1.

2 Component of System Unit

• Bit (Binary digit) – On or off state of electric current; considered as the basic
unit of information; represented by 1s and 0s (binary numbers).
• Byte – Eight bits grouped together to represent a character (an alphabetical
letter, a number, or a punctuation symbol); 256 different combinations.

How Computer Represent Data

 1.2 Component of System Unit
1000 bits = 1 kilobit (kb)
1,000,000 bits = 1 megabit (mb)
1,000,000,000 bits = 1 gigabit (gb)
 Kilobits per second (Kbps), megabits per
second (Mbps), and gigabits per second
(Gbps) are terms that describe units of data
used in measuring data transfer rates
Example: 56 Kbps modem
8 bits = 1 Byte
1024 Bytes = 1 Kilobyte (KB)
1,048,576 Bytes = 1 Megabyte (MB)
1,043,741,824 Bytes = 1 Gigabyte (GB)
1,099,511,627,776 Bytes = 1 Terabyte (TB)
 Kilobyte, megabyte, gigabyte, and
terabyte are terms that describe large
units of data used in measuring data
storage
Example: 20 GB hard drive
Bits & Bytes
 1.2 Component of System Unit

Numerical data, that computers use; translated into characters readable by humans.

American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) – 8 bits equals one
character; used by minicomputers and personal computers
Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code (EBCDIC) – 8 bits equals one
character; used by mainframe computers
Extended ASCII - 8 bits code that specifies the characters for values from 128 to 255.
The pronunciation and special punctuation represents the first 40 symbols, whereas
the remaining symbols are graphic symbols
Unicode – 16 bits equals one character; over 65,000 combinations; used for foreign
language symbols

Character Codes
1.2 Component of System Unit
Data bus width – The number of pathways within the CPU that transfer
data (8, 16, 32, or 64).
Word size – The maximum number of bits of data that the CPU can
process at a time (8 bits, 16 bits, 32 bits, or 64 bits).
Operations per cycle (clock speed) – The number of clock cycles per
second measured in Megahertz (MHz) or Gigahertz (GHz).
 Superscalar – Carrying out more than one instruction per clock cycle.
 Pipelining – Feeding a new instruction into the CPU at every step of
the processing cycle.
Also refer to:
http://www.howstuffworks.com/computer-memory3.htm
Microprocessor Performance
1.2 Component of System Unit

Parallel processing involves using more than one CPU to improve

performance.
Complex instruction set computer (CISC) – A chip that includes
special-purpose circuits that carry out instructions at high speeds.
Reduced instruction set computer (RISC) – A chip with a bare-bones
instruction set that results in a faster processing speed than CISC
chips.

Parallel Processing
1.2 Component of System Unit
Intel

Pentium MMX

Pentium IV AMD
Pentium III

Motorola Apple
Cyrix

Popular CPUs
1.2 Component of System Unit
A chipset is a collection of chips that work together
It provides circuitry to move data to and from the rest of the
computer

The Chipset
1.2 Component of System Unit

Expansion Card
PCI Slots

The input/output bus provides a pathway so that the microprocessor

can communicate with input/output devices

An input/output bus contains expansion slots which hold expansion

cards
PCI (Personal Computer Interface) slots are receptacles in which expansion cards
are inserted. They support Plug and Play (PnP) devices

Input/Output (I/O) Buses

1.2 Component of System Unit

Read Only Memory (ROM)

Random Access Memory (RAM)

Flash memory

Memory is the term used to describe devices that enable the

computer to retain information. Program instructions and data
are stored in memory chips for quick access by the CPU

Memory
1.2 Component of System Unit

 RAM – Random Access Memory holds data in locations called memory addresses
 Cache memory – Memory that the processor uses to store frequently used
instructions and data
 Virtual memory – The computer uses the hard disk as an extension of RAM

 ROM – Read-Only Memory provides the instructions to start the computer

 Flash memory – Memory that can be rewritten

Memory Categories
1.2 Component of System Unit

Random Access Memory

1.2 Component of System Unit
Dynamic RAM – A memory chip that needs to be refreshed periodically,
or it will lose its data.
 Synchronous DRAM (SDRAM) – Synchronized with the
computer’s system clock.
 Rambus DRAM (RDRAM) – Uses fast bus to send and receive
data within one clock cycle. Faster than SDRAM.
 Double Data Rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM) – A type of SDRAM
that can send and receive data within one clock cycle.

Types of RAM
1.2 Component of System Unit
CLICK ONCE TO
MONITOR
BEGIN ANIMATION
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RAM
KEYBOARD

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CPU

How RAM works

1.2 Component of System Unit

Primary cache (Level 1 or L1) – Located within the CPU chip, it is

the memory the microprocessor uses to store frequently used
instructions and data

Secondary cache (Level 2 or L2; Backside Cache) – Located near

the CPU, it is the memory between the CPU and RAM

It is faster than RAM

Cache Memory
 1.2 Component of System Unit
 Virtual memory involves:
 Part of the hard disk is reserved as RAM
 When RAM modules become full, the CPU accesses the hard disk to store and
retrieve data
 Slower than RAM

FULL

Virtual Memory
1.2 Component of System Unit
BIOS – Basic Input/Output system is stored in ROM
 Its instructions provide the boot sequence when starting the
computer
 The boot sequence includes:
•POST– Power-on self-test checks memory and configures
and other hardware
•Locating the disk drive with the boot sector which contains the
operating system

CMOS – Complementary metal-oxide semiconductor is a type of memory

which stores essential startup options
 It stores the amount of memory installed and tracks date and time
 It is volatile

ROM: BIOS & CMOS

1.2 Component of System Unit

The front panel contains drive bays, various buttons, and indicator
lights

Connectors and ports are physical receptacles located on the back

to connect peripheral devices to the computer
Outside the System Unit
 1.2 Component of System Unit
Point and click on a connector below to view information about it.
Click again to remove the text.

VGA
Universal
Gameconnector
Serial
Parallel
Sound portSerial
port
card
port –Bus
–ADataA 15
––connectors
Data (USB)
pin
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access monitors
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sound
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graphics-intensive
another
the
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time;
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mini-plugs.
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simultaneously;
transfer –faster
Microphone,
rate. Special serial
line-in,
than port
serial
line-out,to and
ports.connect keyboard.
speaker connectors are
plugged into the card.
Types of Connectors
 1.2 Component of System Unit
Small computer system interface (SCSI) port – a parallel interface that enables up to eight
devices to be connected to it
1394 (FireWire) port – a high-speed connection for up to 63 devices
Infrared Data Association (IrDa) port – infrared signals are used to communicate between
peripheral devices and the system unit
Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) port – for the electrical music instruments to
communicate
Serial port - transmits data in a single bit at a time
Parallel port – transmits data one byte at a time & it is faster
USB port – used to connects USB devices to the computer

Expansion Ports
1.2 Component of System Unit

• Industry Standard Architecture (ISA)

• Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI)

• Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP)

• Universal Serial Bus (USB)

• FireWire/IEEE 1394 Bus

• PC Card Bus

• USB port – used to connects USB devices to the computer

Expansion Buses
 1.3 External Storage
Hard Drive - Storage

RAM- Memory

 Storage, also known as mass media or auxiliary storage, refers to the various
media on which a computer system can store data
 Storage devices - computer hardware hold programs and data in units called
files
 Files are stored in directories or folders
 Memory is a temporary workplace where the computer transfers the contents
of a file while it is being used

Memory versus Storage

1.3 External Storage
Storage devices:
 Retains data when the computer is turned off
 Is cheaper than memory
 Plays an important role during startup
 Is needed for output

Why is storage necessary?

1.3 External Storage
 Sequential – Hardware that reads and writes data in a serial (one after the other)
fashion
 Random-Access – Hardware that reads and writes data without going through a
sequence of locations
 Magnetic – Hardware that uses disks or tapes that are coated with magnetic
material
 Optical – Hardware that uses laser beams to read data from plastic disks
 Solid State – Devices that use non-volatile memory chips to read and write data

Types of storage technologies

1.3 External Storage
Sequential – Optical Storage Magnetic – Optical Storage Sequential – Magnetic Storage

Magneto-Optic drive
Tape Backup Unit
CD-ROM/ DVD Drive

Random Access – Magnetic Storage

Floppy drive
Zip Drive
Jaz Drive
Hard Drive

Storages
1.3 External Storage

The Storage Hierarchy

 1.3 External Storage
Floppy Disk Hard Drive CD-ROM/ DVD

Capacity– 720 KB to 1.44 MB Capacity– Up to 120 GB

Capacity– CD-ROM 650 MB; DVD 17 GB
Access Time– 100ms Access Time– 6 to 12ms
Access Time– 80 to 800ms

A storage device’s performance is measured by:

• Capacity – The number of bytes of data that a device can hold

• Access Time – The amount of time, in milliseconds (ms), it takes for the device
to begin reading data

Capacity & Speed of Storage Devices

1.3 External Storage

Disks & Disk Drives

1.3 External Storage

How disk drive works?

1.3 External Storage

Disk Organisation