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Vocab

Vocab:

chipset: Logic System of the motherboard

BIOS: Basic Input/Output System

socket: place for hardware to connect

bus speed: The bus speed is measured in megahertz (MHz). The greater the megahertz, the faster the data will travel. Keep in mind that a fast bus will not make up for a slower processor and vice versa.

peripheral component: interconnect (PCI): The PCI slot is where the connections to the video, sound, and network cards and modems can be found.

accelerated graphics port: (AGP): This is a dedicated port for video cards.

memory slots: Where the memory banks are connected to the motherboard

Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE): This is the interface for the computer's hard drive, pictured at left.

The chipset is usually separated into two parts that connect the CPU to other parts of the motherboard

Northbridge: RAM and AGP

Southbridge: PCI bus, real time clock, APM, USB, and other devices

BIOS controls most basic functions of the computer. Every time you start the computer it runs a self-check and gives commands to the OS and hardware to start.

Real time clock: small battery-powered chip that maintains basic setting and the system clock.

William Hewlett and David Packard were graduate students in Stanford University's department of electrical engineering. They studied under Professor Frederick Terman. In Packard's garage in Palo Alto, the two men began experiments in 1938 with electronic equipment. In January 1939 they formed their company. One of their first sales was to Walt Disney studios. It was for animation equipment, used to produce motion picture cartoons. Their business grew during World War II, when they supplied electronic equipment to the Defense Department and others. Hewlett-Packard became one of the leading companies in what became known as Silicon Valley, in Santa Clara County. Today, the company ranks among the 100 largest corporations in America. The Silicon Valley has been one of the important factors in changing California from an underdeveloped, resource-producing region to the present industrial giant.

- Courtesy Hewlett-Packard Company Archives.

Vocab:

bytes: a unit of size in terms of computer files

megabytes: 1 million bytes

gigabytes: 1 billion bytes

data rates: the number of bytes per second the hard drive can deliver to the processor

seek time: the amount of time it takes a file that a processor requests from the hard drive to be delivered back to the processor

platter:

arm: The arm contains the read/write heads of the hard drive. The arm can move from the hub to the edge and back in up to 50 times per second.

sectors:

The data is stored on the platter. The platter has a very smooth, metallic surface. Typical platters can spin between 3,600 or 7,200 rpm (rotations per minute) when in operation. The hard drive may have multiple platters to increase the amount of data that can be stored.

The data is stored on the surface of the platters called sectors and tracks. The diagram below shows how the sectors and tracks are placed on the platter. Sectors are usually grouped together into clusters. Each sector often contains a fixed number of bytes, usually 256 or 512 bytes.

Lesson 2

Lesson 3