IT151-Introduction to Information and

Communication Technology

Components of Computer System

 Objectives

5.1 The Hardware Sub-System

 Inside the Computer
 The CPU/ and Memory
 The Input/output Sub-System
 Types of Input/output Devices and Media

5.2 The Software Sub-System:

 5.2.1 Systems Software
 5.2.2 Applications Software

5.3 Memory management

Computer System

Computer System has four (4) parts

 Hardware

 Software

 Data

 User
The Hardware Sub-System

Mechanical devices in the computer

Anything that can be touched
The computer equipment
Includes keyboard,mouse,printers, monitors, disk drives etc
The Hardware Sub-System…..cont

CPU RAM Radiator and Cooling Fans

Motherboard
Removable Media

Sound Card Hard Disk

Graphics Card

Power Supply
The Hardware Sub-System-Central Processing Unit(CPU)

 Brains of the computer

 Carries out instructions from the program
 Manipulate the data
 Most computers have several processors
 Parts of CPU
 Arithmetic/Logic Unit (ALU): processes data arithmetically (addition, subtraction,
multiplication, division) or logically (greater than, less than, equal to)
 Control Unit: works with the operating system to move data between auxiliary storage and
main memory; and between main memory and the ALU
 Main Memory: contains both program instructions and the data that is required.
Memory Management: The Hardware Sub-System-Main
Memory

Random Access Memory (RAM): allows data and instructions to

be accessed randomly from any memory location (address).
Primary storage.
Volatile - lost when power is turned off
Read Only Memory (ROM): usually contains programs that help
the computer system operate:
can only be read: cannot be written to or altered by the user (usually)
ROM is not volatile
Memory Management: The Hardware Sub-System-Main
Memory

 Data and instructions are stored as BITS (binary digits). Everything from our world is
translated into a computer recognizable format called binary (zeros or ones)
 The combination of binary digits represents our letters or numbers. One character
represented is equal to a byte.
 Memory capacity is measured in bytes. Today’s most common measurement is megabytes
 Kilo = 1,000 (KB) Thousand
 Mega = 1,000,000 (MB) Million
 Giga = 1,000,000,000 (GB) Billion
 Bytes are composed using either the ASCII coding system (7 bits = character) or EBCDIC (8
bits = character)
Memory Management:The Hardware Sub-System-Storage

 Storage: Required because main memory is limited, expensive and volatile.

 Sequential Access Storage Devices (SASD): data is stored in sequential order. Retrieval is
also sequential.
 Storage media is magnetic tape.
 Supports batch processing environment
 Excellent form of backup
 Direct Access Storage Devices (DASD): data can be stored and retrieved randomly.
 Storage capacity is referred to as density. How tightly packed data is on the disk.
 DASD is required for transaction processing.
 Memory capacity is measured in bytes. Today’s most common measurement is kilobytes,
megabytes and gigabits
The Input/output Sub-System

Input devices accept data and instructions and convert them to a form
that the computer can understand.
Digital computer cameras
Terminals
Scanning devices
Optical data readers
Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR)
The Input/output Sub-System

Output devices present data and information in a form people can

understand
Display monitors
Liquid Crystal Displays (LCDs)
Printers and plotters
Speakers.
The Software Sub-System

Software is the instructions for the hardware. It is the programmes

which make the computer do the work.
Tells the computer what to do
Two Types
System software
Application software
The Software Sub-System-System Software

Most important software

Operating system
Windows XP
Network operating system (OS)
Windows Server 2003
Utility
 AntiVirus
The Software Sub-System-Application Software

The class of computer instructions that direct a computer system

to perform specific processing activities and provide functionality
for users. (Programmes that solve specific problems of our
interest)
Accomplishes a specific task
Most common type of software
MS Word
Covers most common uses of computers
Computer System-Data and Users

Data
Pieces of information
Computer organize and present data
Users
People operating the computer
Most important part
Tell the computer what to do
 Review Questions

Identifying the hardware parts of the computer

Identifying the basic components of the hardware parts the computer
system i.e. Motherboard, Central Processing Unit (CPU), Graphical
Processing Unit (GPU), Random Access Memory (RAM) and Storage
Mention two types of Software you know
Explain why System Software is important to be installed before any
other software is installed in a computer.