DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION

SCHOOLS DIVISION OF PARAÑAQUE CITY
TLE 9 - COMPUTER SYSTEM SERVICING
QUARTER 1 – WEEK 2 - LESSON 1:
INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL PARTS OF THE SYSTEM UNIT

Learning Competencies (Essential Competencies)

• Assemble computer hardware
➢ Identify materials necessary to complete the work in accordance with
established procedures and check against system requirements.
(TLE_IACSS9-12ICCS-Ia-e-28)

Objectives
At the end of the lesson the student should be able to:
• enumerate the internal and external parts of the system unit and its functions;
• differentiate ROM and RAM;
• identify the different external ports of the system unit; and
• state some importance of knowing the parts of the system unit.

Let’s Recall (Review)

True or False. Write T if the statement is true, otherwise F if the statement is
false.
1. Random Access Memory (RAM) is the permanent storage device of the computer.
2. System Unit is called the chassis of the microcomputer.
3. Motherboard is the main system board of the computer.
4. HDD is the brain and the heart of the computer that performs all the instructions and
calculations that are needed inside the computer.
5. A storage device that uses laser to read data on the optical media is called memory.

Let’s Understand (Study the Concept)

Before we go with our concepts, try to be familiarized with the following terms in
order to fully understand the lesson.

Terms to Remember:
ATX – Advanced Technology eXtended, is a motherboard and power supply configuration
specification developed by Intel in 1995 to improve on previous de facto standards like
the AT design.
ITX – (Information Technology eXtended) A family of very small PC motherboards from VIA
Technologies.
EATX – (Extended ATX) An ATX motherboard with an extended length.
HTPC – (Home Theater PC) A personal computer that is used to store and play music and
movies as well as display photos. Also called a "living room PC," an HTPC is installed in
the A/V cabinet and connects to a stereo or home theater system.
AC – Alternating Current
DC – Direct Current
PCI – Peripheral Component Interconnect
IDE – Integrated Device Electronics
SATA – Serial Advanced Technology Attachment
IEEE – The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Standards Association (IEEE-
SA) is an organization within IEEE that develops global standards in a broad range of
industries.
BIOS – Basic Input Output System
PS/2 – Personal System/2
Bandwidth - a range of frequencies within a given band, in particular that used for
transmitting a signal.

1|Internal and External Parts of the System Unit

I. System Unit – it is the main part of Fig. 1 – Form Factor of
the microcomputer that it sometimes System Unit
called the chassis or case that houses
all the major electronic components
that make the entire computer system
works. The image shown (right) are
the different sizes (Form Factor) of a
System Unit.

Desktop System Unit includes the

following internal or major parts:
1. Motherboard – It is also called the mainboard or
system board that contains all the circuits and
connects to all other components that runs the Fig. 2 –
Motherboard
computer.
2. Processor/CPU (Central Processing Unit) – It is
the “brain” and the “heart” of a computer system.
It performs all the instructions & calculations
Fig. 3 –
that are needed and manages the flow of Processors
computer operations.
3. Memory – It is computer’s working storage space
that holds the data, instructions for processing Synchronous
and processed data (information) waiting to be Dynamic Random
Access
sent to a secondary storage. Physically it is a Memory
collection of RAM chips.
Double Data Rate
Two Types of Memory: Random Access Memory
3.1 ROM (Read Only Memory) – is non-volatile,
meaning it holds data even when the power EDO RAM
is ON or OFF.
3.2 RAM (Random Access Memory) – is volatile,
meaning it holds data when the power in ON.
Extended Data Output
When the power is OFF, RAM’s contents are Random Access Memory
lost. This is only the temporary memory
Fig. 4 – Types of RAM
space of the computer. A type of RAM to be
used depends on the motherboard RAM slots.
4. Hard Disk Drive (HDD) – It is a magnetic storage
device that is installed inside the computer used
as permanent storage for data. Usually configured
as the C: drive and contains the operating system SATA Drive PATA Drive
and software applications. It can be as IDE or (has card-edge (has pin connector)
Fig. 5 – HDD connector)
SATA type. Latest capacity of HDD today is in
terabytes (i.e., 3 TB).
5. Power Supply Unit (PSU) - Installed at the back
corner of the computer case, next to the
motherboard. It converts 120v AC into DC
voltages that are used by other components in the
computer. Connected with different types of
Fig. 6 – PSU and Cables
cables to match the types of components, either
IDE or SATA to supply power.
6. Adapters (Expansion Cards) – printed-circuit
boards (interface cards) that enable the computer
to use peripheral device for which it does not have
the necessary connections or circuit boards. They
are often used to permit upgrading to a new
different hardware, some of them are inserted in Fig. 7 – Fig. 8 – Fig. 9 –
the expansion slots. Figures shown (right) are PCI Network Graphics/
example of adapters that can be added to your Wireless Interface Card Video
Card (NIC) Card
computer.
7. Optical Disk Drive (ODD) – It is a storage device that uses
lasers to read data on the optical media. There are different
types of optical disk drives:

2|Internal and External Parts of the System Unit

 7.1 Compact Disk Read Only Memory – CD ROM Drives
were among the first disk-based drives for modern PC. Fig. 10 –
Modern CD-ROM drives can achieve read speeds of 60 CD ROM
revolutions per second (60x); however, most CD-ROM
drives in computers run at a slower speed to improve
stability and reduce noise and will only speed up for larger
data files and if the drive encounters read errors. Fig. 11 –
7.2 Digital Versatile Disk Read-Only Memory – DVD ROM DVD ROM
drives are the direct evolution from CD- Rom drives. It had
greater capacity and performance that in CD counterparts
while retaining the same physical dimensions.
Fig. 12–
7.3 Blu-Ray - Blu-Ray drives are the latest optical drives Blu-Ray
available in the commercial market. Blu-Ray drives and
disks can process extremely large amounts of data: dual-
sided Blu-Ray disks can contain more than 50 gigabytes
of data.
7.4 RW Drives (Rewritable Drives) – CD-ROMs, DVD-ROMs
and Blur-Ray drives come in rewritable drive types. RW
drives have all functionality of their read-only counterparts
but can also write data on the disk. While RW drives can Fig. 13– Floppy Disk Drive
write multiple times, writable disks come in one-time write
and multiple-time write (RW) variations.
8. Floppy Disk Drive – Also called FDD. It is a computer disk
drive that enables a user to save data to removable diskettes.
The size of the floppy drive and diskettes have decreased over
time. Floppy drives are no longer supported by today’s OS. All
modern computers no longer come with floppy drive. Fig. 14 – IDE
9. Cables – IDE and SATA are different types of interfaces to (Integrated Device
connect storage devices (like hard drives) to a computer’s Electronics)
system bus.
IDE is an older standard compared to SATA. IDE wires are
bulkier and are more expensive. It has a maximum data
transferring rate of 133MB/s. On the other hand, SATA wires
are smaller, thinner and easier to manage. SATA has a
Fig. 15 – SATA
maximum data transferring rate of 6 GB/s. Modern hard
(Serial Advance
drives and Solid State Drives use SATA. Technology Attachment)

Optical disk
drive

Fig. 16 – System Unit Internal Parts

3|Internal and External Parts of the System Unit

II. Ports – is a physical docking point using which an
external device can be connected to the computer. It
can also be programmatic docking point through which
information flows from a program to the computer or
over the Internet.
Characteristics of Ports
• External devices are connected to a computer using
cables and ports.
• Ports are slots on the motherboard into which a
cable or external device is plugged in.
• Examples of external devices attached via ports are
the mouse, keyboard, monitor, microphone,
speakers. Etc.
Let us now discuss a few important types or ports
Serial Port:
• Used for external modems and older computer
mouse.
• Two version: 9 pin and 25 pin model. Fig. 17 – Front Panel Ports
• Data travels at 115 kilobits per second.
Parallel Port
• Used for scanners and printers.
• Also called printer port.
• 25 pin model.
PS/2 Port
• Used for old computer keyboard and Power
mouse PS/2 Ports
Connect

• Also called mouse port. Connector

DVI Port
• Most of the old computers provide Connector
two PS/2 port, each for the mouse Serial Port
and keyboard. Connector
VGA Port
Universal Serial Bus (USB) Port Connector
• It can connect all kinds of external eSATA Port Ethernet
Connector
USB devices such as external hard USB2.0 Port
Port

disk, printer, scanner, mouse, Connector

Mic In Audio Out
keyboard, etc. Audio Out
• It was introduced in 1997.
• Most of the computers provide two USB Fig. 18 – Back Panel Ports
ports as minimum.
VGA Port
• Connects monitor to a computer’s video card.
• It has 15 holes.
• Similar to the serial port connector. However, serial port connector has pins, VGA
port has holes.
Power Connector
• Three-pronged plug.
• Connects to the computer’s power cable that plugs into a power bar or wall socket.

eSATA (External SATA) Port

• First officially recognized version of eSATA that was widely adopted.
• It has data rates of 3 Gbits/second depending on your PC’s version of SATA.
• It is not powered socket and any device plugged to it, will need it’s own power
source.
Ethernet Port
• Connects to a network and highspeed internet.
• Connects the network cable to a computer.
• This port resides on an Ethernet Card.
• Data travels at 10 megabits to 1000 megabits per seconds depending upon the
network bandwidth.

4|Internal and External Parts of the System Unit

 Digital Video Interface, DVI Port
• Connects flat panel LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) monitor to the computer’s high-
end video graphics cards.
• Very popular among video card manufacturers.
Sockets (Mic, Audio In & Out)
• Sockets connect the microphone and speakers to the sound card of the computer.

Let’s Apply
Directions: Identify the correct answer in complete terms/s.

1. It is the “brain” and the “heart” of computer system.

2. Permanent storage of data and configured as drive C:
3. It can connect all kinds of external USB devices such as external hard disk, printer,
scanner, mouse, keyboard, etc.
4. The latest optical drives available in the commercial market with a disk can contain more
than 50 gigabytes of data.
5. Connects a PC’s to a network and highspeed internet.

Let’s Analyze
Directions: Answer the following in a brief statement as possible (5 pts. each)

1. Differentiate ROM and RAM.

_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
2. Describe the physical difference between IDE and SATA cables.
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
3. State the importance of knowing the different parts of the System Unit as computer
technician.
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________

Let’s Try (Evaluation)

Directions: I. Multiple Choice. Write the letter and corresponding correct answer.
(Ex. A. Computer)
1. It is main part of the computer that is sometimes called the chassis or case that houses
all the major electronic components that make the entire computer system works.
A. Adapters C. Memory
B. Central Processing Unit D. System Unit
2. It is also called the mainboard or system board that contains all the circuits and
connects to all the other components that runs that computer.
A. Adapters C. Hard Disk Drive
B. Central Processing Unit D. Motherboard
3. It is the computer’s working storage space that holds the data, instructions for
processing and processed data (information) waiting to be sent to a secondary storage.
A. Central Processing Unit C. Memory
B. Hard Disk Drive D. Motherboard
4. Rojan bought a new hard disk drive to upgrade the capacity of this permanent storage,
what considerations should he keep in mind in buying a new one
i. type of motherboard iii. type of connector
ii. type of power supply unit
A. i and ii C. ii and iii
B. ii only D. i, ii and iii
5. If Ranz needs to copy the files from his computer with a DVD optical disk drive, what
type of disk he should buy?
A. CD-R C. DVD-R
B. CD-RW D. DVD-RW

5|Internal and External Parts of the System Unit

II. Matching Type. Match Column A with Column B. Write only the letter of the correct
answer.
COLUMN A COLUMN B
1. USB Port A. D.
2. Ethernet Port
3. Audio Port E.
4. Power Connector B.
5. PS/2 Port
C. F.

Let’s Create
Answer in a separate answer sheet.
Goal: Assemble by labelling and describing the function (simple and short statement) of the
major internal system unit parts. Write your answer in Table form. Copy and follow the table
shown below.

1.
2.

3.
4.

6.
5.

7.

9.

8.
10.

No. Components/Parts Description

1
2
3
...

10

6|Internal and External Parts of the System Unit