SKYNETBEE WEEK - 2

MATERIAL
 SMPS - SWITCH MODE POWER SUPPLY

Human Body:
 It is like the digestive system for a computer.
 Just as our digestive system converts food into usable energy in the
blood, SMPS does the same for a computer.

Inputs:
 The plug points in our homes produce 220V AC.
 The SMPS takes it and converts it into smaller currents.

Working of SMPS:
 These smaller currents are delivered to the motherboard, hard disk
and other components inside the CPU.
 In short, the SMPS converts 220V AC to various lower DC voltages
for the hard disk, motherboard, etc., individually.
 It manages the power supply for the entire CPU.
HARD DISK

READ / WRITE HEAD

Principles:
 Uses magnets to store 0s and 1s.
 Magnets have two poles: North Pole and South Pole.

0s and 1s
 If the North Pole of the magnet is facing up, it is 1, and if the South
Pole of the magnet is facing up, it is 0.
 There are crores and crores of magnets on the disk that you see
inside a hard disk.

Working of Hard Disk:

 The disk is connected to a motor that rotates at a speed of 5000
rotations per minute (RPM).
 This allows the read/write head to orient magnets North UP or
South UP depending on 1s or 0s (write) or read at very high speeds.
Disclaimer: For easier understanding, we have tweaked some concepts
and simplified them. The actual workings are very slightly different.
RAM - RANDOM ACCESS MEMORY

 RAM is similar to hard disk. It also stores data.

 In fact, it also stores data in the form of 0s and 1s, just like hard
disk.
 The only difference is RAM doesn’t use magnets and rotating disks
to save data.
 Instead, it uses capacitors to store 0s and 1s.
 This gives a big advantage and disadvantage to RAM compared to a
hard disk.
Advantages:
1. It is a very fast storage option.
2. If a hard disk is as slow as a tortoise, RAM is as fast as a jet
engine.
3. This makes RAM the primary memory for a computer.
Disadvantages:

1. Since data is stored in micro-capacitors, if power is lost, all data is

lost.
2. So if you turn off the computer, whatever is stored in RAM will be
lost.
3. This is why we need a hard disk to store data.
 MICROPROCESSOR

Hero
 Yes, the Microprocessor is the hero of every single computer.
 If the CPU is the brain of the computer, the Microprocessor is
the brain of the CPU.
 If you ask what it does, I would say it does everything.

Memory Management
 You might then ask, why do we have hard disks and RAM?
The truth is, the microprocessor decides what RAM should store.
The microprocessor simply views RAM as its primary memory.
 Since RAM forgets everything when power is cut, the
microprocessor stores all the important data on the hard disk. Yes,
the hard disk can store it, but the microprocessor decides what
should be stored on the hard disk.
 Since the hard disk is very slow and the microprocessor is very,
very fast, it loads whatever it needs from the hard disk, keeps it in
RAM, and uses RAM as its primary memory.
Basically, whatever you want the computer to do, the microprocessor
decides and instructs the components on what actions to perform.
Exactly! Just like RAM and the hard disk, all other components simply
listen to the processor blindly because the microprocessor is their brain.
 GPU / GRAPHICS CARD

Basics:
 You can imagine a graphics card as thousands of low-performance
microprocessors.
 For single large calculations, a microprocessor is faster; however,
for thousands of small calculations, a graphics card is slightly
quicker.

Microprocessor VS Graphic Card

 This doesn't imply the graphics card surpasses the microprocessor;
the microprocessor remains the system's brain.
 The microprocessor recognizes that graphics cards can handle these
small calculations faster, so it delegates these tasks to the graphics
card.
 The graphics card simply follows the microprocessor's instructions

Practical Uses
 With many pixels on monitors, tasks like photo editing, video
editing, and gaming require extensive pixel calculations.
 Graphics cards are mainly used for such tasks due to their efficiency
with numerous small calculations.
 MOTHER BOARD

 We have seen numerous components discussed in the preceding

pages.
 As the processor functions as the brain, simply connecting all these
components to it is sufficient.
 Now, there are two ways to connect all these components to the
microprocessor.
Method – 1
 Physically connect them using wires.
 The problem with this idea is that there will be thousands upon
thousands of wires running inside, and even one small mistake could
cause a lot of confusion.
Method – 2
 Use a printed circuit board with all the connections and simply
embed the components onto it.
 As you guessed, the best method is to use this printed circuit board,
which will serve as the motherboard.

So basically, just like our backbone that connects all our body parts to
our brain, motherboard connects all the components we discussed in the
above pages to the microprocessor.