Inside System Unit

SLO # 4
Differentiate between CPU
and system unit;
SLO # 4.1.1
 CPU

SYSTEM UNIT
Differentiate between CPU and System Unit
S.NO SYSTEM UNIT CPU
1. System Unit does not have any full form. CPU stands for Central Processing Unit.
2. It manages the entire or whole Whereas it is the part of system unit.
computer.
3. Without CPU system unit is nothing. It is the heart or brain of system unit.
4. It is not responsible for giving the answer While it is responsible for giving the answer
or solution of queries. or solution of queries.
5. System unit is the computer system’s Whereas it is the small unit of system unit.
part or unit.
6. System unit contains or provides the While it does not have power supply.
power supply to the entire computer
system.
7. System unit contains optical drive, Whereas it contains microprocessor, that
hardware, RAM, power supply, BIOS, process data.
motherboard, processors, fans,
peripheral devices, etc.
Discuss the role of three major
components of system unit, i.e.
casing, power supply and
motherboard;
SLO # 4.1.2
Casing

The computer case serves mainly as a way

to physically mount and contain all of the
actual components inside of a computer,
like the motherboard, hard drive, optical
drive, floppy disk drive, etc. They typically
come bundled with a power supply.
Power supply

The power supply unit (PSU) is used to

convert AC currents from the main supply
to the different DC voltages required by
various computer components.
Power supplies are quoted as having a
certain power output specified in watts, A
standard power supply would typically be
able to deliver around 350 watts.
Motherboard

A system core. Actually, it is a heart of

computer. Other system elements are
connected to motherboard, and the whole
system is managed and controlled by it.
Motherboard contains special chips on
which some ICs (Integrated circuits) are
fixed.
Ports and Slots on the
Motherboard

SLO # 4.2
Differentiate among different types of ports,
i.e. serial port, parallel port, PS/2 port,
Universal Serial Bus (USB) port, firewire port
and High Definition Multimedia Interface
HDMI port;
SLO # 4.2.1
Serial port
A serial port is basically a serial
communication interface through which
information transforms one bit at a time. It
is one of the oldest type of interfaces.

• These are basically used for external

modems.
• These are basically available in two
versions in market these are 9 pin, 25 pin
model.
• Data travels at a speed of 115 kilo-bits per
second.
Parallel port
A parallel port is basically a parallel
communication interface through
which information transforms multiple
bits at a time.

• These are basically used to connect

peripherals such as scanner or
printers.
• These are also known as printer port.
• These are available in 25 pin model.
• Data travels at a speed of 150 kilo
bits per second.
PS/2 ports

These are basically 6 pin mini Din

connector used to connect keyboard,
mice to a PC compatible computers.
• These are basically used by old
computers for connecting mouse or
keyboard.
• These are called as mouse port.
Universal Serial Bus (USB)
It is basically a standard cable connection
interface between computer and external
device. USB is an industrial standard for
short-distance digital data communication.
• Basically it can connect all types of external
devices to the computer such as mouse,
keyboard, printers, speakers etc.
• These ports were introduced in 1997.
• Minimum 2 ports are there in every
computer system.
• Data basically travels at a speed of 14mb/s
which is much faster than serial port.
• The devices that uses USB port gets power
from a USB port.
Firewire port

Firewire (also called IEEE 1394) is

another popular connector for adding
peripherals to your computer. Firewire
is most often used to connect digital
camcorders, external hard drives, and
other devices that can benefit from
the high transfer rates (up to 480
Mbps) supported by the Firewire
connection.
High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI)

HDMI is a connector and cable capable

of transmitting high-quality and
high-bandwidth streams of audio and
video between devices. The HDMI
technology is used with devices such
as an HDTV, Projector, DVD player,
or Blu-ray player.
 Compare the six types of expansion cards i.e.
sound card, video graphics card, modem card,
Network Interface Card (NIC), gigabit card and
wireless network card;
SLO # 4.2.2
Sound Card
Sound cards expand the sound
capabilities of a PC. They are
popular with gamers and those
who watch videos, and/or
television, on their PCs. With a
sound card, a system can go from
mono sound, to stereo sound, to
surround sound.
Video Card
Video cards can increase the overall
performance of a system, depending
upon the card that is installed. They can
also allow the addition of multiple
monitors. One of the ways that they
increase performance is by taking the
workload off of the CPU and transferring
it to the video card. A good video card is
a wise investment.
Modem card
Most systems no longer come with
built-in modems. However, some
virtual private networks require the
client to dial-in in order to connect
and a modem is needed to do so.
An expansion card that has a
modem built into it will resolve this
problem.
Network card
Most motherboards have built in
network cards; however, they can
fail or they might not connect to
the right type of network in your
situation. Additionally, you might
need to connect with another or
different type of network or make
multiple network connections.
Those are a few examples of
situations where a network
expansion card could prove useful.
Gigabit card
Gigabit Ethernet, a transmission
technology based on
the Ethernet frame format and
protocol used in local area
networks (LANs), provides a data
rate of 1 billion bits per second
(one gigabit). Gigabit Ethernet is
defined in the IEEE 802.3 standard
and is currently being used as
the backbone in many enterprise
networks.
Wireless Network
Adapter
A wireless network adapter is a computer
hardware component device designed to
enable computers to communicate
wirelessly over a network.
Wireless network adapters function by
connecting to the computer via
expansion card devices, or cards
designed to expand computer
functionality, such as memory cards or
PC cards. You can also connect a wireless
network adapter via a USB port on the
computer or via an internal adapter
already contained within the computer.
 Differentiate between two categories of
memory modules, i.e. Single Inline Memory
Module (SIMM) and Double Inline Memory
Module (DIMM);
SLO # 4.2.3
SIMM SIMM SLOTS
DIMM DIMM SLOTS
SIMM VS DIMM
S.NO SIMM DIMM

1. SIMM supports 32 bit channel for data DIMM supports 64 bit channel for data
transferring. transferring.
2. SIMM consumes 5 volts of power. DIMM consumes 3.3 volts of power.
3. SIMM provides the storage 4 MB to 64 DIMM provides the storage 32 MB to 1
MB. GB.
4. SIMMs are the older technology. DIMMs are the replacement of the
SIMMs.
5. SIMMs are installed in pairs at a time. DIMMs are installed one at a time.
6. SIMMs are used by 486 CPU as well as DIMMs are used by modern Pentium
early Pentium computers. computers.
7. The length and width of SIMM are The length and width of DIMM are
respectively 4.25 inches and 1 inch. respectively 1.67 to 5.25 inches and 1
to 1.75 inches.