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2025 - CSC 122 - Note 2

The document provides an overview of computer hardware, detailing the components of a computer system including input devices like keyboards and mice, output devices like monitors and printers, and major hardware components such as the motherboard and CPU. It explains the architecture of a computer, focusing on the input-process-output cycle, the role of buses for data communication, and the significance of the chipset in managing hardware interactions. Additionally, it covers the importance of cooling systems, adapter cards for expanding functionality, and various types of expansion slots and ports.
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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
5 views15 pages

2025 - CSC 122 - Note 2

The document provides an overview of computer hardware, detailing the components of a computer system including input devices like keyboards and mice, output devices like monitors and printers, and major hardware components such as the motherboard and CPU. It explains the architecture of a computer, focusing on the input-process-output cycle, the role of buses for data communication, and the significance of the chipset in managing hardware interactions. Additionally, it covers the importance of cooling systems, adapter cards for expanding functionality, and various types of expansion slots and ports.
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 15

COMPUTER HARDWARE

Computer is advanced electronic devices which take raw data and information as INPUT from user,
stores the process these data under control of set of instructions and gives meaningful result as
Output. A typical structure of a computer system is shown in the figure below.

Figure: A typical personal computer system.

▪ System unit: The main computer cabinet housing containing the primary components of the
system. This includes the main logic board (system board or motherboard), disk drive(s),
switching power supply, and the interconnecting wires and cables.
▪ Keyboard: The most familiar computer input device, used to introduce characters and
commands into the system. This is accomplished by incorporating a standard typewriter key
layout with the addition of other specialized control and function keys.
▪ Mouse: A popular input device used with graphical user interfaces to point to, select, or
activate images on the video monitor. By rolling the mouse along a surface, the user can cause
a cursor on the display to move in a corresponding manner.
▪ Video monitor: A visual output device capable of displaying characters and graphics on a
screen. Also, a name for a CRT computer display
▪ Character printer: A hard copy output device that applies data to paper. Any printer thatprints
one character at a time. Normally, a dot-matrix, ink-jet, or a laser printer.
▪ Speakers: Audio output devices used to deliver voice, music, and coded messages.

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Thus, a computer system consists of hardware and software components. The software
components include operating system and programs. Hardware components can be grouped into
two namely major components and minor components.

• Major components: Case, power supply, motherboard, CPU, cooling fan, RAM, monitor
keyboard, mouse, etc.
• Optional components: Speaker, Modem, NIC (Network Interface Card), Printer, Scanner,
Web camera (Web-cam), Headphone & microphone, TV card, etc.

BASIC COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE

Principle of computer can be summarized as “INPUT-PROCESS-OUTPUT” cycle

Bus
A computer contains several major subsystems such as the Central Processing Unit (CPU),
memory, and peripheral device controllers. These components all plug into a "Bus". The bus is

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essentially a communications highway or an electronic path for the flow of data; all the other
components work together by transferring data over the bus. The system bus is an electronic
pathway for the flow of data between the CPU, memory, and other system components.

There are three types of buses namely Address bus, Data bus and Control bus. These buses are
the eye, nose and ear of the processor. It uses them in a synchronise manner to perform
meaningful operation.

• Address bus: The address bus is the electronic pathway that carries information about the
memory locations of data. It is a group of bits that the processor uses to inform the memory
about the elements to read or write. It is uni-directional. It travels from the processor to
memory.
• Data bus: The data bus is the set of pathways that carries the actual data between memory
and the CPU. This is use to move the data from the memory to the processor in a read
operation and from processor to the memory in a write operation. The data bus is bi-
directional that is data moves from processor to memory and memory to processor.
• Control bus: This is the bus that is responsible for carrying information from processor about
the state of current access such as whether it is a write or a read operation. It can also carry
information back to processor regarding the current access such as address error.

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INSIDE THE SYSTEM UNIT
The system unit is the main portion of the microcomputer system and is the basis of any P system
arrangement.

Dismantled System Unit

The components inside the system unit can be divided into four distinct subunits: a switching
power supply, the disk drives, the system board, and the options adapter. The major components
of interest in a PC system are:
• Power supply: The component in the system that converts the AC voltage from the
commercial power outlet to the DC voltages required by the computer circuitry.
• System board: The main component of a personal computer. It contains the major
structures that make up a computer system.
• Disk drives: The system’s mass storage devices that hold data for an extended time, even

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when the power is removed from the system. Disk drives include floppy drives, hard drives,
and CD-ROM drives.
• Adapter cards: Interface cards used to enhance the basic system with additional functions.
Examples of common adapter cards include video display adapters, modems, and Local
Area Network cards.
• Signal cables: Connecting cables, typically configured in a flat ribbon format, that pass
control signals and data between system components such as the disk drives and the
system board.

Assembled System Unit

Computer Case and Power Supply


Computer Case: A computer case contains the framework to support the internal components of
a computer while providing an enclosure for added protection. Computer cases are typically made
of plastic, steel, and aluminum and are available in a variety of styles. The size and layout of a case

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is called a form factor. There are many types of cases, but the basic form factors for computer
cases include desktop and tower. Desktop cases may be slimline or full-sized, and tower cases may
be mini or full-sized. The computer case provides protection and support for the internal
components of the computer. In addition to providing protection and support, cases also provide
an environment designed to keep the internal components cool. Case fans are used to move air
through the computer case. In addition to providing protection from the environment, cases help
to prevent damage from static electricity. Internal components of the computer are grounded by
attachment to the case.

There are many factors that must be considered when choosing a case:
• The size of the motherboard
• The number of external or internal drive locations called bays
• Available space

Power Supply: The power supply, converts alternating-current (AC) power coming from a wall
outlet into direct-current (DC) power, which is a lower voltage. DC power is required for all of the
components inside the computer. The power supply must provide enough power for the
components that are currently installed and allow for additional components that may be added
at a later time. A computer can tolerate slight fluctuations in power, but a significant deviation
can cause the power supply to fail. An uninterruptible power supply (UPS) can protect a computer
from problems caused by changes in power.

Power supply makes use of different connectors to connect specific components to various ports
on the motherboard. Most connectors today are keyed connectors. Keyed connectors are
designed to be inserted in only one direction.

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The ATX system board power connector

Each part of the connector has a colored wire with a different voltage running through it.

• A Molex connector is a keyed connector used to connect to an optical drive or a hard drive.
• A Berg connector is a keyed connector used to connect to a floppy drive. A Berg connector is
smaller than a Molex connector.
• A 20-pin or 24-pin slotted connector is used to connect to the motherboard. The 24-pin slotted
connector has two rows of 12 pins each, and the 20-pin slotted connector has two rows of 10
pins each.

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• A 4-pin to 8-pin auxiliary power connector has two rows of two to four pins and supplies power
to all areas of the motherboard. The 4-pin to 8-pin auxiliary power connector is the same shape
as the main power connector, but smaller.
• Older standard power supplies used two connectors called P8 and P9 to connect to the
motherboard. P8 and P9 were unkeyed connectors. They could be installed backwards,
potentially damaging the motherboard or power supply. The installation required that the
connectors were lined up with the black wires together in the middle.

Motherboards
The motherboard is the main printed circuit board and contains the buses, or electrical pathways,
found in a computer. These buses allow data to travel between the various components that
comprise a computer. A motherboard is also known as the system board, the backplane, or the
main board.

A typical system board

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The motherboard accommodates the central processing unit (CPU), RAM, expansion slots, heat
sink/fan assembly, BIOS chip, chipset, and the embedded wires that interconnect the
motherboard components. Sockets, internal and external connectors, and various ports are also
placed on the motherboard.

The form factor of motherboard is of two types namely AT and ATX. Laptop computers generally
use highly integrated, miniaturized and customized motherboards.

Modern motherboards include, at a minimum:

▪ Sockets (or slots) in which one or more microprocessors may be installed

▪ Slots into which main memory of the system is to be installed (typically in the form ofDIMM
modules containing DRAM chips)

▪ A chipset which forms an interface between the front-side bus of the CPU, main memory,and
peripheral buses
▪ Non-volatile memory chips (usually Flash ROM in modern motherboards) containing the
firmware or BIOS of the system.
▪ A clock generator which produces the system clock signal to synchronize the various
components.

▪ Slots for expansion cards (these interface to the system via the buses supported by the
chipset).

▪ Power connectors, which receive electrical power from the computer power supply and
distribute it to the CPU, chipset, main memory, and expansion cards.
• Motherboards include logic and connectors to support commonly used input devices, such as PS/2
connectors for a mouse and keyboard.

CHIPSET:
An important set of components on the motherboard is the chipset. The chipset composed of
various integrated circuits attached to the motherboard that control how system hardware
interacts with the CPU and motherboard. Most chipsets are divided into two distinct components,
Northbridge and Southbridge.

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Northbridge
The Northbridge subset of a motherboard’s chipset is the set of circuitry or chips that performs
one very important function: management of high-speed peripheral communications. The
Northbridge subset isresponsible primarily for communications with integrated video using AGP
and PCIe, for instance, and processor-to-memory communications. Therefore, it can be said that
much of the true performance of a PC relies on the performance of the Northbridge chipset and
the communications between it and the peripherals it controls.

Motherboard chipsets

The communications between the CPU and memory occur over what is known as the frontside
bus (FSB), which is just a set of signal pathways between the CPU and main memory. The backside
bus, on the other hand, is a set of signal pathways between the CPU and Level 2 cache memory (if

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present). The Northbridge chipsets also manage the communications between the Southbridge
chipset and the rest of the computer. Finally, if a motherboard has onboard video circuitry
(especially if it needs direct access to main memory), that circuitry will be found within the
Northbridge chipset.

Southbridge
The Southbridge chipset is responsible for providing support to the onboard peripherals (PS/2,
Parallel, IDE, and so on), managing their communications with the rest of the computer and the
resources given to them. Most motherboards today have integrated PS/2, USB, Parallel, and Serial
ports. Some of theoptional features handled by the Southbridge include LAN, audio, infrared, and
FireWire (IEEE 1393). TheSouthbridge chipset is also responsible for managing communications
with the other expansion buses, suchas PCI, USB, and legacy buses. Figure 2.3 shows an example
of a typical motherboard chipset (both Northbridge and Southbridge) and the components they
interface with. Notice which components interface with which parts of the chipset.

Function of the chipset:


• It allows the CPU to communicate and interact with the other components of the computer,
and to exchange data with system memory, or RAM, hard disk drives, video cards, and other
output devices.
• It establishes how much memory can be added to a motherboard.
• It also determines the type of connectors on the motherboard.

Central Processing Unit (CPU)


The central processing unit (CPU) is considered the brain of the computer. It is sometimes referred
to as the processor. Most calculations take place in the CPU. In terms of computing power, the
CPU is the most important element of a computer system. CPUs come in different form factors,
each style requiring a particular slot or socket on the motherboard. The CPU is installed into a slot
or socket on the motherboard. The socket on the motherboard determines the type of CPU that
can be installed. The CPU socket or slot is the connector that interfaces between the motherboard

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and the processor. The CPU executes a program, which is a sequence of stored instructions. Each
model of processor has an instruction set, which it executes. The CPU executes the program by
processing each piece of data as directed by the program and the instruction set. While the CPU
is executing one step of the program, the remaining instructions and the data are stored nearby
in a special memory called cache.

The power of a CPU is measured by the speed and the amount of data that it can process. The
speed of a CPU is rated in cycles per second. The speed of current CPUs is measured in millions of
cycles per second, called megahertz (MHz), or billions of cycles per second, called gigahertz (GHz).
The amount of data that a CPU can process at one time depends on the size of the processor data
bus. Current processors have a 32-bit processor data bus or a 64-bit processor data bus.

The latest processor technology has resulted in CPU manufacturers (Common CPU manufacturers
include Intel and AMD) finding ways to incorporate more than one CPU core onto a single chip.
These CPUs are capable of processing multiple instructions concurrently:

• Single Core CPU – One core inside a single CPU that handles all of the processing capability.
A motherboard manufacturer may provide sockets for more than one single processor,
providing the ability to build a powerful, multi-processor computer.

• Dual Core CPU – Two cores inside a single CPU in which both cores can process information
at the same time.

• Triple Core CPU – Three cores inside a single CPU that is actually a quad-core processor
with one of the cores disabled.

• Quad Core CPU – Four cores inside a single CPU in which all cores can process information
simultaneously for enhanced software applications.

Cooling systems
Electronic components generate heat. Heat is caused by the flow of current within the
components. Computer components perform better when kept cool. If the heat is not removed,
the computer may run slower. If too much heat builds up, computer components can be damaged.

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Increasing the air flow in the computer case allows more heat to be removed. A case fan, is
installed in the computer case to make the cooling process more efficient. A heat sink draws heat
away from the core of the CPU, a fan on top of the heat sink, moves the heat away from the CPU.
Also, video adapter cards also produce a great deal of heat, fans are dedicated to cool the
graphics-processing unit (GPU).

Adapter cards
Adapter cards increase the functionality of a computer by adding controllers for specific devices
or by replacing malfunctioning ports. Adapter cards are used to expand and customize the
capability of the computer. Computers have expansion slots on the motherboard to install adapter
cards. The type of adapter card connector must match the expansion slot.

Types of Adapter cards:


Network Interface Card (NIC) – Connects a computer to a network using a network cable

Wireless NIC – Connects a computer to a network using radio frequencies

Sound adapter – Provides audio capability

Video adapter – Provides graphic capability

Capture card – Sends a video signal to a computer so that the signal can be recorded to the
computer hard drive with Video Capture software

TV tuner – Provides the ability to watch and record TV signals on a PC by connecting a TV source,
such as cable TV, satellite, or an antenna, to the installed tuner card

Modem adapter – Connects a computer to the Internet using a phone line

Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) adapter – Connects SCSI devices, such as hard drives or
tape drives, to a computer

Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) adapter – Connects multiple hard drives to a
computer to provide redundancy and to improve performance

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Different Types of Expansion Slots:
PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) is a 32 bit or 64 bit expansion.

AGP (Advanced Graphics Port) is a 32 bit expansion port designed for video.

PLCe (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express) is a serial bus expansion slot to replace AGP.

ISA (Industry Standard Architecture) is an 8 bit expansion slot.

ESIA (extended industry standard architecture) is a 32 bit expansion slot.

MCA (microchannel architecture) is 32 bit expansion slot.

Ports and Cables


Input/output (I/O) ports on a computer connect peripheral devices, such as printers, scanners,
and portable drives. The following ports and cables are commonly used: Serial, USB, FireWire,
Parallel, SCSI, Network, PS/2, Audio and Video

➢ Serial Ports and Cables: A serial port can be either a DB-9 or a DB-25 male connector. Serial
ports transmit one bit of data at a time. To connect a serial device, such as a modem or printer,
a serial cable must be used.
➢ Modem Ports and Cables: It is use to connect an external modem to a computer, a telephone
cable is used to connect a modem to a telephone outlet. This cable uses an RJ-11 connector.
➢ USB Ports and Cables: The Universal Serial Bus (USB) is a standard interface that connects
peripheral devices to a computer. It was originally designed to replace serial and parallel
connections. USB devices are hot-swappable, which means that users can connect and
disconnect the devices while the computer is powered on.
➢ Parallel Ports and Cables: A parallel port on a computer is a standard Type A DB-25 female
connector. Parallel ports can transmit 8 bits of data at one time and use the IEEE 1284
standard. To connect a parallel device, such as a printer, a parallel cable must be used.
➢ Network Ports and Cables: A network port, also known as an RJ-45 port, connects a computer
to a network. The connection speed depends on the type of network port. Standard Ethernet

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can transmit up to 10 Mbps, Fast Ethernet can transmit up to 100 Mbps, and Gigabit Ethernet
can transmit up to 1000 Mbps.
➢ PS/2 Ports: A PS/2 port connects a keyboard or a mouse to a computer. The PS/2 port is a 6-
pin mini-DIN female connector. The connectors for the keyboard and mouse are often
coloured differently.
➢ Audio Ports: An audio port connects audio devices to the computer.
➢ Video Ports and Connectors: A video port connects a monitor cable to a computer.

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