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Introduction to the Personal Computer

Cases and Power Supplies
1. Cases
  1. The computer case contains the framework to support the internal components of a computer while providing an enclosure for added protection.
    1. it is made of plastic, steel, or aluminum and are available in a variety of styles.
    2. As the air passes warm components, it absorbs heat and then exits the case. This process keeps the computer components from overheating. Cases also help to prevent damage from static electricity.
2. Power supplies
  1. The power supply converts Alternating Current (AC) power coming from a wall outlet into Direct Current (DC) power, which is a lower voltage. DC power is required for all components inside the computer.
  2. The main three form factor
    1. Power supplies, Advanced Technology (AT), AT Extended (ATX), and ATX12V. The ATX12V is the most common form factor used in computers today.
  3. Connectors
    1. A Molex keyed connector
    2. A Berg keyed connector
    3. A SATA keyed connector
    4. A 20-pin or 24-pin slotted connector
    5. A 4-pin to 8-pin auxiliary power connector
    6. A 6/8-pin PCIe power connector
3. Electricity and Ohm’s Law
  1. The four basic units of electricity
    1. Voltage (V)
      1. it is measure of work required to move a charge from one location to another. Voltage is measured in volts
    2. Current (I)
      1. it is measure of the amount of electrons moving through a circuit per second. Current is measured in amperes, or amps (A)
    3. Power (P)
      1. it is 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).
    4. Resistance (R)
      1. it is the opposition to the flow of current in a circuit, measured in ohms. Lower resistance allows more current to flow through a circuit.
    5. V = IR
      1. It states that voltage is equal to the current multiplied by the resistance
    6. P = VI
      1. The power is equal to the voltage multiplied by the current
Internal PC components
1. Motherboard
  1. The motherboard is the main printed circuit board and contains the buses, or electrical pathways, found in a computer.
    1. These buses allow data to travel between the various components that comprise a computer.
  2. The motherboard accommodates the central processing unit (CPU), random access memory (RAM), expansion slots, heat sink and fan assembly, basic input/output system (BIOS) chip, chipset, and the circuitry that interconnects the motherboard components.
2. CPUs
  1. The central processing unit (CPU) is considered the brain of the computer. It is sometimes referred to as the processor.
3. Cooling Systems
  1. The flow of current between the electronic components generates heat. Computer components perform better when kept cool.
4. ROM
  1. Read-only memory chips. Information is written to a ROM chip when it is manufactured. A ROM chip cannot be erased or re-written and is obsolete.
5. RAM
  1. RAM is the temporary storage for data and programs that are being accessed by the CPU.
  2. RAM Types
    1. Dynamic RAM
    2. Static RAM
    3. Synchronous DRAM
    4. Fast Page Mode DRAM
    5. Extended Data Out RAM
    6. Double Data Rate SDRAM
    7. Double Data Rate SDRAM
    8. Double Data Rate 3 SDRAM
    9. RAMBus DRAM
6. Memory Modules
  1. Memory modules can be single-sided or double-sided. Single-sided memory modules contain RAM only on one side of the module. Double-sided memory modules contain RAM on both sides.
  2. Memory Modules types
    1. DIP
      1. Dual Inline Package is an individual memory chip. A DIP has dual rows of pins used to attach it to the motherboard.
    2. SIMM
      1. Single Inline Memory Module is a small circuit board that holds several memory chips. SIMMs have 30-pin or 72-pin configurations
    3. DIMM Memory
      1. Dual Inline Memory Module is a circuit board that holds SDRAM, DDR SDRAM, DDR2 SDRAM, and DDR3 SDRAM chips. There are 168-pin SDRAM DIMMs, 184-pin DDR DIMMs, and 240-pin DDR2 and DDR3 DIMMs.
    4. RIMM
      1. RAMBus Inline Memory Module is a circuit board that holds RDRAM chips. A typical RIMM has a 184-pin configuration.
    5. SODIMM
      1. Small Outline DIMM has a 72-pin and 100-pin configurations for support of 32-bit transfers or a 144-pin, 200-pin, and 204-pin configurations for support of 64-bit transfers
7. Adapter Cards and Expansion Slots
  1. Adapter cards increase the functionality of a computer by adding controllers for specific devices or by replacing malfunctioning ports.
  2. Adapter card types
    1. Network Interface Card (NIC)
      1. Connects a computer to a network using a network cable.
    2. Wireless NIC
      1. Connects a computer to a network using radio frequencies.
    3. Sound adapter
      1. Provides audio capability.
    4. Video adapter
      1. Provides graphic capability.
    5. Capture card
      1. Sends a video signal to a computer so that the signal can be recorded to the computer hard drive with Video Capture software.
    6. TV tuner card
      1. Provides the ability to watch and record television signals on a PC by connecting a cable television, satellite, or antenna to the installed tuner card.
8. Storage Devices
  1. Floppy drive
  2. Hard drive
  3. optical Drive
  4. Flash Drive
9. Video Ports and Cables
  1. Digital Visual Interface (DVI
    1. it has 24 pins for digital signals and 4 pins for analog signals.
  2. Displayport
    1. it has 20 pins and can be used for audio, video, or both audio and video transmission.
  3. RCA connectors
    1. have a central plug with a ring around it and can be used to carry audio or video
10. Other Ports and Cables
  1. Serial
  2. USB
  3. FireWire
  4. Parallel
  5. SCSI
  6. Network
  7. PS/2
  8. Audio

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Introduction to the Personal Computer

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	Created by srai3 about 10 years ago