CHAPTER

INFORMATION
SYSTEM
HARDWARE

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LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Describe the categories of computer systems
Identify the components of computer systems
Describe the processing characteristics and functions
of computer systems
Outline the major technologies and uses of computer
peripherals for input, output and storage

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LEARNING OBJECTIVES
(cont.)
Identify the computer systems and peripherals you
would acquire or recommend for a business of your
choice, and explain the reasons for your selections
Understand the latest hardware technology and its
applications

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CATEGORIES OF COMPUTER
SYSTEMS
Computers can be categorized based on it physical
size, types of users, application and prices. Five major
computer categories are:

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CATEGORIES OF COMPUTER
SYSTEMS (cont.)
Category
Mobilecomputer

Applications
Personal
entertainment

Physicalsize
Small

Users
Individualusers

Pricerange
Hundredstoafew
thousandringgit

Microcomputer

Personaland
business
applications

Fitsonadesk

Singletoafew
users(networked)

Afewthousand
ringgits

Server

Organizational
networkand
information

Acabinet

Manyusers
(hundredsto
thousands)

Afewthousandto
tensofthousands
ringgit

Mainframe

Largebusiness
transaction
volumes

Partialroom

Thousandsofusers

Hundredsof
thousandstofew
millionringgit

Supercomputer

Complexand
sophisticated
calculations

Fullroomor
floor

Thousandsofusers

Morethan
millionsofringgit

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THE SYSTEM UNIT

A set of electronic components that processes data and
runs the computer instructions.
Motherboard
Processor
Cooling device
Memory
Slots
Cards
Ports
Buses
Power supply
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THE SYSTEM UNIT (cont.)

A control unit is where the computer instructions are
directed and coordinated in the processor. It will
interpret the instruction and direct it to the appropriate
next course of action in the arithmetic logic unit or
memory.
The arithmeticlogic unit (ALU) will then perform the
arithmetic calculations (add, subtract, multiply or
divide), comparisons (equal to, greater than or less
than) and logic operations (true or false).

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MACHINE CYCLE
Fetch: The control unit gets the
data or instruction from the
memory
Decode: The control unit will
then translate the required action
for the data or instruction and
send it to the ALU
Execute: The ALU will execute
the data and instruction required
through either arithmetic,
comparison or logic operations
Store: The output from the
execution will be stored in the
memory, before being saved into
secondary storage devices
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MEMORY
Memory usually stores operating systems and
software instructions, applications programs and data
which will be used by the processors
Random access memory (RAM)
Read only memory (ROM)

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HARDWARE INPUT
TECHNOLOGY
Data or instructions entered into a computer memory:
A program (series of related instructions);
Command (instruction to perform a specific task), or
User response (replies to the questions posed by the
program).

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HARDWARE INPUT
TECHNOLOGY (cont.)
Keyboard
Pointing devices mouse, optical mouse, laser
mouse, air mouse, trackball, touchpad, pointing stick
Touchscreen
Digital camera
Microphone
Scanner
Optical readers
Biometric input devices
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HARDWARE OUTPUT
TECHNOLOGY
Types of output include:
Printed text letters, newspapers, memos,
documents, reports, books
Images photos, clipart, animated graphics, graphs
and charts
Audio conversations, songs, music, pod casts
Video video clips, streaming

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HARDWARE OUTPUT
TECHNOLOGY
Display devices liquid crystal display (LCD)
monitors, cathode-ray tube (CRT), plasma monitors,
high-definition television (HDTV)
Printers impact printers (dot matrix, line, label) and
non-impact printers (ink-jet, laser, thermal)
Audio output speaker, headphones, ear buds
Others data projectors, interactive whiteboard

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HARDWARE COMPUTER
STORAGE FUNDAMENTALS
Storage media holds the data, instructions and
information in the computer
Examples of storage media include hard disks, memory
cards, cloud storage, optical disks, tape, magnetic stripe
cards, microfilm
Capacity and access time

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HARDWARE COMPUTER
STORAGE FUNDAMENTALS
(cont.)
There are many applications of cloud storage. It enables
users to:
Access storage from any computer with internet access
Store large files
Share files with friends by allowing them access to the
storage
Serve as backup for existing data or information

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HARDWARE COMPUTER
STORAGE FUNDAMENTALS
(cont.)
There are many types of optical disks, namely:
Compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), a single
session disk that contains data and information that cannot
be erased
Compact disk rewritable (CD-RW), a multi sessions disk
that can be rewritten-on many times
Digital versatile disk (DVD), a double sided compact disk
that has higher storage capacity and layers than a CD-ROM
Blu-ray disk, higher capacity and quality, especially for highdefinition movies
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HARDWARE COMMON
APPLICATIONS AMONG
COMPUTER USERS
Typeofusers

Category

Inputdevices

Mobileusers

Touchscreens,touch LCDscreen
pads,screenkeyboards

Flashmemorystorage,
cloudstorage

Students/Home
users

Mobilecomputers
(laptops,tabletPCs,
smartphones,ebook
readers)
Microcomputers
(desktopPCs,laptops)

Keyboards,optical
mouse

LCDmonitors,inkjet
printers

Harddisk,cloud
storage,opticaldisk

Smallcompanies

Servers

LCDmonitors,laser
printer

Harddisks,cloud
storage,opticaldisks

Large
corporations

Mainframes

Keyboards,optical
mouse,scanners,
opticalreaders
Keyboards,optical
mouse,scanners,
opticalreaders,
biometricinput

LCDmonitors,laser
printers,data
projectors,interactive
whiteboards

Harddisks,optical
disks

Government
agencies/
Researchcentres

Supercomputers

Keyboards,optical
readers,biometric
input

LCDmonitors,laser
printers,data
projectors,interactive
whiteboards

Harddisks,optical
disks

INFORMATION SYSTEMS An Introduction

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Outputdevices

Storagedevices

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