Chapter 2

Computer Case and the

Motherboard
 Overview
• In this chapter, you will learn to

– Describe how the PC works

– Identify the major internal and external
components of a PC
– Identify the different connectors on a typical PC
system unit
 How the PC Works

Output

`
Input Processing
 How the PC Works
• Software
– Operating system (Windows, MAC OS X, Linux)
– Applications (PowerPoint, Word, Outlook, Internet
Explorer)

• Hardware
– Pieces you can touch (mouse, monitor,
motherboard, etc.)
 How the PC Works
Computer functions through four stages:
Input provides the computer with data
 Keyboard and mouse

Processing occurs when the computer processes or

manipulates your data

Output is provided as the result of processing your data

 Monitor, printer, speakers

Storage is how you keep your data for later use

 Hard drive, CD-ROM disc, floppy diskette
 How the PC Works
• The Art of the PC Technician
– Hardware and software interact to accomplish the
four stages
– Your goal is to understand all the parts and how
they interact in the various stages
• By understanding how it works, you’re better able to fix it when it breaks

` `

Broken PC PC tech Fixed PC

 Electrostatic Discharge
• Electrostatic discharge (ESD) is the passage of a static
electrical charge into your PC or a PC component such as a
RAM stick

– Static electricity can destroy sensitive parts of

a PC

– ESD damage is much more prevalent in dry, cool environments

 Anti-static Tools
• Anti-static wrist strap
– Keeps you and the PC at the
same electrical potential to
prevent ESD
• Anti-static mats
– Used temporarily to place parts
taken out of your PC
• Anti-static bags
– Used to store electrical
components from your PC
• Always unplug a PC when you
work on it. Don’t just turn it
off.
The Complete PC
 External Connections
• Plug goes into a port
• Port/jack accepts a plug
• Connector can be either a port or a plug
 DIN Connectors
• DIN connectors are round and come in
two sizes:
– DIN
– Mini-DIN

• Always a female connector

• Used frequently by a keyboard or

mouse
 USB Connectors
• Universal Serial Bus (USB)
USB B
– Used by many devices today
– Devices are hot-swappable
• You can insert or remove the
device while the PC is powered
on
– USB B plugs into devices USB A
– USB A plugs into computers
 FireWire Connectors
• FireWire connectors move data at incredibly high speeds
– Also known as IEEE 1394
– Popular with video applications
– Uses 6-wire connector (note the rounded edge)
– Hot-swappable
 DB Connectors
• DB connectors have a slight D-shape
– Male DB connectors have pins
– Female DB connectors have sockets
– Oldest type of connector in the PC
 RJ Connectors
• Registered jack or RJ
connectors

• RJ-11 used by telephone lines

• RJ-45 used in network

interface cards (NICs)
 Audio Connectors
• Audio connectors are used on
sound cards

– Used to connect speakers,

microphones, and other
audio devices
Devices and Their Connectors
 Cards vs. Onboard
• Connectors exposed on
rear and front of PCs

– Some connectors attach

directly to motherboard

– Some connectors attach to

boards that plug into
motherboard
 Keyboard
• Keyboards connect into dedicated mini-DIN
(usually purple) or USB

• Plugs and ports usually purple

 Video Cards
• Video cards connect to monitors
– S-Video connector (left)
– Digital video interface (DVI) connector (center)
– 15-pin female DB connector (right)

– Newer High-Definition
Multimedia Interface (HDMI)
 Sound Cards
• Sound cards
– Convert digital information into sound
– Convert sound from a microphone into digital data
– Mini-audio jacks for speakers and microphones
– DB-15 connector for a joystick or musical instrument
– Newer Sony/Phillips Digital Interface Format (S/PDIF)
 Network Cards
• Networks: groups of PCs connected together

– Network interface cards (NICs) typically on motherboard (can be

expansion card)

– Typical connector is RJ-45

 Mouse
• A mouse enables you to
select graphical items
on a screen

– Connects through mini-

DIN port (usually light
green) or USB port (most
common)

– Trackball may be used

instead of mouse
 Modem
• Modems convert analog telephone signals into digital data and
vice versa

– Internal modems are expansion cards

– External modems connect to a serial port

– Uses two RJ-11 sockets

• One to the telephone jack in the wall
• One to a telephone if you wish
 Serial Ports
• Serial ports are used to add external devices to a PC

– Accept and transmit serial data

– Male DB-9 or DB-25

– Largely replaced by USB

 Printer
• Printers output data from the PC onto paper

– Historically used a female DB-25

– Today printers almost exclusively use a USB or FireWire port

 Joystick
• Joysticks are used almost exclusively
to play games on the computer

– Originally designed as an input device

to be used like a mouse

– Connector typically orange

– Most joysticks now use USB

Inside the System Unit
 Case
• The case houses all of the internal components
– Protects internal components
– External connections in front and rear
– Provides access to storage devices such as CDs
 CPU
Central processing unit
(CPU)

Also called a
microprocessor

Performs calculations

CPUs generate a lot of

heat
Cooling fan and/or heat sink
used to keep them cool
 CPU
• CPUs come in
• Makes different packages
– Intel – Pin grid array (PGA)
– AMD • Most common today

• Models
– Celeron
– Athlon
– Sempron
– Pentium
 RAM
• Random access memory (RAM)
– Stores programs and data currently used by the
CPU

– Measured in megabytes (MB) and gigabytes (GB)

– Each piece or module of RAM is called a stick

• Dual inline memory module (DIMM) most common today
 Motherboard
• The motherboard is a thin, flat piece of
circuit board

– Everything connects directly or

indirectly to the motherboard

– Contains sockets for the CPU, RAM,

power, and external devices such as
mice, printers, and keyboards

– Expansion slots allow the addition of

new components
 Power Supply
• Provides electrical power to PC
components
– Uses 110VAC power from the wall
outlet

– Has power connectors for the

motherboard and other devices

– Uses a fan to keep itself and the PC

cool inside

– Safety Alert
• High voltage capacitor holds power after
unplugged
 Floppy Drive
• The floppy drive uses floppy diskettes to store data
– Connects to the computer via a ribbon cable

– Connects to the floppy controller on the motherboard

– Uses a connector from the power supply

 Hard Drive
• Hard drives store programs and data not currently in use by the
CPU
– Capacity quoted in megabytes (MB) or gigabytes (GB)
– A typical PC has one hard drive but may contain more
– Common types include

• Parallel AT attachment (PATA)

• Serial AT attachment (SATA)
• Small computer system
interface (SCSI)

• Uses a power cable from the

power supply
 Optical Media
• Two groups

– CD
• Stores about 700 MB
• CD-ROM (read only)
• CD-R, CD-RW (allows writing to
CD)

– DVD
• Stores about 4 GB of data
• DVD-ROM, DVD+R, DVD-R,
DVD+RW, DVD-RW
 Chapter 3.
Microprocessors
 Overview
• In this Schapter, you will learn how to
– Identify the core components of a CPU
– Describe the relationship of CPUs and RAM
– Explain the varieties of modern CPUs
– Identify specialty CPUs
– Install and upgrade CPUs
Central Processing Unit (CPU)
Core Components
 Concepts
• The CPU (Central Processing Unit) works as a
very powerful calculator

• CPUs are not very smart…just very fast at

manipulating zeroes and ones
 Man in the Box
• Visualize the CPU as a man in a box.

– He will gladly perform anything you want him to do, but he can’t see
or hear anything outside the box.

– How can we communicate with him?

Is anyone out
there?

We need some
way to talk to the
guy inside the box
 Talking to the Man
• Imagine 16 lights
– 8 on the inside and 8 on the outside
– When an inside light is on, the corresponding outside
light is on. We can switch these lights on and off.
– This communication system is like the external data bus
 Talking to the Man
• In reality, a lot of little wires flash on or off
– Voltage is applied or not
– Represented not as on, on, off, off…
but as 1, 1, 0, 0…

On On Off Off Off On On On

1 1 0 0 0 1 1 1
 External Data Bus
• The CPU communicates with the outside
world using the external data bus (EDB)

– Instead of light bulbs, the EDB is made up of tiny

wires
– The state of a wire is expressed in a binary format,
with zeroes and ones
– Each discrete setting (series of zeroes and ones
representing the state of the wires) of the EDB is a
line of code in a program
 Registers
• Inside the box are registers (temporary storage locations)

• The four general-purpose registers found in all CPUs are AX, BX, CX,
and DX

10000101 11001001

00110101 10100001
 Codebook
• The man in the box needs one more tool: the
codebook or instruction set
– Called machine language
– One command is a line of code
– The complete set of commands for a processor is
its instruction set
Instruction Meaning
1000 0000 Store next line in AX
1001 0000 Store next line in BX
1011 0000 Add AX to BX & store in AX
1100 0000 Place AX on EDB
 Codebook (Instruction Set)
Instruction Meaning
1000 0000 Store next line in AX
1001 0000 Store next line in BX
1011 0000 Add AX to BX & store in AX
1100 0000 Place AX on EDB

1000 0000 Instruction (store data in AX)

0000 0001 Data (number 1)
1001 0000 Instruction (store data in BX)
0000 0010 Data (number 2)
1011 0000 Instruction (add AX and BX and place in AX)
1100 0000 Place AX on EDB
 Clock
• The CPU does no work until told
to—even though data may be on
the EDB z
z
10000101
• You need a buzzer to tell the 00110101
man in the box to start
– This is referred to as a
clock
Time to
– A clock is actually a work

stream of pulses 10000101

00110101
 Clock
• A clock cycle is the time taken by the special wire
to charge up
– The CPU needs at least two clock cycles to act on each
command
– A cycle is one complete up and down segment of the
sine wave

• The maximum number of clock cycles that can be

handled by the CPU is called the clock speed
 System Crystal
• The system crystal defines the speed at which the
CPU and the rest of the PC operate
– Quartz oscillator, usually soldered to the motherboard

• Overheating results from overclocking the CPU

(running it faster than its maximum clock speed)
 In Summary
• The CPU is like a man in a box
• The external data bus gets data in and out of the CPU
• Registers are used as temporary storage inside the CPU
• The instruction set is like a codebook
• The clock defines the speed of the CPU

10000101 11001001

00110101 10100001
Chapter 4
Memory
 Memory
• Memory is a device that holds binary data
• Memory was first stored on paper cards and then on magnetic
cards and magnetic tapes
• Problems
– Serial access
– Slow
• Random access memory (RAM) to the rescue!
 RAM
• RAM is organized similar to a spreadsheet

• Data can be read or written to by addressing the RAM location

• Typically represented as KB, MB, or GB

• Volatile—zeroes out
when power lost
 Memory Controller Chip
• The memory controller chip (MCC) is a device that
facilitates the flow of data from the RAM to the CPU

MCC
 Address Bus
• The address bus enables
the CPU to control the MCC

– Another set of wires in

addition to the external
data bus

– Used by the CPU to tell

the Northbridge which
MCC
line of code it wants from
RAM
 Address Bus
• The number of wires in the address bus
determines the maximum amount of RAM the
CPU can handle

– An 8088 had 20 wires, which provided 220 combinations

(1,048,576 or 1 MB)

– Many current CPUs use 36 wires, which provide 236

combinations (68,718,476,736 or 64 GB)
 Terminology
• Bits are represented as b (i.e., Kb)
• Bytes are represented as B (i.e., KB)

K Kilo 210 1024 210

about 1000
M Mega 220 1,048,576 220
about 1 million
G Giga 230 1,073,741,824 230
about 1 billion
T Tera 240 1,099,511,627,776 240
about 1 trillion
Decimal Compared to Binary
643 Decimal 101 Binary
102 101 100 22 21 20

100 10 1 4 2 1

6 4 3 0 1 1

600 + 4+
40 + 0+
3 1+
643 5 Decimal
Modern CPUs
 

CPU Overview
• Several specification are used to describe and
compare CPUs:
– Make (Intel, AMD)
– Model (Pentium, Athlon, etc.)
– Packages, or how it’s mounted (PGA, SEC, SEP)
– External speed (speed of crystal)
– Multiplier (applied to crystal)
– Cache (L1 and L2)
– Internal speed (speed when crystal multiplied)
– Pipelining
– Hyper-threading
• We’ll cover these in older and newer CPUs
 Manufacturers
• Two main CPU makers
– Intel
– AMD
• CPUs might look similar, but they are not
interchangeable
 Common CPU Packages
• Pin grid array (PGA)
– Most common
– Number of pins vary by processor
– Plugs into sockets that vary by processor
• Single edge cartridge (SEC)
– Single edge processor (SEP) is similar
– Processor mounted on board
– Board plugs into motherboard
• Zero insertion force (ZIF)
– Allows processor to be easily inserted
– Arm locks processor in place
 Pentium CPU—The Early Years

• CPU makers have added a large number of

improvements over the years
– Larger external data buses
– Larger address buses
– Faster clock speeds
• Intel introduced the Pentium CPU in the early
1990s
– 32-bit registers
– Speeds up to 300 MHz
– Ability to run multiple programs at once
– Access super-fast cache RAM
– Processes two or more lines of code at the same time
 32-bit Addressing
• Current operating systems are referred to as 32-bit
(232)
– Can directly address 4 GB of memory

• Early Pentiums had 32-bit address bus

• Newer CPUs have 36-bit address bus

– 236 allows addressing 64 GB of RAM
– Some 32-bit operating systems address the extra memory
via “extensions”
– Memory is swapped in and out of the 4 GB base as needed
 Pipelining
• A pipeline is a series of steps taken by the CPU to process a
command

• Pipelining is the process of processing more than one

command at a time through the use of separate sets of
circuitry
– Works like an assembly line
– Commands go through the processor on a
“conveyer belt”
– Enables the processor to work on more than one
thing at a time
 Cache
• Cache is separate storage area used RAM
for quick access of data
1011 0101 CPU
– CPU runs faster than RAM 1100 1010
1001 1111
– Using a faster RAM cache close to 1100 0111
1101 1101
the CPU helps the CPU run without
0001 1101
waiting
1011 0110
1001 0001
– L1: close to the CPU and fastest

– L2: faster than RAM

RAM Cache
 L2 Cache
• L2 was originally on the
motherboard
– Referred to as external cache
– Not uncommon on today’s
CPUs

• Size of the cache varies from 0

to
1 MB
 Clock Speed and Multipliers
• The clock is derived from
the crystal
– Referred to as external
speed

Original clock
• Clock is multiplied and
CPU runs at quicker
speed
– CPU runs at much quicker
multiplied speed
• 66 MHz crystal
Clock with 2x multiplier
• Sent through a 2X multiplier
• Gives a 132 MHZ CPU Has twice as many cycles
for CPU to operate with
 CPU Voltages
• Older CPUs needed 5 volts
– CPU voltage was reduced to 3.3 volts
• Later improvements reduced voltage even more
with no single standard
– Smaller size resulted in lower voltage and smaller
chips
– Voltage regulator module (VRM) is a small card that
enables a CPU to standardize voltage regulators
– CPU reports voltage requirements with CPUID
 Older CPUs

Early AMD K5 Pentium

Pentiums Pro
Ext. speed 50–66 MHz 50–75 MHz 60–66 MHz
Int. speed 60–200 MHz 60–150 MHz 166–200 MHz
Multiplier 1x to 3x 1.5x to 2x 2.5x to 3x
L1 16 KB 16 KB 16 KB
L2 256 KB,
512 KB, 1 MB
Package PGA PGA PGA
Socket Socket 4, 5 Socket 7 Socket 8
Remarks High-end
systems
 Improvements
• Out-of-order processing
– Enabled processors to predict data that was
needed
– 90% accuracy in pulling the correct data

• On-chip L2 cache
– On the same package, but not necessarily on the
same chip
 Bus Types
• Frontside bus
– Address bus and external data bus are combined
together between the CPU, MCC, and RAM
• Backside bus
– Connection between the CPU and L2 cache
• Remember that L2 cache used to be external cache
but is now internal to the CPU housing
CPU
MCC RAM
Backside
bus L2 Cache

Frontside bus
 Older CPUs

Later Pentium II AMD K6

Pentiums
Ext. speed 66–75 MHz 66–100 MHz 60–100 MHz
Int. speed 166–200 MHz 233–450 MHz 200– 550 MHz
Multiplier 2.5x to 4.5x 3.5x to 4.5x 3.5x to 5.5x
L1 32 KB 32 KB 32 or 64 KB
L2 512 KB 0 to 256 KB
Package PGA SEC PGA
Socket Socket 7 Slot 1 Socket 7
Remarks AMD & Intel
Split
 Pentium Improvements
• MMX (multimedia extensions)
– Designed for graphical applications

• Increased clocks and multipliers

– Up to 4.5x

• Pentium II
– Faster than Pentium Pro
– Used SEC

• AMD K6
– Proprietary 3DNow!
– Requires a Super Socket 7
 Older CPUs

Intel Celeron Pentium III AMD

(P II) Athlons
Ext. speed 66 MHz 100–133 MHz 100–133 MHz
Int. speed 266–700 MHz 450 MHz–1.2 500MHz–
GHz 1GHz
Multiplier 4x to 10.5x 4x to 10x 5x to 10x
L1 32 KB 32 KB 128 KB
L2 0 to 128 KB 256–512 KB 512 KB
Package SEP, PGA SEC-2, PGA SEC
Socket Slot 1, Slot 1, Slot A7
Socket 370 Socket 370
 Older CPUs
• Celeron
– Offshoot of Pentium II for
the low-end PC

• Pentium III
– Intel’s answer to 3DNow!
by AMD

• AMD Athlon
– SEC package used slot A
 More Current CPUs

AMD Athlon AMD Duron Pentium 4

Codename Thunderbird Willamette
Process 180 nm 180 nm 180 nm
Wattage 38–75 21–57 49–100
Ext. speed 100–133 MHz 100 MHz 100–133 MHz
Int. speed 650 MHz– 650 MHz– 1.3–2 GHz
1.4 GHz 1.8 GHz
Multiplier 6.5x to 14x 6.5x to 13.5x 13x to 20x
L1 128 KB 128 KB 128 KB
L2 256 KB 64 KB 256 KB
Package PGA PGA PGA
Socket Socket A Socket A Socket 423 or 478
 Processing and Wattage
• Wattage is a measure of power
– Goal is to consume as little power as possible
while still having a powerful CPU
– Solution: make it smaller so it takes less voltage;
less voltage is less wattage

• Processing
– Measures thickness of wafers
– Some of today’s processors are 65 nanometers
• About as thick as 455 hydrogen atoms
• Or 1/3077th of the width of a human hair
 Pentium Competitors
• AMD Athlon Thunderbird
– Double-pumped frontside bus doubled the data rate without increasing
the clock speed
– Returned to PGA with Socket A

• AMD Duron
– Generic name given to all lower-end Athlon processors
– AMD’s competitor to Intel’s Celeron for the low-end PC

• Intel Pentium 4 (Willamette)

– Completely redesigned core called NetBurst
– Used 20-step pipeline
– Quad-pumped frontside bus
 More Current CPUs

AMD Athlon AMD Athlon

Codename Palomino Thoroughbred
Process 180 nm 150 nm
Wattage 60–72 49–70
Ext. speed 133 MHz 166 MHz
Int. speed 1.3–2.2 GHz 1.3–2.2 GHz
Multiplier 13x to 16.5x 13x to 16.5x
L1 128 KB 128 KB
L2 256–512 KB 256–512 KB
Package PGA PGA
Socket Socket A Socket A
 More Current CPUs

Pentium 4 Pentium 4 Pentium 4

Codename Northwood Prescott Cedar Mill
Process 130 nm 90 nm 65 nm
Wattage 45–68 ~84 86
Ext. speed 100 MHz 133 MHz 200 MHz
Int. speed 1.3–3.8 GHz 1.3–3.8 GHz 1.3–3.8 GHz
Multiplier 13x to 23x 13x to 23x 13x to 23x
L1 128 KB 128 KB 128 KB
L2 256, 512 KB 256, 512 KB 256, 512 KB
Package PGA PGA PGA
Socket Socket 478 or Socket 478 or Socket 478 or
775 775 775
 Newer Processors

• AMD Athlon XP (Palomino and Thoroughbred)

– Enhanced version of the Athlon core processor

• Intel Pentium 4 (Northwood, Prescott, Cedar Mill)

– Increased frontside bus to 800 MHz
– Introduced hyperthreading

• Hyperthreading
– Looks like two CPUs
to the operating system
 More Current CPUs

AMD Athlon XP AMD Athlon

Codename Palomino Thoroughbred
Process 180 nm 150 nm
Wattage 60–72 49–70
Ext. speed 133 MHz 166 MHz
Int. speed 1.3–2.2 GHz 1.3–2.2 GHz
Multiplier 13x to 16.5x 13x to 16.5x
L1 128 KB 128 KB
L2 256–512 KB 256–512 KB
Package PGA PGA
Socket Socket A Socket A
 More Current CPUs

Athlon XP Pentium 4
Codename Thorton/Barton Extreme Edition
Process 130 nm 130, 90 nm
Wattage 60–70 85–115
Ext. speed 133, 166, 200 MHz 200, 266 MHz
Int. speed 1.6–2.2 GHz 3.2–3.7 GHz
Multiplier 10x to 16x 14x to 17x
L1 128 KB 128 KB
L2 256, 512 KB 512 KB
L3 2 MB
Package PGA PGA
Socket Socket A Socket 478 or 775
 Mobile Processors
• Mobile processors
– For laptops
– Use less power to overcome problems of heat and
power requirements

• Utilize throttling
– Previously called system management mode (SMM)
– Allows a CPU to slow down during low demand times
– Intel calls it SpeedStep
– AMD calls it PowerNow!
 More Processors
• Intel Xeon processors

– Series of powerful CPUs

– Massive L2 caches
– Xeon is codeword for high-end
– Can easily be used in symmetric multiprocessing systems (multiple
physical processors)
– Early Xeon used slots
– Later Xeons went back to PGA packages
 64-Bit Processors
• 64-bit processing refers to a 64-bit address
bus
– We already had 64-bit external data buses

• Intel Itanium processors

– Itanium was Intel’s first 64-bit chip
– Itanium II is made for the PC
 64-Bit Processors
• AMD Opteron processor
– Runs both 32-bit and 64-bit code

• Athlon 64
– First desktop 64-bit processor
– Backward-compatible with 32-bit programs
– Two main groups (130 nm and 90 nm)

• AMD Sempron CPUs

– Less cache than the Athlon 64
– Offer a tradeoff between price and performance
 Dual-core CPUs
• Due to practical limit of ~4 GHz in clock
speeds, alternatives were sought

• Dual core features two CPUs on same chip

– Pentium D
– Athlon Dual Cores
 Dual-core CPUs

Pentium D Athlon Dual Core

Codename Smtihfield/Presler
Process 90, 65 nm 90 nm
Wattage 95–130 89–110
Ext. speed 166, 200 MHz 200 MHz
Int. speed 2.6–3.6 GHz 2–2.4 GHz
Multiplier 14x to 20x 10x to 12x
L1 Two 128 KB 128 KB
L2 Two 1 or 2 MB Two 512 KB or 1 MB
Package 775 LGA PGA
Socket Socket LGA 775 Socket 939 or AM2
 Intel Core CPUs

Intel Core Intel Core 2

Codename Yonah
Process 90, 65 nm 90 nm
Wattage 95–130 89–110
Ext. speed 166, 200 MHz 200 MHz
Int. speed 2.6–3.6 GHz 2–2.4 GHz
Multiplier 14x to 20x 10x to 12x
L1 Two 128 KB 128 KB
L2 Two 1 or 2 MB Two 512 KB or 1 MB
Package 775 LGA PGA
Socket Socket LGA 775 Socket 939 or AM2
Installing CPUs
 Why Replace a CPU?
• Cost
– Chances are you’ll need to replace the motherboard as
well as the CPU—is it worth it?

• Cooling
– Faster CPUs will probably need better cooling

• Performance
– Faster CPUs may not be the best answer to speeding
up your PC
• Many times you really need more RAM
 The Right CPU
• Consult your motherboard manual
– You need a CPU that will fit
in the socket or slot on
your motherboard

• Buying a CPU
– Most stores will not accept
returns
– Retail-boxed CPUs are genuine and come
with a fan
– Lots of illegal CPUs on the market
 CPU Installation Guidelines
• Don’t touch the pins
(ESD)
• Match the notch and
dot printed on the
corners of the CPU…
they must line up
– Incorrectly installing
your CPU may destroy
the CPU and/or
motherboard!
 CPU Installation Guidelines
• Use a heat sink compound

• Install a fan on top of the

CPU after the CPU has been
inserted into the socket
Plugging in the CPU Fan
 The Art of Cooling
• Modern CPUs need to be kept
cool
– OEM fans are included in retail-
boxed CPUs

– Specialized fans usually exceed

OEM fans
– Liquid cooling works by running
a liquid (usually water) through
a metal block that sits on top of
your CPU to absorb heat
 Overclocking
• Overclocking is running a CPU at a speed
higher than rated
– Voids the warranty
– Black market exists
 RAM
Chapter 2.3
 Overview

• In this chapter, you will learn how to

– Identify the different types of RAM packaging

– Explain the varieties of DRAM

– Install RAM properly

– Perform basic RAM troubleshooting

DRAM
 DRAM
• DRAM (dynamic random access memory) is
the most popular type of electronic memory
– Special type of
semiconductor that
stores ones and
zeroes
using microscopic capacitors
and transistors

– Single chip can hold millions

of these capacitor/transistor
combinations
 Program Execution

• Program code is copied from your hard disk

into RAM before it is executed

1011 0101
1100 1010
1001 1111
1100 0111
1101 1101
0001 1101
1011 0110
1001 0001
 Organizing DRAM
• DRAM is considered the standard
– Low cost, high speed, and able to store data in a relatively
small package
– Many varieties of DRAM

• DRAM stores programs and data in 8-bit (1-byte)

chunks of memory

• Chips have historically been referenced with respect

to their depth and width
– 1 MB x 4
– 256 K x 1
 Organizing DRAM
• The depth and width are measured in units of
bits

• Not easy to determine based on what’s

written on chips

• The physical size and the internal

organization of the chip are not directly
related
 Review: Memory Controller Chip

• The memory controller chip (MCC) device facilitates the

flow of data from the RAM to the CPU

• Data is placed on the external data bus

• Width of data bus related MCC

to width or DRAM
 Practical DRAM
• 8086 used 16-bit data bus
– Much more expensive at the time
– At $12,000 per PC, would not have fueled the PC
revolution

• Original 8088 chip used 8-bit data bus

– Market was ready for this
– Adapted to some commands needing 16 bits
 Bus Review
• Address bus
– This addresses the RAM
– Number of lines in address bus determines max RAM (32 lines = 4 GB, 36
lines = 64 GB)
• External data bus
– This is where data is placed once addressed
– MCC retrieves data from RAM on places on EDB
– Width of data bus dictates width of RAM
• Frontside bus
– Same as external data bus
• Backside bus
– Used to access cache
DRAM Sticks
 72-pin SIMMs
• A better solution was needed

• 72-pin SIMMs
– Modern CPUs have 64-bit external data buses
– 72-pin SIMMs have a notch in the middle
– Each 72-pin SIMM is 32 bits wide (two required)
 Banking
• Combining the widths of DRAM to match the
width of the external data bus is called banking

• The number of sticks that make up a bank

depends on the chipset, which in turn depends on
the CPU’s external data bus size

– EDB of 64 bits = 2 SIMMS 32 bits wide

– EDB of 64 bits = 1 DIMM 64 bits wide
 Consumer RAM
• RAM has widths larger than bytes
– 8 bits wide = byte
– 16 bits wide = word
– 32 bits wide = double word

• However, still referred to in bytes

– 256 MB, 512 MB, 1 GB sticks
Essentials: Types of RAM
 DIMM (Dual Inline Memory
Module)
• The 168-pin DIMM is the most popular
DRAM package in use today
– Extra pins to handle functions such as buffering
and ECC
– 144-pin SO-DIMMs (small outline) are used in
laptops
 SDRAM
• SDRAM (synchronous dynamic RAM) are tied
to the system clocks
– Synchronized with system clock
– SDRAM is always a DIMM, but a DIMM isn’t always SDRAM
– Wide number of pins
– Small-outline DIMM (SO-DIIMM) used on laptops
– Faster than DRAMs
 RDRAM
• RDRAM (Rambus DRAM) is a new type of
RAM
– Speeds of up to 800 MHz
– Comes on sticks called RIMMs
– 184-pin for desktops and 160-pin SO-RIMM for
laptops
– All slots must be populated: unused slots must
have a CRIMM (continuity RIMM)
 DDR SDRAM
Double Data Rate
• DDR SDRAM doubles the throughput of
SDRAM
– 184-pin DIMM packages (desktops)
– 172-, 200-pin DIMM packages (laptops)
– Wide range of speeds
– Considered a standard today
– Dual slots are blue, third slot is black
 DDR Speeds
Clock DDR Speed PC Speed Rating
Speed Rating
100 MHz DDR200 PC1600
133 MHz DDR266 PC2100
166 MHz DDR333 PC2700
200 MHz DDR400 PC3200
217 MHz DDR433 PC3500
233 MHz DDR466 PC3700
250 MHz DDR500 PC4000
275 MHz DDR550 PC4400
300 MHz DDR600 PC4800

• PC Speed Rating =
Clock speed × 2 × 8
 Dual-Channel Architecture
• Dual-channel architectures
use two sticks of RAM
together to increase
throughput
– Similar to RAMBUS

• Works only if two sticks

– Dual slots often blue
– Third one often black
 DDR2 SDRAM
• DDR SDRAM doubles the throughput of
SDRAM

– Doubled the clock, increasing buffering

– Does not speed up core RAM, but just the I/O

– 240-pin DIMM (not compatible with DDR)

 DDR2 Speeds

Clock DDR I/O DDR PC Speed Rating

Speed Speed Speed
Rating
100 MHz 200 MHz DDR2-400 PC2-3200
133 MHz 266 MHz DDR2-533 PC2-4200
166 MHz 333 MHz DDR2-667 PC2-5300
200 MHz 400 MHz DDR2-800 PC2-6400
250 MHz 500 MHz DDR2-1000 PC2-8000

• PC Speed Rating =
Clock speed × 2 × 2 × 8
 Double-Sided DIMMS
• Almost all sticks come as
single-sided or double- sided

• Beware of double-sided sticks

– Some are thicker, which
prevents populating all slots
in some motherboards

– You motherboard may or may

not be able to accept them.
 Latency
• Latency
– Measure of how slow RAM may be.

– CL2 refers to low latency. Faster.

It takes two clock cycles to get data.

– CL3 refers to high latency. Slower.

It takes three clock cycles to get data.

– Often listed as CAS (column address strobe).

 Parity and ECC
• Parity is a rudimentary method of checking the data to
see if errors exist
– No error correction, just detection
• ECC (error correction code) is a special type of RAM used
by high-end systems
– Major advance in error checking on DRAM
– Can also correct many errors
– RAM sticks of any size can use the ECC DRAM, but it is most
common as 168-pin DIMMs
– A motherboard must be designed to use ECC to take advantage
of the ECC RAM
 Buffered/Registered DRAM
• Most motherboards support only four sticks
of RAM
– More sticks present unique challenges

• To overcome output problems, sticks add a

buffering chip
– Acts as intermediary
between RAM and MCC
 Working with RAM
• What’s wrong with this picture?
 Working with RAM
• Avoid ESD damage
• Don’t touch pins or connectors directly
 Do You Need RAM?
• Two symptoms point to needing more RAM

– General system sluggishness,

especially as more programs are opened

– Disk thrashing or excessive hard drive accessing,

caused by excessive paging

Note: Disk thrashing can also be caused by disk

fragmentation.
 Page File
• Data can be moved between physical RAM
and virtual RAM
– Data swapped in 64-K page blocks
– TooPhysical
muchRAMtoo often causes disk thrashing
Game
OS

Word
Disk drive

Browser

E-mail
 System RAM Recommendations

Operating Reasonable Solid Power User

System Minimum Performance
Windows 128 MB 256 MB 512 MB
2000
Windows 256 MB 512 MB 1 GB
XP
Windows 512 MB 1 GB 2 GB
Vista

• Actual minimum requirements are much lower

– Usually leads to slower computer and unhappy user
 Determining Current RAM
• My Computer
Properties
– Windows key-
Pause/Break key

• Task Manager
– Ctrl-Shift-Esc
 Getting the Right RAM
• Identify capacity
– What can the motherboard handle (look at the manual)

• Identify empty slots

– If all slots filled, you’ll have to pull some out
– For example, pull out 256-MB sticks to add 512-MB sticks

• CPU-Z is a great tool to determine what you have

– Also shows latency
 Mixing and Matching
• Mixing DRAM speeds can cause the system to lock
up, leading to data corruption

• You can use faster DRAM than the motherboard

recommends, but you won’t see an increase in
performance

• You can put different speeds of DRAM in different

banks as long as they are both faster than the
speed specified
 Installing DIMMs
• Swing the side tabs away from upright.

• Push the DIMM down somewhat hard. The

two tabs should move back into place
 Memory Details
• Signal presence detect (SPD)
– Reports the size, speed, data width, and voltage of the installed
RAM to the BIOS
– Can be read from BIOS
– CPU-Z shows SPD data
• The RAM count
– Part of Power On Self Test
– Counts addressable RAM and reports it
– Remember the subtle differences between counting in binary
and decimal
512 MB does not equal 512 million exactly.
 Installing SO-DIMMs in
Laptops
• Make sure the system is off
– No AC connection
– Remove all batteries

• Remove the panel or lift the

keyboard

• Slide the pins into position and

then snap the SO-DIMM down
into the retaining clips
Troubleshooting RAM
 Memory Errors
• Appear as
– Parity errors, ECC error messages, system lockups, page faults, and
BSoD

• Real memory errors

– “Parity error at xxxxx”
– If xxxxx is consistently the same, you have a bad RAM stick

• Phantom errors
– Random memory addresses
– Due to power issues, dust, heat
 Check the RAM
• A halt before the RAM check could indicate improperly installed RAM
 Testing RAM
• Hardware RAM testing devices can be used to
troubleshoot errors

• An economical option is to replace the

existing sticks with new ones

• Memtest32 is a freeware tool that can be

used to test RAM