MODULE 1 revised: September 2018

Fundamentals of Computers
Information Technology / Electronic Document Preparation and Management

Types of computers
 Supercomputers
 Mainframe computers
 Mini computers
 Micro computers
o Desktop system
o Mobile computers
o Embeddable computers

Supercomputers
A supercomputer is a type of computer that has the architecture, resources and components to
achieve massive computing power. Today's supercomputers consists of tens of thousands of
processors that are able to perform billions and trillions of calculations or computations per
second.

A supercomputer is a computer that performs at or near the currently highest operational rate
for computers. Traditionally, supercomputers have been used for scientific and engineering
applications that must handle very large databases or do a great amount of computation (or
both).

A supercomputer is a computer with a high level of performance compared to a general-

purpose computer. Performance of a supercomputer is measured in floating-point operations
per second (FLOPS) instead of million instructions per second (MIPS). As of 2017, there are
supercomputers which can perform up to nearly a hundred quadrillion FLOPS.[3] As of
November 2017, all of the world's fastest 500 supercomputers run Linux-based operating
systems.

Supercomputers play an important role in the field of computational science, and are used for a
wide range of computationally intensive tasks in various fields, including quantum mechanics,
weather forecasting, climate research, oil and gas exploration, molecular modeling (computing
the structures and properties of chemical compounds, biological macromolecules, polymers,
and crystals), and physical simulations (such as simulations of the early moments of the
ST JAGO HIGH SCHOOL Page 1 of 11
BUSINESS EDUCATION/EDPM DEPT
MODULE 1 revised: September 2018

universe, airplane and spacecraft aerodynamics, the detonation of nuclear weapons, and
nuclear fusion).

The first commercially successful supercomputer, the CDC (Control Data Corporation) 6600 was
designed by Seymour Cray. Released in 1964, the CDC 6600 had a single CPU and cost $8 million
— the equivalent of $60 million today. The CDC could handle three million floating point
operations per second (flops).

As of 2013, IBM Sequoia is the fastest supercomputer to date. It has more than 98,000
processors that allow it to process at a speed of 16,000 trillion calculations per second.

List of super computers

 The CDC 6600,
 the Atlas at the University of Manchester,
 the Cray-1's
 the ILLIAC IV. (The only computer to seriously challenge the Cray-1's performance in the
1970s)
 the Summit, (fastest in the USA)
 IBM Roadrunner

The IBM Blue Gene/P supercomputer "Intrepid" at Argonne National Laboratory runs 164,000 processor cores using normal
data center air conditioning, grouped in 40 racks/cabinets connected by a high-speed 3-D torus network.[1][2]

ST JAGO HIGH SCHOOL Page 2 of 11

BUSINESS EDUCATION/EDPM DEPT
MODULE 1 revised: September 2018

Mainframe Computers

Mainframes are a type of computer that generally are known for their large size, amount of
storage, processing power and high level of reliability.

Mainframe computers (colloquially referred to as "big iron"[1]) are computers used primarily by
large organizations for critical applications; bulk data processing, such as census, industry and
consumer statistics, enterprise resource planning; and transaction processing. They are larger
and have more processing power than some other classes of computers: minicomputers,
servers, workstations, and personal computers.

Modern mainframe design is characterized less by raw, single-task, computational speed

(typically defined as MIPS (millions of instructions per second) rate or FLOPS (floating-point
operations per second)), and more by:

 Redundant internal engineering resulting in high reliability and security

ST JAGO HIGH SCHOOL Page 3 of 11

BUSINESS EDUCATION/EDPM DEPT
MODULE 1 revised: September 2018

 Extensive input-output ("I/O") facilities with the ability to offload to separate engines
 Strict backward compatibility with older
software
 High hardware and computational
utilization rates through virtualization to
support massive throughput.

Their high stability and reliability enable these

machines to run uninterrupted for decades.

Mainframes are built to be reliable for transaction

processing (measured by TPC-metrics; not used or
helpful for most supercomputing applications) as it
is commonly understood in the business world: the
commercial exchange of goods, services, or
money.

Minicomputers
Minicomputer, Computer that is smaller, less expensive, and less powerful than a mainframe or
supercomputer, but more expensive and more
powerful than a personal computer.
Minicomputers are used for scientific and
engineering computations, business-
transaction processing, file handling, and
database management, and are often now
referred to as small or midsize servers.

A minicomputer is a type of computer that

possesses most of the features and capabilities
of a large computer but is smaller in physical
size.

ST JAGO HIGH SCHOOL Page 4 of 11

BUSINESS EDUCATION/EDPM DEPT
MODULE 1 revised: September 2018

A minicomputer fills the space between the mainframe and microcomputer,

and is smaller than the former but larger than the latter. Minicomputers are
mainly used as small or mid-range servers operating business and scientific
applications. However, the use of the term minicomputer has diminished and
has merged with servers.

A minicomputer may also be called a mid-range computer. Minicomputers

emerged in the mid-1960s and were first developed by IBM Corporation.

Notable minicomputers
 Control Data's CDC 160A and CDC 1700
 DEC PDP and VAX series
 Data General Nova
 Honeywell-Bull DPS 6/DPS 6000 series
 IBM midrange computers
 Interdata 7/32 and 8/32
 Varian 620 100 series
 Norsk Data Nord-1, Nord-10, and Nord-100
 Prime Computer Prime 50 series
 SDS SDS-92
 SEL, one of the first 32-bit real-time computer system
manufacturers
 Texas Instruments TI-990
 Wang Laboratories 2200 and VS series
 K-202, first Polish minicomputer

ST JAGO HIGH SCHOOL Page 5 of 11

BUSINESS EDUCATION/EDPM DEPT
MODULE 1 revised: September 2018

Micro computers
Microcomputers became the most common type of computer in the late 20th century. The
term “microcomputer” was introduced with the advent of systems based on single chip
microprocessors. The best-known early system was the Altair 8800, introduced in 1975.

The Commodore 64 was one of the most popular microcomputers of its era, and is the best-
selling model of home computer of all time.

A microcomputer is a small, relatively inexpensive computer with a microprocessor as its

central processing unit (CPU). It includes a microprocessor, memory, and minimal input/output
(I/O) circuitry mounted on a single printed circuit board.

These computers include:

 DESKTOP COMPUTERS – A case put under or on a desk. The display may be optional,
depending on use. The case size may vary, depending on the required expansion slots.
Very small computers of this kind may be integrated into the monitor.
 RACKMOUNT COMPUTERS – The cases of these computers fit into 19-inch racks, and may
be space-optimized and very flat. A dedicated display, keyboard, and mouse may not
exist, but a KVM switch or built-in remote control (via LAN or other means) can be used
to gain console access.
 IN-CAR COMPUTERS (CARPUTERS) – Built into automobiles, for entertainment, navigation,
etc.
 GAME CONSOLES – Fixed computers built specifically for entertainment purposes such
as(video games).

Smaller microcomputers are also called mobile devices:

 LAPTOPS and NOTEBOOK COMPUTERS – Portable and all in one case.

 TABLET COMPUTER – Like laptops, but with a touch-screen, entirely replacing the physical
keyboard.
 SMARTPHONES, SMARTBOOKS, PDAS and PALMTOP computers – Small handheld computers
with limited hardware.

ST JAGO HIGH SCHOOL Page 6 of 11

BUSINESS EDUCATION/EDPM DEPT
MODULE 1 revised: September 2018

 PROGRAMMABLE CALCULATOR– Like small handhelds, but specialized on mathematical

work.
 HANDHELD GAME CONSOLES – The same as game consoles, but small and portable.

Desktop systems
A desktop computer is a personal computer designed for regular use at a single location on or
near a desk or table due to its size and power requirements. The most common configuration
has a case that houses the power supply, motherboard (a printed circuit board with a
microprocessor as the central processing unit (CPU), memory, bus, and other electronic
components), disk storage (usually one or more hard disk drives, optical disc drives, and in early
models a floppy disk drive); a keyboard and mouse for input; and a computer monitor,
speakers, and, often, a printer for output. The case may be oriented horizontally or vertically
and placed either underneath, beside, or on top of a desk.

Personal computers

Game consoles

ST JAGO HIGH SCHOOL Page 7 of 11

BUSINESS EDUCATION/EDPM DEPT
MODULE 1 revised: September 2018

Rack mounts

Mobile computers

Laptops and notebooks

ST JAGO HIGH SCHOOL Page 8 of 11

BUSINESS EDUCATION/EDPM DEPT
MODULE 1 revised: September 2018

Tablets

PDAs (Personal digital Assistant)

Smartphones

ST JAGO HIGH SCHOOL Page 9 of 11

BUSINESS EDUCATION/EDPM DEPT
MODULE 1 revised: September 2018

Programmable Calculators

Hand held game consoles

ST JAGO HIGH SCHOOL Page 10 of 11

BUSINESS EDUCATION/EDPM DEPT
MODULE 1 revised: September 2018

Reference:

 https://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/supercomputer
 https://www.techopedia.com/definition/4599/supercomputer
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supercomputer
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mainframe_computer
 https://www.techopedia.com/definition/24356/mainframe
 https://www.britannica.com/technology/minicomputer
 https://www.techopedia.com/definition/4615/minicomputer
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microcomputer
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classes_of_computers


ST JAGO HIGH SCHOOL Page 11 of 11

BUSINESS EDUCATION/EDPM DEPT