Introduction To The Personal Computer

Introduction To The Personal Computer

1. Personal Computer Systems

   • Cases and Power Suplies
     • The computer case contains the framework to support the internal components of a computer while providing an enclosure for added protection
       • The power supply must provide enough power to the components that are currently installed. the power supply converts Alternative Current (AC) power into Direct Current (DC)

2. Ohm's law

   • Four basic units of electricity
     • Voltage (V)
       • Voltage is a measure of work required to move a chart to one location to another. Voltage is measure in Volts (v)
     • Current (I)
       • Current is a measure of the amount of electrons moving through a circuit per second. Current is measure in Amperes or Amps (A)
     • Power (P)
       • Power is a measure of the work required to move electrons through a circuit (voltage), multiplied by the number of electrons going through that circuit per second (current). Power is measure in Watts (W).
     • Resistance (R)
       • Resistance is the opposition to the flow of current in a circuit. Resistance is measure in Ohms
   • A basic equation, known as the Ohm's law, expresses how three of the terms relate to each other. It states that voltage is equal to the current multiply by the resistance: V=CR

3. Internal PC Components

   • Motherboards
     • The Motherboard is the main printed circuit board and contains the buses, or electrical pathways,found in a computer. The Motherboard accommodates the central processing unit (CPU), Random access memory (RAM), Expansion Slots, Heat Sink, Fan Assembly and the Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) chip
     • CPUs
       • Cooling System
         • ROM
           • RAM
             • Memory Medules

4. External Ports and Cables

   • Video ports and cables
     • A video port connects a monitor to a computer using a cable. Video ports and monitor cables transfer analog signals. digital signals, or both
     • Other ports and Cables
       • Input/Out (I/O) ports on a computer connects peripherals devices such as Printers,Scanners and portable devices the following ports and cables are commonly used: Serial, USB, FireWire, Parallel, SCSI, Network, PS/2 and Audio

5. Input and output devices

   • Input devices
     • An input device enters data or instructions into a computer. Here are some examples of Input devices: Mouse and Keyboard, Joystick, Scanner
   • Output devices
     • An out put device presents information to the user from a computer. Here are some examples of Output devices: Monitors and Projectors, Printers and Fax Machines