Republic of the Philippines

Department of Education
Region III – Central Luzon
Schools Division of Bataan
Oran National High School – Main
Sitio Kawayan Tugatog, Orani, Bataan

Technology and Livelihood Education

Computer Hardware Servicing Grade 9
Quarter 2 MODULE 1 (For 1 Week)

NOTE: Use your lecture notebook as your answer sheets. Notebook will be submitted
together with the module after the students accomplished this lesson for one week.
Do not write anything in this module, all your answers must be written in the lecture
notebook.

*Most Essential Learning Competencies:

1. Comply with the requirements in installing devices,/systems, networking devices, and
peripherals.

Objectives: At the end of the lesson ,85% of the students will be able to
a) Familiarize with the computer systems specifications.
b) Familiarize with the devices and peripherals and their specifications.

WHAT DO YOU ALREADY KNOW?

1. What is hardware?
2. What is software?

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO KNOW?

Read the Information Sheet 2.1very well then find how much you can remember and how
much you learned by doing Self Check 2.1 Then copy all the information sheets 2.1 in your lecture
notebook.

( Information Sheet 2.1)

SYSTEM’S SPECIFICATION
Whenever you purchase software or hardware for your computer, you should first
make sure your computer supports the system requirements. These are the necessary
specifications your computer must have in order to use the software or hardware. For
example, a computer game may require your computer to have Windows XP or later, a 2.0
GHz processor, 512 MB of RAM, a 64 MB graphics card, and 500 MB or hard drive space. If
your computer does not meet all of these requirements, the game will not run very well or
might not run at all. It is just as important to check system requirements for hardware
devices. For example, if you buy a printer, it may require either Windows XP or Mac OS X
10.3 or later. It may also require a USB port and 80 MB of available hard drive space. If
your computer does not have any USB ports, you will not be able to physically connect the
printer.

If your machine does not have Windows XP or Mac OS X 10.3 or later, the printer
drivers may be incompatible with your operating system. This means your computer will be
unable to recognize the printer. Most hardware and software products have the system
requirements printed on the side or bottom of the product packaging. When you are
shopping for computer software or hardware, it is a good idea to first find out exactly what
your system's specifications are and write them down on a piece of paper.
The important information to record includes:
1. Operating System (i.e. Windows XP, SP 2 or Mac OS X 10.3.8)
2. Processor Speed (i.e. Pentium 4, 3.2 GHz or Power PC G5, 2.0 GHz)
3. Memory, a.k.a. RAM (i.e. 512 MB)
4. Graphics Card (i.e. ATI Radeon 9800 w/ 256 MB video memory)
5. Hard Disk Space (i.e. 80 GB available)
6. I/O Ports (i.e. USB, Firewire, Serial, Parallel, SCSI, VGA, DVI ports)

By recording these specifications from your computer, you will be able to make sure
your computer supports the products you are buying. In terms of installation, systems’
specification is a big consideration in order for a computer to run and work properly for the
most efficient way it could be.
In broad terms, the performance of a computer depends on four factors: the speed
and architecture of its processor or "central processing unit" (CPU), how much
random access memory (RAM) it has, its graphics system, and its internal hard drive
speed and capacity. Also of importance to most users will be the specification of its Internet
connection. Most computer users and in particular those working with a lot of photographs,
music files or videos should also think about the most suitable storage devices they will
need in order to keep and back-up all of their valuable data.

Processor speed and architecture

The speed of a computer's processor chip (technically known as its "clock speed") in
measured in gigahertz (GHz), with the fastest modern processors currently running at up to
4.7GHz. However, for most computing tasks, including web browsing, sending emails, word
processing and spreadsheet work any processor running at 1GHz or more remains perfectly
sufficient.

For applications such as video editing, 3D graphics work and (for the majority of
"power users") playing computer games, higher processor speeds is highly required. CPU
performance is now determined by far more than raw speed alone. Intel made this very
clear when it introduced its system of processor numbers. These provide an indication of a
processor's "architecture", "cache" and "front side bus (FSB) speed" in addition to its
clock speed.

The architecture of a processor is the most important factor to determine its

performance, and refers to its basic design and complexity. Some processors are simply
more sophisticated than others, with Intel (for example) producing "basic" processors
called Celerons and Pentiums, as well as more powerful processors under its "Core"
processor family. The later include the Core 2, Core i3, Core i5 and Core i7, with the last of
these being the most powerful.

In addition to clock speed and architecture, a processor's cache and front side bus
(FSB) speed also determine a computer's overall power. Cache is a form of very fast
memory integrated into the processor chip, and used to store up instructions (work for the
processor) so that it has to slow down as little as possible between tasks. Cache is
measured in megabytes (MB), with (for example) low-end Celeron processors having as
little as 0.25MB of cache (256KB), and high-end Itaniums having up to 24MB. The simple
message is, the more cache the better- though high levels of cache still come at a very
significant price.

Front side bus (FSB) speed is a measure of how fast a microprocessor

communicates with the computer's main circuit board (or "motherboard") into which it is
physically connected. Again, the higher the measure the better for overall performance,
with FSB speeds currently ranging from 533MHz (still perfectly sufficient for the vast
majority of applications) up to 1600 MHz.

RAM

To a large extent, the more RAM a computer has the faster and more effectively it
will operate. Computers with little RAM have to keep moving data to and from their hard
disks in order to keep running. This tends to make them not just slow in general, but more
annoyingly intermittently sluggish.

RAM is measured in megabytes (MB) and gigabytes (GB), as detailed on the storage
page. Just how much RAM a computer needs depends on the software it is required to run
effectively. A computer running Windows XP will usually function quite happily with 1GB of
RAM, whereas twice this amount (ie 2GB) is the realistic minimum for computers running
Windows 7.

Graphics system

A computer's graphics system determines how well it can work with visual output.
Graphics systems can either be integrated into a computer's motherboard, or plugged into
the motherboard as a separate "video card". Graphics systems integrated into the
motherboard (also known as "onboard graphics") are now quite powerful, and sufficient for
handling the requirements of most software applications aside from games playing, 3D
modeling, and some forms of video editing.

Any form of modern computer graphics system can now display high-resolution color
images on a standard-sized display screen (ie any monitor up to about 19" in size). The
more sophisticated graphics cards now determines how well a computer can handle the
playback of high definition video, as well as the speed and quality at which 3D scenes can
be rendered. Another key feature of separate graphics cards is that most of them now
allow more than one display screen to be connected to a computer. Others also permit the
recording of video.
 As a basic rule, unless a computer is going to be used to handle 3D graphics or to
undertake a significant volume of video editing or recording, today there is little point in
opting for anything other than onboard graphics (not least because separate graphics cards
consume quite a lot of electricity and create quite a lot of heat and noise). Adding a new
graphics card to a computer with onboard graphics is also a very easy upgrade if required
in the future.

Hard Drive Speed and Capacity

Today 40GB is an absolute minimum hard drive size for a new computer running
Windows 7, with a far larger capacity being recommended in any situation where more
than office software is going to be installed. Where a computer will frequently be used to
edit video, a second internal hard disk dedicated only to video storage is highly
recommended for stable operation. Indeed, for professional video editing using a program
like Premiere Pro CS5, Adobe now recommend that a PC has at least three internal hard
disks (one for the operating system and programs, one for video project files, and one for
video media).

Two key factors determine the speed of traditional, spinning hard disks. The first is
the rotational velocity of the physical disk itself. This can currently be 4200, 5400, 7200,
10000 or 15000 rpm (revolutions per minute). The faster the disk spins, the quicker data
can be read from or written to it, hence the faster the disk the better (although faster disks
consumer more power, make more noise, and generate more heat). Most desktop hard
disks run at either 5400 or 7200 rpm, whilst most laptop hard disks run at 4200 or 5400.

The second key factor that determines performance of a traditional, internal hard
disk is the interface used to connect it to the computer's motherboard. Three types of
interface exist: Serial Advance Technology Attachment (SATA), which is the most
modern and now pretty much the norm on new PCs; Integrated Device Electronics
(IDE) (also known as UDMA), which is a slower and older form of interface, and finally
SCSI, which happens to be the oldest but in it most modern variant is still the fastest disk
interface standard.

HOW MUCH HAVE YOU LEARNED?

SELF – CHECK 2.1

Now, in order for you to better understand the topics under system’s specification,
dig deep into your mind and answer the following essential questions:

1. In your point of view, describe system specification?

2. How does it affect the performance of the computer?
3. What is the relevance of understanding system specification in computer hardware
servicing?
4. Why do you think that system specification is one of the most important considerations
during installation?
HOW DO YOU EXTEND YOUR LEARNING?
Now, that you are done with the system specifications , to enlighten your understanding
and knowledge. Find out exactly what is your best system's specifications and write them down on
a piece of paper
1. Operating System
2. Processor Speed
3. Memory
4. Graphics card
5. Hard disk drive capacity
6. Input/output ports

HOW DO YOU APPLY WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNED ?

Activity Sheet 2.1
Make a portfolio of the differerent hardware and their specifications.

HOW WELL DID YOU PERFORM?

Find out by accomplishing the scoring rubrics honestly and sincerely.

Remember it is your learning at stake!

Activity 2.1

CRITERIAS SCORE
Attach 100% of the pictures 100
Attach 90% of the pictures 95
Attach 85% of the pictures 90
Attach 80% of the pictures 85
Attach 75% of the pictures 80

References: 1. TLE- Computer Hardware Servicing Module for Grade 9

Prepared by: MAYBEL B. CEREZO

TLE CHS Teacher

Checked by:
ANTONIO B. VENEGAS ARLENE M. MATILDE
TLE – SSHT III School Principal I