CATEGORIES OF COMPUTERS

CLASSIFICATION OF COMPUTERS
Based on the size, usage and capability , computers are
classified into 4 main categories.

COMPUTERS

MICRO MINI MAINFRAM

SUPERCOMPUTER
COMPUTERS COMPUTERS E

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 MICROCOMPUTERS
 Microcomputer is also called a personal computer as it is designed to meet the needs of an
individual person.

 It uses a single microprocessor for its Central Processing Unit, which performs all logic and
arithmetic operations.

 The other components are input/output devices and memory.

 It provides access to a wide variety of applications, such as word processing, photo editing,
presentations, excel, e-mail, using internet, gaming, movies & music.

DESKTOP LAPTOP ,
TABLET PDA/HAND-HELD
COMPUTER NOTEBOOK
 DESKTOP COMPUTER
 Desktop computers are placed on a desk/table and runs on power
from an electrical wall outlet.

 The CPU, memory and hard disk for storage are housed in the
system unit case. It can be placed either in vertical (tower model) or
horizontal (desktop model) position.

 It has separate components (keyboard, mouse, monitor) that are

each plugged into the computer through wires/cables.

 These computers are capable to link to internet through Wi-Fi or

LAN cable.

 It is not portable because it needs fixed area.

Desktop computers are used in offices, schools and homes.

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 FIRST DESKTOP COMPUTERS

Apple I 1976 Steve Jobs with Macintosh 1984 IBM PC 1981

Apple and IBM were the pioneers of desktop computers.

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 POPULAR DESKTOP BRANDS
All-in-one
All-in-one
desktop
desktop
computers.
computers.
System unit
System unit
case not
case not
needed.
needed.

Dell Inspiron Apple iMac HP AlO

ASUS Vivo Lenovo IdeaCentre Alienware gaming desktop

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 LAPTOP & NOTEBOOK
Laptops are portable computers that can run on wall outlet
electric supply as well as in-built rechargeable battery.

It usually fits in the lap of a person and hence the name.

All components (keyboard, mouse, CPU) are in one compact

unit.

It has in-built speakers, microphone and webcams. Latest

models also have touchscreen feature. Laptop
Notebook
They are usually expensive than a comparable desktop.

A notebook is a type of laptop that is smaller, lighter, and

offers simplified set of tools.

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 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LAPTOP & NOTEBOOK
LAPTOP NOTEBOOK
Processing power is higher Processing power is lower
Heavier than a notebook. Lightweight
Weighs in the range of 2 - 4.5 kg Weighs less than 2.5 kg
Screen size is in range of 12-18 inches Always less than 15 inches
Typical laptops battery can last between 6 and 10 Notebook battery can lasts between 7 to 14 hours
hours unplugged.
Has integrated DVD drive Will not have DVD drive
Supports personal work and manage business Usually for personal usage
Price is higher than notebooks Cheaper than laptops
HP, Apple, Acer, Asus, Samsung, Lenovo, Sony, HP, Apple, Samsung, Sony, Toshiba, Dell
Toshiba, Microsoft, Dell, MSI

Laptop and notebook terms are today used interchangeably.

Notebook is just a smaller, lighter and simpler version of laptop.
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 FIRST LAPTOPS & NOTEBOOKS
Adam Osborne made
the first portable
computer.

He spent his primary

school years and his
retired life in India.

Osborne 1 - The first laptop in 1981

HP 110 Laptop, 1984 First notebook -NEC UltraLite, 1989 Apple PowerBook, 1991
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 POPULAR LAPTOP BRANDS

Apple Macbook Air HP touch screen DELL Inspiron

ASUS Microsoft Surface Acer

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 MAINFRAME
 Mainframe is a large computer which can be used by thousands of Example of mainframe
users at the same time. Banks store information of
all their customers in their
 The mainframe will be located at a central location and connected mainframe computer
to many terminals which might be various places.
Customer goes to ATM terminal
 They are high-performance computers with huge memory and and inserts card and PIN
multiple processors.
This is sent from ATM to bank’s
 It can perform lakhs of simple calculations and transactions at
mainframe for verification
same time.
 Mainframes store, manage, and process large amounts of data The mainframe sends
that need to be reliable, secure and centralized. instructions to ATM to approve
or not.
 They are therefore used in large organizations where many users
need access to shared data and programs. The customer carries out
transaction. The transaction
details are then updated on the
mainframe
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 WHERE ARE MAINFRAMES USED? - EXAMPLES
Organizations like banks, credit cards, e-commerce, hospitals, airlines, railways, insurance, education,
defense use mainframes.
In the e-commerce sector like Flipkart, In health care, mainframe computers help In the field of defence, mainframe
Amazon have a huge customer base. hospitals by maintaining an extensive computers allow defence
These customers carry out transactions record of lakhs of patients. departments to share a large
which would thousands in a minute. amount of confidential information
This assists hospitals in contacting their with other branches of defence
Mainframes are used to store customer patients for treatment or any other and government.
information, to handle their transactions appointment related to medicine or
and update live availability of products. disease updates. The information is secure and
difficult to hack into.

In the field of education, mainframe
devices allow large educational institutes
like universities and colleges to store,
manage, and retrieve data related to
admissions, courses, teachers, students,
and employees.
In the field of travel, airlines and Indian
railways use mainframe computer to carry
out the huge number of bookings or
cancellations, updating seat availability.
The passenger information is stored
securely in the mainframe.
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 MAINFRAME
IBM is the leading
manufacturer of
mainframes.

Others include
Hitachi, Fujistu , HP

Mainframe computers
usually have a very
long life. A mainframe
device can run
smoothly for up to 50
years after its
installation.

It is housed in a cupboard sized cabinet. In the earlier days, these large computers
used to fill an entire room. 13
 SUPERCOMPUTER
 Supercomputers are the most powerful computers. They are
thousands of times faster than a normal personal computer.

Supercomputers can perform trillions of calculations in a second.

Supercomputers consist of thousands of interconnected

processors. They need huge space, electricity and cooling systems.
For eg: SUMMIT floor space is 550 sq m, 300 km of cables, consumes
electricity equal to 8000 houses, cooling system needs 15000 litres of SUMMIT by IBM – World’s second
fastest supercomputer
water per minute.

Supercomputers are used in weather forecasting, genomics,

earthquake simulation, nuclear tests simulation, in pharmaceutical
research, space research, aircraft design.

 Performance of a supercomputer is measured in floating-point

operations per second (FLOPS) 14
FIELDS WHERE SUPERCOMPUTERS ARE USED

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 SUPERCOMPUTERS

Seymour Cray, knows as the

father of supercomputers

Worlds fastest supercomputers

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 WORLDS FASTEST SUPERCOMPUTER - FUGAKO

Fugako developed by Fujitsu in Japan can carryout 442 quadrillion (1015 ) computations per second.
It cost 1 Billion USD (~7500 crore INR) to build.
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 INDIA’S INDIGENEOUS SUPERCOMPUTERS
 India faced lot of difficulty in buying supercomputers so PARAM Siddhi-AI
decided to build its own.
 The Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC)
in Pune, India was established in 1987.
 CDAC designed and assembled India’s first supercomputer
PARAM 8000 in 1991. It could perform a billion calculations
per second.
 The team was led by Vijay Bhatkar who is known as the Father Vijay Bhatkar
of Indian Supercomputers.
 PARAM Siddhi-AI is India’s fastest supercomputer (world rank
of 89)
 Supercomputers in India are used at ISRO, and for weather
forecasting, seismic data analysis, aerospace engineering,
scientific research and pharmaceutical development.
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Thank You