Configuration and Computer System and Network’s Hardware

Learning Competencies
1. Determine requirements of task in accordance with the required output
2. The learners demonstrate and understanding of concepts and underlying principles in
performing computer operations.

INFORMATION SHEET 1.3

Configuration and Computer Systems and Network’s Hardware
SELF CHECK 1.4

What is Computer?

A computer is a device that accepts information (in the form of digitalized data) and
manipulates it for some result based on a program or sequence of instructions on how the data is to be
processed.

TYPES OF COMPUTER:

Since the advent of the first computer different types and sizes of computers are offering different
services. Computers can be as big as occupying a large building and as small as laptop or a
microcontroller in systems. The four basic types of computers are:

1. Super computer
The most powerful computers in terms of performance and data processing are the super
computers. These are specialized and task specific computers used by large organizations. These
computers are used for research and exploration purposes, like NASA uses supercomputers for
launching space shuttles, controlling them and for space exploration.
 Space Exploration

Supercomputers are used to study the origin of the universe, the dark matters. For these studies
scientist use IBM’s powerful supercomputer “Roadrunner” at National Laboratory Los Alamos.

Earthquake studies

Supercomputers are used to study the earthquakes phenomenon. Besides that supercomputers
are used for natural resources exploration, like natural gas, petroleum, coal, etc.

Weather Forecasting

Supercomputers are used for weather forecasting, and to study the nature and extent of
Hurricanes, Rainfalls, Windstorms, etc.

Nuclear weapons testing

Supercomputers are used to run weapon simulation that can test the range, accuracy & impact
of nuclear weapons.

Popular supercomputers  IBM’s superMUC in Germany

 IBM’s sequoia, in United States  NUDT Tianhe-1A in China
 Fujitsu’s K computer in Japan
 IBM’s Mira in United States

2. Mainframe computer

Although mainframes are as powerful as supercomputers, but certainly quite expensive

nonetheless, and many large firms & government organizations uses mainframes to run their
business operations. The maintenance computers with large data storage capacity, mainframes
can also process & store large amount of data. Banks educational institutions & insurance
companies use mainframe computers to store data about educational institutions & insurance
policy holders.

Popular mainframe computers

 Fujitsu’s ICL VME

 Hitachi’s Z800

3. Minicomputer
 Minicomputers are used by small business & firms. Minicomputers are also called as “Midrange
Computers”. These are small machines and can be accommodated ob a disk with as nit
processing and data storage capabilities as super-computers & mainframes. These computers
are not design for single user. Individual departments of a large company or organizations use
min-computers for specific purposes. For example, A production department can use min-
computers for monitoring certain production process.

Popular Minicomputers

 K-202
 Texas Instrument TI-990
 SDS-92
 IBM Midrange computers

4. Microcomputer

Desktop computers, laptops, personal digital assistant, (PDA), tablets & smartphones are all
types of microcomputers. The micro-computers are widely used & the fastest growing
computers: these computers are the cheapest among the other three types of computers. The
micro-computers are specially designed for general usage like entertainment, education and
work purposes. Well known manufacturers of micro-computer consoles, sound & navigation
system of a car, netbooks, PDA’s Table Pc’s smartphones, calculators are all types of
microcomputers.

THE 3 FUNDAMENTAL ELEMENTS OF THE COMPUTER

 System unit – act like the centre of core, processing the data and information it receives
from input devices.
 Input devices – an input device is any hardware device that sends data to a computer,
allowing you to interact with and control the computer.
 Output devices – these are the devices like printers. It receives the system unit’s
processed information
Input Devices Any peripheral that receives data from
The most commonly used or primary a computer, usually for display, projection, or
input devices on a computer are the keyboard physical reproduction.
and mouse. However, there are dozens of other
devices that can also be used to input data into
the computer.

Output Device
Basic Parts of the System Unit
1. System case
2. Motherboard
3. CPU
4. Power Supply
5. Hard Disk
6. CDROM drive
7. Expansion Slot

1. System Case
A computer case also known as a
computer chassis, tower, system unit,
cabinet, base unit or simply case and
sometimes incorrectly referred to as
the “CPU” or hard drive, is the
enclosure that contains most of the
components of a computer.
Two Types of System Case 2. Desktop (standard, slimline) – designed
1. Tower (full, mid, mini) – designed to sit to sit vertically.
vertically
2. Motherboard
A motherboard (sometimes alternatively known as the main board, system board, planar board or logic
board, or colloquially, a mobo) the main printed circuit board (PCB) found in computers and other
expandable systems. It holds and allows communication between many of the crucial electronic
components of a system such as the central processing unit (CPU) and memory, and provides
connectors for other peripherals. Unlike a back plane, a motherboard contains significant sub-system
such as the processor and other components.

3. CPU

A central processing unit (CPU) is the electronic circuitry within a computer that carries out the
instructions of a computer program by performing the basic arithmetic, logical, control and
input/output (I/O) operations specified by the instructions. The term has been used in the computer
industry at least since the early 1960’s. traditionally, the term “CPU” refers to a processor, more
specifically to its processing unit and control unit (CU), distinguishing these core elements of a
computer from external components such as main memory and i/o circuitry.
4. Power Supply (wattage)
A power supply is an electronic device that supplies electric energy to an electrical load. The
primary function of a power supply is to convert one form of electrical energy to another and, as
a result, power supplies are sometimes referred to as electric power converters. Some power
supplies are discrete, stand-alone devices, whereas others are built into larger devices along
with their loads. Examples of the latter include power supplies found in desktop computers and
consumer electronics devices.

5. Hard Disk (Storage Capacity – Gigabytes GB)

A hard disk drive (HDD) hard disk, hard drive or fixed disk is a data storage device used for
storing and retrieving digital information using one or more rigid (hard) rapidly rotating disks
(platters) coated with magnetic material. The platters are paired with magnetic heads arranged
on a moving actuator arm, which read and write data to the platter surfaces. Data is accessed in
a random-access manner, meaning that individual blocks of data can be stored or retrieved in
any order rather than sequentially. HDD’s retain stored even when powered off.

TWO TYPES OF HARD DISK

- SATA – Serial Advance Technology Attachment
 - IDE Integrated Drive Electronics

6. CD-Rom ( Capability CDROM/CDRW/DVDROM/DVDDRW)

A CD-ROM is a pre-pressed optical compact disc which contains data. The name is an acronym
which stands for “Compact Disc Read-Only-Memory.” Computers can read CD-ROMs, but cannot
write to CD-Compact Disk(700mb)
DVD-Digital Versatile Disk (4.7)

Expansion slot

The expansion slot (also expansion board, adapter card or accessory card) in computing is a
printed circuit board that can be inserted into an electrical connector, or expansion slot on a
computer motherboard, backplane riser card to add functionality to a computer system via the
expansion bus.

This is where you install video card, sound card, in card

RAM- Random Access Memory
Temporary form of storage, it holds the programs/data while the computer is running.

TYPES OD RAM
1. SIM- Single In Line Memory module contain 1 notch

2. DIMM – Dual in line memory it contain 2 notches

3. DDR- Dual Data Rate(found on latest computer)

DDR1,DDR2,DDR3,DDR4
1. Black Panel Connectors & Ports connectors ports for connecting the computer to external
devices such as display ports,audio ports, USB ports, Ethernet ports, PS/2 etc.
2. PCI Slots PCI: Peripheral Component Interconnect
Slot for older expansion cards such as sound cards, network cards, connector cards. See image
below for a close-up view.
Have been largely replaced by PCI-Express x1 (see image below for a close-up view)
3. PCI Express x1 Slot Slot for modern expansion cards such as sound cards, network cards
(Wi-Fi, Ethernet, Bluetooth), connector cards (USB, Firewire, Esata) and certain low-end graphics
cards. ( see moher board part 3 below)
4. PCI Express c16 Slot Slot for discrete graphic cards and high bandwith devices such as top-
end solid state drives. (see image below for a close-up view)
5. Northbridge also known as Memory Cotroller Hub (MCH)
Chipset that allows the CPU to communicate with RAM and graphics card.
Beginning from intel sandy bridge in 2011, this motherboard component is no longer present as
it has been integrated within the CPU itself.
6. CPU Socket insert CPU here. To learn how to install a CPU.
7. ATX 12V Power Connector Connects to the 4-pin power cable of a power supply unit which
supplies power to the CPU.
8. Front Panel USB 2.0 Connectsto USB 2.0 ports at the front or top of a computer case.
(see image above for a close-up view)
9. Front Panel Connectors Connectsto the power switch, reset switch, power LED, hard
drive LED and front audio ports of a computer. (See image above for a close-up view)
10. IDE Connector Connects to older hard drive disks and optical drives or dat transfer.
(See image above for a close-up view.)
Have been replaced over by SATA Connectors (see motherboard component #13 below)
11. CMOS Battery Supplies power to store BIOS settings and keep the real-time clock
running. (See image above for a close-up-view)
Complementary Metal Oxide Semi-Conductor (CMOS)
12. Southbridge Also known as the input/output controller Hub(ICH)
Chipset that allows the CPU to communicate with PCI slots, PCI-Express x1 slots (expansion
cards), SATA Connectors (hard drives, optical drives), USB devices, Ethernet ports and on-board
audio.
13. SATA Connectors Connects to modern hard disk drives, solid state drives and optical
drives for data transfer. (See image above for close-up view)
14. Fan Headers Supplies power to the CPU heat sink fan and computer case fans. (See
image above for close-up-view)
 15. RAM Slots insert RAM here. To install RAM
16. ATX Power Connector Connects to the 24-poin ATX power cable of a power supply unit which
supplies power to the motherboard.
17. mSATA Connector Connects to Msata solid state drive. In most case, this SSD is used as
cache to speed up hard disk drives, but it’s possible to re-purpose it as a regular hard drive.
18. Front Panel USB 3.0 Connector Connects to USB 3.0 ports at the front or top of the computer
case.
19. Power & Reset Button On board button to turn on, turn off and reboot the computer.

Computer Cable Connections- How to Connect Computer Cables

Learn how t identify computer cable connectors and hook up your computer in minutes today..
There are four types of computer cable connections to a monitor: VGA, DVI, HDMI and Display
port. If your monitor accepts two or more cables types (e.g. VGA and DVI), you should just
connect a single display cable to it. For this example, you can hook up your monitor to either a
VGA cable or DVI cable (but not both).
If your CPU has integrated graphics and you install a discrete graphics card, you’ll end up with
two sets of display ports. In this case, ALWAYS connect your display cable to your graphic card
and not the motherboard.
References
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