hardware nick sims the components of a computer
TRANSCRIPT
Hardware
Nick Sims
The components of a computer
Types of computer
Microcomputers- desktop, laptop, notebook and palmtop personal computers (PCs)- used in businesses, schools/colleges and homes- cost from a few hundred pounds to a few thousand
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiTb3-t4YJk&feature=related
Computers can be categorised into four types
Types of computer
Minicomputers- often used as multi-user systems, with 100’s of workstations or
terminals attached to a central minicomputer, e.g. EPOS.- cost from £10,000 to about £150,000.
Computers can be categorised into four types
Types of computer
Mainframe computers- used by large organisations which may have 1000’s of terminals,
often remote- cost ££ hundreds of thousands
Computers can be categorised into four types
Types of computer
Supercomputers- largest category of computer used mostly by scientific & industrial research departments, NASA, the Weather Centre, stock exchanges- cost ££ millions
Computers can be categorised into four types
CPU
Controls the transmission of data from input devices to memory
Processes the data held in main memory
Controls the transmission of information from main memory to output devices
Main memory
Instructions and data are held in main memory, which is divided into millions of individually-addressable storage units called bytes.
One byte can hold one character, or it can be used to hold a code representing, for example, a tiny part of a picture, a sound, or part of a computer program instruction.
The total number of bytes in main memory is referred to as the computer’s memory size. Computer memory sizes are measured as follows:
1 Kilobyte (Kb) = 1000 bytes (to be exact, 1024 bytes)1 Megabyte (Mb) = 1,000,000 (1 million) bytes1 Gigabyte (Gb) = 1,000,000,000 (1 billion) bytes1 Terabyte (Tb) = 1,000,000,000,000 (1 trillion) bytes
Random Access Memory (RAM) ‘Ordinary’ memory
Used for storing programs which are currently running and data which is being processed.
This type of memory is volatile - it loses all its contents as soon as the machine is switched off.
RAM
Read Only Memory (ROM)
Non-volatile, with contents permanently etched into the memory chip at the manufacturing stage
Used for example to hold the bootstrap loader, the program which runs as soon as the computer is switched on and instructs it to load the operating system from disk into memory.
ROM
Cache Memory Very fast memory used to improve the speed of a computer, doubling it
in some cases
Acts as an intermediate store between the CPU and main memory
Stores the most frequently or recently used instructions and data for rapid retrieval
Generally between 1Kb and 512Kb
Much more expensive than normal RAM
Auxiliary Storage
Hard disks
- all standalone PCs have in-built hard disk- typical capacity for Desk top computer: 160 GB- used for storing software including the operating system, other systems software, application programs and data
Auxiliary Storage
(Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc)
DVD-RW
• Media type: Optical disc• Capacity~4.7 GB
(single-sided, single-layer)~8.54 GB (single-sided, double-layer)~9.4 GB (double-sided, single-layer)~17.08 GB (rare—double-sided, double-layer)
Auxiliary Storage
Blu-ray Disc (also known as
Blu-ray or BD) Media type: high-density
optical disc EncodingMPEG-2,
H.264/MPEG-4 AVC, and VC-1
Capacity25 GB (single-layer)and 50 GB (dual-layer)
In the future will hold up to future 1 TB
Its main uses are for storing high-definition video, PlayStation 3 games, and other data, with up to 25 GB per single layered, and 50 GB per dual layered disc.
Auxiliary Storage
USB Flash-Drive Consists of flash
memory data storage device integrated with a USB (Universal Serial Bus) interface
Can have a capacity of 64GB
Auxiliary Storage
Floppy disks
- thin sheet of mylar plastic in hard 3½” casing - capacity 1.44Mb
CD-ROM - holds about 650Mb to 800 MB (some hold 900 MB)
Auxiliary Storage
Zip disks
- hold up to 250Mb
Input and output devices
Input devices- Keyboard- mouse- barcode readers - Scanners
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtKQNwqNLLk
Output devices - printer- plotter- VDU
Can you name some others?
Global Positioning System
Bluetooth