Project Work on

“Computer system hardware”

Submitted to People’s Campus

Paknajol, Kathmandu

Submitted By:
Names & Roll No. : Avyash Kurubang Limbu (3), Bijina Shrestha (10), Dolma Sherpa
(12), Yukesh Rai (13), Saman Shahi (26) & Sneha Ansari (59)

Program : BBA

Semester : 1st .……………………

Subject : IT and its Application Teacher’s Signature

 Acknowledgement
The accomplishment of this project on “Computer System
Hardware” required lots of guidance and assistance. I would like to thank
MRS. DINA SHRETHA PRADHAN our lecturer who has provided us the
brilliant opportunity to build and complete this report successfully with good
health and sound mind blessed us with patience and strength to complete this
project.

She helped us all the way through. She gave us proper guidelines and
directions about this project. We really want to express our gratitude to her
for giving valuable advice and time, which helped immensely in preparing
this report.

We are also grateful towards our friends who helped us gather the
valuable information to prepare this project work.
Table of Contents
Introduction to Computer Hardware...............................................................................1
Central Processing Unit.....................................................................................................1
Components of CPU.......................................................................................................1
Functions of CPU............................................................................................................2
Factor Affection the Speed of CPU...............................................................................2
Interconnecting the Unit of a Computer..........................................................................3
Inside a Computer Cabinet...............................................................................................5
Computer Memory.............................................................................................................6
Memory Hierarchy.........................................................................................................6
Primary Memory............................................................................................................7
Secondary Memory......................................................................................................11
Input Devices....................................................................................................................14
Keyboard.......................................................................................................................15
Mouse.............................................................................................................................16
Scanner..........................................................................................................................18
Touch Pad......................................................................................................................19
Output Devices.................................................................................................................20
Monitor..........................................................................................................................20
Printer............................................................................................................................23
Difference between Impact and Non-impact Printer................................................26
Plotter............................................................................................................................26
Speaker..........................................................................................................................27
IO Port...............................................................................................................................27
Conclusion.........................................................................................................................30
Chapter 3: Computer System Hardware

Introduction to Computer Hardware

Computer hardware is the physical components that a computer system requires to

function. Hardware refers to the computer's tangible components or delivery systems that
store and run the written instructions provided by the software. It encompasses everything
with a circuit board that operates within a PC or laptop; including the motherboard,
graphics card, CPU (Central Processing Unit), input/output devices, webcam, power
supply, and so on. Although the design of hardware differs between desktop PCs and
laptops due to their differences in size, the same core components will be found in both.
Without hardware, there would be no way of running the essential software that makes
computers so useful. Although a computer can function only when both hardware and
software are working together, the speed of a system will largely rely on the hardware
used.

Central Processing Unit

Central Processing Unit (CPU) is the device capable of performing various
computing functions and making decisions to change the sequence of program execution.
It is the most important processor in a given computer. It is considered as Brain and Heart
of computer system.

Components of CPU
Basic Components of CPU are Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU), Control Unit and
Register Set.
Chapter 3: Computer System Hardware

 Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU): It is the unit of microprocessor where various

computing functions are performed on the data. It performs arithmetic operations such
as addition, subtraction, etc. and logical operations such as OR, AND, Exclusive OR,
etc. It is also known as the brain of the computer system.
 Register Set: Registers are the small additional memory location which are used to
store and transfer data and instructions that are currently being executed. Some of the
registers include instruction register, program counter, accumulator and memory
address register, etc. Each register has a specific function. For example, a program
counter register holds the address of next instruction to be executed from memory.

 Control Unit: The control unit provides the necessary timing and control signals to
all the operations in a computer. It controls and executes the flow of data between the
microprocessor, memory and peripherals. For example, control unit receives
commands from an application, interprets the instructions and takes action. It sends
signals to the ALU or directs registers to perform specific tasks.

Functions of CPU
As already mentioned, CPU is considered as brain of our computer system. Some
of the major functions carried out by processor are listed below:

 Controlling all other parts of the machine and sending timing signals
 Transferring data between memory and I/O devices
 Fetching data and instructions from memory
 Decoding instruction
 Performing arithmetical and logical operations
 Executing programs stored in memory and storing result into memory
 Performing communication among the I/O devices

Factor Affection the Speed of CPU

Factors affecting the performance of the CPU include: Clock Speed, Word
Length, Bus Width and Line Width.

 Clock speed: The time needed to change the state of a transistor is called clock speed.
It is measured in megahertz (millions of cycles/sec) and gigahertz (billions of
cycles/second) Higher the clock speed, faster the CPU will be.
Chapter 3: Computer System Hardware

 Word length: The number of bits (0s and 1s) that can be processed by the CPU at
any one time is called word length. Higher the word length, faster the CPU will be.
 Bus width: The size of the physical paths through which the data and instructions
travel as electrical impulses on a computer chip is called bus width. Larger the width,
faster the CPU will be.
 Line width: The distance between transistors is known as line width. The smaller the
line width, the faster the chip. Smaller the line width, faster the CPU will be.

Interconnecting the Unit of a Computer

The bus is a medium used to transfer data, memory address and control signal
from one part to other part of computers. The bus is a set of wires that is used to connect
the different internal components of the computer system for the purpose of transferring
data as well as addresses amongst them. It refers to internal bus of computer system,
which is also known as communication path ways. It connect all the internal components
like: CPU, main memory and I/O port.

The size of the bus is known as its width determines how much data can be
transmitted at one time. Wider the BUS, the more data will be carried at one time, thus
processing speed will be greater. There are two types of computer buses: internal and
external.

 Internal Bus: An internal bus is used to connect the internal components of a

computer system, such as the processor, RAM, chipset, and hard disk. It is also
referred to as the System Bus.
 External Bus: An external bus is used to connect the computer system's external
components such as the monitor, keyboard, and printer. The external bus allows
various devices to be connected to the computer. It allows for the expansion of the
computer's capabilities. Therefore, it's also known as the Expansion Bus. It is
generally slower than the system bus. Universal Serial Bus (USB), PCI bus and IEEE
1294 are common examples of external buses.

Broadly we can divide buses into three categories: Address Bus, Data Bus, and Control
Bus. External buses, branch off from the system bus to provide a communication channel
between the CPU and the other peripherals.
Chapter 3: Computer System Hardware

 Data bus: In computer system, data bus is used to transfer data amongst the
different internal components, i.e. CPU, memory and I/O devices. This Data BUS
is the main factor for determining the processing power of computer. The speed of
the data bus also affects the overall processing power of a computer system. The
data bus consists of 8, 16, 32 or 64 parallel lines called data lines. The number of
wires inside the data bus determines the amount of data that can be transferred at
one time. Wider the data BUS, the more data it can carry at one time. Example:
Modern computer systems use 32-bit data buses for data transfer.ie these buses are
capable of transferring 32 bits of data at a time. The data BUS is bi-direction in
nature.
 Address bus: The address bus is also known as memory bus. It transfers the
memory addresses for read and write memory operations. It contains a number of
address lines that determine the range of memory addresses that can be referenced
using the address bus. A computer with N-bit address bus can directly address 2N
unit of physical memory .For example32 bits address bus can be used to reference
232 memory locations. Like data bus, the address bus can also be serial or a
parallel bus. Address bus consists of group of unidirectional wires which transmits
address of data in only one direction from CPU to main memory and peripherals
devices.
 Control Bus: The control bus is comprised of various single lines that carry
timing and control signal between CPU and other devices within the computer.
Control bus is consists of 4 to 10 parallel lines that report the status of various
Chapter 3: Computer System Hardware

devices called control lines. Control signal may be read and write signal. The
control signals transmit both command and timing information between the
system modules. The timing signal indicates the validity of the data and address
information. Whereas command signal specify operations to be performed.

Inside a Computer Cabinet

The computer cabinet contains the components needed to run the computer system
efficiently. The cabinet contains a variety of components, including a motherboard,
memory, CPU, Disk drives, ports, and so on.

 Motherboard: The motherboard is the computer's main circuit board. It's a thin plate
that holds the CPU, memory, connectors for the hard drive and optical drives,
expansion cards to control the video and audio, and connections to your computer's
ports (such as USB ports). The motherboard connects directly or indirectly to every
part of the computer.
 CPU: The CPU is the hardware component responsible for all operations performed
in the computer system, which is why most computer users call it the brain of the
computer, which is fixed on the motherboard through a slot.
 Random Access Memory (RAM): RAM is the main memory of a computer system,
and its main function is to temporarily store data.
Chapter 3: Computer System Hardware

 Hard Drive: The main storage device of a computer system is a hard disk or hard
disk drive. Unlike RAM, which temporarily stores data, the main function of a hard
drive is to permanently store data.
 DVD Drive: Compact disc (CD) and digital versatile disc (DVD) are storage devices
onto which certain amount of audio files, data and other computer files can be stored.
DVD drives function is to read whatever data has been stored on CDs and DVDs.
 Power Supply: A power supply converts ordinary household electricity into
electricity that a computer can use.
 Expansion Slots: Expansion slot appear on the motherboard. They are sockets into
which adapters are connected. If we wanted to install a new video card in the
computer, we purchase a video expansion card and install that card into the
compatible expansion slot.
 Expansion Card: An expansion card is an internal card that gives a computer
additional capabilities, such as enhanced video performance via a graphics card.
 Computer Fan: computer fans' prime function is to cool down and maintain a
conducive temperature within the system unit for smooth operations.
 Storage Bays: A bay is a space inside the computer case where a hard drive, floppy
drive or CD-ROM drive sits.

Computer Memory
Computer memory is the storage space in the computer where data to be
processed and processing instructions are stored. The memory is divided into a large
number of small parts known as cells. Each location or cell has its own address, which
ranges from zero to memory size minus one. For example, if the computer has 64k words,
this memory unit has 64* 1024 = 65536 memory locations. The addresses of these
locations range from 0 to 65535. There are two types of memory: primary/main memory
and secondary/auxiliary memory.

Memory Hierarchy
Today's computer system uses registers, cache memory, RAM/ROM, and
secondary memory as its memory system. This memory system is called memory
hierarchy. The CPU stored currently used data and instructions in registers and fetch
instructions and data from cache memory, located on the processor chip. Cache memory
Chapter 3: Computer System Hardware

must be loaded in from the main system memory (the Random Access Memory, or
RAM). RAM however, only retains its contents when the power is on, so needs to be
stored on more permanent storage. Thus memory hierarchy is essential. The goal of
memory hierarchy is to obtain the highest possible access speed while minimizing the
total cost of the memory system.

Register
Increase in Increase in
Cost and Cache Size
Speed Memory

Main Memory

Magnetic Disk

Magnetic Tape

Primary Memory
Normally the term memory refers to primary memory used in computer systems.
The memory that is accessible directly by the processing unit is called primary memory.
That is CPU can read data directly from the primary memory and can also write data
directly to it. We can store and retrieve data much faster with primary memory compared
to secondary memory: Primary memory is more expensive than secondary memory.
Because of this, the size of primary memory used in computer systems is less than that of
secondary memory. When the computer is doing any job, the data that have to be
processed are stored in the primary memory. This data may come from an input device
like keyboard or from a secondary storage device like a hard disk. Primary memories
used in our computers are:

 Random Access Memory (RAM):

It is the memory that holds instructions and data that are used frequently during
processing. It is referred to as random access memory (RAM) because it is possible to
randomly select any location of the memory to store and retrieve data. It takes same time
Chapter 3: Computer System Hardware

to address any memory location. RAM is commonly referred to as main memory: CPU
cannot use data and instructions directly from the hard disk. It must be loaded into RAM
before the CPU uses it. Therefore RAM is like a workbench whereas a hard disk is like a
file cabinet. The storage of data and instructions inside RAM is temporary. Data
disappears from RAM as soon as the power to the computer is switched off. So we can
say that RAM is volatile memory. This memory is generally made up of semiconductors.

There are two types of RAM: Dynamic RAM (DRAM) and Static RAM (SRAM).
These two types differ in the technology they use to hold data. DRAM needs to be
refreshed thousands of times per second. SRAM needs to be refreshed less often. The
distinction between SRAM and DRAM is given below.

S.N. DRAM SRAM

1. DRAM stands for dynamic RAM. SRAM stands for static RAM.

2. It is cheaper than SRAM. It is more expensive than DRAM.

3. Data density of DRAM is higher and Data density of SRAM is lower and
hence storage cost per bit is relatively hence storage cost per bit is high.
low.

4. It needs to be refreshed thousands of It needs to be refreshed less often than

times per second to retain the stored DRAM.
data.

5. It is made up of transistors and It is made up of transistors only. Six

capacitors. One transistor and one transistors are used to make a memory
capacitor is used to make a memory cell.
cell.

6. It is slower than SRAM. It is faster than DRAM.

7. Main memory (i.e. RAM) used in our Cache memory used in our computer
computer is DRAM. is SRAM.

 Read only Memory (ROM):

ROM is the primary memory that stores some standard processing programs
supplied by the manufacturers to operate the personal computer. CPU can only read the
Chapter 3: Computer System Hardware

content of ROM can but it cannot change the content of ROM. The basic input/output
program is stored in the ROM that examines and initializes various equipment attached to
the PC when the switch is made ON ROM is non-volatile memory because it does not
lose its content on the failure of the power supply. ROM is also random access memory
because any location of ROM can be selected in equal time. Types of ROM are: PROM,
EPROM and EEPROM.

 PROM (Programmable Read-only Memory): This type of ROM is blank when

new. Once PROM has been programmed, it cannot be erased or deleted that
means it is permanently written. So, that program can be written only once in
PROM. For storing data in PROM there is a special equipment called ROM
programmer or ROM burner.
 EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-only Memory): An EPROM is a
ROM that can be erased and reprogrammed. The ultraviolet light clears its
contents, making it possible to reprogram the memory. Obviously this is much
more useful than a regular PROM, but it does requires the erasing light.

 EEPROM (Electronic Erasable Programmable Read-only Memory):

EEPROM is an electrically erasable PROM. It can be erased and reprogrammed
on the byte by byte basis. Either a single byte on the entire chip can be erased in
one operation. It requires much shorter time, a few milliseconds for erasing as
compared to EPROM. Varying with different manufacturers, it has limit on the
number of times for which it can be reprogrammed. It is not required to remove it
from the circuit board for erasing as EPROM.

 Cache Memory:
Cache memory is a special, high speed and expensive semiconductor memory
which is placed between RAM and CPU. Cache is generally pronounced as cash. It is
supplementary primary memory system that temporarily stores data and instruction. The
most frequently used instructions are kept in the cache memory so that the CPU can look
there first. This allows the CPU to run faster, because it doesn’t have to take time to swap
instruction in and out of the memory. It is made by the components of static RAM. It is 5
to 10 times faster than main memory. As speed of the CPU is faster than RAM, cache
memory is kept in between CPU and RAM .Speed of RAM and cache together can meet
the speed of CPU.
Chapter 3: Computer System Hardware

CPU retrieves data or instruction more quickly from cache memory than it does from
RAM or disk. So, CPU first checks whether that data are in Cache or not. If the data finds
in the cache then it means ‘cache hit ’otherwise ‘cache misses’. So, cache hit is success
retrieval of data from cache memory by the CPU. Another is the cache miss the failure of
retrieval of data from the cache memory by the CPU. When the cache miss occurs, data is
read from the main memory is also written to cache memory, so that when the specific
address is accessed next a time a hit occurs. Cache can be classified into two categories.

 Level 1 cache (L1): L1 cache is also known as primary or internal cache,is built
into the processor chip. It is small fast memory area that works together with the
level2 cache to provide the processor much faster access to important and often
used data.
 Level 2 cache (L2): L2 cache is also known as secondary or external cache, is a
collection of static RAM chip that are built onto the motherboard.L2 cache is little
larger and slower than L1 but is faster than the main memory.

L1 and L2 cache are used together for optimal use of the processor.

 Register:
Registers are the fastest memory units used to store data and instructions
temporarily that are used by the CPU immediately. Once the instruction is executed or
data is used by the CPU, registers are immediately loaded by another instruction or data.
CPU processes data and instructions with high speed. To match this speed of CPU, data
and instructions must be present in registers. There is also the movement of data between
various units of the computer. It is necessary to transfer the processed data at high speed.
So the computer uses a number of special memory units called registers. There are
various types of Registers that are used for various purposes. Among them, some of the
mostly used registers are: Accumulator, Data Register, Address Register, and Program
Counter.
Chapter 3: Computer System Hardware

Secondary Memory
Secondary memory such as floppy disks, Hard disks, Optical disks, etc. are
located outside the computer and the CPU cannot directly access the secondary memory.
The storage capacity of the main memory is very limited. Often it is necessary to store
hundreds of millions of bytes of data for the CPU to process. Therefore additional
memory is required in all computer systems. This memory is called secondary memory or
auxiliary storage. In this type of memory, the cost per bit of storage is low. However, the
operating speed is slower than that of the primary storage. A huge volume of data is
stored here on a permanent basis and transferred to the primary storage as and when
required. The most widely used secondary storage devices are: Magnetic Tape, Magnetic
Disks, Flash Memory, and Optical Storage etc.

 Magnetic Tape:
Magnetic Tape is a sequential access type storage device which is suitable for
backup storage. It is made up of Mylar plastic coated with magnetic material (iron oxide)
only on one side of the tape. Data is stored in frames across the width of the tape. It is a
serial access type storage device having low cost and has large storage capacity. If large
volume of information is to be processed sequentially it can be stored on magnetic tape.
They are durable, can be written, erased and re- written. We have to rewind or forward to
find the requested data in magnetic tape. This tape is generally used to back-up those data
that is not frequently used to transfer data from one system to other. Very large amount of
data can be stored in a small storage space. But information written on magnetic tape
cannot be accessed randomly is one of its main drawback.
Chapter 3: Computer System Hardware

 Magnetic Disk:
It is circular like disk and coated with magnetic material. All magnetic disks used
in computers are made on the same principle. Data is stored on both surfaces of the disk.
Magnetic disks are the most popular direct access storage device. This means to find a
piece of data at location X, the disk head directly goes to location X without fast-
forwarding. It uses a magnetization process to write, rewrite and access data. The
presence of a magnetic spot represents bit 1 and its absence represents bit 0. Hard disks
and floppy disks are common examples of magnetic disks.

 Hard Disk: A hard disk is a magnetic disk on which we store computer data. It
can store several gigabytes (GB) of data. A single hard disk usually consists of
several platters. Each platter requires two read/write heads, one for each side. All
read/write heads are attached to a single access arm so that they cannot move
independently. Each platter has the same number of tracks and a track location
that cuts across all platters is called a cylinder. The tracks are divided into sections
called sectors. The sector is a minimum quantity of information that can be
transferred.

Platters of hard disk spin thousands of times per second and disk arms move just
back and forth. When data access is required, first of all, the RW head is
positioned into the required tack and waits for the required track. When the track
comes under RW head, data is accessed. The term hard disk crash refers to the
crashing of the disk head into the surface of the disk.
 Floppy Disk: A Floppy disk is a soft magnetic disk that is commonly used to
move files between different computers, load new programs onto the computer or
store backup of data and small programs. It is slower to access data than hard
Chapter 3: Computer System Hardware

disks and have less storage capacity, but is less expensive and portable. It is not
very reliable and can be damaged easily. Floppies come in two basic sizes, 5.25
inches and 3.5 inches. The most common 5.25-inch floppies were 360KB and
1.2MB 3.5 inches can hold 1.44MB of data. Nowadays, floppies are almost
disappeared. It is also called a soft disk because it is not fixed into the computer
systems.

A floppy disk is a storage medium that consists of a thin and magnetic disk inside a
plastic carrier. It can store data on only one surface of a magnetically coated plastic
disk. Its internal structure and working mechanism are same as that of the hard disk.
Like hard disks, the disk surface is divided into concentric tracks. These tracks are
further divided into sectors, where data can be stored. It has also an RW head, which
is used to access data from the disk surface.

 Optical Disk:

Optical disks are the storage medium from which data is read and to which data is
written with the help of laser light. An optical disc is a flat circular disc that encodes
binary data in the form of pits and lands on a special material (often aluminum) on its flat
surfaces. Pits represent a binary value of 0 or OFF due to lack of reflection when read and
lands represent a binary value of 1 or ON due to a reflection when read. There are two
types of optical disks: CD (compact disk) and DVD (digital versatile disk).
Chapter 3: Computer System Hardware

 Compact Disk: It is a data storage format, which basically means that it is used to
store data. It is portable and its capacity usually ranges from 650 to 750MB. There
are three basic types of compact disks (CDs):
o CD-ROM: It stands for CD-Read only memory. CD-ROM is written during
the process of manufacturing by a high power laser beam. The data is
permanent and can be read any number of times, but CD-ROMs cannot be
modified.
o WORM: It stands for Write-Once, Read-Many (WORM). The inconvenience
that we cannot write anything into a CD-ROM is avoided in WORM. We can
write data into a WORM disk, but only once. After that, the WORM disk
behaves just like a CD-ROM.
o Erasable Optical Disk (EO): These are optical disks where data can be
written, erased and re- written. Erasable optical disks are based on a
technology known as magneto-optical (MO). To write a data bit into the
erasable optical disk the MO drive's laser beam heats a tiny, precisely defined
point on the disk's surface and magnetizes it.
 Digital Versatile Disk (DVD): DVD is primarily used to store movies or music.
However, it can hold any type of information. It is similar to a CD but has a larger
capacity. It is essentially a successor to the CD. It has the same physical
appearance, but it provides several times as much up to 4.7 gigabytes on one disc.
That's enough for more than two hours of video movies. Compared to VCDs,
movies on DVD provide much higher quality; DVD movies use MPEG-2
compression, rather than the MPEG-1 compression used by Video CDs.

 Flash Memory:
Flash memory is a type of electronically erasable programmable read-only
memory (EEPROM), but may also be a standalone memory storage device such as a USB
drive. Flash memory is a special type of EEPROM, which is programmed and erased in
large blocks whereas EEPROM's had to be completely erased before being rewritten. It
has a very fast access time than a hard disk drive. One distinctive feature of flash memory
is that it’s read operations are much faster than write and erase operations. Besides this,
its lifetime is limited to a fixed number of erase operations.
Chapter 3: Computer System Hardware

Input Devices
A device that is used to feed data into a computer is called an input device. It
sends data into the CPU or RAM. A digital computer can only understand binary codes
(codes of O's and 1's), therefore the data that human understands must be converted into
binary codes. The input device also performs this type of conversion. Input devices that
require data to be entered manually to the computer are identified as human data entry
devices. The data may be entered by typing or keying in, or by pointing a device to a
particular location. There are different types of human entry devices. Some commonly
used are: keyboard, mouse, scanner, touch pad etc.

Keyboard
The keyboard is the primary input device of any computer system. It is also called
a standard input device. It operates by converting key presses to electronic signals in
binary digital form. The layout of the keyboard is just like the traditional typewriter of the
type QWERTY. It consists of a set of typewriter-like keys that enable us to enter data into
a computer. The keys on computer keyboards are often classified as follows:

 Alphanumeric keys: The alphanumeric keys include the number keys and alphabet
keys. These keys are arranged in the same style as in the normal typewriters,
popularly known as QWERTY layout.
 Functional keys: The functional keys are arranged in a row on the top of the
keyboard. These keys help perform specific tasks, such as searching a file or
refreshing a web page.
 Central keys: The central keys are used for controlling the movement of cursor and
screen display. These include arrow keys (for moving the cursor) and modifier keys
such as SHIFT, ALT and CTRL (for modifying the input).
 Numerical keypad: The numeric keypad is located on the right side of the keyboard.
This looks like a calculator's keypad with its 10 digits and mathematical operators.
 Special purpose keys: The special purpose keys help perform a certain kind of
operation, like exiting a program or deleting some characters in a document. The
various special purpose keys in a keyboard are Escape, Insert, Delete, Print Screen,
Pause, Tab, Spacebar, etc
Chapter 3: Computer System Hardware

A standard keyboard would include about 100 keys. However, many manufacturers add
special buttons to perform some special tasks.

Mouse
Mouse is a small hand-held pointing device that basically controls the two-
dimensional movement of the cursor on the displayed screen. It is an important part of the
Graphical User Interface (GUI) based Operating System (OS) as it helps in selecting a
portion of the screen and copying and pasting the text. The mouse, on moving, also
moves the pointer appearing on the display device. The most commonly used types of
mouse are as follows:

 Mechanical Mouse:
A mechanical mouse consists of three button, left button right button and scroll
button. Inside the plastic coating of the mouse, there is a ball, which is rolled ever a flat
surface corresponding to which the cursor moves on the display screen. The left button on
the mouse is the most frequently used button as it helps in selecting the icons, folders and
text on the display 'screen. The right button on the mouse helps in displaying the short cut
menu, whereas the scroll button helps in moving the cursor up and down on the screen by
scrolling it.
Chapter 3: Computer System Hardware

 Optical Mouse:
It uses laser light to detect the mouse's movement. The optical mouse has no
mechanical moving parts and no mouse pads are required. When the mouse is moved,
laser rays hit the surface and provide the direction to the pointer on the screen. This
mouse responds more quickly and precisely than a mechanical and optomechanical
mouse but is slightly more expensive.

 Optomechanical Mouse:
An Optomechanical or optical-mechanical mouse is the same as the mechanical
mouse except that the sensors used in it are optical and not mechanical. The device is a
combination of optical and mechanical technologies, wherein, the ball is present but the
mouse movement is detected optically leading to more accuracy than the mechanical
mouse. It requires a mouse pad under the mouse to work correctly and efficiently. This
mouse is more accurate than a mechanical mouse but is not as good as an optical mouse.
Chapter 3: Computer System Hardware

Scanner
Scanners are used to input images and/or texts printed on paper into a computer,
allowing the computer to read and/or display the scanned object. A scanner works by
digitizing an image. This means it divides printed images into a grid of boxes and
represents each box with a combination of zeros and ones. Normally Scanners do not
distinguish text from pictures and images. The followings are the commonly used optical
scanners: OCR, OMR, OBCR etc.

 Optical Character Reader (OCR):

The OCR devices (or scanners) are used to scan special characters (such as
alphabetic and numeric characters) printed on paper and fed into the computer as input
data. The OCR device uses a light source to read the characters printed on the paper. The
characters must have a special type of font called an OCR font. The accepted OCR fonts
are OCR-A (American standard) and OCR-B (European standard). The OCR software is
used to translate the scanned image of a text document into text. An OCR system enables
you to take a book or a magazine, scan it into a computer file, and then edit using a word
processor.

 Optical Bar-Code Reader (OBCR):

Bar-Code uses a number of bars (lines) of varying thickness and spacing between
them to indicate the desired information. Barcodes are used on most grocery items. An
optical bar-code reader can read such bars and convert them into electrical pulses to be
processed by a computer. The most commonly used bar code is Universal Product Code
(UPC). The UPC code uses a series of vertical bars of varying width. These bars are
detected as 10 digits. The first five digits identify the supplier or manufacturer of the
item. The second five digits identify the individual products. The code also contains a
check digit to ensure that the information read is correct or not. A point-of-sale terminal
often contains an optical bar-code reader. Such a terminal is used to process sales
transactions. The reader reads the bar code of an item. The bar-code is decoded and data
are sent to the computer. The computer prints the name of the item, its price and other
necessary information.
Chapter 3: Computer System Hardware

 Optical Mark Reader (OMR):

The Optical Mark Reader is a device that "reads" pencil marks on multiple choice
question answer sheets or other documents in similar form. Tests and surveys completed
on these forms are read in by the scanner, checked, and the results are saved to a file.
OMR allows for the processing of hundreds or thousands of documents per hour. OMR
devices work by shining a beam of light onto the form paper. The contrasting reflectivity
at predetermined positions on a page is then detected as marked areas because they reflect
less light than the blank areas of the paper. If filled space in the form is not filled
completely or enough dark pencil is not used, OMR may be unable to read marks
accurately.

 Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR):

MICR is a character recognition system that uses special ink and characters. When
a document that contains characters written by this ink needs to be read, it passes through
the MICR reader, which magnetizes the ink and then translates the magnetic information
into characters. MICR technology is used mainly by the banking industry to ease the
processing and clearance of cheques and other documents. Numbers and characters found
on the bottom of checks (usually containing the check number, sort number, and account
number) are printed using Magnetic Ink. MICR provides a secure, high-speed method of
scanning and processing information. Normally magnetic inks bar codes are printed on
the bottom of your bank's cheque. MICR code consists of 9 digits. The first three digits
denote city, the next four digits denote bank and the last three digits denote branch.

Touch Pad
A touchpad is an input device on laptops and some keyboards to move a cursor
with your finger. It can be used in place of an external mouse. As you move your finger
on the surface, the mouse moves in that same direction. Like most computer mice, the
touchpad also has two buttons below the touch surface that allows you to left-click or
right-click. The touchpad contains several layers of material. The top layer is the pad that
you touch. Beneath it is layers containing horizontal and vertical rows of electrodes that
form a grid. Beneath these layers is a circuit board to which the electrode layers are
connected. As the finger approaches the electrode grid, the current is interrupted and the
interruption is detected by the circuit board.
Chapter 3: Computer System Hardware

Output Devices
Any peripheral device that receives and displays output from a computer is called an
output device. An output device is also defined as any piece of computer hardware
equipment used to communicate the results of a computer to the outside world. Digital
computers always generate results in binary form, which is difficult to understand for
computer users. Output devices are responsible for converting output in binary form to
human-understandable form. Broadly output devices can be divided into two categories:
Soft Copy and Hard Copy Output devices.

 Soft-copy: Soft-copy is an electronic display of digital information, such as files

viewed on the PC monitor. A digital image file, a digital word document, an email
attachment are all examples of soft copy. Examples of output devices that
generate soft copy output are: monitor, speaker etc.
 Hard-copy: Once the soft copy is printed or burned, they are referred to as a hard
copy. Examples of output devices that generate hard copy output are: printer,
plotter etc.

Monitor
It is also called a video display terminal (VDT) or display screen. It is used to display
information, programs and applications. Like televisions, monitors also come in different
sizes. It is also called a primary output device or standard output device. Pixel is the
Chapter 3: Computer System Hardware

smallest unit of the monitor. The quality of a monitor depends on resolution, dot pitch,
and color depth.

 Dot Pitch: Space between pixels is called dot pitch. The finer the dot pitch, the
better the quality of the monitor will be.
 Color Depth: The number of bits used to represent the color information of a
pixel is called color depth. The higher the color depth, the better the quality of the
monitor will be.
 Resolution: The number of pixels in a row by the number of pixels in a column is
called resolution of the monitor. The higher the resolution, the better the quality of
the display unit will be.

Different types of monitors are: CRT Monitor, LCD Monitor, LED Monitor, and Plasma
Display Panel.

 CRT Monitor:
CRT stands for cathode-ray-tube. In CRT, a beam of electrons (cathode rays)
emitted by an electron gun passes through focusing and deflection systems and hits
specified positions on the phosphor-coated screen. The phosphor then emits a small spot
of light at each position contacted by the electron beam to display information. To display
the information continuously, monitor needs to be refreshed periodically.

 LCD Monitor:
LCDs are commonly used in PDA's, calculators, laptops, and desktop computers.
These devices produce a picture by passing polarized light from an internal light source
through a liquid-crystal material. LCD monitors consume less power than CRT monitors
Chapter 3: Computer System Hardware

but they are more expensive. The viewing angle range of LCD monitors is less than
CRT's. That is if we look at LCD monitors from an angle, content displayed in the
monitors does not appear clear.

 LED Monitor:
An LED (Light Emitting Diode) display is a type of flat panel display that uses an
array of light- emitting diodes as pixels for a video display. The actual difference between
this and a typical LCD monitor is the backlighting. LCD monitors use CCFL (Cold
Cathode Fluorescent Lighting) instead of LEDs to illuminate the screen. LED monitors
are less expensive, possess more quality, and have a longer life than LCD monitors.
Chapter 3: Computer System Hardware

 Plasma Display Panel (PDP):

A plasma display is a computer video display in which each pixel on the screen is
illuminated by a tiny bit of plasma or charged gas. Plasma displays are thinner than
cathode ray tube (CRT) displays and brighter than liquid crystal displays (LCD). A
plasma display is flat rather than slightly curved as a CRT display is and therefore free of
distortion on the edges of the screen. Unlike many LCD displays, a plasma display offers
a very wide viewing angle. It is a type of flat panel display common to large TV displays
36 inches or larger.

Printer
A printer is an external hardware device that prints computer data on paper and in
many cases on transparencies and other media. It generates a hard copy of the computer
data. Printers are one of the most used peripherals on computers and are commonly used
to print text, images etc. There are two basic qualities associated with printers: resolution
and print speed. Print resolution is measured as the number of dots per inch (dpi) and
print speed is typically measured in pages per minute (ppm).
Chapter 3: Computer System Hardware

Currently, different types of printers are in use. Some common types of printers are
impact printers and non-impact printers

 Impact Printer:
Impact printer prints characters or images by striking a print hammer or wheel against
an inked ribbon. It prints documents at a slower rate and produces noise while printing.
Impact printer includes dot-matrix printer and line printer.

 Dot-matrix Printer: A dot-matrix printer creates characters by striking pins

against an inked ribbon; each pin makes a dot and a combination of dots form
characters and illustrations. They are relatively expensive and do not produce
high-quality output. Now a days, Dot matrix printers are rarely used or found
because of the low-quality print compared to other categories of printers.
 Line Printer: A line printer is a high-speed printer capable of printing an entire
line at one time. A fast line printer can print as many as 3,000 lines per minute.
The disadvantages of line printers are that they cannot print graphics, the print
quality is low, and they are very noisy.
Chapter 3: Computer System Hardware

 Non-impact Printer:
Non-impact printer prints characters and images without striking the papers. These
printers can print documents at a faster rate and also do not produce noise while printing.
The non-impact printer includes ink-jet printer, laser printer and thermal printer.

 Ink-jet Printer: An ink-jet printer works by spraying ionized ink on a sheet of

paper. Magnetized plates in the ink's path direct the ink onto the paper in the
desired shapes. Ink- jet printers are capable of producing high-quality print
approaching that produced by laser printers. In general, the price of ink-jet printers
is lower than that of laser printers. However, they are also considerably slower.
Another drawback of ink-jet printers is that they require a special type of ink.
 Laser Printer: A laser printer utilizes a laser beam to produce an image on a
drum. The light of the laser alters the electrical charge on the drum wherever it
hits. The drum is then rolled through a reservoir of toner. Finally, the toner is
transferred to the paper through a combination of heat and pressure. This is also
the way copy machines work. Because an entire page is transmitted to a drum
before the toner is applied, laser printers are sometimes called page printers.
Output quality laser printer is better than ink-jet printers and dot- matrix printers.
 Thermal Printer: A Thermal printer produces a printed image by selectively
heating coated thermal paper when the paper passes over the thermal print head.
The coating turns into appropriate color in the areas where it is heated, producing
an image. The printer sends an electric current to the heating elements of the
thermal head, which generate heat. The heat activates the thermo-sensitive
coloring layer of the thermo-sensitive paper, which changes color where heated.
Chapter 3: Computer System Hardware

Difference between Impact and Non-impact Printer

S.N. Impact Printer Non-impact Printer

1. It prints character or image by striking It prints characters and images without
print hammer or wheel against an inked striking the papers.
ribbon.
2. Its speed is slow. Its speed is fast.
3. Its printing quality is low. Its printing quality is high.
4. It generates noise during printing. It does not generate noise during
printing.
5. It uses inked ribbon for printing. It uses toner or cartridge for printing.
6. It is less expensive. It is more expensive.
7. Dot matrix and line printer are impact Ink-jet, laser and thermal printer are
printer. non-impact printer

Plotter
A plotter is a computer hardware device much like a printer that is used for
printing vector graphics. Instead of toner, plotters use a pen, pencil, marker, or another
writing tool to draw multiple, continuous lines onto a paper rather than a series of dots
like a traditional printer. Plotters were the first type of printer that could print with color
and render graphics and full-size engineering drawings. Plotters are much more expensive
than printers. They are most frequently used for CAE (computer-aided engineering)
applications, such as CAD (computer-aided design) and CAM (computer-aided
manufacturing). Though once widely used for computer-aided design, these devices have
more or less been phased out by wide-format printers.
Chapter 3: Computer System Hardware

Speaker
A computer speaker is a hardware device that connects a computer to generate
sound. The signal used to produce the sound that comes from a computer speaker is
created by the computer's sound card. A speaker port allows us to connect a speaker to the
computer. Speakers can be built into the computer or can be attached separately. Speakers
usually come in pairs, which allow them to produce stereo sound from two separate audio
channels. Speakers are made up of a cone, an iron coil, a magnet, and housing (case).
When the speaker receives electrical input from a device, it sends the current through the
coil to move it back and forth. This motion then vibrates the outer cone, generating sound
waves picked up by our ears.

IO Port
A port is a connection point that serves as an interface between the computer and
external devices such as a mouse, printer, modem, and so on. There are two kinds of
ports.

 Internal Port: It connects the motherboard to internal devices such as hard

drives, CD drives, internal modems, and so on.
 External Port: It connects the motherboard to external devices such as a modem,
mouse, printer, flash drives, and so on.

The serial port, parallel ports, Universal Serial Bus (USB) port and the Fire wire port,
are used to connect I/O devices to the computer.
Chapter 3: Computer System Hardware

 Serial Port: Serial ports send data one bit at a time over a single wire in a sequential
fashion. So they need only one wire to transmit 8 bits. However it also makes them
slower. Serial ports are usually 9-pin or 25-pin male connectors. Serial ports provide
slow data transmission because data is transmitted serially as single bits. A serial port
is used to connect external devices such as modems, plotters, barcode readers, and so
on.

 Parallel Ports: Parallel ports can send or receive 8 bits or 1 byte at a time. As a
result, parallel ports provide high speed data transmission. Parallel ports come in form
of 25-pin female pins and are used to connect printer, scanner, external hard disk
drive, etc.

 Universal Serial Bus (USB) Port: Nowadays, USB (Universal Serial Bus) is a
common and widely used external port on computers. On a typical PC, two to four
USB ports are provided. USB allows different devices to be connected to a computer
without requiring a re-boot. USB also has a plug and play feature that allows devices
to be ready to use by simply plugging them into a USB port. Up to 127 devices can be
connected to a single USB port. It transmits data in much higher speed compared to
serial and parallel ports.
Chapter 3: Computer System Hardware

 The Fire Wire Port: It is used to connect audio and video multimedia devices such
as video cameras. It is an expensive technology that is used for large data transfers.
Fire wire is used to connect hard disk drives and new DVD drives. It has a data
transfer rate of up to 400 MB/sec.
Chapter 3: Computer System Hardware

Conclusion
This project is prepared according to the guidance provided by our IT lecturer.
Objective of preparing this project was to get knowledge about how a project should be
prepared.

Working on this project, we learned about various features of MS-word. It was a

delightful learning experience for us. This project taught us how a project should be
developed and we got familiar with the features of MS-word. While preparing this
project, we learned to put header and footer, page number, designing of cover page, table
of content, font size etc. It gave us an inspiration to work on project development in our
further studies. We enjoyed each and every second we spend on preparation of this
project.