Application of ICT

Lecture # 2

The slides are adapted from the publisher’s material

Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow (Ch2)
Overview
This chapter covers:
How computers represent data and program instructions
How the CPU, memory, and other components located
inside the system unit are arranged, as well as the
characteristics of the components
How the CPU performs processing tasks
Strategies to speed up a computer today and to create
faster computers in the future

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Data and Program Representation
In order to be understood by a computer,
data and programs need to be represented
appropriately
Coding systems: Used to represent data and
programs in a manner understood by the
computer
Digital computers: Can only understand two
states, off and on (0 and 1)
Digital data representation:
The process of representing
data in digital form so it can be
understood by a computer

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Digital Data Representation
• Bit: The smallest unit of data that a
binary computer can recognize (a single
1 or 0)
Byte = 8 bits
Byte terminology used to
express the size of documents
and other files, programs, etc.
Prefixes are often used to
express larger quantities of
bytes: kilobyte (KB), megabyte
(MB), gigabyte (GB), terabyte
(TB), etc.

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The Binary Numbering System
Numbering system: A way of representing numbers
 Decimal numbering system
Uses 10 symbols (0-9)
 Binary numbering system
Uses only two symbols (1 and 0) to represent all possible
numbers

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Coding Systems for Other Types of
Data
Audio data: Must be in digital form in
order to be stored on or processed by a
computer
 Often compressed when sent over the Internet
 MP3 files
Video data: Displayed using a collection
of frames, each frame contains a still
image
 Amount of data can be substantial, but can be
compressed

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Inside the System Unit
System unit: The main case of a
computer
 Houses the processing hardware for a computer
 Also contains storage devices, the power supply, and
cooling fans
 Houses the CPU, memory, interfaces to connect to
peripheral devices (printers, etc), and other components
such as CD/DVD drives
 With a desktop computer, usually looks like a rectangular
box

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The
Motherboard
Computer chip: A very small pieces of silicon or
other semi-conducting material onto which
integrated circuits are embedded
Circuit board: A thin board containing computer
chips and other electronic components
Motherboard or system board: The main circuit
board inside the system unit
 All devices must connect to the motherboard
 External devices (monitors, keyboards, mice, printers)
typically connect by plugging into a port exposed through the
exterior of the system unit
 Wireless devices connect through a transceiver or wireless
networking technology (like Bluetooth)

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The CPU
Central processing unit (CPU): circuitry and
components packaged together and connected
directly to the motherboard
 Does the vast majority of processing for a computer
 Also called a processor; called a microprocessor when talking
about personal computers
Dual-core CPU: Contains the processing components
(cores) of two separate processors on a single CPU
Quad-core CPU: Contains 4 cores

Often made by Intel or AMD

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The CPU

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Processing Speed
CPU clock speed: One measurement of processing
speed
 Measured in megahertz (MHz) or gigahertz (GHz)
 Higher CPU clock speed = more instructions processed per
second
Alternate measure of processing speed is the
number of instructions a CPU can process per
second
 Megaflops, gigaflops, teraflops
Other factors (CPU architecture, memory, bus
speed, amount of RAM, etc.) also affect the overall
processing speed of a computer

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Word Size and Cache Memory
Word size: The amount of data that a CPU can
manipulate at one time
 Typically 32 or 64 bits
Cache memory: Special group of very fast
memory chips located on or close to the CPU
 Level 1 is fastest, then Level 2, then Level 3
 More cache memory typically means faster processing
 Usually internal cache (built into the CPU)

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Memory
Memory refers to chip based storage
 Primary memory
 Secondary memory
 RAM (random access memory): Computer’s
main memory
 Consists of chips arrange on a circuit board called a
memory module plugged into the motherboard
 Stores essential parts of operating system, programs,
and data the computer is currently using
 Adequate RAM is needed to run programs
 Volatile: Contents of RAM is lost when the computer is
shut off

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Memory

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Memory
Registers: High-speed memory built into the CPU;
used by the CPU
ROM (read-only memory): Non-volatile chips
located on the motherboard into which data or
programs have been permanently stored
 Retrieved by the computer when needed
Flash memory: Type of nonvolatile memory that
can be erased and reprogrammed
 Some flash memory chips are used by the computer
 Flash memory chips are also used in flash memory storage
media

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Memory (Volatile vs Non-
volatile)
Non-volatile memory is
Volatile memory is the
the type of memory in
type of memory in which
which data remains
data is lost as it is
stored even if it is
powered-off.
powered-off.

Contents of Volatile Contents of Non-volatile

memory are stored memory are stored
temporarily. permanently.

It is faster than non- It is slower than volatile

volatile memory. memory.

RAM(Random Access ROM(Read Only

Memory) is an example Memory) is an example
of volatile memory. of non-volatile memory.

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Expansion Slots, Expansion Cards, and
ExpressCards
Expansion slot: A location on the
motherboard into which expansion cards
are inserted
Expansion card: A circuit board used to
add additional functionality or to attach a
peripheral device
ExpressCard modules:
Designed for notebook
computer expansion

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Bus Width, Bus Speed, and
Bandwidth
Bus: An electronic path over
which data can travel
Bus width: The number of
wires in the bus over which
data can travel
Bus width and speed
determine the throughput (or
bandwidth) of the bus
 The amount of data that can be
transferred by the bus in a given
time period

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Buses
Bus: An electronic path within a computer
over which data travels
 Expansion bus: Connects the CPU to peripheral
(typically input and output) devices
 Memory bus: connects CPU directly to RAM

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Ports and Connectors
Port: A connector on the exterior of a computer’s
system unit to which a device may be attached

– Monitor (VGA, – SCSI

DVI, HDMI) – MIDI
– Network – IrDA
– Modem – Flash memory card
– USB slots
– FireWire – Game
– Keyboard – Audio
– eSATA

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Ports and Connectors

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Ports and Connectors
Notebook and netbook computers have
ports similar to desktop computers, but
often not as many
UMPCs and mobile devices typically have
less ports
 An SD slot is common for both memory cards
and to connect peripheral devices

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Quick Quiz
1. Which type of memory is erased when
the power goes out?
a. ROM
b. RAM
c. flash memory
2. True or False: The CPU can also be called
the motherboard.
3. A(n) electronic path within a computer
over which data travels is called a(n)
_____________.
Answers:
1) b; 2) False; 3) bus

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How the CPU Works
CPU: Consists of a variety of circuitry and
components packaged together
 Transistor: Key element of the microprocessor
 Made of semi-conductor material that acts like a switch
controlling the flow of electrons inside a chip
Today’s CPUs contain hundreds of millions of
transistors; the number doubles about every 18
months (Moore’s Law)

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Typical CPU
Components
Arithmetic/Logic Unit (ALU): Performs integer
arithmetic and logical operations
Floating Point Unit (FPU): Performs decimal
arithmetic
Control unit: Coordinates and controls activities
Prefetch unit: Tries to fetch data and instructions
before they are needed from cache or RAM
Decode unit: Translates instructions so they are
understood by the control unit, ALU, and FPU
Internal cache and registers: Store data and
instructions needed by the CPU
Bus interface unit: Allows the core to
communicate with other CPU components

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Typical CPU
Components

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The System Clock and the Machine
Cycle
System clock: Timing mechanism within the
computer system that synchronizes the computer’s
operations
 Each signal is a cycle
 Number of cycles per second = hertz (Hz)
 Many PC system clocks run at 200 MHz
 Computers can run at a multiple or fraction of the system clock
 For instance, with a CPU clock speed of 2 GHz, the CPU clock
“ticks” 10 times during each system clock tick
 During each CPU clock tick, one or more pieces of microcode are
processed

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The System Clock and the Machine
Cycle
Machine cycle: The series of operations
involved in the execution of a single
machine level instruction
Fetch: The program instruction is fetched
Decode: The instructions are decoded so the
control unit, ALU, and FPU can understand them
Execute: The instructions are
carried out
Store: The original data or the
result from the ALU or FPU
execution is stored in the CPU’s
registers

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Making Computers Faster and Better Now
and in the Future
Strategies for faster and better
computers
 Improved architecture: Smaller
components, faster bus speeds, multiple
CPU cores, etc.
 Improved materials: New backing
materials, flexible circuits, etc.
 Pipelining: Allows multiple instructions to
be processed at one time
 Multiprocessing and parallel
processing: Use multiple processors to
speed up processing

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Pipelining

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Future Trends
Nanotechnology: The science of creating
tiny computers and components less than
100 nanometers in size
Carbon nanotubes used in many products today
Nanoparticles and nanosensors
Future applications may be
built by working at the
individual atomic and
molecular levels

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Future Trends
Quantum computing: Applies
the principles of quantum
physics and quantum
mechanics to computers
Utilizes atoms or nuclei working together
as quantum bits (qubits)
Qubits function simultaneously as the
computer’s processor and memory and can
represent more than two states
Expected to be used for specialized
applications, such as encryption and code
breaking

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Future Trends
Optical computer: Uses light, such as from
laser beams or infrared beams, to perform
digital computations
 Opto-electronic computers use both optical and electronic
components
Silicon photonics: The process of making
optical devices using silicon manufacturing
techniques
 Silicon based light sensor
Terascale computing: The ability to process
one trillion floating-point operations per
second
 Expected to be needed for future applications

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 Quick Quiz

1. Optical computers use which of the

following to transmit and process data?
a. Liquid
b. Light
c. Silicon
2. True or False: If your computer is running
slowly, adding more memory might speed
it up.
3. A quantum bit is known as a(n)
__________________.
Answers:
1) b; 2) True; 3) qubit

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