Organized by

KReSIT
and
IIT Bombay

Prabhat Home
Introduction to Computer Hardware
Title Page

JJ J I II

Previous

Page 1 of 57

Full Screen

Close

Quit
 Topics
Organized by
KReSIT • Processor
and • RAM
IIT Bombay
• Motherboard
• HardDisk
Prabhat Home
• Cards
Title Page
• Ports
JJ J I II
• BIOS
Previous
• Peripherals
Page 2 of 57 • Cabinet
Full Screen • Troubleshooting
Close

Quit
Organized by
Processor
KReSIT
and • Processor is the brain of your computer.
IIT Bombay
• Some key concepts
– Clock : In a computer, clock speed refers to the number of pulses
per second that sets the tempo for the processor.
Prabhat Home

– Cache
Title Page
∗ A small but fast memory area.
JJ J I II ∗ Levels of cache exists.
– Bus (FSB and BSB) : Collection of wires connecting different
Previous
devices.
Page 3 of 57
– Pipeline : Implementation technique where multiple instructions
Full Screen
are ovelapped.

Close

Quit
Organized by
KReSIT
Processor contd...
and
IIT Bombay
• 32/64 bit processors
– The amount of data a processor can process in a clock cycle.
Prabhat Home
• Clock speed and overclocking
Title Page
– BUS SPEED x MULTIPLIER = CPU SPEED (Clock)
JJ J I II • Which processor is faster?
Previous – 100MHz x 10.0 = 1000 MHz
– 133MHz x 7.5 = 997.5 MHz
Page 4 of 57

Full Screen

Close

Quit
Organized by
KReSIT Some commercially available
and processors
IIT Bombay
• Pentium I-IV
• Celeron
Prabhat Home
• Athlon
Title Page
• Duron
JJ J I II
• Cyrix C3
Previous
• Itanium (64 bit)
Page 5 of 57 • Opteron (64 bit)
Full Screen

Close

Quit
Organized by
Processor contd...
KReSIT
and
IIT Bombay • How do you pick a processor for your system?
– Performance & Cost
• How to measure performance?
Prabhat Home

– Clock speed is one measure of computer “power”, but it is not

Title Page
always directly proportional to the performance level.
JJ J I II – The type of microprocessor, the bus architecture, and the nature
of the instruction set, all make a difference.
Previous
∗ examples : P4 3.06 GHz, P4 3.0B GHz, P4 3.0C GHz
Page 6 of 57
– Check for bus speed and cache size as well.
Full Screen

Close

Quit
 Topics
Organized by
KReSIT • Processor
and • RAM
IIT Bombay
• Motherboard
• HardDisk
Prabhat Home
• Cards
Title Page
• Ports
JJ J I II
• BIOS
Previous
• Peripherals
Page 7 of 57 • Cabinet
Full Screen • Troubleshooting
Close

Quit
Organized by
KReSIT
and RAM
IIT Bombay

• What is RAM?
Prabhat Home
– Random Access Memory.
– RAM is volatile.
Title Page

• Broadly classified as
JJ J I II
– Static RAM.
Previous
– Dynamic RAM.
Page 8 of 57

Full Screen

Close

Quit
Organized by RAM contd...
KReSIT
and • Static RAM
IIT Bombay
– Fast, has lower access time.
– Typical access times 5-25 ns.
Prabhat Home
– Expensive.
– Cache memory is Static RAM.
Title Page

• Dynamic RAM
JJ J I II
– Slower, has higher access time than Static RAM.
Previous
– Typical access times 60-120 ns.
Page 9 of 57 – Much cheaper than SRAM.
– Main Memory is Dynamic RAM.
Full Screen

Close

Quit
Organized by
KReSIT RAM contd...
and
IIT Bombay • Memory Bandwidth is proportional to System Bus speed.
• Dynamic RAM are further classified as
Prabhat Home
– EDORAM (Extended DataOut DRAM).
– SDRAM (Synchronous DRAM) : PC100, PC133.
Title Page
– DDR SDRAM (Double Data Rate SDRAM)- Allows activation
JJ J I II of the output operation to occur on both rising and falling clock
edge and hence doubles the speed of operation.
Previous
– RDRAM (Rambus DRAM) - Developed by Rambus and Intel,
Page 10 of 57 can support very high bus speeds.
Full Screen

Close

Quit
 RAM contd...

Organized by • Memory Slots/Sockets on Motherboard

KReSIT – SIMM (Single In-Line Memory Module)
and ∗ Smaller in length and capacity than DIMM.
IIT Bombay

Prabhat Home

Title Page
– DIMM (Dual In-Line Memory Module)
JJ J I II
∗ Larger in length and capacity than SIMM.
Previous

Page 11 of 57

Full Screen
– SIMM and DIMM are just packaging types only and do not af-
Close fect the performance.
Quit
 Topics
Organized by
KReSIT • Processor
and • RAM
IIT Bombay
• Motherboard
• HardDisk
Prabhat Home
• Cards
Title Page
• Ports
JJ J I II
• BIOS
Previous
• Peripherals
Page 12 of 57 • Cabinet
Full Screen • Troubleshooting
Close

Quit
 Motherboard

• The main circuit board which connects all the device on a micro-
computer; Also called main board or system board.
Organized by
KReSIT
and
IIT Bombay

Prabhat Home

Title Page

JJ J I II

Previous

Page 13 of 57

Full Screen

Close

Quit
 Motherboard contd...
Organized by
KReSIT • Chipset
and
IIT Bombay – The chipset controls the system and its capabilities. It is the hub
of all data transfer.
– Chipsets are integrated, and are not upgradable without buying
Prabhat Home a whole new motherboard.
Title Page
– Some of the items it dictates
∗ Memory controller
JJ J I II
∗ Real-time clock
Previous ∗ Keyboard and mouse controller
∗ Secondary cache controller
Page 14 of 57
∗ PCI bridge
Full Screen ∗ EIDE controller
Close

Quit
 Motherboard contd...

• Motherboards are designed for specific Processors. A single moth-

Organized by
erboard cannot be used with different types of Processors.
KReSIT
and • The different system bus speeds supported by the Motherboard
IIT Bombay should be of prime consideration.

Prabhat Home

Title Page

JJ J I II

Previous

Page 15 of 57

Full Screen

Close

Quit
 Motherboard contd...

• Form Factors
– The form factor is the physical size and dimensions of the moth-
Organized by erboard. The form factor determines the general layout, size,
KReSIT and feature placement on a motherboard.
and ∗ Baby AT
IIT Bombay
∗ ATX
∗ Proprietary
Prabhat Home

Title Page

JJ J I II

Previous

Page 16 of 57

Full Screen

Close

Quit
Organized by
KReSIT
and
Motherboard contd...
IIT Bombay
• Onboard devices - Video/Audio/LAN
– Lower cost.
Prabhat Home
– Lesser Flexibility.
Title Page • Upgradability
JJ J I II – Bus speeds supported.
Previous
– Number of expansion slots.
– Number and Types of IO ports available.
Page 17 of 57

Full Screen

Close

Quit
 Topics
Organized by
KReSIT • Processor
and • RAM
IIT Bombay
• Motherboard
• HardDisk
Prabhat Home
• Cards
Title Page
• Ports
JJ J I II
• BIOS
Previous
• Peripherals
Page 18 of 57 • Cabinet
Full Screen • Troubleshooting
Close

Quit
Organized by Hard Disk
KReSIT
and • What is HardDisk?
IIT Bombay
– Stores data in magnetic
disk like medium
Prabhat Home • Non-volatile mass storage de-
vice.
Title Page

• Has very high access time

JJ J I II
as compared to RAM (10-20
Previous million ns).

Page 19 of 57
• Very cheap as compared to
RAM and so large in capacity.
Full Screen

Close

Quit
Organized by
KReSIT
and Hard Disk contd...
IIT Bombay

• Interface standards
Prabhat Home
– IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics)
∗ The hard disk drive includes the drive controller circuitry and
Title Page
hence known as IDE.
JJ J I II ∗ It can support atmost 4 devices.
∗ 16 bit interface standard; 40 pin/80 pin connector.
Previous
∗ ATA-33/66
Page 20 of 57

Full Screen

Close

Quit
Organized by
KReSIT
and
Hard Disk contd...
IIT Bombay
• Interface standards contd...
– SCSI (Small Computer System Interface)
Prabhat Home
∗ General pupose interface standard used for connecting many
Title Page
types of devices to the PC.
∗ Supports 7 to 15 different devices like hard disk, scanner, CD
JJ J I II
ROM etc.
Previous ∗ 32 bit interface standard and more expensive than IDE.
∗ Allows simultanous access for faster data transfer.
Page 21 of 57

Full Screen

Close

Quit
 Hard Disk contd...

• Connecting Multiple IDE Harddisks/CD-Roms

Organized by
– Primary/Secondary and Master/Slave settings
KReSIT
and – Jumper settings
IIT Bombay

Prabhat Home

Title Page

JJ J I II

Previous

Page 22 of 57

Full Screen
• Performance parameters
– Rotation speed.
Close
– Average seek time.
Quit
 Topics
Organized by
KReSIT • Processor
and • RAM
IIT Bombay
• Motherboard
• HardDisk
Prabhat Home
• Cards
Title Page
• Ports
JJ J I II
• BIOS
Previous
• Peripherals
Page 23 of 57 • Cabinet
Full Screen • Troubleshooting
Close

Quit
Organized by Video Card
KReSIT
and • What’s a Graphics Card?
IIT Bombay
– A modern graphics card is a circuit board with memory and a
dedicated processor.
Prabhat Home – Converts digital information into the pixels to display it on the
monitor.
Title Page

• Frame Buffers
JJ J I II
– The card simply holds a frame of information that is sent to the
Previous screen.
Page 24 of 57
– Pixel updates are done by the microprocessor.
– Slow.
Full Screen

Close

Quit
Organized by
KReSIT
and
IIT Bombay
Video Card contd...

Prabhat Home
• Graphics accelerators with GPU
– Pixel updates are done by the GPU.
Title Page

– GPU is optimised for graphics operations.

JJ J I II
– Reduces load on the main processor.
Previous

Page 25 of 57

Full Screen

Close

Quit
 Bus Interfaces PCI

• Peripheral Components Interconnect

Organized by
KReSIT
and
IIT Bombay

Prabhat Home

Title Page

JJ J I II

Previous

Page 26 of 57

Full Screen

Close

Quit
 Bus Interfaces AGP

• Accelerated Graphics Port

Organized by
KReSIT
and
IIT Bombay

Prabhat Home

Title Page

JJ J I II

Previous

Page 27 of 57

Full Screen

Close

Quit
 On board Graphics Accelerator

• On board graphics accelerators share system memory.

Organized by
KReSIT
and
IIT Bombay

Prabhat Home

Title Page

JJ J I II

Previous

Page 28 of 57

Full Screen

Close

Quit
Organized by
KReSIT Video Card contd...
and
IIT Bombay
• Wide range of cards
– 3D Accelration.
Prabhat Home – Video Memory.
Title Page • Modern day Graphics cards
are more powerful than Pen-
JJ J I II
tium processor!
Previous • Expensive component of your
Computer.
Page 29 of 57

Full Screen

Close

Quit
Organized by
KReSIT
and
IIT Bombay
Video Card contd...

• Choosing a Graphic card

Prabhat Home
– PCI or AGP.
Title Page
– Integrated or Add-on card.
JJ J I II – Non-Accelrated or 3D accelrated.
– Cost.
Previous

Page 30 of 57

Full Screen

Close

Quit
Organized by Sound Card
KReSIT
and • Converts digital data (bits) into analog sound wave and vice-versa.
IIT Bombay

Prabhat Home

Title Page

JJ J I II

Previous

• Has Digital Signal Processor, RAM, ADC and DAC.

Page 31 of 57

• Has jacks for speaker, microphone, line in, line out and joysticks.
Full Screen

Close

Quit
Organized by
KReSIT
and
IIT Bombay
Sound Card contd...

• Choosing a soundcard
Prabhat Home
– Integrated or External add-on card.
Title Page
– CPU Utilization.
JJ J I II – Sound reproduction capabilities (dolby, 5.1 channels etc.).
– Cost.
Previous

Page 32 of 57

Full Screen

Close

Quit
Organized by
KReSIT
and Network Interface Card
IIT Bombay
• Connects PC to LAN (Local
Area Network).
Prabhat Home • Ethernet, Token Ring.
Title Page • Speeds
JJ J I II – 10Mbps
– 100Mbps
Previous

• Onboard or Add-on Card?

Page 33 of 57

Full Screen

Close

Quit
 Topics
Organized by
KReSIT • Processor
and • RAM
IIT Bombay
• Motherboard
• HardDisk
Prabhat Home
• Cards
Title Page
• Ports
JJ J I II
• BIOS
Previous
• Peripherals
Page 34 of 57 • Cabinet
Full Screen • Troubleshooting
Close

Quit
Organized by
Ports
KReSIT
and • Serial
IIT Bombay
– Serial port “serializes” data.
– Mouse, Modems etc use Serial port.
Prabhat Home
• Parallel
Title Page
– Bits transmitted in parallel.
– Used primaraly for Printers.
JJ J I II
• PS/2
Previous
– Used to interface keyboards and
Page 35 of 57 pointing devices.
Full Screen
– Frees the serial port for other devices.

Close

Quit
Organized by
KReSIT
and Ports contd...
IIT Bombay

• USB
– Data transfer rate 12Mbps/480Mbps.
Prabhat Home
– Multiple devices supported on the bus
Title Page (127).
JJ J I II – Hot pluggable, Plug-and-play.
– Provide power through the cable.
Previous
– Host based.
Page 36 of 57

Full Screen

Close

Quit
Organized by
KReSIT Ports contd...
and
IIT Bombay
• Firewire (IEEE 1394)
– Originally created by Apple and standardized in 1995.
Prabhat Home – Fast transfer of data (up to 400 Mbps/800Mbps).
– Multiple devices supported on the bus (63).
Title Page

– Hot pluggable, Plug-and-play.

JJ J I II
– Provide power through the cable.
Previous – Peer to peer.
Page 37 of 57
– Supports synchronous devices.

Full Screen

Close

Quit
 Topics
Organized by
KReSIT • Processor
and • RAM
IIT Bombay
• Motherboard
• HardDisk
Prabhat Home
• Cards
Title Page
• Ports
JJ J I II
• BIOS
Previous
• Peripherals
Page 38 of 57 • Cabinet
Full Screen • Troubleshooting
Close

Quit
Organized by
KReSIT BIOS
and
IIT Bombay • What is it? - Basic Input Output System
• Why is it necessary?
Prabhat Home
– boot up

Title Page
• Important Functions
– Check CMOS Set-up.
JJ J I II
– POST - Power On Self Test.
Previous
– Display system setting.
Page 39 of 57 – Initiate bootstrap sequence.
Full Screen

Close

Quit
Organized by
KReSIT
and Configuring BIOS
IIT Bombay

• System Time/Date.
• Boot Sequence.
Prabhat Home

• Plug and Play.

Title Page

• Drive Configuration.
JJ J I II
• Security.
Previous
• Power Management.
Page 40 of 57

Full Screen

Close

Quit
 Topics
Organized by
KReSIT • Processor
and • RAM
IIT Bombay
• Motherboard
• HardDisk
Prabhat Home
• Cards
Title Page
• Ports
JJ J I II
• BIOS
Previous
• Peripherals
Page 41 of 57 • Cabinet
Full Screen • Troubleshooting
Close

Quit
 Keyboard
Organized by
KReSIT • Switching action.
and
IIT Bombay • No. of keys.
• Control, Functional, Special, Alpha-Numeric Keys.
• Connects to PC using PS/2 connector.
Prabhat Home

Title Page
Mouse
JJ J I II
• Different shapes and size.
Previous
• 2 and 3 buttons mouse.
Page 42 of 57
• Scroll mouse.
Full Screen
• Connects to PC using PS/2 connector.
Close

Quit
 Monitor
Organized by
KReSIT
• Cathode Ray Tube Monitor.
and
IIT Bombay • Size - 15” to 21”.
• Resolution.
Prabhat Home
– CGA : 320 X 200 (4)
– EGA : 640 X 350 (16)
Title Page
– VGA : 640 X 480 (256)
JJ J I II
– SVGA : 1280 X 1024 (16.7 million)
Previous • Display Quality - Refresh rate.
Page 43 of 57 • Interlaced/Non-interlaced.
Full Screen • Flat panel - LCD and Plasma.
Close

Quit
Organized by
KReSIT
and
IIT Bombay

CD ROM/Writable
Prabhat Home

• Speed - 12x, 24x, 48x, 52x etc.

Title Page

• Sturdier, Unaffected by magnetic fields.

JJ J I II

Previous

Page 44 of 57

Full Screen

Close

Quit
Organized by Printer
KReSIT
and • Impact Printer - Dot matrix
IIT Bombay
– Selection : Speed, Unidirectional / Bidirectional.
– Adv. : Inexpensive, Multi-copy forms.
Prabhat Home
– Disadv. : Slow, Loud, Graphics of low Quality
• Non-impact Printer
Title Page

– Inkjet
JJ J I II
– Thermal
Previous
– Laser
Page 45 of 57 – Adv. : Quiet, Can handle graphics, Varieties of fonts.
– Disadv. : Expensive.
Full Screen

Close

Quit
Organized by
KReSIT Modem
and
IIT Bombay • Speed - 56k, 33.6k, 28.8k
• Internal Modem
Prabhat Home
– Resides on the expansion board on the
slot of the motherboard.
Title Page
– Does not require separate power
JJ J I II adapter.
– Cheaper than external modem.
Previous
– Has natural protection inside PC cab-
Page 46 of 57 inet.
Full Screen

Close

Quit
Organized by
KReSIT Modem contd...
and
IIT Bombay • External Modem
– Resides on a self-contained box out-
side the PC.
Prabhat Home
– Requires external power adapter.
Title Page
– Connected to PC’s serial port via the
JJ J I II
cable.
– Easy to install and troubleshoot such
Previous
as resetting the modem.
Page 47 of 57 – Expensive than internal modems.
Full Screen

Close

Quit
 Topics
Organized by
KReSIT • Processor
and • RAM
IIT Bombay
• Motherboard
• HardDisk
Prabhat Home
• Cards
Title Page
• Ports
JJ J I II
• BIOS
Previous
• Peripherals
Page 48 of 57 • Cabinet
Full Screen • Troubleshooting
Close

Quit
Organized by
KReSIT
and
IIT Bombay

Cabinet
Prabhat Home
• Form Factor
Title Page • AT Cases
JJ J I II • ATX Cases
Previous

Page 49 of 57

Full Screen

Close

Quit
Organized by
KReSIT AT Cases
and
IIT Bombay • Older Motherboards (pre-pentium)
• Advantages
Prabhat Home
– Well Established standard make.
– Easy and cheap design.
Title Page

• Disadvantages
JJ J I II
– Inefficient cooling.
Previous
– CPU socket location.
Page 50 of 57 – Not suitable for P-II (& higher).
Full Screen

Close

Quit
Organized by
KReSIT
and
IIT Bombay ATX Cases

• Newer Motherboards (Pentium based m/c)

Prabhat Home
• Advantages
Title Page
– Efficient cooling.
JJ J I II – Easy accessibility for upgades.
Previous
– I/O are fixed onboard.

Page 51 of 57

Full Screen

Close

Quit
 Topics
Organized by
KReSIT • Processor
and • RAM
IIT Bombay
• Motherboard
• HardDisk
Prabhat Home
• Cards
Title Page
• Ports
JJ J I II
• BIOS
Previous
• Peripherals
Page 52 of 57 • Cabinet
Full Screen • Troubleshooting
Close

Quit
Organized by
KReSIT Troubleshooting
and
IIT Bombay
• You are not the first one to face the trouble.
• Some simple solutions.
Prabhat Home
– Check connections.
Title Page – Ensure that cards are inserted properly.
– Clean the devices.
JJ J I II
– Check if minimum things needed to boot are present - mother-
Previous
board, processor, a full bank of memory, videocard and a drive
Page 53 of 57
to boot.

Full Screen

Close

Quit
Organized by
KReSIT Troubleshooting contd...
and
IIT Bombay • The PC doesn’t start at all
– Count the number of beeps.
Prabhat Home
– No beeps - possible problem with BIOS or motherboard.
• The PC starts - partially
Title Page

– No signal on the monitior.

JJ J I II
– Video signal present with error mesage.
Previous
– OS starts.
Page 54 of 57 – OS does not start - Hard-disk problem.

Full Screen

Close

Quit
Organized by
KReSIT
and
IIT Bombay
Troubleshooting contd...

• Video
Prabhat Home – No video at all.
– Snow on the screen.
Title Page

– The picture is horrible. Bad colors, dots, and streaks.

JJ J I II
– Random, changing characters on the screen.
Previous – The screen rolls upward or to the side.
Page 55 of 57

Full Screen

Close

Quit
Organized by
KReSIT Troubleshooting contd...
and
IIT Bombay
• Hard Drive
– Not bootable : A Hard Drive must be formatted and partitioned
Prabhat Home
before it can be used.
– Not detected by the BIOS - Check on a different m/c.
Title Page
∗ It works fine.
JJ J I II ∗ It does not work.
Previous • Others
Page 56 of 57
– System forgets time/settings

Full Screen

Close

Quit
Organized by
KReSIT
and
IIT Bombay

Prabhat Home

Title Page

JJ J I II

Previous

Page 57 of 57

Full Screen

Close

Quit