LESSON 2 - Basic Hardware Components of Computer Systems

8/1/22, 11:15 PM LESSON 2: Basic Hardware Components of Computer Systems
LESSON 2: Basic Hardware Components of Computer Systems
Site: TESDA Online Program Printed by: Jefferson Romasanta

Course: Introduction to CSS Date: Monday, 1 August 2022, 11:13 PM
LESSON 2: Basic Hardware Components of Computer
Book:
Systems
https://e-tesda.gov.ph/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=1264 1/29
Table of contents
Introduction
TOPIC 1: Computer Systems

Processing Devices
Storage Devices
Input Devices
Output Devices
TOPIC 2: The System Unit

Power Supply
Motherboard
Central Processing Unit (CPU)
Random Access Memory (RAM)
Cooling Technology
Expansion Cards
Storage
TOPIC 3: Ports, Sockets, Slots, & Connectors

Ports
Slots
Sockets
Connectors
Introduction
A
computer system consists of hardware and software components. As important as the software which are the
programs that run the computer, the hardware is the physical equipment such
as the case, storage drives, keyboards,
monitors, cables, speakers, and
printers that builds up and let the software run.
It is important to learn about these components as these will be the basis before you handle equipment especially in
disassembling and assembling a computer system.
Icons made by Freepik from www.flaticon.com
TOPIC 1: Computer Systems
The complete computer

made up of the CPU, memory and related electronics (main cabinet), all the
peripheral
devices connected to it and its operating system.
Computer systems fall

into two broad divisions: clients and servers.
Client machines fall into three

categories from low to high end: laptop, desktop and workstation.
Servers range
from small to large: low-end servers, midrange servers and mainframes.
Icons made by Freepik from www.flaticon.com
Processing Devices
Processing devices are the computer’s circuitry

in the system unit.
Motherboard – the circuit board housing the memory and the

central processing unit (CPU)
Central Processing Unit (CPU) – manipulates input data into the information
needed by the users
Memory – also known as Random Access Memory or RAM. It is a

series of electronic elements that act as
temporary storage of data and program
instructions while the instructions are being processed by the CPU.
Chips – these make up the CPU and the memory; these are
electronic devices that contain many microscopic
pathways designed to carry
electrical currents.
Storage Devices
Storage devices store data and

programs. These hold data, information, and programs permanently.
Solid State Drive (SSD) – mass storage device that stores data in a
permanent state even without power. Similar to
an HDD’s function, only the
internal components are different. SSDs do not have moving parts but store data
on
magnetic platters making use of flash memory.
Hard Disk Drive (HHD) – often called hard drive or hard disk. This is
the most common storage device that do not
need power to maintain data; these
store data through spinning platters or magnetic disks, recording individual
bits
written into the disk.
Flash Drive – highly portable small data storage devices making use
of flash memory and a Universal Serial Bus
(USB) port connection
CD – “compact disc”, this storage device can hold up to 700

MB; it is read by an optical drive through a laser
Input Devices
Input devices allow the

user to communicate with the computer by entering data or commands.
Keyboard – primary input device used to input alphanumeric data

and commands to the computer
Mouse – primary input device used to navigate and interact

with the monitor output
Scanner – scans documents and converts them digitally, which

can be edited on a computer.
Webcam – small cameras attached to a monitor or desk that

record or broadcast video
Joystick – device used to control video games, aside from the

keyboard
Output Devices
Output devices enable the computer to show the processed

data and information understandably to the user.
Printer – prints paper documents, photographs, and other

outputs called hard copies which are physical versions of
the documents.
Monitor – acts as the primary display of the unit where the

user interface and programs are reflected.
Speakers – sound system device that produce audio output from

the computer
TOPIC 2: The System Unit
The
System Unit is the overall structure that houses
the processor, memory, and electronic components of the
computer that are used
to process data. All input and output devices are connected into the system
unit. The system
unit is housed by what is known as system case or computer case. It holds
and protects most components of a
computer.
The
Computer Case contains the framework to support and enclose internal components
of the computer. It
helps to prevent
damage from static electricity. It typically made up of plastic, steel, and
aluminum which are
available in a variety of styles. The size and layout of a case is called a
form factor. It is also designed to keep
internal components cool by using airflow vents and cooling fans.
Computer cases are referred to in a number of

ways: Computer chassis, Cabinet, Tower, Box and Housing.
Types:
Tower (Full, Mid, Mini)
Desktop (Standard, Slimline)
Power Supply
Power supplies serve as the source for electricity to the computer. Attached are vital hardware cables and buses
for
transferring power to various components in the computer.
The following are the

basic connector you can see in a power supply:
ATX 24 pin main power

connector is the standard motherboard power connector used in nearly every
computer.
SATA 15 pin power supply

connector is one of several standard peripheral power connectors. SATA power
connectors only connect to SATA drives like hard drives and optical drives.
SATA power connectors do not work with
older PATA devices.
Molex 4 pin power supply

connector is a standard peripheral power connector. Molex power connectors
connect
to many different kinds of internal peripherals including PATA hard
drives and optical drives, some video cards, and
even some other devices.
Floppy drive 4 pin power

supply connector is the standard floppy drive power connector. The floppy power
connector, also called a Berg connector or Mini-Molex connector, is included in
even the newest power supplies
even though floppy drives are becoming obsolete.
ATX 4 pin power supply

connector is a standard motherboard power connector used to provide +12 VDC to
the
processor voltage regulator. This small connector usually attaches to the
motherboard near the CPU.
ATX 6 pin power supply

connector is a motherboard power connector used to provide +12 VDC to the
processor
voltage regulator but the 4-pin variety is the more commonly used connector.
This small connector usually attaches
to the motherboard near the CPU.
Photo from Corsair
Motherboard
The motherboard is also known as mainboard, system board, logic board, or MOBO. It
holds and allows
communication between the crucial components of the computer
such as the CPU and memory. It also provides
connection for other peripherals.
This provides the path which the processor (CPU) communicates with all the
components of the computer.
There are several components that are attached

to the motherboard. These include:
1. Chip – small piece of semiconducting material,

where more integrated circuits are embedded. They have
standard-sized pin
connectors that allows them to be attached to the motherboard.
2. Bus - an electrical path that enables data flow

between various system components.
3. Integrated
Circuit (IC) – contains
microscopic pathways that carry electric current. The IC contains millions of
elements such as resistors, capacitators, and transistors. Many different kinds
of chips are located in the motherboard
4. Microprocessor
– this is the central
processing unit on a chip.
Different variety of chip packages:
1. Dual
Inline Package (DIP) – this
has two parallel rows of pints that attach the chip package to the circuit
board
2. Pin
Grid Array (PGA) – holds a
larger number of pins because the pins are mounted on the surface of the
package.
3. Flip
Chip-PGA (CF-PGA) Package – higher performance PGA
packaging that places the chip on the opposite
sides of the pins.
4. Single
Edge Contact (SEC) Cartridge
– does not use pins but connects to one of the edges in the motherboard.
The form
factor of motherboards pertains to the size and shape of the board. It also describes the physical layout of
the
different components and devices on the motherboard. Various form factors exist for motherboards:
AT –
Advanced Technology
ATX –
Advanced Technology Extended
Mini-ATX
– Smaller footprint of ATX
Micro-ATX
– Smaller footprint of ATX
LPX –
Low-profile Extended
NLX –
New Low-profile Extended
BTX –
Balanced Technology Extended
The function of the northbridge is primarily a fast path between the CPU and the video bus and system RAM. While
the southbridge connects with the slow hardware/components of the system.
See the photo below (courtesy of Quora) to understand the function of these bridges:
Central Processing Unit (CPU)
Commonly known as the CPU or processor, this is the

brain of the computer. It interprets and carries out the basic
instructions to
operate a computer.
It impacts overall computing power and manages most of the

computer operations. The
motherboard contains a
socket to hold the processor or CPU. The central
processing unit (CPU), also called the processor or microprocessor,
does most of
the processing of data and instructions for the entire system. Because the CPU
generates heat, a fan
and heat sink might be installed on top to keep it cool.
Nowadays, processors have multiple cores

called multi-core processors. This
means that the processor is a single
chips that has two or more separate
processors. In multi-core processors, each of the processors run at a slower
clock
speed as compared to a single-core processor, but this efficient process
typically increases performance. There are
two kinds of common multi-core
processors today:
1. Dual
Core Processor – chip that
contains two separate processors
2. Quad Core

Processor – chip with four separate processors
AMD and Intel are the two most popular brands of processors in the market nowadays.
Bundled with the processors are the heat sinks. A heat

sink consists of metal fins that draw heat away from a
component. The
fan and heat sink together are called the processor cooler. The photo below shows a CPU with a heat
sink mounted on the motherboard.
Random Access Memory (RAM)
The Random Access Memory or RAM acts as temporary storage as long as the computer is running. The contents
of the RAM change as programs are executed. These are chips that are placed directly on the
motherboard. These
RAM consists of switches which are triggered by changes in
electric current.
Three basic types of RAM:
1. Dynamic
RAM (DRAM) – This kind of RAM
needs to be recharged by the CPU. If not, it loses its contents.
There are many
variations of DRAM such as:
o Synchronous
DRAM (SDRAM) – faster
than DRAM because it is synchronized to the system clock
o Double
Data Rate (DDR) SDRAM –
faster than SDRAM because they transfer data twice for each clock
cycle
o DDR2
and DDR3 SDRAM – faster
than DDR SDRAM
o ambus
DRAM (RDRAM) – type of
DRAM faster than SDRAM that uses pipelining techniques
2. Static
RAM (SRAM) – This kind is
faster and more reliable than any form of DRAM. Unlike the DRAM, this
does not
need to be re-energized. However, it is much more expensive and it used for special
purposes.
3. Magnetoresistive
RAM (MRAM) – This kind stores
data using magnetic charges instead of electrical
charges. It has greater
storage capacity, consume less power, and faster access times.
The RAM chips are housed in a small circuit

board called the memory module,
which is inserted into the
motherboard.
Three types of memory modules:

1. Single
Inline Memory Module (SIMM) –
this has pins on opposite sides of the circuit board which connect
together to
form a single set of contacts. This houses SDRAM chips along with DIMMs.
2. Dual
Inline Memory Module (DIMM) –
the pins on the opposite sides of the circuit board do not connect and
form two
sets of contacts. This houses SDRAM chips along with SIMMs.
3. Rambus
Inline Memory Module (RIMM) –
this houses RDRAM chips
The computer will need a certain amount of

memory to be able to handle programs, data, and information, depending
on the
types of applications used.
The more RAM a computer has, the faster the

computer will be.
To be able to use basic application software such as Office

Suite, one needs at least 1GB of RAM.
Using programs and multimedia should have

at least 4GB.
Playing modern games or using editing software will require at

least 8GB.
Today the RAM ranges up to 64GB depending on the programs that will
be used for the computer.
Cooling Technology
Cooling technologies are essential in avoiding the computer from overheating and maintaining a good, well-
ventilated system.
Chassis Fan
Several cooling technologies are present

throughout the system unit:
o
Fans are also present in several components such as the power supply,
ports, processor, hard disk etc.
o
Heat sink, on another hand, is a small metal or ceramic
component with fins on the surface which absorbs and
distributes heat produced
by electrical components.
o
Heat pipe is used on smaller devices like notebook computers
since this is smaller in size.
Heat Sink
Expansion Cards
A
motherboard has expansion slots to be used by expansion cards. An expansion
card, also called an adapter card,
is a circuit board
that provides more ports than those provided by the motherboard.
The photo below shows a Video Card, where it provides three video ports. Notice the cooling fan and heat sink on the
card, which help to keep the card from overheating. The trend today is for most
ports in a system to be provided by the
motherboard (called onboard ports) and
less use of expansion cards.
There are also other variants of expansion cards such as network cards, sound cards, video capture cards, interface
cards, and other expansion cards that cater to whatever the computer user for his/her needs and improvements for the
system.
Storage
A system might
have one or more hard drives, an optical drive, a tape drive, or, for really
old systems, a floppy drive.
A hard drive, also called a hard disk drive (HDD),

is permanent storage used to hold data and programs.
Hard Disk Drive
For example, the Windows operating system

and applications are installed on the hard drive. All drives in a system
are
installed in a stack of drive bays at either the front or on the lower portion of the case. Nowadays, users use Solid
State Drive or SSDs because of its use of flash memory, which does not use physical disks to write memory/data.
Solid State Drive
Each drive has two

connections for cables: the power cable connects to the power supply and
another cable, used for
data and instructions, connects to the motherboard.
SATA Cable // SATA Connector Slot in the Motherboard
TOPIC 3: Ports, Sockets, Slots, & Connectors
The motherboard has several ports, sockets, slots, and connectors that link the computers' components, input, and
output devices among each other. First we'll look at the port which are usually found at the side of the motherboard or
the back of the system case.
The port basically serves as an

interface between the computer and other computers or peripheral devices.
A
port generally refers to the female part of connection. Computer ports have
many uses, to connect a monitor,
webcam, speakers, or other peripheral devices.
On the physical layer, a computer port is a specialized outlet on a piece of

equipment to which a plug or cable
connects. Electronically, the several
conductors where the port and cable contacts connect, provide a method to
transfer signals between devices.
Familiarize yourself with the following ports usually found with computer systems below:
Ports
Go through the flashcards to be familiarized with the different ports for the computer systems! (No
need to input an answer just click the next card)
1 / 18
Your answer
Your answer Check
Slots
Go through the flashcards to be familiarized with the different slots for the computer systems! (No
need to input an answer just click the next card)
1 / 10
Your answer
Your answer Check
Sockets
The following are the most common sockets found in the motherboard. The CPU socket where the CPU itself is
inserted and the CMOS slot where the CMOS battery (which lets the motherboard remember the date and time of
the computer) that is replaced after it has worn out.
Connectors
Go through the flashcards to be familiarized with the different connectorsfor the computer systems
(No need to input an answer just click the next card)
1 / 15
Your answer
Your answer Check

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8/1/22, 11:15 PM LESSON 2: Basic Hardware Components of Computer Systems

LESSON 2: Basic Hardware Components of Computer Systems

Site: TESDA Online Program Printed by: Jefferson Romasanta

TOPIC 1: Computer Systems

TOPIC 2: The System Unit

TOPIC 3: Ports, Sockets, Slots, & Connectors

TOPIC 1: Computer Systems

The complete computer

Computer systems fall

Client machines fall into three

Processing devices are the computer’s circuitry

Motherboard – the circuit board housing the memory and the

Memory – also known as Random Access Memory or RAM. It is a

Storage devices store data and

CD – “compact disc”, this storage device can hold up to 700

Input devices allow the

Keyboard – primary input device used to input alphanumeric data

Mouse – primary input device used to navigate and interact

Scanner – scans documents and converts them digitally, which

Webcam – small cameras attached to a monitor or desk that

Joystick – device used to control video games, aside from the

Output devices enable the computer to show the processed

Printer – prints paper documents, photographs, and other

Monitor – acts as the primary display of the unit where the

Speakers – sound system device that produce audio output from

TOPIC 2: The System Unit

Computer cases are referred to in a number of

Tower (Full, Mid, Mini)

Desktop (Standard, Slimline)

The following are the

ATX 24 pin main power

SATA 15 pin power supply

Molex 4 pin power supply

Floppy drive 4 pin power

ATX 4 pin power supply

ATX 6 pin power supply

Photo from Corsair

There are several components that are attached

1. Chip – small piece of semiconducting material,

2. Bus - an electrical path that enables data flow

Different variety of chip packages:

Central Processing Unit (CPU)

Commonly known as the CPU or processor, this is the

It impacts overall computing power and manages most of the

Nowadays, processors have multiple cores

2. Quad Core

Bundled with the processors are the heat sinks. A heat

Random Access Memory (RAM)

Three basic types of RAM:

The RAM chips are housed in a small circuit

Three types of memory modules:

The computer will need a certain amount of

The more RAM a computer has, the faster the

To be able to use basic application software such as Office

Using programs and multimedia should have

Playing modern games or using editing software will require at

Several cooling technologies are present