatile memory. RAM is the primary type
of memory that holds temporary data, operating system and parts of running program. Any
information in RAM will be lost once the power is cut.

Virtual Memory – a method of using disk storage like hard drive to simulate RAM. Many
application programs, such as Microsoft Word, routinely use the disk instead of memory to store
 Computer Hardware 13

some data or program instructions while you’re running the program. Data transferred to virtual
memory is stored in a file on hard drive called a swap file or paging file.

Data in virtual memory is not erased from the disk if the power fails, instead, the
instructions that direct the computer to the location or virtual memory stored in RAM.
Consequently, the computer cannot access virtual memory data even after power is restored.

Read-only Memory (ROM) – is one or more chips containing instructions that help a computer
prepare for processing tasks. The instructions in ROM are permanent and the only way to change
them is to remove the ROM chips and replace them with another set. You might wonder why a
computer includes chips with programs permanently stored in them. Why not use more adaptable
RAM?

The answer to this question is that, when you turn on your computer, the central
processing unit receives electrical power and is ready to begin executing instructions. By that
time RAM is empty – it doesn’t contain any instruction for CPU to execute. Now ROM plays its
part. ROM contains a small set of instructions called ROMBIOS (basic input/output system).
The instructions in the BIOS tell the computer how to access disk and other peripheral devices
(known as POST or Power on self test). The CPU also performs instructions specified by the
ROMBIOS to search the main operating system files. The computer can load these files into
RAM so they can be used during the remainder of computer session.

CMOS Memory (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) – a special chip that operates
the real time clock include on a motherboard and stores the basic system configuration, including
the floppy and hard disks types, amount of installed memory, and wait state settings. These
settings are retained while the computer is off with only nominal battery support.

Hardware Interface – refers to the communication between an Input/Output devices and

microprocessor unit.

The purpose of communication link is to resolve the differences that exist between the central
computer and each peripheral device. The major differences are:

o Peripheral or I/O devices are electromechanical while CPU and memory are electronics.
Therefore, a conversion of signal values may be required.

o The data transfer rate of peripheral is usually slower than CPU.

o The data codes in each device differ from the word format in the CPU and memory.

Port – is a physical connector that allows a cable from a peripheral device to be attached to the
computer.
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Motherboard Ports

PORT TYPE MAXIMUM DATA TRANSMISSION SPEED

Serial port (rs232) 115.2 Kbps

Parallel port 1.5 Mbps
USB 1.1 12 Mbps
USB 2.0 480 Mbps
Firewire (1394a) 400 Mbps
Firewire (1394b) 800 Mbps/ 1.6 Gbps/ 3.2 Gbps

 Serial port - have 9-pins connector (DB-9). Data are

transmitted one at a time through a single wire (serially). This
port is most often used to connect a mouse or a modem. The
current standard for serial communication is called RS-232, but
there are many variations.
________________________________________________________________________________
Note: Inside the computer, a chip called UART (Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter) coverts
parallel data that flows through a serial cable.
___________________________________________________________________________________

 Parallel Ports - have 25-pin connector (DB-25) at the computer end. There are eight or more
wires through which data bits can be transmitted simultaneously. This port is most often used for
printer interface and other peripheral. Parallel ports fall
into three categories:

SPP – Standard Parallel Port (8-bit port)

EPP – Enhanced Parallel Port (10 times faster than SPP)
ECP – Extended Capabilities Port (high speed that uses
DMA channel to transfer data)
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 USB (Universal Serial Bus) Port – is used to connect different input and output devices such as
keyboard, printers, scanners, mouse, Flash disk, and others. USB uses Plug and Play technology
and thus allows HOT SWAPPING or HOT PLUGGING, which means, you can connect a device
to USB port while the computer is running. The USB is controlled by a USB Host Controller,
which included in the chipset of motherboard.

USB Technologies

- USB 1.0 / 1.1 – allows two data transmission speed – 1.5 Mbps or 12 Mbps. It is also
called Basic Speed USB or Original USB.
- USB 2.0 – allows data transmission speed of 480 Mbps (40 times faster than original
USB). It is also called Hi-speed USB that transfer larger data from I/O devices like
digital camera, mp3, CDs, DVDs, and removable hard disk.
- USB 3.0 – Super Speed bus, which provides a fourth transfer mode at 5 Gbit/s.

Symbol / Logo Meaning

- donates USB port or cable

- Original USB logo (USB1.0)

- High Speed USB logo (USB 2.0)

- Super Speed USB logo(USB 3.0)

- Super Speed USB symbol

 SPDIF In, SPDIF Out: These connectors are used for digital audio. Special fiber optic cable is
required: Audio coming into the computer plugs into the In hole; the sound the computer
generates goes out the Out hole.

 FireWire (IEEE 1394) Port – is used to connect high speed I/O and multi-media devices like
digital video camera or hard drive that require large data transfer as high as 3.2 Gbps. Firewire
ports are found on all new motherboard.

Firewire has two types of connectors:

6-pin connector (provides power to the device)
4-pin connector
 Wireless Connection


IEEE – Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
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There are two wireless technology used to connect peripheral devices – the infrared and radio
frequency.

Infrared Technology (IR) uses infrared light waves to transmit signals to other
infrared-enabled devices. A common example of an infrared device is a TV remote.
Computers use infrared technology to communicate with the I/O devices such as
wireless keyboard, mouse or printer.

Many notebook computers already have infrared port, but they are less common on desktop
computers. If you want to add an infrared port to your computer, you can add an infrared adapter
that connects to the serial port, parallel port, or USB port.

Infrared technology can transmit signals approximately 3 feet (1 meter) and the two IrDA
(Infrared Data Association) or Infrared transceiver must be in a direct line with each other to
communicate.

Radio Frequency Technology (RF) uses radio waves to transmit signals. Radio waves do not
require a direct line of sight between the device and the port. Piles of paper, books, and other
desktop items that block the line of sight will not degrade the communication between the computer
and RF device like keyboard or mouse. RF technology requires two parts: transmitter and receiver.

The two widely used Radio Frequency technologies are Bluetooth and 802.11x

o Bluetooth uses short range radio waves to transmit data between two devices at a rate of
up to 1Mbps. Among enable-Bluetooth devices are computers, cell phones, digital
cameras and printers. To communicate with each other, the devices must be within about
33 feet (10 meters) of each other. Note that additional equipment can extend the range to
about 328 feet (100m.)

o 802.11 is a group of standards that define how computers and other devices communicate
over a wireless network using radio waves. Of the various 802.11, the most widely
implemented are 802.11b and 802.11g, also known as Wi-Fi (wireless fidelity).
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