Computer Architecture 1

Computer Architecture
By
Naigende, M. Duncan, Msc.DCSE
dnaigende@umu.ac.ug
0772 425 641/0704 425 641
Computer Architecture
 Architecture: art or practice of designing
 What’s Inside?
 How is it put together?
 How does it work?
07/05/20 Aggrey. M. Obbo 22

An Introduction to Computer Hardware
– Overview
– Computer Hardware components
Input devices

 Processing device
 Output devices
 Storage devices
 Organisation of devices
– Classification of Computers
– The Four Operations of a Computer System
Overview
 Computer: An electronic device that stores, retrieves,
and processes data, and can be programmed with
instructions. A computer is composed of hardware
and software, and can exist in a variety of sizes and
configurations.
 A computer system consists of hardware and

software components.

Hardware and Software
 Hardware; The term hardware refers to the physical
components of your computer such as the system
unit, mouse, keyboard, monitor etc.
 Software; The software is the instructions that makes
the computer work. It is held either on your
computers hard disk, CD-ROM, DVD or on a
diskette (floppy disk) and is loaded (i.e. copied)
from the disk into the computers RAM (Random
Access Memory), as and when required.
Computer Hardware Components

A computer system requires four main aspects of
data handling;

Input,

Processing,

Output, and

Storage.

Input: is data to be accepted into the computer.

List all the input devices of a computer


The processor, or central processing unit (CPU),
processes raw data into meaningful and useful
information.

The CPU interprets and executes program
instructions and communicates with the input,
output, and storage devices.

Note

Memory, or primary storage is connected with the
CPU but is separate from it.

Memory holds input data before processing and
the processed data after processing, until the data
is released to the output device.
Types of Computers
 Mini and Mainframe Computers. Very

powerful, used by large organizations such
an banks to control the entire business
operation. Very expensive!
 Personal Computers. Cheap and easy to
use. Often used as stand-alone computers or
in a network. May be connected to large
mainframe computers within big companies.
Input Vs Output
●
Output; which is usable information obtained after
processing raw data. It is usually in the form of
words, numbers, and graphics.
●
Users can see output displayed on a screen (also
known as monitor), or use printers to display
output on paper.

List all the output devices of a computer

Input
Input and Output Devices
 Input Devices -- "How to tell it what to do“
- A keyboard and mouse are the standard way to
interact with the computer. Other devices include
joysticks and game pads used primarily for games.
 Output Devices -- "How it shows you what it is doing"

- The monitor (the screen) is how the computer
sends information back to you. A printer is also an
output device.

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Hardware Components

11
And what are these now??

12
And these??

13
14
15
16
Illustration of location of Disk Drives on the Motherboard

17
Important Definitions
 Peripheral Devices; Computer peripherals are
electronic devices that can be hooked up to a
computer other than the standard input-output
devices (monitor, keyboard, mouse).
 Any device that is connected to the computer in
addition to the basic CPU-Monitor-Keyboard-Mouse
configuration.
 Examples include; External speakers, microphones,
joysticks, printers, digital camera, plotters, modem,
and scanners.
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 Peripherals often require special software packages
called “drivers”. These drivers are usually included
with the peripheral at purchase time.
 Device Driver; program that controls a device and
acts like a translator between the device and the
programs that use the device.
 Software packages that are needed to run certain
peripheral devices.
 Drivers for devices like the keyboard come with
the OS, while for other devices, one may need to
load a new driver when a device is connected to
your computer.
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 Printers, monitors, scanners, and network cards all
require software drivers so that the computer knows
how to communicate and control the device
 Data; Data can be numbers, letters, symbols,
mathematical expressions, mouse clicks, or button
presses.
 The CPU translates all this activity to series of
zeros and ones and then performs magic.
 Platform; The computer operating system and/or
architecture.

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 What is Software?
 Any types of software?
 Program; A complex set of instructions that allow
the computer user to process data.
 Operating System Software; The instructions that
allow the computer to start working and permit it to
run other programs.
 Examples of
 OS software
 Application software

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Firmware;
 Firmware consists of programs which are
included/embedded in the hardware itself.
 Such programs are usually stored in some type of
nonvolatile memory like a ROM so they will not be
lost in the event of a power failure
 The BIOS is firmware which controls the very basic
functionality of the computer such as determining the
amount of memory present on the PC, or the type or
hard drive installed etc.

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Basic Information About Computer
Hardware Components
Names and Purposes of

Devices
 Computer case; provides protection and support for
the internal components of the computer.
 The size and shape of the computer case is
usually determined by the motherboard and other
internal components.
 A computer case should be durable, easy to
service, and have enough room for expansion.
 They are made of plastic, steel, and aluminum
and are available in a variety of styles.
 The size and layout of a case is called a form
factor.
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 The basic form factors for computer cases include
Desktop and Tower.
 Desktop cases may be slim line or full-sized, and
tower cases may be mini or full-sized
 Desktop PC; A flat computer that usually sits on a
desk. The original design for a home computer.
 Tower PC; An upright computer that looks like
someone took a desktop PC and turned it on its side.
 The word desktop is sometimes used as a name
for both the flat design style and the tower design.
 Also referred to as Computer chassis, Cabinet,
Tower, Box, or Housing.
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 Factors to consider when choosing a case
 Model Type; the type and size of the motherboard,
i.e. Tower or Desktop
 Size; if computer has more components, it needs
more room for air circulation. The number of
external or internal drive locations called bays
 Available working space; desktop model offers
more space.
 Power Supply; power rating and connection type of
the power supply to the type of motherboard.
 Appearance; attractive case
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 Status Display; LED indicators can tell you if the
computer is receiving power, when the Hard Drive
is being used, when computer is on standby etc.
 Vents; on the power supply and back of the case to
help draw air into and out of the system.
 Power Supply; converts alternating current (AC)
power from the wall socket into direct current (DC)
power.
 Power supply must provide enough power for all
the installed components.

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 Case Fans; are used to move air through the
computer case.
 As the air passes warm components, it absorbs
heat and then exits the case.
 This process keeps the components of the
computer from overheating.
 Motherboard; the circuit board on which most of the
major electronic components are found.
 All the main parts of the PC plug into the
motherboard to share data.
 It sits on the bottom of a Desktop PC or along the
side of a tower.
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 It is the main interface between input, output
devices and the CPU.
 The slots are designed to accept cards (sound,
network etc).
 Processor (CPU); The chip that performs the
majority of calculations and instructions needed to
make your computer run.
 The processor is attached to the motherboard.
 Has types associated with it such as "486",
"Pentium" and "Celeron". Most of the CPU's are
manufactured by a company called Intel.
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 The Pentium chip or processor, made by Intel, is the
most common CPU. Other examples are; CPU in
Apple computers by Motorola.
 For faster processors the Clock Speed is vital.
 And what is clock speed?
 The first computers operated at speeds below 30
megahertz (MHz), Pentium chips began at 75 MHz in
the late 1990's. As of mid 2003 speeds now exceed 3
gigahertz (GHz).
 The motherboard contains the circuitry and
connections that allow the various components to
communicate with each other.
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 Monitor; Shows information on the screen when you
type., that is outputs information.
 When the computer needs more information it will
display a message on the screen, usually through a
dialog box.
 Monitors come in many types and sizes from the
simple monochrome (display two colors) screen to full
colour screens.
 Most desktop computers use a monitor with a
cathode tube (with electron gun) and most digital
watches and notebooks (portable computers) use a
Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) monitor.
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 To get the full benefit of today's software with full
colour graphics and animation, computers need a
colour monitor with a display or graphics card.
 The screen is made up of red, green and blue dots,
many times per second, the video card sends signals
out to the monitor.
 The information the video card sends controls which
dots are lit up and how bright they are, which
determines the picture you see.
 Keyboard; the main input device for most computers.
 There are many sets of keys on a typical keyboard;
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 Left side has regular alphanumeric and punctuation
keys similar to those on a typewriter. These are used
to input textual information to the PC.
 Right side has the numeric keypad similar to that of
an adding machine or calculator.
 Keys that are used for cursor control and navigation
are located in the middle.
 Keys that are used for special functions are located
along the top of the keyboard and along the bottom
section of the alphanumeric keys.

34
 Mouse; Input device that allows the user to “point and
click” or “drag and drop”.
 Common functions are pointing, clicking and
scrolling.
 Since 1980’s; with the invention of the Macintosh and
Windows operating systems (graphical user interface
-GUI), computer users needed a device to point at
objects on the screen and select them.
 Memory (RAM); Random Access Memory; Fast
computer chips that temporarily store information
while a PC is in use.
35
 These chips are the computer's short-term memory
used to run applications.
 Memory is measured in megabytes (MB) and usually
comes in multiples of 2 or 4.
 The more information being processed the more
RAM the computer needs; the more RAM that a
computer has, the better it can carry out instructions.
 RAM memory chips come in many different sizes and
speeds and can usually be expanded. by adding or
replacing the memory chips depending on the
processor you have and the type of memory your
computer uses.
36
 It is common to confuse chip memory with disk
storage.
 An example of the difference between memory and
storage would be the difference between a table
where the actual work is done (memory) and and a
filing cabinet where the finished product is stored
(disk).
 Part of the computer's hard disk can be used as
temporary memory (Virtual Memory) when the
program needs more memory than the chips can
provide.
37
 Hard Drive; The main storage area inside your
computer (usually called a C: drive).
 The hard disk or hard drive stores your computer's
operating system, the programs that are installed on
your computer, and most of your files.
 Hard drive capacity is measured in gigabytes. Most
new computers have at least 20 gigabytes of
memory.
 Hard drives save the data on metal or ceramic
("hard") disks coated with a thin magnetic film-
hence the term Hard Drive.
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 Data is placed or read by small magnetic head that
float over the spinning platters.
 The process is similar to the old record or cassette
tape players. Hard drives use to be mounted inside
or attached the outside of the computers but new
technology allows hard drives to be removable.
 Floppy Disk; are normally used a temporary storage
containers or transportation media for data.
 Are not as reliable or fast as the internal storage
drives on the computer.
 They are also the primary vector of virus infection in
the computer world.
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 You need a floppy drive (usually called an A: drive) to
read the floppy.
 A floppy disk can hold only 1.44 megabytes, but it is
portable.
 Its phasing out.
 CD-ROM; Compact Disk Read-Only Memory; a
removable disk which can store large amounts of
information (650 - 700 megabytes).
 Most disks of this kind are "Read Only" meaning that
the computer can retrieve information from the disk,
but cannot place new information on it.
40
 New developments have improved this technology to
allow Writing and Re-writing data to the disk.
 CDROM is a collection of concentric circles
containing millions of pits and plateaus which
correspond to on/off bits of data.
 The disk is read with an optical laser similar to the
one used to scan your groceries at the supermarket.
 Requires a CD-ROM drive (usually called a D: drive)
to read the information.
 CD-RW (Compact Disk ReWritable) drive which
allows the user to save information onto a CD.
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 This is done with lasers in a process called “burning”.
Once the information is saved onto the CD, it can be
read on any CD-ROM drive.
 CD-ROM disks are the standard for delivering
programs from the software developer to the
computer user.
 CD-ROMs come in a variety of flavours based on the
language they are written in (PC, Mac, or Unix).
 PC's cannot read a Mac CD-ROM, but Macs can read
PC CD-ROMS.

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 Printer; Allows the computer user to produce paper
copies of the information processed by the computer.
 Common home printers spray ink on paper and are
called ink-jet printers.
 Office and school printers are typically laser printers
which work on the same principle as a xerographic
copy machine, using electrostatic charges and toner
cartridges to place information on paper.
 The printer takes the information on your screen and
transfers it to paper or a hard copy.

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 There are many different types of printers with various
levels of quality.
 What are the different types of printers?
 Modem; A telecommunications peripheral device that
translates data from your PC into a form that can be
sent to other computers over regular phone lines.
 The term stands for modulate and demodulate which
changes the signal from digital, which computers use,
to analog, which telephones use and then back again.
 It changes the signal from digital to analog and vice
versa.
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 Receives signals from other computers and converts
it into something your computer can understand.
 The device most home computers use to connect to
the Internet, or to allow your computer to
communicate with one another via conventional
telephone lines, or to send and receive facsimile
transmissions FAX.
 Modems are rated by their speed in moving data
from the computer to the telephone line.
 This speed is measured in bits per second (bps).
Standard modern modems are rated at 28,800 bps,
33,600 bps and 56,400 bps.
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 Scanners; allow you to transfer pictures and
photographs to your computer.
 A scanner 'scans' the image from the top to the
bottom, one line at a time and transfers it to the
computer as a series of bits or a bitmap. You can
then take that image and use it in a paint program,
send it out as a fax or print it.
 With Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software
you can convert printed documents such as
newspaper articles to text that can be used in your
word processor (e.g. Readiris Pro).
 Most scanners use TWAIN software that makes the
scanner accessible byAggrey.
07/05/20
other software applications.4646
M. Obbo
 Digital Camera; Allow you to take digital
photographs. The images are stored on a memory
chip or disk that can be transferred to your computer.
 Some cameras can also capture sound and video.
 Cards; Are components added to computers to
increase their capability.
 When adding a peripheral device make sure that
your computer has a slot of the type needed by the
device.
 Examples are; sound cards, video cards, network
card etc.
47
 Sound Card: a device that can reproduce almost
any sound, including music, speech, and sound
effects.
 A computer must contain a Sound Card in order to
produce sounds.
 You can attach speakers and/or a microphone to the
sound card.
 Though human ear can't distinguish the fine
difference between sounds produced by the more
powerful sound card they allow for more complex
music and music production (The older sound cards
were 8 bit then 16 bit then 32 bit).
48
 Colour Cards; Allow computers to produce colour
(with a colour monitor of course).
 The first colour cards were 2 bit which produced 4
colours. Next came 4 bit allowing for 16 colours,
Then came 16 bit allowing for 1064 colours, then 24
bit which allows for almost 17 million colours, and
now 32 bit is the standard allowing monitors to
display almost a billion separate colours.
 Video Cards; Allow computers to display video and
animation. Some video cards allow computers to
display television as well as capture frames from
video.
49
 A video card with a digital video camera allows
computer users to produce live video. A high speed
or network connection is needed for effective video
transmission.
 Network Cards; Allow computers to connect together
to communicate with each other.
 Network cards have connections for cable, thin wire
or wireless networks.
 It can be installed in one of the motherboard slots to
give the computer the ability to talk to other
computers with similar cards.
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 The mechanism (including languages and protocols)
used to communicate on a network are varied, but the
most common networking designs in use are Ethernet
and Token Ring.
 And what is a Network??
 Cables; Connect internal components to the
Motherboard, which is a board with series of
electronic path ways and connections allowing the
CPU to communicate with the other components of
the computer.

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Classification of Computers
What are the different types of computers?

Mainframe computers

Mini computers

Super computers

Desktop computers

Workstations

Notebook (Laptop)

Tablet PCs

Smart phones

PDAs - Personal digital assistants or pen-based
computers
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What Happens Inside My Computer?
 Events that occur from the time you first push the power
button on your computer to the time you click the "shut
down" button.
1. You press the buttons to turn on your monitor and
computer.
2. A signal is sent to your power supply telling it to turn on.
– The power supply is what keeps your entire computer system
running.
– The power supply changes the electrical current from the outlet
in your wall into a voltage that can be used by your computer.

53
3. The fans found in the power supply will begin working.
– These fans are vital to your computer system.
– They circulate the air inside the computer case to make sure that
the devices do not overheat!
4. Your computer's BIOS goes to work. BIOS is the software
that gives your CPU its first instructions when the computer
is turned on. Your BIOS will:
a) Perform a power-on self-test (POST), an inspection
checking to make sure that all of your computer's
components are working properly.
b) Check to see if a reboot is necessary. If not, then it will
perform a read/write test for your computer's random-
access memory (RAM), it will check the keyboard and
the mouse, and it will also check the PCI bus and
expansion cards.
54
You will see a string of text on your computer screen as
your computer's BIOS checks everything.
c) Check the CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide
Semiconductor) for your system settings. It will check for
what components are installed in your computer system
as well as for important information concerning your
computer's operating system.
d) Usually, you will see a string of words on a black screen
when your computer first turns on. This is your BIOS
system displaying information about your computer's
central processing unit, information about how much
memory your computer has, as well as information
about your hard disk drives and floppy disk drives.
55
5. The bootstrap loader will load your computer's operating
system into the computer's memory. Bootstrap(boot), is the
process of loading the operating system. The whole
process of loading your operating system is called booting
up your computer.
6. The operating system will go to work. At this point, all
control of your computer system is transferred from the
BIOS to the operating system.
– The tasks your operating system must perform can be broken up
into six major categories:
 Processor Management, Memory Management, Device Management,
Storage Management, Application Interface, User Interface.
7. You open up and run certain programs or applications, and
other details of “What Happens When You Press A Key”
take place.
56
8. When you press the "save" button in your word processor,
a message will be sent to the operating system. A window
will pop up, in which you can choose where you want to
save the document to. Then, the operating system will
transfer the document from the computer's RAM to the
specified storage device.
9. After you have saved your letter, you decide that you want
to print it out. Your operating system will translate the file
from its present form into a form that your printer can
comprehend. Then, your printer will go to work!
10. When you click on the "shut down" button, the operating
system will close any programs that you have left open.

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What Happens When I Press A Key
 Let's suppose you are working in your word processor and
you type the letter “A". Here's what happens
 The keyboard sends an electrical signal, called a scan code,
to the computer saying that a button was pressed.
 The keyboard controller interprets the scan code and
determines that the letter pressed was an "M". It stores this
"M" in a special memory location until the processor is ready
to deal with it.
 The controller sends a signal to the processor, called an
interrupt. An Interrupt tells the processor that some part of the
computer has information for it to process and wants its
attention. In this case, the keyboard controller wants the
processor to look at the key you just pressed.
58
 The processor is almost always doing many things, sharing
its time among many tasks. As a result, most every event
must wait its turn.
 The processor services interrupts based on their priority.
When it is time to deal with the key press, the processor
routes it to the program for the operating system that you are
using.
 Assuming you are using a multi-tasking operating system like
Windows, the Operating System decides which window you
pressed the key in and sends a message to that application’s
window telling it a key was pressed.
 The window decides what to do with the key press. Since in
this case it's your word processor window, and the key you
pressed was an ordinary letter, the word processor will add
that letter to its working area for the file you have open.
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 The letter will take one byte of your computer’s memory
(RAM). Other keys could be handled differently (e.g, if you
pressed the key to tell the word processor to exit).
 The window will then call the operating system to display the
letter on the screen.
 The operating system will display the letter on the screen by
adding it to your video card's video memory.
 The next time the video card refreshes your monitor (re-
displays what is in its video memory) the letter will appear on
the screen. Most video cards refresh the monitor between 60
and 100 times per second.

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Computer Architecture

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 A computer system consists of hardware and

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 Mini and Mainframe Computers. Very

 Output Devices -- "How it shows you what it is doing"

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Names and Purposes of

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