Computer Hardware

Introduction to Information Technology

Contents

Input

Keyboard
Pointing devices
Source data entry

Output

Softcopy
Hardcopy

Processing
Memory
CPU
Storage
Connector
Ports
Extension Slots/Cards

Input Devices

Input Devices

Keyboard

Braille keyboard

A device that converts letters,

numbers, and other
characters into electrical
signals that can be read by
the computers processor.
One-handed keyboard

Input Devices

Ergonomics

A field devoted to making working conditions and equipment

safer and more efficient.

Ergonomic keyboard

Input Devices

Pointing Devices

Control the position of the cursor or pointer on the screen

Ergonomic trackball
Touch pad

Mouse for right-handed user

Pointing stick

Input Devices

Pen input

Light pen - a lightsensitive penlike

device connected by a
wire to the computer
terminal

Input Devices

Touch screen

a video display screen that has been sensitized to receive

input from the touch of a finger

Input Devices

Scanner

Devices that use lightsensing equipment to

translate images of text,
drawings, photos, and the
like into digital form.

3D Scanner

Input Devices

Mark and Character Readers

MICR -

Magnetic-Ink Character Recognition. Reads the strangelooking numbers printed at the bottom of checks

OMR - Optical Mark Recognition. Uses a device that reads pencil

marks and converts them into computer-usable form

OCR -

Optical Character Recognition. Uses a device that

reads preprinted characters in a particular font and
converts them to digital code

Input Devices

Digital cameras

Use light-sensitive
processor chip to capture
photographic image in
digital form on diskette or
flash memory chips.

Digital cameras

Input Devices

Audio-input devices

Record analog sounds and translate for digital storage or

processing.

Audio Board
Circuit board that convert analog sound to digital sound,
provide output sound to speaker.

MIDI Board (Musical Instrument Digital Interface)

Interchange of music information between musical Instrument,
synthesizer and computer. (Use to produce rhythm of the
music in digital form.)

Input Devices

Human-biology input devices

Biometrics System: the

study of body
characteristics, to identify
people through biological
characteristics.
Ex. Finger print, Voice,
Retina, and DNA.

Line-of-Sight Systems: allow user to operate a

computer by focusing on a particular areas of a display
screen.

Two types of monitors

Output Devices

CRT (Cathode Ray

Tube) - a vacuum tube
used as a display
screen in a computer or
video display terminal

Flat-panel display - made

up of two plates of glass
separated by a layer of a
substance in which light is
manipulated
Ex. LCD (Liquid Crystal
Display)

Output Devices

Softcopy Output: Display Screens

Display screens - output devices that show programming

instructions and data as they are being input and information after it is
processed

Output Devices

Screen clarity

Pixel (picture element)

the smallest unit on the screen that can
be turned on and off or made different
shades
Dot pitch (dp) - the amount of space
between the centers of adjacent pixels;
the closer the dots, the crisper the
image

Output Devices

Screen clarity

Resolution - the
image sharpness of a
display screen; the
more pixels there are
per square inch, the
finer the level of detail

Standard resolutions
(horizontal x vertical)

Output Devices

Hardcopy Output

Printer - an output device that prints characters,

symbols, and perhaps graphics on paper or another
hardcopy medium.

Dpi (dots per inch) - resolution measure for printers.

Specifies the number of dots that are printed in a
linear inch

Output Devices

Impact printer

Forms characters or images by striking a mechanism such

as a print hammer or wheel against an inked ribbon,
leaving an image on paper.

Ex. Dot Matrix Printer.

Output Devices

Non-Impact Printers

Forms characters and

images without direct
physical contact between
the printing mechanism
and paper
Laser printer - creates
images on a drum which
are treated with a
magnetically charged
toner, and then transferred
from drum to paper
Replacing a laser toner cartridge

Non-Impact Printers

Output Devices

Ink-jet printers - spray small, electrically charged droplets of ink

from four nozzles through holes in a matrix at high speed onto paper
Thermal printers - use colored waxes and heat to produce images
by burning dots onto special paper

Output Devices

Other Output

Sound output - devices which produce digitized sounds, ranging

from beeps and chirps to music
Voice output - devices which convert digital data into speech-like
sounds
Video output - photographic images which are played at 15-29
frames per second to give the appearance of full motion

Processing
Memory
CPU

Processing Devices

Memory

Silicon

chip on motherboard
For storing data or instruction
There are Five types of memory:
RAM
ROM
CMOS
Flash Memory Chip
Cache memory

Processing Devices

1) RAM (Random Access Memory)

Known as memory, main memory, primary storage, internal memory,

Computer short-term capacity
It is Volatile Storage
The Capacity varies with different computers Size is Vary
Three tasks:

Hold data for processing

Hold instructions/programs for process the data
Hold processed data wait to be send out to output or secondary
storage

2) ROM Chips

Processing Devices

Read Only Memory

Cannot be written on or
erased by the computer user
without special equipment.
Contain programs that are
built in at the factory which
use for basic computer
operation Ex. BIOS
instructions
PROM (Programmable ROM)
Allow you to load read-only
programs and data but at
once.

Processing Devices

3) CMOS Chips

Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor Chips

Powered by battery so content is not lost when computer is off
Contain flexible start-up instructions (time, date) which can be
reprogrammed

Processing Devices

4) Flash Memory Chips

Non-volatile

Can

be erased and reprogrammable more than once

Capacity in range of 16 MB 1 GB
Eg. Flash memory in mobile phone, PDA, printer,
computer, digital camera

Processing Devices

5) Cache Memory

Special high speed memory area that the CPU can

access quickly
Keep most frequently used instructions to allow CPU to
run faster
Some Design divide cache into 2 Areas: L1 and L2

Processing Devices

Cache Memory (cont.)

Two kinds of Cache Memory:

1. Level 1: L1 (internal cache)

2.

Locate inside processor chip

Range from 2 - 64 KB
Operate very fast

Level 2: L2 (external cache)

Locate outside processor chip

Range from 256 KB 2 MB
Connect to CPU by backside bus

Processing Devices

Memory Capacity

Word
size

D 16 KB
I 16 KB

D 256 KB
I 256 KB

256 MB

80 GB

Register

Cache L1

Cache L2

RAM

Hard Disk

64 b

CPU
During the
execution

Keep most
frequency use
data,
instructions
Faster than L2
because size
is smaller,
processor can
find data or
instruction
easier

Program A
100
101
102
103

Storing in
sequential
order

Hierarchy of Memory

Control Unit +ALU

Processing Devices

Register
Cache

CPU

Main Memory
Secondary Storage
Speed

Capacity

Processing Devices

Microprocessor Chip

Is also called CPU Central Processing Unit

Main part of the motherboard (brain of computer) which follows
instructions of the software to manipulate data into information.
Consists of transistors
Transistor: the tiny electronic devices that act as on/off switches
for presenting 0/1 data.

Inside CPU

Processing Devices

System Clock

Controls

how fast all the operations within a

computer take place
The faster the clock, the faster the processing.
PC clock speed is measured by Hz
1 Hz = 1 machine cycle

Processing Devices

Measurement of Processing Speeds

For

microcomputers:
Megahertz (MHz) - Million/billion of machine cycles
per second
Gigahertz (GHz) - Million/billion of machine cycles per
second
For workstations, minicomputers, mainframes
MIPS Million of Instructions Per Second
For supercomputers
FLOPS Floating-point Operations Per Second

Processing Devices

Main components of CPU

1.
2.
3.

4.

CPU

Control Unit
Arithmetic/Logic Unit
Register
Memory/System Bus

Control Unit

ALU

Bus
Registers

Bus
RAM

Bus
Expansion Slots
Expansion Slots

Bus

Processing Devices

1) Control Unit

Tells

the rest of computer system how to carry out a

programs instructions (Machine Cycle)
Direct the movement of electric signal among main
memory, arithmetic unit and other devices

Processing Devices

2) Arithmetic/Logic Unit (ALU)

Performs

arithmetic operations and logic operations

and controls the speed of those operation.
Arithmetic operation:+ - * /
Logical operation: comparison = > <

Processing Devices

3) Registers

High speed storage areas that temporary store data during

processing
At the moment before actual processing take place, instructions
and data are loaded into register from main memory which help
computer process faster
It is the smallest storage space which has capacity equal to
word size.

Processing Devices

4) Memory/System Bus

Electrical pathway through which bits

are transmitted within CPU and
between CPU to other devices in
system unit

System Bus: connect CPU within itself

and to main memory.

Expansion Bus: connect CPU with the

expansion slot and peripheral
devices.

The more lanes it has, the faster bits

can be transferred

Ex. 32-bits is faster than 16-bits

CPU
Control Unit

ALU

Registers

RAM
Expansion Slots
Expansion Slots

Processing Devices

Central Processing Unit (CPU)

Capacities of CPU is depending on Word Size

Number of bits that is manipulated or stored at one time
by CPU

The more bits in a word, the faster the computer

Ex. 8-bit, 16-bit, 32-bit, 64-bits computer

100110010111000
RAM

8-bit

10111000
Register

Processing Devices

Machine Cycle

Series of operations performed to execute a single program

instruction
Consists of two parts:
Instruction Cycle
Fetch get instruction from main memory
Decode determine what is that instruction means
Execution Cycle
Execute perform operation on data
Store keep processed result into main memory

Main Memory

Program
Instruction:
X=1+1

CPU
Instruction cycle
add 1 with 1
store in x

Fetch
2

Store

Decode

Execution cycle
3

Execute

X=2

Control Unit

01
+01
10
Arithmetic/Logic Unit

Storage Devices

Storage Devices

As we called secondary storage hardware

Device that permanently hold data and information
2 types:
1.
Magnetic

2.

Floppy disks
Hard disks
Magnetic tape

Optical

CD
DVD

Storage Devices

Floppy Disks (Diskette)

Program and store data as magnetized spots (absence and

presence of electromagnetic charge) on the metal oxide film.

Require disk drive to read and write data to diskette. It performs

read/write data by spin the Platter and move read/write head to
locate on the data area

Types:
3.5 inch floppy disk holds up to 1.44MB of data. Also
referred to as a diskette.
Zip disks100 MB and 250 MB storage.
Superdiskslook like 3.5-inch diskettes, but can hold up to
120 MB of data.

Storage Devices

Characteristic of Diskettes

Track and Sector

Track: ring of data on a side of a disk
Sector: a slice of pie, used for storage reference
512 bytes of data

Hard Disk

Data are store in the form of magnetized spots.

Parts of the hard drive:

Storage Devices

Plattersdiscs where data is

written to. Most hard drives
have multiple platters. When a
platter is formatted so it can
store data, it is organized into:

Tracksrings

Sectorspieces of each
ring (track)

Spindleholds the platters and

attaches them to the drive
which causes them to spin.

Read-write headsmove
across the platters using
magnetic fields to read data
from and write data to the
platters.

Storage Devices

Magnetic Tape

Is

thin plastic tape that has been coated with a

substance that can be magnetized.

Data

is represented by magnetized spots(1) or

nonmagnetized spots(0)

Storage Devices

Optical Disks

Removable

Disk which data is written and read

through the use of laser beam
Writing data use high-power laser beam
Reading data use low-power laser beam

If Laser reflect from smooth surface => 1

If Laser is not reflect => 0

How Optical Disk Works?

Laser

Storage Devices

Label

0 1

Acrylic
Aluminum

Pit
View a Clip

Storage Devices

Types of Optical Disk

CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read-only Memory)holds up to 650 MB of

data on one disc; cannot be written to.

CD-R (Compact Disc Recordable)holds up to 650 MB of data; can

be written to with special CD recording hardware and software. CD-Rs
only allow you to write once to each area of the disk.

CD-RW drives (Compact Disc Rewritable)allows you to write and

rewrite data to a CD. Holds up to 650 MB of data.

DVDs (Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc)can hold up to

4.7 GB of data on one disc; cannot be written to.

Storage Devices

Types of Optical Disk

DVD-Rs (Digital Video Disc Recordable)holds up to 4.7 GB of

data; can be written to with special DVD recording hardware and
software. DVD-Rs only allow you to write once to the disk.

DVD+RWs (Digital Video Disc Rewritable)allows you to write and

rewrite data to a DVD. Holds up to 4.7 GB of data