Familiarization of Hardware components

SMPS

            Switched mode power supply. Which provides different voltage levels for different devices in system. Mainly +5v and +12v supply is needed.

MOTHERBOARD

            Motherboard is the physical platform on which the components are inserted. The motherboard uses +12v supply to work. On motherboard it have a power connector for this.

            CPU Socket  - Based of the processor type and technology and the number of pins

            CPU Fan – Along with the heat sink, it cools down the processor from reaching                                extreme temperatures

            IDE – Integrated Development Environment for developing programs

            Jumpers – For changing the default hardware configuration

            PANELS – For external devices

            PCI slots – For connecting addon cards

            AGP – Accelerated Graphics Port for Graphics cards

            FDDI connector – Fiber-optic Digital Data Interface

            DIMM slots – Dual In-line Memory Module for connecting memory cards

PROCESSOR

            Main part of the system. It process the input and produce a result. The processors are of different types. It depends on applications and also specifications are different for different companies and versions. It uses the IP property which is different for different companies. Processor are not only used with computers but also with many other devices such as mobiles. Processors are also available for special purposes such as DSP(embedded system applications).Most popular manufacturers

RAM

            Random Access Memory is the primary storage device in the system. It may be upto 4gb available now. It is mainly of 2 types SDRAM and DDRAM. In other devices such as mobile phones another type of memory devices such as flash memory are used. it is connected to the DIMM socket.

HARDDISK

            It is the permanent storage device of a system.

            It can store several 100 GBs of  data.

            It uses platters to store data. It has actuators and heads for access data.

            It divide the disk in tracks and sectors. 

KEYBOARD

         Keyboard controller detects a key press, Controller sends a code to the CPU represents the key pressed. Controller notifies the operating system Operating system responds Controller repeats the letter if held

MOUSE

         All modern computers have variants. Allows users to select objects Pointer moved by the mouse

•         Mechanical mouse – Uses electro-mechanical wheels to convey 2D                                                         information

•         Optical mouse – Uses optical sensors to detect changes in the 2D space

•         Touch screens – Uses touch and pressure sensors to move cursors and objects on screen, also used with stylus for drawing and modeling tools

MONITORS

Most common output device. Connects to the video card categorized by color output.

·   Monochrome

·   Color

Cathode Ray Tube (CRT)    

         Most common type of monitor Electrons fired from the back i.e. from the electron gun Electrons excite phosphor to glow. Phosphor is arranged in dots (triads) called pixels dot mask ensures proper pixel is lit

1.        CRT drawbacks

2.        Very large & heavy

3.        Consumes a lot of power

Liquid Crystal Display (LCD)           

         Commonly found on laptops

         Desktop versions exist

         Solve the problems of CRT

Fluorescent lights provide illumination

         More expensive than CRT

         Must sit directly in front of screen

Plasma monitor

         Gas is excited to produce light