CLASSIFICATION OF

COMPUTERS
 CLASSIFICATION OF COMPUTERS
ACCORDING TO CAPABILITY
• Supercomputers

• Mainframe computers

• Minicomputers or Severs Computers

• Desktops computers

• Portables computers

• Embedded computers
 SUPER COMPUTERS
• They are state of the art machines.

• The objective to use supercomputers are to solve

extremely complex tasks.

• Example:
Predict weather, design airplane, simulation of atomic
bombs.

• Cost is $20 million USD .

• The most unique thing about supercomputers are they

are design to focus all of their resources for one
problem at one time this thing distinguish them from
all the other computers.
• Previous generations supercomputers have custom
built processor, they were special processors and they
were built for this purpose only.

• Today’s supercomputers are different then their

predecessors, the processors have in them are not
custom built but same processors who are found in PCs
are used, the difference is your PC have 1 or 2
processor, a super computer have thousands of
processor use it simultaneously.

• Examples:
CRAY I, CRAY T90, Control Data Cyber 205.
QUESTION?
 SPECIFICATIONS OF ASCI WHITE
SUPERCOMPUTER
• In February 2002, the latest supercomputer was ASCI
White.

• In 1 second 12.3 trillion calculations as compare to 1st

supercomputer Cray-I, who could do 167 millions
calculations.

• ASCI White is 74000 times faster than the 1st

supercomputer Cray-I.

• This ASCI White is 1000 times faster than DeepBlue

the supercomputer who beat the world chess master.
• ASCI White supercomputer was made for US
department of energy and its objective is to
do complex 3D simulations. They want to do
testing of nuclear weapons simulations.

• It has 8192 microprocessors.

• 6 trillion byes the main memory.

• Storage capacity is 160 trillion bytes.

 MAINFRAME COMPUTERS
• Mainframe computers are also known as Enterprise
servers.

• It is designed so that multiple users can use it

simultaneously for multiple and difficult intensive task
can solve simultaneously.

• These computers are used by large businesses e.g.

banks, e-commerce sites, military, industrial
organizations.

• The special thing about them, they give you very

reliable operations, it is designed to do tasks of high
reliability.
• It is designed like that during upgrading or
repairing you don’t need to switch them off.

• Usually have multiple processors, 2 to 3 dozens.

• Their memory is in gigabytes.

• Their storage in terabytes.

• Price in millions of dollars.

• Examples
ENAIC (Electronic Numerical Integrator And
Calculator)
UNIVAC (Universal Automatic Computer)
 MINICOMPUTERS / SERVERS
• This computer category are gradually obsolete.

• Now any computer category is not known as

minicomputer. When they say some computers
minicomputers, it was a category of those
computers who were fallen between mainframe
and PCs. With the passage of time, the Desktop
PCs are becoming more and more powerful, and
they become so powerful that they need of
minicomputer was no more.

• Now we talk not about minicomputer category

rather we talk about server computers category.
• Server computers are similar to desktop computers
but more powerful and more reliable.

• It is used by medium-sized and small organization for

their accounting system, email servers or run their
websites on it.

• Servers usually have 2,3 or 4 processors.

• Their memory is in gigabytes.

• Storage in terabytes.

• Price in hundred of thousand of dollars.

SERVER COMPUTERS
 DESKTOP COMPUTERS
• Desktop computers are also known as
microcomputers.

• In Desktop computers, we have two sub-categories

– Personal computers (cheaper, less powerful)

– Work stations (more powerful)

• Usually in PC’s have only 1 processors some

workstations have 2 as well.

• Memory in gigabytes.

• Storage is usually in gigabytes.

PERSONAL COMPUTER
• We are already familiar with PCs, use it for word
processing, run spreadsheets, checks emails.

• Workstations are for difficult tasks for example

simulation of engineering, work at 3D.

• Desktop computers are less reliable as compare

to servers because they don’t have FAULT
TOLERANT features.

• Fault tolerant means if something went wrong

with the machine, it may run. Servers and
mainframe computers are designed like that they
have fault tolerant feature.
• Workstations cost is in few thousand dollars,
PCs price is up to 300 US dollars.

• Workstations used for engineering applications

(CAD/CAM), software development.

• Most common OS for workstations are UNIX

and Windows NT.
WORKSTATIONS
 PORTABLE COMPUTERS
• Portables computer have many sub-categories:

– Laptop computers
– Palmtops
– Tablets
– Wearable computers

• Common thing in all these sub-categories are

they are light-weight computers and not
power Hungary.
 LAPTOPS
• Laptops are also known as Notebooks.

• Weight up to 2 to 3 kg.

• Special low power microprocessor consume less

electricity.

• Memory is up few gigabytes

• Storage has range 200 GBs to 1000GBs.

• Without electricity they can be operate
through batteries for 2 to 3 hours.

• Usage is similar to PCs.

• Cost is between 500 $ to 1000$.

 PALMTOPS
• Palmtops are also known as Personal Digital Assistance
(PDA).

• Its size is equal to palm.

• Weight is less than 1 pound.

• They consume very less electricity.

• They have special designed processors, which consume

less electricity.

• Memory in megabytes.
• Storage capacity is also in megabytes.

• They run on AA batteries. Can operate for days

on batteries.

• Its objective is same as the pocket diary, you

write your appointments, important addresses,
phone numbers etc.

• Modern Palmtops have the feature of phone.

• Cost is from 200 $ to 700 $.

• Provides personal organizer functions:
• Calendar
• Appointment book
• Address book
• Calculator
• Notepad
 WEARABLE COMPUTERS
• They are not very popular.

• Generally they are always ON.

• This kind of computers have application in wars.

• A future soldier will always wearing of a

computer.

• He knows about his tactic situations in his

surrounding, he can easily identify his friendly
soldiers and soldiers of enemy.
 TABLETS
• A tablet is wireless personal computer that allows a
user to takes notes using natural handwriting with a
stylus or digital pen on touch screen.

• Resembles a letter-sized slate.

• Allows you to write on the screen using a digital pen.

• Especially useful for taking notes.

• Modern tablets have feature of phone, and you can

access internet through tablets as well.
 EMBEDDED COMPUTERS
• Those computers which are not clearly visible is
called EMBEDDED COMPUTERS.
• Microwave Oven
• Toaster
• Washing Machine
• Dish washer
• Air Conditioner
• In a car it may have 6 or 7 different computers:
– Control breaks
– Control temperature
– Engine temperature
 RANKING OF COMPUTERS WITH
RESPECT TO INSTALLED NUMBERS
1) PC’s
2) Laptops
3) PDA’s
4) Workstations
5) Servers
6) Wearable's
7) Mainframes
8) Supercomputers
 TIANHE - II
• The Tianhe-II or Milky-Way II, is fastest supercomputer
on earth.
• Developed by China’s National University of Defense
Technology.
• Its performance is 33.86 petaflop/sec equivalent to
33,860 Trillion calculations per second.
• Memory is 1,375 TebiByte
• Storage is 12.4 petabyte.
• It operates on Kylin Linux OS.
• Its Consume electricity 17.8 MW.
• Cost is 2.4 billion Yuan (390 million USD)
• CRAY XK7 system installed at the US department of
Energy’s , OAK Ridge National Laboratory was
previously number 1.