MOD002580 Computer Systems Assessed Lab 1

Lab 1: What’s inside a PC?

In this lab, you will work in pairs. You will be assigned a lab partner. You must write up
your logbook separately from your lab partner.

Write down the name of your lab partner in your logbook.

Michelle Anne

A safety briefing will be conducted in the first part of the lab session. You must pay
attention throughout this briefing.

Question 1. Write down in your logbook any safety precautions that you may take
throughout this lab. [20 marks]
1.The computer lab should be kept cool.

2.Computers operate under normal room temperature.

3.The room should not be too hot or too cold.

4.The lab room’s floor should be clean, dry and dust free.

5.To ensure this, a clean tiled floor or a carpeted room may be preferable.

6.When cleaning the computer lab one should ensure that there is no dust and liquids.

7.Remember you have to use a smart and soft wiping cloth.

8.Never use a mouse that is larger than your fingers.

9.Use a chair and a desk of your body size which allows you to work with your feet on the ground
10.Eating and drinking is not allowed in the computer lab. This includes fruits, drinks, water and
any other food or drink.

11.Foreign objects are not allowed to be used on the computer like pens, pencils, wire, etc

12.Computers are turned on by a power button but this should ‘never’ be used to turn off the
machine. Because machine to crush down.
13.No one is allowed to delete information from the computer unless otherwise if it is given as an
instruction.

14.Only qualified, certified and authorised persons may connect and disconnect any cables,
devices, computers or anything in the computer lab.

15.Do not upload unnecessary soft wares they slow your machine.

You will be provided with a fully built PC. Your task is to study the PC and identify all the major components. You may
take photographs during this week’s lab session to help you draw diagrams and conduct additional research.

1
Question 2. In your logbook, draw detailed diagrams and write detailed descriptions
on each of the following:

a) where the motherboard goes, and any other board or cable attached to it. You
should also write down the purpose of those boards and cables. [20 marks]

Northbridge :

Northbridge is an Intel chipset that communicates with the computer processor and controls
interaction with memory, the Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus, Level 2 cache, and all
Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) activities. Northbridge communicates with the processor using
the frontside bus.

 Southbridge :

The Southbridge is the chip that controls all of the computers I/O functions, such as USB,
audio, serial, the system BIOS, the ISA bus, the interrupt controller and the IDE channels. In
other words, all of the functions of a processor except memory, PCI and AGP.

IDE :

IDE, an acronym for Integrated Drive Electronics, is a standard type of connection for storage
devices in a computer. Generally, IDE it refers to the types of cables and ports used to connect
some hard drives and optical drives to each other and to the motherboard.

Draw Memory :

A memory slot, memory socket, or RAM slot is what allows computer memory (RAM) to be

inserted into the computer. Depending on the motherboard, there may be two to four memory
slots (sometimes more on high-end motherboards) and are what determine the type
of RAM used with the computer.

PCI Slot :

PCI solts are used to install sound cards, Ethernet and wireless cards and now solid state
drives using NVMe technology to provide SSD drive speeds that are many times faster than
SATA SSD speeds. PCI slots also allow discrete graphics cards to be added to a computer
as well.
CPU Socket :

In computer hardware, a CPU socket or CPU slot comprises one or more mechanical
components providing mechanical and electrical connections between a microprocessor and
a printed circuit board. This allows for placing and replacing the CPU without soldering.
CMOS battery :

Computer Definition. A battery that maintains the time, date, hard disk and other configuration
settings in the CMOS memory. CMOS batteries are small and are attached directly to the
motherboard. See BIOS setup and batteries.

AGP Solt :

An accelerated graphics port (AGP) is a point to point channel that is used for high speed
video output. This port is used to connect graphic cards to a computer's motherboard. The
primary purpose of an AGP is to accelerate 3D graphics output for high definition video.

CPU Fan & Heatsink :

A heat sink is a device that incorporates either a fan or some other means to keep a hot
component, such as a processor, cool.
 b) where the RAM modules go, how they clip in and where the notches are in the
bottom of the modules (so you know which way to reinsert them). [20 marks]

The primary and expansion memory slots are both located under the service

door. The primary memory slot is located on the bottom and the
expansion memory slot is located on top.

Installing RAM in PC - Depending on the motherboard, RAM

modules are usually installed in corresponding slots. Manuals for
motherboards usually state which slots we should use. If planning to
install four sticks, it's simply the case of populating all the slots.

Here's how to get started:

 Check which slots you'll be using.
 Match the notch in the RAM module to the grove in the solt.
 Slide in the module and push down on the two ends.
 Ensure both clips are secured in place.

To extract the module from the motherboard, simply push down on both clips and
the module will lightly pop out of the socket.

Installing RAM in laptops :

 Push clamps to the side for each RAM stick.

 Extract the RAM module.
 Match the notch in the new RAM module to the grove in the slot.
 Slide in the new module.
 Carefully press down on the module until it's locked into place.
 Repeat for the second module if installing.

After installing RAM in a PC or laptop, it's a good idea to run a few checks to
ensure it has been detected and there are no issues with the modules.
 c) any other cables between devices such as disk drives and which are the power
cables. [20 marks]

1. VGA Cable - Computer monitor, TV (PC input port)

2. DVI DVI port on computer. However there are 2 types of DVI, DVI-I & DVI-D.
Cable- DVI-D does not have the extra pins around the long pin, this is also a pure
digital signal over DVI-I.
3. HDMI Cable - HDMI is PC cable connection since it is able to transmit both display &
sound. But also make use it TV speakers to play PC audio.
4. PS/2 Cable - PS/2 keyboard, PS/2 mouse. Purple PS/2 port for keyboard and Green
PS/2 port for mouse.

5. Ethernet Cable - This one RJ-45 cable. Connected one end to router, network switch.

6. 3.5mm Audio Cable - Also known as phone connector. Connect one end to
speakers,
3.5mm headphones, 3.5mm microphone. Audio ports on
computer. Green audio port is computer speakers or
headphones. Pink audio port is microphone. Blue audio port is
MP3 player, CD player, DVD player etc.

7. USB Cable - For USB computer cable connections, there are two popular formats
USB 2.0 and the newer USB 3.0. Connected one end to USB device
such as Storage devices, Input devices, Output devices, Wireless
adapters.

8. Computer Power Cord - Connect one end to AC power socket. Power supply unit,
computer monitor. Always turn off power supply unit before
connecring a power cord to it.

9. Display Port - Display Port is the best to use if you require a fast, high resolution
image. The cable has better quality over HDMI and is the best option if
you have this interface.
Value-added work. An additional [15 marks] is available for relevant work that goes
beyondd the requirements set out above.

Fastest SSD M2 - It's a small-form-factor (SFF) multi-purpose connector designed to replace the
small mSATA and mini-PCIe slots commonly used in laptops. As such, M.2 isn't designed strictly for
storage but storage is a large part of what's driving its adoption—even on the desktop.

Server CPU Intel Xeon - Xeon are workstation\server processors and while they are impressive
when it comes to cache size and amount of cores they have they are not really gaming CPU's. Sure
you won't be disappointed by fast Xeon but it simply not worth the price. A Core i5, Core i7 is far
more suitable.

Dual CPU Moterboard - A dual-core processor is a CPU with two processors or

"execution cores" in the same integrated circuit. ... These CPUs each combine two processor
cores on a single silicon chip. This is different than a "dual processor" configuration, in which two
physically separate CPUs work together.

Water Coller PC - In computers, water cooling is a method used to lower the temperatures of

computer processors, and sometimes other components such as graphics cards, using water rather
than air as the cooling medium. Processor speeds have increased dramatically in recent years.
Self-reflection and feedback. After completing the lab, please answer the following
questions in your logbook. [5 marks]

1. Roughly how long did it take you to complete this lab and write up the logbook?
It was taken three days.
2. On a scale of 1 (very easy) to 5 (very hard), how difficult did you find this lab?
Obviously it was very hard but we will try to do our best level.
3. Which parts did you find the least challenging?
The Motherboard part is more easier than other parts that’s why we think this part is least
challenging for us.

4. Which parts did you find the most challenging?

No Comments

5. On a scale of 1 (not very confident at all) to 5 (very confident), how confident are
you now with identifying parts of a PC?
No Comments
6. Please list any external resources (textbooks, websites, other people, etc.) used
when completing this lab or the logbook.

ARU library, I read some articles about which ARU given, got some idea from our
lecturer. Also books and Search some websites about scenario such as Wikipedia,
Google Scholar.

7. Please list any other comments on this lab or on the lectures you may have.
Using this information, lecturer has developed teaching and learning experiences that cater
to the needs of all students using Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences as a guide. Clear
differentiation is also evident through the use of open-ended questioning and progressively
more complex activities using Bloom’s taxonomy to provide appropriate scaffolds and
extension for students accessing the curriculum at various levels. Teacher regularly
engages in conversations with partner teachers and specialist lecturers about how to best
structure lessons to suit the needs of all students. This has included the development of
individual learning plans.
Next week, you will be building a PC from scratch, using your notes from this week as a
reference. Your notes will therefore need to be detailed enough in order for you to do
this! (Remember to bring them next week!)