Unit 03 –

Hardware

Issues

Overview

The motherboard should

be thought of as the

computer’s central

nervous system, and the

microprocessor chip as

the brain.

The Central Processing Unit

So how do you choose the

right motherboard?

Size, or form factorThe most popular motherboard form factor

today is ATX. Almost all computers use this type.

A chipset controls the flow of information in the motherboard.

It cannot be upgraded without upgrading the whole board.

NVidia and Via make chipsets for both AMD and Intel processors.

AMD and Intel only make chipsets compatible with their own processors.

What are Microprocessors?

Microprocessors consist of a system of transistors, which act as on/off switches (or 1/0 in binary language) to represent different kinds of data.

The size of your processor is measured in 0s or 1s, called bits.

8 bits = 1 byte

1,000 bytes = 1 kilobyte (KB)

1,000,000 bytes = 1 megabyte (MB)

…and so on.

PC Vs. Macintosh

Microsoft Windows are designed to run on Intel processors, Apple computers use Motorola-type chips.

• The PowerPC chip, by Apple, IBM, and Motorola, allowed for Macintosh computers to run PC software as well.

• In 2005, Apple decided to convert solely to Intel processor chips by June 2007.

• These means more compatibility options.

Moore’s Law In

1965, Gordon E. Moore published a paper that proposes:

The number of transistors packed onto a chip doubles every 18 months, while the price remains the same.

Moore's law. (2008, September 22). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 00:22, September 25, 2008, from

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Moore%27s_law&oldid=24

0240004

Processor Speed

1981

The original IBM computer’s

clock speed was at 4.7 MHz.

2002

Intel Pentium 4up to 3 GHz.

Today

Up to tetra hertz, or

trillions of cycles per

second.

Processor speed is measured by a system

clock. The clock rate is measured in hertz.

Thermal Design Power (TDP)

Because of these high speeds,

systems often become overheated.

• Fans and modes of heat transfer

have helped.

• But much of today’s software

require a high number of processes

to occur rapidly, such as in large

networks or in games.

Multi-Core Processors

Divides the processing load over two or more processors to

prevent sluggishness and overheating. This means

improved multi-tasking performance.

“Understanding Processor Performance” (2008). Alienware Corporation. Retrieved 23 September

2008 at http://www.alienware.com/intro_pages/processors_101.aspx

Short-Term Memory

What is it and why is it important to consider when buying a computer?

What amount of RAM is recommended for a new system?

Holds the data before and after processing

Critical for a system to run smoothly and its

software to work well

RAM size is usually measured in megabytes

or gigabytes

B.K. Williams & S.C.

Sawyer, (2007). Using

information Technology

128 megabytes for students

At least 256 megabytes or

possibly 512 megabytes if you

want to handle graphics files

As memory size required for

additional software continues

to grow, the library might want

to buy for future

DDR-SDRAM is a more recent development

and most often found in personal computers

so the staff would probably want to make

sure they bought a system with this type of

memory

Michael J. Miller, (Nov.

11, 2004) “Your Next PC.” PC

Magazine

Recommends 512 MB of RAM as an inexpensive item that will do more to improve how a computer works than a more powerful processor

For games, 1 gigabyte of RAM

Kristopher Kubicki, . (March 19,

2006) “Vista and the Quest for

More Memory.” Daily Tech.

Noticed a drop in price for more RAM every time

a new Windows operating system is launched

Expects to see 2 gigabytes as the norm for new

computer systems

Jason Cross, (Sept. 13, 2006)

“The Best PC for the Money.”

PC Magazine.

Recommends 2 gigabytes of memory with newer

operating systems, especially Vista

You could get by with 1 but price makes this too

good a bargain to pass up, especially with

whatever technology comes next

Russell Hitchcock. (July

17, 2007) "Memory and

Storage: Part 2.“

WindowsNetworking.com

Discuss newer type of chip called Magneto-

resistive Random Access Memory , or MRAM,

which uses magnetic storage

Expensive and not readily available

Schenone, Ron. (March

29, 2007) “Vista – How Much

Ram Is Really Enough?” The

Blade by Ron Schenone, MVP.

Microsoft always low-balls the amount of RAM needed

Found Microsoft XP ran fine with 1 gigabyte of RAM

Vista ran faster and smoother with 2 gigabytes. No noticeable difference with 4 gigabytes

Jeff Tyson and Dave

Coustan, (2008). “How RAM

Works,” How Stuff Works.

RAM needs depend on system you are running

Microsoft recommends 128 megabytes with

Windows XP, 256 megabytes for optimal

performance

Joel Santo Domingo, Cisco

Cheng, Laarni Almendrala

Ragaza. (September 2008)

“Best PCs on Campus”

PC Magazine

Some colleges require

computers with 2

gigabytes of RAM

Best new computers

have 2 gigabytes, some

3 or 4.

Summary

While books may provide a good introduction to what you might need for purchasing, technology changing so rapidly that information quickly obsolete

Online articles and blogs and even print magazines seem a better source for the latest recommendations

Standard now seems to be at least 1or 2 gigabytes, but probably won’t be long before 3 or 4 is the norm

Long-term memory is traditionally

known as Secondary Storage.

Long-Term Memory

Two Things to Consider

1. Raw Capacity – the amount of data that can

be stored.

2. Density – the amount of data that can be

stored per unit of size.

Secondary Storage Methods

Hard Disk Drive (HDD)

Floppy Disk

Zip Disk

Optical Disk

Compact Disk (CD)

Digital Versatile Disc (DVD)

Blu-Ray Disc

Flash Memory

Hard Disk Drive (HDD)

Floppy Disk

Optical Disk

Flash Memory

Future Technology

One example is holographic memory storage:

In magazines or online, you will find the latest information about different

technologies. The books may give you an overview but change comes rapidly.

Conclusion

Questions and

Possible Answers?