HARDWARE

SMPS
SMPS stands for switch mode power supply. It allows AC
voltage and converts it to DC voltage. It provides power
supply to all the components in the system. The SMPS is
also known as PSU which stands for power supply unit.

There are 5 main DC voltages produced by PSU's they

are +3.3V(orange),+5V(red),-5V(white),+12V(yellow), -
12V(blue). The PSU also provides the main system
ground that current returns along. The SMPS is also
known as the heart of the computer

There are two types of SMPS. They are:

• AT
• ATX
 HARD DISK

The hard-disk drive, better known as the hard drive, is one of

the most vital components in a computer. The hard drive
stores information for the computer in a non-volatile way,
meaning that when the user shuts off the computer, all the
information he saved will still be there when he turns the
computer back on. Today, hard drives can store an enormous
amount of information.

The hard disk has 4 parts. They are

• The platter
• The spindle
• The Read/Write arm
• The Actuator
 CACHE MEMORY

Cache memory is also called as cache supplementary memory

system which temporarily stores frequently used instructions. It
also stores data for quicker processing by CPU which stands for
central processing unit of a computer.

L1 cache memory: It is first level and extremely small. It is built

in the CPU core. It splits into two parts in which the first part
stores commonly used data and the second part stores
common instructions. It ranges upwards of 20KB.

L2 cache memory: It can be located on the CPU or on its own

chip near the CPU. It is used to catch recent data accesses from
the processor which were not caught by the L1 cache memory.

L3 cache memory: It is slower than L1 and L2 cache memory

but it is double the speed of standard DRAM. It is used to catch
recent data accesses from the processor which were not caught
by the L2 cache memory.
 MOTHER BOARD

A Motherboard is the main

printed circuit board (PCB) in a
computer. The motherboard is a
computer's central
communications backbone
connectivity point, through
which all components and
external peripherals connect.
Motherboards can be found in
virtually all computers,
especially desktop and laptop
PCs,

There are different types of Motherboards. They are

• AT Motherboard
• ATX Motherboard
• LPX Motherboard
• BTX Motherboard
• Pico BTX motherboard
• Mini ITX motherboard

Among the above motherboards ATX is the most popular type

of motherboard
Back panel:

The back panel is the

portion of the
motherboard that lets you
connect external devices,
such
as your monitor , speakers,
keyboard, and mouse. The
back panel is on the edge
of the motherboard. When
installing the motherboard,
the back panel is on the
back side of the case and is
inserted into the cases I/O
plate

Front panel:
The Front Panel Connectors,
also known as the Front Panel
header is a block of connectors
on a motherboard that control
the power on, power reset,
beep code speaker and the
LED light indicators on your PC
case/chassis. All motherboards
have front panel connectors
that a PC case connects to.
 RAM

Random Access Memory (RAM) consists of a set of chips. It is

able to accommodate the data to be processed, or program
instructions, to process data which has been processed and
waiting to be sent to output devices, secondary storage or
communication also device. Operating system that controls
the basic functions of the system data and instructions had
accommodated in RAM is temporary. The contents of RAM
can vary according to the processed data in it, or even use
the program. RAM is the computer resources of its reusable
or can be used of RAM referred to as the volatile products.
This means that if the power is disconnected from the
computer and the computer dead, then all content that is in
RAM will be lost permanently. This is commonly referred to
as secondary storage. Capacity of RAM is very diverse in
different computers.

There are mainly two types of RAM's. They are

• Dynamic RAM
• Static RAM
 EXTENSION CARDS:
An extension card is an
electronic circuit board that adds
more functionality to a desktop
computer. These cards are
installed into the PCI
a computer motherboard , and
they allow the computer to
perform additional functions not
offered by the motherboard.
Video cards and sound cards are
common examples: a new video
card added will enhance the
three dimensional graphics
processing power of a computer
while a new sound card may
improve a computer’s audio
input.

INTERNAL CARDS:

VGA:

A VGA socket is a port on a computer, usually found on either

a motherboard or a video card on a motherboard, used to
connect that computer to a video display device. While VGA
technology was once the standard for computer video
connections, limitations in image quality has led to a number
of other standards being developed that still continue to
utilize physical VGA connections. A VGA socket is typically
blue in color and has 15 connection ports into which 15 pins
are inserted when a VGA cable is used to connect a computer
to a monitor.
PCI:

PCI stands for peripheral

component interconnect.
PCI slots are used to
connect input or output
cards to the computer
such as LAN cards, USB
expansion cards and
sound cards.
PCI is a local computer bus for attaching hardware devices in
a computer and is part of the PCI Local Bus standard. The PCI
bus supports the functions found on a processor bus but in a
standardized format that is independent of any given
processor's native bus. Devices connected to the PCI bus
appear to a bus master to be connected directly to its own
bus and are assigned addresses in the processor's address
space.
BIOS:

BIOS is a program, stands for basic

input/output system, which is stored in
nonvolatile memory like ROM or flash
memory that allows you to set up and
access your computer system at the
greatest basic level. Although there is
no need for most people to mess with
the BIOS on a computer, it can be
better to know about BIOS . It is found
on motherboards that are a pre-
installed program on Windows-based
computers that executes when a
computer is powered up. Before an OS
is loaded, the CPU accesses the basic
input/output system (BIOS). Then, the
next function of BIOS is to examine all
the hardware connections and detects
all your devices.

CMOS:

Complementary metal oxide

semiconductor (CMOS) is a type of
semiconductor chip that holds data
without requiring external power
source. In a personal computer (PC),
CMOS has the basic instructions the
computer needs to initialize its
hardware and start-up. These settings
are known as the basic parameters of
input-output system (BIOS), also called
the CMOS settings.CMOS control a
variety of functions, including the
Power on Self-Test (POST). When the
computer power switched on, CMOS
will run a series of controls to ensure
that the system works properly.