What's in a Digital System?

What's in a Digital System?

1. Motherboard

   • SATA connector (x4)
   • PCI slot (x3)
   • CPU socket
   • DIMM memory slots (x4)
   • Integrated graphics processor (with heatsink)

2. CPU

   • Processes instructions
   • Speed
     • How often it executes an instruction
     • Hertz (Hz)
   • Cores
     • Almost a separate CPU
     • Some resources may be shared
   • Power consumption
     • How much power does it use?
   • Heat
     • Will it need a fan?

3. RAM

   • Short-term scratch-space
   • Contents lost at power off
   • Capacity - how much RAM?
   • Speed - how quickly data can be written
     • Hertz

4. Long-term storage

   • Slower than RAM
   • Hard Disk
     • Magnetic polarisation on a spinning platter
       • Huge capacities
   • SSD
     • Uses capacitance to keep a cell charged even with no power
       • Very fast reads
   • DVD/Blu ray
     • Holds data as a series of bumps/pits or burned marks

5. Operating system

   • Loads programs
   • Shares resources between competing tasks