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Computers are available in different shapes, sizes and weights, due to these different shapes and sizes

they perform different sorts of jobs from one another. They can also be classified in different ways. All the
computers are designed by the qualified computer architectures that design these machines as their
requirements.

A computer that is used in a home differs in size and shape from the computer being used in a hospital.
Computers act as a server in large buildings, while the computer also differs in size and shape performing
its job as a weather forecaster. A student carrying a laptop with him to his college is different in shape and
size from all the computers mentioned above.

Super computer The biggest in size, the most expensive in price than any other is classified and known
as super computer. It can process trillions of instructions in seconds. This computer is not used as a PC in a
home neither by a student in a college. Governments specially use this type of computer for their different
calculations and heavy jobs. Different industries also use this huge computer for designing their products.
In most of the Hollywood’s movies it is used for animation purposes. This kind of computer is also helpful
for forecasting weather reports worldwide. A CRAY T90 Series supercomputer

Mainframes Another giant in computers after the super computer is Mainframe, which can also process
millions of instruction per second and capable of accessing billions of data. This computer is commonly
used in big hospitals, air line reservations companies, and many other huge companies prefer mainframe
because of its capability of retrieving data on a huge basis. This is normally too expensive and out of reach
from a salary-based person who wants a computer for his home.

Minicomputer This computer is next in he line but less offers less than mainframe in work and
performance. These are the computers, which are mostly preferred by the small type of business
personals, colleges, etc.

Personal computers Almost all the computer users are familiar with the personal computers. They
normally know what the personal computer is and what are its functions. This is the computer mostly
preferred by the office / home users. These computers are lesser in cost than the computers given above
and also, small in size; they are also called PCs in short for Personal computers. This computer is small in
size and you can easily arrange it to fit in your home / office with its all accommodation. Today this is
thought to be the most popular computer in all.

Notebook / Laptop Having a small size and low weight the notebook is easy to carry to anywhere. A
student can take it with him/her to his/her school in his/her bag with his/her book. This is easy to carry
around and preferred by students and business people to meet their assignments and other necessary
tasks. The approach of this computer is also the same as the Personal computer. It can store the same
amount of data and having a memory of the same size as that of a personal computer. One can say that it
is the replacement of personal desktop computer.

Palmtop More commonly known as Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), palmtops are tightly integrated
computers that often use flash memory instead of a hard drive for storage. These computers usually do
not have keyboards but rely on touchscreen technology for user input. Palmtops are typically smaller than
a paperback novel, very lightweight with a reasonable battery life. A slightly larger and heavier version of
the palmtop is the handheld computer.

Wearable Computers The latest trend in computing is wearable computers. Essentially, common
computer applications (e-mail, database, multimedia, calendar/scheduler) are integrated into watches, cell
phones, visors and even clothing! A wearable computer is a very personal computer. It should be worn like
apiece of clothing, as unobtrusive as possible. A user should interact with the computer based upon
context. It could be a communications device (immediate or store and forward), a recorder (visual, audio,
other sensors) or a reference device (local or remote resources).

Digital computers may be utilized for either special or general purposes.

1. General-Purpose Computers= This machines have the capability of dealing with variety of different
problems, and are able to act in response to programs created to meet different needs. A general-purpose
computer is one that has the ability to store different programs of instruction and thus to perform a variety
of operations.

2. Special-Purpose Computers = as to the name implies, is designed to perform one specific tasks. The
program of instructions is built into, or permanently stored in the machine. Specialization results in the
given task being preformed very quickly and efficiently. Most special purpose computers have the
capability of performing just one task. They are frequently referred to us "dedicated," because of their
limitations to the specific task at hand.

COMPUTER SYSTEM
A computer system has three main components: hardware, software, and people (user). The equipment
associated with a computer system is called hardware. A set of instructions called software tell the
hardware what to do. People, however, are the most important component of a computer system. – People
use the power of the computer for some purpose.

Hardware – the physical component of the computer.


– refers to the devices that can be seen, touched and felt.

• Input Devices – is any hardware that allows user to enter data or instructions (programs,
commands, and user response) into a computer.
e.g. mouse, keyboard, trackball

• Output Devices – is any device that convey information to the computer.


e.g. monitor, speaker, printer

• System Unit – is a box-like case that contains the electronic components of the computer that
are used to process data. The circuitry of the system unit usually is part of or connected to a
circuit board called motherboard. Two main components on the motherboard are the processor
and memory. The processor is the electronic component that interprets and carries out the
basic instruction that operate the computer. Memory consist of electronic components that
store instructions waiting to be executed and data needed by those instructions temporarily,
although some forms of memory are permanent.

• Storage Hardware – provides permanent storage of information and programs for retrieval by
the computer.
e.g. hard disk, floppy disk, flash disk drive.

• Communication Hardware – is any type of device capable of transmitting data, instruction, and
information, between sending device and a receiving device.
e.g. modems, hubs, switches, routers, NICs.

The System Unit

Motherboard - The motherboard is the main circuit board of a microcomputer. It is also known as the
mainboard or system board.

CPU - The CPU is the central electronic chip that determines the processing power of the computer.

Memory - Memory is the part of the computer that temporarily stores applications, documents, and stem
operating information.

Bus - A bus is an electronic line that allows 1s and 0s to move from one place to another.

Expansion Slots - Expansions slots appear on the motherboard. They are sockets into which adapters
are connected.

Ports and Connectors - A port is a connector located on the motherboard or on a separate adapter.

Bays - A bay is a space inside the computer case where a hard drive, floppy drive or CD-ROM drive sits
Power Supply - A power supply changes normal household electricity into electricity that a computer can
use.

Sound Components - A sound card lets a computer play and record high quality sound.

Central Processing Unit (CPU)

Does all of the work for the computer

1. Does all of the mathematics, mainly addition


2. Does all the logical comparisons of values
3. Directs the flow of data in a computer
4. Controls the operation of the parts of the computer

Today, all CPUs are microprocessors

1. A microprocessor is a complete computer on a silicon chip


2. A microprocessor does all of the functions of a computer
i. stores data and instructions waiting to be used
ii. follows changeable instructions
iii. does input, processing, and output

CPUs have three basic parts

1. The Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU)

iv. does all of the mathematics in a computer


v. does all of the logic comparisons of values
vi. some common logic comparison symbols
1. = equal to
2. < less than
3. > greater than
4. <= less than or equal to
5. >= greater than or equal to
6. <> not equal

2. The Control Unit

i. directs the flow of information into the CPU and/or memory or storage
ii. controls which instructions the CPU will do next

3. Registers
i. Used to store data and instructions inside the processor
ii. Size of the registers can affect the speed and performance of the processor

Speed of CPUs

1. The speed of CPUs is measured in hertzs.

iii. A hertz is on cycle per second.


iv. Need to measure time to determine cycles per second
1. All computers have a clock built into them for timing the cycles
2. The clock is usually located in a small metal box on the motherboard.
v. Today, many CPUs can complete over six (6) instructions per second.

2. Speeds of modern CPUs

vi. Most computers have a CPU that can do more than 400 MHz.
1. MHz stands for megahertzs
2. A MHz is 1,000,000 cycles per second.
vii. Computers will soon be at speeds of over a gigahertz, 1,000,000,000 Hertzs.

MEMORY

Primary memory can be used directly by the CPU


1. Consists of silicon chips, usually either VLS or VLSI technology is used to create the chips
2. Two forms of Primary Memory
o Read Only Memory (ROM)
o Random Access Memory (RAM)
3. Primary memory is also called primary storage

Read Only Memory (ROM)

1. Stores instructions that are used by the CPU


o Tells the CPU how to be the kind of computer it is, for example a Windows, Macintosh, or
Play Station computers.
o Tells the CPU how to work with the different parts of the computer
o ROM can also hold programs that are directly accessed by the CPU. One such program is
the self-test when the computer is first turned on. The self-test tests to seem if all the parts
on the main circuit board (mother board) are working correctly.
2. The instructions in ROM can not usually be changed
o The instructions are built into the electronic circuits of the chips
o These instructions in ROM are called firmware
o To change the instructions in ROM you need to usually change the chips or do some other
special process that is normally not available to an average user.
3. The instructions in ROM are nonvolatile. They stay in ROM even when the computer is turned off.
4. Access to information is random access.
o Random access means that any piece of information in ROM can be accessed at any given
time without access other information first. It is a lot like the tracks on a music CD. You can
access any track at any time and in any order.
o The other kind of access is sequential access. You must access the information in the order
that they are located. This is a lot like a music tape. You must play the songs in order, or
you have to fast forward past songs to get to the one you want.

Random Access Memory (RAM)

1. Store data and instructions that are used by the CPU to perform some task.
o These instructions are usually loaded into RAM from a secondary storage device.
o RAM is also used to store instructions that tell the CPU how to work with its parts. These
instructions are usually called drivers.
2. The instructions in RAM are constantly changing, depending on the needs of the CPU.
3. The instructions in RAM are volatile.
o When the computer is turned off the information in RAM disappears.
o The information in RAM needs to be saved to secondary storage before the computer is
turned off.
4. Access to information is random access.

STORAGE DEVICES

How a computer stores information

1. The computer stores information as a string of zeros (0) and ones (1)
 The standard string length is eight 0's or 1's in a row
 This standard length is called a byte
 A byte equals one character
 A character is a letter, number, or symbol - it is about any thing that can be
typed on a keyboard
 There are 256 standard characters used by almost all computers

2. Information size measurements


 Kilobyte (KB)
 One kilobyte equals about 1024 bytes
 1KB is about 140 words, about a half page of typed double-spaced text (words
only)
 Megabyte (MB)
 One megabyte equals about 1000 KB
 One megabyte equals about 1,000,000 bytes
 One megabyte equals about 500 pages of text, or one large book
 Gigabyte (GB)
 One gigabyte equals about 1000 MB
 One gigabyte equals about 1,000,000 KB
 One gigabyte equals about 1,000,000,000 bytes
 One gigabyte equals over 1,000 books of text

Some Common Storage Devices


Hard Drive

The hard drive is the primary device that a computer uses to store information. The hard drive stores
programs, data files, saves files, and organizes files. The hard drive is located inside the computer case.
The hard drive, magnetically stores data on stacks of rotating disks called platters.

How it Works
Nearly every desktop computer and server in use today contains one or more hard-disk drives. Every
mainframe and supercomputer is normally connected to hundreds of them. You can even find VCR-type
devices and camcorders that use hard disks instead of tape. These billions of hard disks do one thing well
-- they store changing digital information in a relatively permanent form. They give computers the ability
to remember things when the power goes out.

Hard Disk Basics


Hard disks were invented in the 1950s. They started as large disks up to 20 inches in diameter holding just
a few megabytes. They were originally called "fixed disks" or "Winchesters" (a code name used for a
popular IBM product). They later became known as "hard disks" to distinguish them from "floppy disks."
Hard disks have a hard platter that holds the magnetic medium, as opposed to the flexible plastic film
found in tapes and floppies.

At the simplest level, a hard disk is not that different from a cassette tape. Both hard disks and cassette
tapes use the same magnetic recording techniques described in How Tape Recorders Work. Hard disks
and cassette tapes also share the major benefits of magnetic storage -- the magnetic medium can be
easily erased and rewritten, and it will "remember" the magnetic flux patterns stored onto the medium for
many years.

Cassette Tape vs. Hard Disk


Let's look at the big differences between cassette tapes and hard disks:

• The magnetic recording material on a cassette tape is coated onto a thin plastic strip. In a hard
disk, the magnetic recording material is layered onto a high-precision aluminum or glass disk. The
hard-disk platter is then polished to mirror-type smoothness.
• With a tape, you have to fast-forward or reverse to get to any particular point on the tape. This can
take several minutes with a long tape. On a hard disk, you can move to any point on the surface of
the disk almost instantly.
• In a cassette-tape deck, the read/write head touches the tape directly. In a hard disk, the read/write
head "flies" over the disk, never actually touching it.
• The tape in a cassette-tape deck moves over the head at about 2 inches (about 5.08 cm) per
second. A hard-disk platter can spin underneath its head at speeds up to 3,000 inches per second
(about 170 mph or 272 kph)!
• The information on a hard disk is stored in extremely small magnetic domains compared to a
cassette tape's. The size of these domains is made possible by the precision of the platter and the
speed of the medium.

Because of these differences, a modern hard disk is able to store an amazing amount of information in a
small space. A hard disk can also access any of its information in a fraction of a second.

Capacity and Performance


A typical desktop machine will have a hard disk with a capacity of between 10 and 40 gigabytes. Data is
stored onto the disk in the form of files. A file is simply a named collection of bytes. The bytes might be
the ASCII codes for the characters of a text file, or they could be the instructions of a software application
for the computer to execute, or they could be the records of a data base, or they could be the pixel colors
for a GIF image. No matter what it contains, however, a file is simply a string of bytes. When a program
running on the computer requests a file, the hard disk retrieves its bytes and sends them to the CPU one
at a time.

There are two ways to measure the performance of a hard disk:

• Data rate - The data rate is the number of bytes per second that the drive can deliver to the CPU.
Rates between 5 and 40 megabytes per second are common.
• Seek time - The seek time is the amount of time between when the CPU requests a file and when
the first byte of the file is sent to the CPU. Times between 10 and 20 milliseconds are common.

The other important parameter is the capacity of the drive, which is the number of bytes it can hold.

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