UNIT 1: Information Systems

Recap
What did we learn?
• What is an Information System?
• What is Information Technology?
• Information Processing cycle
• Data vs Information
• Qualities of Information
• Computer vs Human capabilities
 Match
A. Server computer: 1) processor-bound
B. Stylus: applications
C. Supercomputer: 2) takes over when
computer fails
3) works with client
computers
4) electronic pen
 True/False
The four size categories of
conventional personal computers are
–miniature,
–portable,
–notebook, and
–business
 True/False
Supercomputers outperform humans when it
comes to pattern recognition.
 True/False
The power of a PC is directly proportional to
its physical size.
 UNIT 2

Inside the Computer –

Hardware components &
functions
 Computers
Inside the Computer
Objectives
 Understand how data is stored and
represented in a computer; architecture
 Describe the functions and relationships
between internal computer hardware
components:
Cases, Power Supply, Motherboard, CPU, Cooling
System, Memory, Adapter card, Storage devices and
Internal cables
 Distinguish processors by
word size,
speed,
memory capability
Information Processing Cycle
Hardware Components
 Computers
Inside the Computer
Digital: The Language of Computers
 Analog – continuous waveforms;
frequency & amplitude variations, sound
 Digital – data is described using only
two states: on and off
 Computers
Inside the Computer

Digital: The Language of Computers

 Digitize – to convert data, analog
signals, and images into 1’s and 0’s
used by computers
 Computers
Inside the Computer

Digital: The Language of Computers

 Binary – two-digit numbering system
1 represents on
0 represents off
 Each 1 or 0 is called a bit
 Bit – short for binary digit
 Computers
Inside the Computer

Digital: The Language of Computers

Encoding systems :
 ASCII – American Standard Code for
Information Interchange
 ANSI – American National Standards
Institute
 UNICODE – capable of handling most
printed languages
 Computers
Inside the Computer

Digital: The Language of Computers

 Byte – collection of bits that
represent a character
 ASCII – 7 bits/byte
 ANSI – 8 bits/byte
 UNICODE – 16 bits/byte
 ASCII
» American Standard Code for Information
Interchange (ASCII)
» ASCII code can represent up to 128
characters
» PC byte is 8 bits; there are 256 possible
bit configurations
 Computers
Inside the Computer

Digital: The Language of Computers

 Binary (base 2) – confusing for
humans; only uses 1’s and 0’s
 Hexadecimal (base 16)
used to represent numbers using fewer digits
A=10, B=11, C=12, D=13, E=14, F=15
 A shorthand for expressing Binary Numbers
» Base 16: used as shorthand to display contents
of RAM and disk storage
» 0-9 represents lower order digits and letters A to
F are used for the six higher order digits
» It only takes two hexadecimal digits to represent
an eight-bit byte.
Binary vs. Decimal vs.
Hexadecimal
 Computer Form factors:
Physical dimensions of major
components

Pictorial comparison of some common

computer form factors.
• The standardized size and layout of
motherboard have changed much more
slowly, and are controlled by their own
standards.
• The list of components a motherboard
must include changes far more slowly than
the components themselves.
• slower process - form factors evolve
regularly in response to changing
demands.
• The original PC standard (AT) was
superseded in 1995 by the current industry
standard ATX
• latest update to the ATX standard
released in 2007 - still dictates the size
and design of the motherboard , modern
PCs.
• Differences between form factors are most
apparent in terms of
– intended market sector
– involve variations in size, design
compromises and typical features
• A desktop computer may require more
sockets for maximal flexibility and many
optional connectors and other features on-
board
• whereas a computer to be used in a
multimedia system may need to be
optimized for heat and size, with additional
plug-in cards being less common.
• The smallest motherboards may sacrifice
CPU flexibility in favor of a fixed
manufacturer's choice.
A computer’s form factor describes
the computer ’s physical shape,
layout and size of the major
components
 Computer
Case/chassis/tower/cabinet/housing
• Framework – support internal parts
• Enclosure – protection from external
environment (dust)
• Protection of inner environment – airflow
and cooling
• Static electricity protection
– Grounded off parts
 Power Supply
• Converts AC to DC power(lower voltage)
• Has keyed connectors
• Supports all power needs of components

• SATA and Molex connectors

 Computers
Inside the Computer
The PC System Unit
 Motherboard – printed circuit board
Chipset – group of integrated circuits
(IC) that control communication between
system hardware, CPU and main board
Chipset – determines amount of memory
 Motherboard Form Factors
• IBM’s AT
– Cumbersome – up to 1 foot wide
• ATX
– 20 pin connectors
– Accommodate integrated I/O ports from ATX
 Computers
Inside the Computer
The PC System Unit
 Connected to the Motherboard:
Processor
Chipset
Memory chips
Expansion boards
 Computers
Inside the Computer

The PC System Unit

 Motherboard
System bus(electrical pathways) –
permits communication between
components
Device controllers – control peripheral
devices
The PC System Unit - Mainboard
 15 important items on a motherboard:
• CPU socket • • The chipset
• • PCI slots • • The power
• • The AGP connector
• • The ISA slots • • The memory slots
• • The parallel port • • The floppy drive
connector (FLOPPY)
• • The serial port
• • CMOS battery
• • The PS2 port
• • BIOS
• • USB port
• • IDE connectors
• Before buying a motherboard, you should
always learn about its characteristics such
as the type of connectors it has.
 Computers
Inside the Computer
• The Processor: Computer Brain on a Chip
Pentium 4
Celeron
XeonTM
ItaniumTM
Pin Grid Array (PGA) architecture
–uses pins
Zero-Insertion Force(ZIF) or LIF
Land Grid Array(LGA) architecture
Newer models – uses contacts
 Computers
Inside the Computer

The PC System Unit

 Central Processing Unit
Control unit
Arithmetic and logic unit
 Computers
Inside the Computer

Central Processing Unit

 Control unit - the command centre of
the processor.
Reads and interprets instructions
Directs the operation of internal
processor components
Controls the flow of programs and
data in and out of RAM
 Computers
Inside the Computer
Central Processing Unit
 Decoder – interprets instructions that
have been retrieved from RAM
 Registers – high-speed working
storage areas
instruction register – contains instruction
to be executed
program register – contains location of
next instruction to be executed
 Computers
Inside the Computer

Central Processing Unit

 Arithmetic and Logic Unit
Performs computations (+, -, *, /)
Performs logical operations (comparisons)
Accumulator – register where answers are
stored
 During the execution of a program, what
happens:
• program instructions are moved from RAM to the
control unit

• decoder interprets the instructions

• Control unit directs other processor components to

carry out necessary instructions
 Computers
Inside the Computer

The Instruction Set and the

Instruction Cycle
Machine language – what a computer
actually understands
All instructions to a computer must be
converted to binary

Instruction set – sequence of stored

instructions
The Instruction Set and the Instruction Cycle
– 2 main CPU architectures

1. RISC (reduced instruction set computer)

• understands a smaller list of instructions
• Fewer, simpler and faster instructions would be
better, than the large, complex and slower CISC
instructions.
• However, more instructions are needed to
accomplish a task with RISC.
• Executed very rapidly
 Inside the Computer
The Instruction Set and the Instruction Cycle

2. CISC (complex instruction set computer)

• understands many different instructions
• a large amount of different & complex
instructions.
• Fewer steps per operation
• In common CISC chips are relatively slow
(compared to RISC chips) per instruction, but
use little (less than RISC) instructions.
 Computers
Inside the Computer

The Instruction Set and the

Instruction Cycle
Instruction Cycle
Instruction time (I-time) – instruction is
retrieved from memory and decoded
Execution time (E-time) – instruction is
executed and result is placed in memory
 Computers
Inside the Computer

The Instruction Set and the

Instruction Cycle
Pipelining – processor begins working
on another instruction before the
current instruction is completed
The Instruction Set and the
Instruction Cycle
 CPU
• Overclocking:
make processor work faster than original
speed specification

• Throttling:
processor runs at less than rated speed to
produce less heat/conserve power
 Computers
Inside the Computer
Processor Design
Parallel processing – multiple
processors in one computer system
Process multiple instructions concurrently
Single-core
Dual-core
Quad-core – 4 cores inside 1 CPU;
 Simultaneous processing for enhanced computer
apps.
 Computers
Inside the Computer

Describing the Processor and Its

Performance
Word or Bus Width – number of bits
handled as a unit
 Computers
Inside the Computer

Core Speed: GHz, MIPS, and FLOPS

Gigahertz (GHz) – billions of clock
cycles per second
Megahertz (MHz) – millions of clock
cycles per second
 Computers
Inside the Computer

Core Speed: GHz, MIPS, and FLOPS

MIPS – millions of instructions per
second
FLOPS – floating point operations per
second; used to measure speed of
supercomputers
 Computers
Inside the Computer

Bus Speed
Most processors operate at GHz
Most buses operate at MHz
Major block to efficiency in a PC
 CMOS battery
• a small battery (flat) that does not
consume much electricity is used to keep
track of the initialization settings of the
computer. It is also used to operate the
PC’s internal clock so if you see that the
time is that the malfunctioning battery is
not good is it to be changed.
 The BIOS
• small program stored in a ROM for
performing exchange of information
between the operating system (usually
Windows) and the motherboard.

• ** How to clear BIOS exercise

Cooling System
• Case fans
• Heat sink on CPU

• Remove heat
• Promote cooling in
case

• Video Cards
– GeForce
 Computers
Inside the Computer

High-Speed Memories
 RAM
ROM (read-only memory) –
non-volatile, contains
instructions to the computer that the
user cannot change ; holds firmware
Eg?
 PROM (programmable ROM) – user
can store read-only programs and data
 ROM
• Good example of • Electrically Erasable
ROM is EEPROM Programmable Read-
used for the computer Only Memory,
BIOS EEPROM is a PROM
that can be erased
and reprogrammed
using an electrical
charg
 Computers
Inside the Computer

Flash Memory
Nonvolatile memory – does not lose data
in a power outage
 Easily upgraded
 BIOS (Basic Input Output System) –
stored in flash memory
 Computers
Inside the Computer

RAM: Digital Warehouse

 High-speed holding area for data and
programs
 Volatile memory – data is lost if
electrical current is not maintained
 Address – specific location in RAM
 RAM
• Clip-in modules, called memory sticks (not
to be confused with USB Flash drives
which sometimes go by that name).
 Computers
Inside the Computer
• Cache
 Throughput – rate at
which the
computer works
 Cache Memory –
 faster than RAM
 SRAM
 L1, L2, L3 – integrated on
CPU
 Gives CPU faster access
to data
 Computers
Inside the Computer

Memory Capacity
MB (megabyte) – approximately 1
million bytes
GB (gigabyte) – approximately 1
billion bytes
TB (terabyte) – approximately 1
trillion bytes
 Computers
Inside the Computer

Memory Capacity
KB (kilobytes) – approximately 1000
bytes
Kb (kilobit)
Mb (megabit)
Memory Capacity: MB, GB and TB
– Kilobyte (KB) = 1,024 bytes (210)
– Megabyte (MB) = 1,048,576 (220) bytes; ≈
1,000,000
– Gigabyte (GB) ≈ one billion bytes (230)
– Terabyte (TB) ≈ one trillion (240)
 Memory sticks or modules changed format over
the years as capacity has increased. Main types,
in increasing complexity,
• SIMM - Single Inline Memory Module - an
obsolete type of memory stick with power
and data contacts on one side of the
board. 30 pins.
• DIMM - Dual Inline Memory Module - a
memory stick with power and data contacts
on both sides of the board.
 RAM: Digital Warehouse

DDR SDRAM – synchronous

dynamic RAM
SIMMs – single in-line memory
modules (30 and 72 pins)
 DIMMs – dual in-line memory
modules (168, 184 and 240 pins)
 DDR vs DDR2
• DDR - Double Data Rate memory – 184 pin
modules
– a type of DRAM based on SDRAM technology
– operates at twice the bus clock rate.
– It uses. Released in 2000.
– mainstream memory technology to the end of 2005.
• DDR2 - Double Data Rate2 memory – 240 pins
– a type of DRAM based on DDR technology
– operates at twice the clock rate.
– Released in 2004.
– Not compatible with DDR motherboards.
DDR2 vs DDR3
 RAM Speed Peak Throughput
Type of RAM PC Rating
in MHz in MB/sec

SDRAM PC100 100 800

SDRAM PC133 133 1100

RIMM PC800 400 1600

RIMM PC1066 533 2100

DDR PC1600 200 1600

DDR PC2100 266 2100

DDR PC2700 366 2700

DDR PC3200 400 3200

Dual Channel RIMM PC800 400 3200

Dual Channel RIMM PC1066 533 4200

Dual Channel DDR2 PC2-3200 400 6400

Dual Channel DDR2 PC2-4200 533 8400

Dual Channel DDR2 PC2-5300 667 10600

Dual Channel DDR2 PC2-6400 800 12800

Identify RAM
What types of RAM does a laptop
use?
 What types of RAM does a laptop
use?
• Either SODIMM or MicroSODIMM.
• Small outline dual in-line memory module - a
miniaturized version of the DIMM modules used in
most desktop PCs.

• A broad question with a broad answer - modern

laptops usually use 200 pin SODIMMs

They could be DDR or DDR2, which are not

interchangeable.
• You would have to check the specs of your
specific laptop to find out.
The Processor and Memory

A computer’s
speed and
capacity is
determined by
the type of
processor and
the amount of
RAM on the
motherboard
 Computers
Inside the Computer

Buses and Ports

PCI (peripheral component
interconnect) local bus – allows for
circuit boards to connect to the
common system bus
 Computers
Inside the Computer
Buses and Ports
Expansion slots – where expansion
boards are installed
Expansion boards or expansion/adapter cards –
provide additional capabilities to the
computer
 Computers
Inside the Computer

Buses and Ports

AGP (accelerated graphics port) bus–
speeds up high-resolution 3-D
graphics
 Computers
Inside the Computer

Buses and Ports

USB (universal serial bus) – used to
connect peripheral devices to the PC
USB hub – connects to the USB port
and provides additional places to plug
USB devices
 Computers
Inside the Computer

Buses and Ports

Hot plug – USB devices can be
attached or removed while the PC is
running
USB 1.0 – 12Mbps
USB 2.0 – about 40 times faster than
original USB = 480 Mbps
USB 3.0 – 5 Gbps
 Computers
Inside the Computer

Buses and Ports

1394 bus – similar to
USB in speed
FireWire – Apple
terminology
Supports hot plugging
 Computers
Inside the Computer

Buses and Ports

SCSI (small computer system
interface) or “scuzzy” bus – early
alternative to expansion slots in PCs
 Computers
Inside the Computer

Legacy and Other PC Ports

Serial port – data flows one bit at a time
Parallel port – data flows several bits at
a time
IrDA port or infrared port – data sent by
light waves
 Computers
Inside the Computer
PC Growth: Adding Capabilities
Expansion Boards – placed in
expansion slots
Graphics adapter
Sound
Data/voice/fax modem
Network interface card (NIC)
SCSI interface card
Video capture card
Wireless NIC
 Computers
Inside the Computer

PC Cards: PCMCIA Technology

PCMCIA card or PC card
Usually used on notebook computers
Expand RAM
NIC
Hard-disk cards
GPS (global positioning system)
 Internal Cables
• SATA power connectors
– SATA drives

• Molex connector
– PATA(parallel ATA) drives

• Berg 4-pin connector – floppy drives

• SCSI data cable
Internal Cables/Connectors
 Computers
Inside the Computer
Build Your Own PC
Advantages
Cheaper (for high-end systems)
Meets your requirements
Disadvantages
No warranty on system
No help desk
 Computers
Unit 3 – Inside the Computer
Lesson Summary
• Understand how data is stored and
represented in a computer
• Describe the functions and relationships
between main internal computer
hardware components
• Distinguish processors by word size,
speed, and memory capability
• Identify new processor design
approaches