Computers: Hardware

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Computers Hardware

• Patrice Koehl
• Computer Science
• UC Davis

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Acknowledgments
Thanks to the following web site for the images
used in this presentation

• Wikipedia
• http//microsoft.toddverbeek.com
• http//www.webopedia.com
• http//www.engin.umd.umich.edu/
• http//www.dell.com
• http//www.intel.com
• http//www.apple.com
• http//www.ibm.com
• http//homepages.feis.herts.ac.uk/msc_ice/unit2/
• http//www.howstuffworks.com

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Computer Layers
Hardware BIOS Operating System Software Pr
ogramming languages
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Computer Layers
Hardware BIOS Operating System Software Pr
ogramming languages
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Looking inside a computer
Computers come in different shapes and sizes,
from small laptops (notebooks), desktops to
mainframe computers. They all share however the
same internal architecture!
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Computer basic scheme
Input devices
Output devices
CPU
Storage
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The motherboard backbone of the computer
Power supply connector
Slot for memory RAM
Hard drive connectors
Slot for CPU
Input/Output Keyboard, Mouse,
Extension cards Video, sound, internet
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The Central Process Unit (CPU) The brain of
the computer
CPUs are getting smaller, and can include more
than one core (or processors).
CPUs get hot, as their internal components
dissipate heatit is important to add a heat sink
and fans to kep them cool.
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Memory Working Space
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Storage
Hard drive
Floppy disk
CD or DVD
USB key
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Communicating with a computer
Screen
Mouse
Keyboard
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Some Input/Output Interfaces
Video cards
Sound card
Ethernet card
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Hardware communication buses
Cache
CPU
(33 to 1333 MHz)
Backside bus
(speed of processor)
(33 to 1333 MHz)
(66 MHz)
ISA devices
ISA bus
(33 or 66 MHz)
(8.3 MHz)
(up to 300 MHz)
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Hardware communication buses
The memory bus
a 16 bit bus
CPU
RAM

• Communication between the CPU and the RAM is
  defined by
• the CPU speed
• The RAM speed
• The number of bits transferred per cycle

Other buses USB, Firewire, PCI Express,