LESSON PLAN: Computer System Assembly

I. Objectives:
At the end of the lesson the students are expected to:
a. define system unit;
b. identify the parts of the system Unit;
c. identify the safety precaution in computer;
d. Demonstrate and perform on how to assemble the system unit.

II. Lesson Proper:

What is a System Unit?
            The  SYSTEM UNIT  main part, processing unit and devices, of a microcomputer is a system
unit.A system unit includes a board called a motherboard that holds a microprocessor chip (or a
CPU), memory chips,  and expansion slots. Electronic circuitry is printed on the board and it connects
between two main parts of a microcomputer, the microprocessor and primary storage and other
parts. 
PARTS OF THE SYSTEM UNIT
 MOTHERBOARD –  is the
central  printed circuit board
(PCB) in many modern
computer and holds many of
the crucial components of the
system, while providing
connectors for other
peripherals. The motherboard
is sometimes alternatively
known as
the  mainboard,  system board,
or, on Apple computers, the
Logic Board.  It is also
sometimes casually shortened
to  mobo.
 MICROPROCESSOR  – is the center of your computer. It processes instructions and communicates
with outside devices, controlling most of the operation of the computer. The microprocessor usually
has a large heat sink attached to it. Some microprocessors come in a package with a heat sink and a
fan included as a part  of the package. Other microprocessors require you to install the heat sink and
fan separately. This is not a difficult problem, but can be a bit daunting when the buyer wants to
make sure they get  the correct parts to fit their microprocessor. Also the buyer needs to make sure
they  will get the motherboard that their microprocessor will work with. This section will explain
some of the differences in microprocessors and ways to be sure your parts match.
 Microprocessors and Mounting

The mounting method refers to the type of connection the microprocessor makes with the
motherboard. The  following table lists the various mounting packages and some of the well known
microprocessors that are mounted for that package.
 Socket 7 – AMD K5, K6, Intel Pentium 75-200Mhz, IBM
 Socket 370 – Some Intel Celerons
 Slot 1 – Intel Pentium II, Pentium III, Some Celeron 266-533
 Slot II – Intel Xeon
 Slot A – AMD At hlon
 MEMORY CHIPS -A memory chip is a chip that holds programs and data either temporarily or
permanently. The major categories of memory chips are RAMs and ROMs.
RAM Chips.RAM stands for random-access memory. Random- access memory holds the dat
 a or instructions that the CPU is
presently processing. The type of primary storage is RAM. That is, a collection of RAM chips builds
primary storage.  Whenever a CPU writes data or instructions to RAM, it wipes out the previous
contents of RA M, and when a CPU read data or instructions from RAM, it keeps their
contents.  ROM Chips    ROM stands for read-only memory. A ROM chip is a memory chip that
stor es instructions and data permanently. Its contents are placed into the ROM chip at the time of
manufacture and cannot be modified by the user. A CPU can read and retrieve the instructions and
data from the ROM chip, but it cannot change the contents in ROM.
 SYSTEM CLOCKS – is a device that generates periodic, accurately spaced signals used for several
purposes such as regulation of the operations of a processor or generation of interrupts. The clock
circuit uses the fixed vibrations generated from a quartz crystal to deliver a steady stream of pulses
to the processor. The system clock controls the speed of all the operations within a
computer.                    The clock speed is the internal speed of a computer. The clock speed is
expressed in megahertzes (MHz). 33 MHz means 33 million cycles per second. A computer
processor’s speed is faster if it has higher clock speed. For example, a 100-Mhz processor is four
times as fast internally as the same processor running at 25MHz.
 BUSES –  is a data pathway between several hardware components inside or outside a computer. It
not only connects the parts of the CPU to each other, but also links the CPU with other important
hardware. The other important hardware includes memory, a disk control unit, a terminal control
unit, a printer control unit, and a communications control unit. The capacity of a bus is expressed as
bits. A larger capacity bus is faster in data transfer. For example, a 32-bit bus is faster than an 8-bit
bus.
Three Main Bus Architecture
 ISA (Industry Standard Architecture): ISA is pronounced i- suh. This is the original PC bus
architecture. It includes the 8-bit (PC, XT) and 16-bit (AT) buses in IBM personal computer series and
compatibles. Now, it refers specially to the 16-bit AT bus.
 MCA (Micro Channel Architecture): A 32-bit bus used in IBM P/S 2 series and other IBM models. This
architecture allows multiprocessing that allows several processors to work simultaneously. Micro
channel architecture is not compatible with PC bus architecture.
 EISA (Extended Industry Standard Architecture): EISA is pronounced eesa. This is a bus standard for
PCs that extends the AT bus (the ISA bus) architecture to a 32-bit bus. This architecture also allows
more than one CPU to share the bus. The purpose of EISA is to extend and amend the old ISA
standard, so that all existing AT expansion boards can work with an EISA slot.

Local Buses
The performance of a microcomputer is often restrained by the relatively slow video cards and other
peripherals, which cannot keep up with today’s fast CPUs. A local bus  reduces the performance gap
between the high-speed microprocessors and slower hard disks, video boards and other
peripherals.
There are two local-bus systems available today. Each bus hopes to boost microcomputer
performance for I/O-intensive tasks. They are a  VL-Bus  and a  PCIlocal bus
           VL-Bus  (V

ESA Local Bus):  VESA  specification was introduced by the  VESA(Video Electronics Standards
Association). VL-Bus added peripheral components and connectors to the existing motherboard’s
486 local bus and was available first. Performance of the VL-Bus architecture declines sharply when
supporting more than two devices, and the specification is currently limited to a 32-bit data path
and 33-MHz operation. This design is vanishing.
         PCI  (Peripheral Component Interconnect): A  PCI  chip set adds a 64-bit-wide bus between the
microprocessor and peripherals to offer a 64-bit data path. This chip supports speeds of 66-MHz.
PCI can transfer data either 32- or 64-bits at a time. This architecture is developed by Intel,
Compaq, DEC, IBM and NCR. \PCI technology incorporates a  managing layer  to route and manage
data for efficient handling of high-speed data transfers between the microprocessor and
peripherals.
Its design goals are to produce a low-cost, high-performance interface and support future
generations of peripherals. PCI provides excellent compatibility, higher throughput and automatic
configuration of peripheral cards. PCI also has features such as expandability and plug-and-play
flexibility.
 Comparison:  Both technologies employ a microprocessor’s local bus instead of the system
input/output bus to rapidly exchange data between the processor and peripherals.\The VESA design
reached the market first and is less expensive than PCI, but PCI is technically superior. A VL-Bus
usually supports only two or three local-bus peripherals, while PCI can support up to 10 local buses.
PCI uses fewer bus lines than VL-Bus. This enables PCI to eventually cost less to manufacture. PCI is
now dominating the market.
 PORTS – is an external connecting socketon the outside the computer. This is a pathway into and out
of the comp

uter. A port lets users plug in outside peripherals, such as monitors, scanners and printers.Serial
Ports-Serial ports are external I/O connectors used to attach modems, scanners or other serial
interface devices to the computer. The typical serial ports use a 9-pin  DB-9 or a 25-pin DB-
25connector. Serial ports transmit bits one after another on a single communications line. Serial
lines frequently are used to link equipment that is not located close by.

Parallel Ports –parallel ports are external I/O connectors on a computer used to hook up
printers or other parallel interface devices.  The  parallel port uses a  DB-25  connector. This port
transmits several bits simultaneously. Parallel lines move information faster than serial lines do.
 EXPANSION SLOTS
 Open Architecture: This architecture is a system whose specifications are made public to encourage

third-party  vendors to develop

add-on products for it. Most microcomputers adopt open architecture. They allow users to expand
their systems using optional expansion boards.
 Closed Architecture: This is a system whose technical specifications are not made public. With a
machine that has closed architecture, users cannot easily add new peripherals.

 Expansion Slots –are receptacles inside a system unit that printed circuit boards (expansion
boards)are plugged into. Computer buyers need to look at the number of expansion slots when they
buy a computer, because the number of expansion slots decides future expansion. In
microcomputers, the expansion slots are directly connected to the bus.
THINGS TO REMEMBER IN ASSEMBLY THE SYSTEM UNIT:
Safety Precaution in Assembly of System Unit