P1- Create
a blog or website that describes the function of computer hardware components.
Internal Units and
Components
This is a fan with a heat sink, this internal hardware
component is placed inside the system unit. A heat sink is an electronic device
that sits just under the fan but sits just above a component that gets really
hot such as a processor , this cools the component down.
A CPU is a small square, which sits on the
motherboard, within the motherboard there is only one slot to fit the CPU in,
and that slot may be specifically made for a specific style or model of a
central processor. The Central processing unit carries out instructions of a
computer program, it is the main element that carries out the computers
functions. The CPU follows the instructions of a program in a sequence to
perform input/output and logical operations of the system. Some computer
processors (mainly newly made laptops) feature multiple cores, this helps their
PC/laptop process information a lot faster and efficiently.
In most modern day PC's power supply units look almost, if
not exactly like the image as aside. The function of a power supply unit is to
convert electrical power which comes from sockets on your wall, to a suitable
type and voltage which is DC power that components use, to get the best
performance of your components.
BIOS
BIOS, short for Basic Input/Output system which is a chip
that is located on the computers motherboard which contains
commands/instructions and setup for how the system operates and boots up. The
BIOS also consists of instructions to load computer hardware components and
also test every component to ensure its working correctly, the test is referred
to as POST, short for Power On Self Test. This helps ensure the computer meets
requirements to boot up correctly. However, if the computer does not pass the
POST you will receive a distinctive combination of bleeps which tells you what
exactly is wrong with your computer.
Hard Drive,
Configuration and Controllers
The hard drive is a permanent
storage device, this means unlike the RAM which only saves data/information
when your computer is on, hard drives save data/information even when you turn your
computer off, you save data such as
software you have downloaded and installed, the operating system you have
installed on your PC, personal files such as documents and photographs. When a
computer is turned on, the computer turns to the hard drive to load up the
operating system such as windows. Hard drives can vary in size meaning the
larger the storage capacity the more useful it will be towards you, capacity is
measured in gigabytes or terabytes.
SATA (Serial Advance Technology Attachment
or Serial ATA). SATA is an interface that connects mass storage devices such as ATA hard drives and optical drives to
the computers motherboard. SATA drives have their own independent bus which
means there is no competition for bandwidth unlike with
the parallel ATA, SATA cables can also be a lot longer than parallel ATA cables
due to the reason parallel ATA cables only go up to a length of 40cm and SATA
cables can go up to 1metre long. SATA also consists of smaller/thinner cables
which allow more space for other components and more air flow within the
computer. SATA transfer rate starts at 150 Mbps.
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IDE,
short for Integrated Drive Electronics . This cable allows devices to
communicate with the rest of the computer. The cable transfers data and
commands between connected devices but doesn't transmit electrical power. IDE
cables come in 40 pin and 80 pin configurations. The way the IDE cable works is
that it transmits data from an IDE/ATA drive to the computers motherboard and
the computers CPU back to the hard drive. IDE cables usually have multiple
connecters which connect multiple storage devices for example you could have a
hard drive connected to a DVD drive. IDE current bus speed is at 133Mbps.
Ports
USB, short for Universal Serial Bus is a
device system designed for accessories to connect to the computer, such as a
Mouse, keyboard, game controllers , fans and a lot more, these ports supply
electrical power across the cable to devices with their own power source. Ports
such as the image shows allows electronic devices connect to a computer or to
each other via cable. USB also allows data to be transferred between devices.
There are also wireless USB components such as some keyboards and Mouse's which
do still have to be connect through a USB but without a wire, but it will have
to be in range.
The function of a parallel
port is a computer interface which
allows various peripheral devices such a
scanners and printers to connect to the computer via cable.
Internal Memory
RAM shortly known for Random Access
Memory, this hardware component can be found in a place within the motherboard,
modern day PC's have around four slots for you to insert RAM but they will have
to be compatible with the motherboard. The function of RAM is to quickly access
programs, data, applications and so on by the processor, however data that is
opened by RAM or on the RAM will only be there till you shut down your PC, once
its shut down then you've lost your data. When turning your PC on files,
programs, the operating system are loaded into the RAM from your hard drive.
RAM is known as short term memory, basically the opposite from the hard drive,
once the RAM is filled up the computers processor has to load data from the
hard drive this is how your computer gets slower, unlike the hard drive which
can get filled up with data, the RAM never runs out of memory, it keeps
operating but a lot slower than you may want it
to. RAM can be both read and written memory.
ROM
short for Read Only Memory is mainly used to store programs that we want to
have available to the PC at all times such as the BIOS program, the BIOS program is permanently saved on the
ROM so when the computer is turned on, the PC can use it to boot up the system.
Within the ROM, content that is within the ROM is very difficult to be changed
it is possible but very unlikely to be changed. ROM is a type of non-volatile
storage which means the information on the ROM is maintained even if the
computer loses power.
Specialized Cards
This is a Network card which can be found placed within the
mother board. Network cards allow your computer to connect to the internet, it
exchanges information with a network through signals, either using wired cables
or connecting wireless
Graphics cards are found within the motherboard, it is
responsible for interpreting instructions that is received from a CPU and then
displaying it on a computer screen which then the user can see. The faster and
the more storage capacity the graphics card has, the faster your computer
screen will display images. So if you were to have a computer just for games,
you will need a high end graphics card which should consist of high speed
performance and a very high storage capacity this will ensure you get the best
image quality very fast and easily.
Backing Storage
Flash Memory Cards. Most, if not all
modern day PC's/Laptops have slots which you can insert Memory cards. It is a
small storage component in which you can store data such as text, audio,
pictures and video obviously depending on the storage capacity of the card.
Memory cards have a few advantages to other Backing storage devices such as a
hard disk, they are completely silent, small, a lot more portable, allows
immediate access and are less likely to get damaged.
Pen drives, or known as USB's is another
backing storage device which you can plug into a USB port. This component is
used to store or transfer video, audio and data files from one computer to
another. This is only possible if the PC/laptop has a USB port, pen drives have
a lot of memory, but obviously you have to pay more for the pen drives with
more memory. This technology works by storing your data in blocks, it doesn't
work in the same way RAM works, it's using blocks rather than allowing random
access which allows the drive to store more data/information and also is a lot
cheaper than RAM. There are some advantages which you may consider when buying
this backing storage device, it's probably the second most smallest out off all
the other backing storage devices, you can get a lot of storage capacity for a
very reasonable price, very easily portable and fast to access.
Peripheral Devices
(Output)
Monitor, or known as visual display unit is an electrical
component which displays images generated from the video output of devices such
as computers, it is generated by the computers graphic adapter, allowing users
to interact with the computer.
Printers in the modern day can do more than just print, some
printers may come with features that help you save money such as printing
itself, scanning, copying, scanning and faxing. Depending on the type of
printer you have, you can print anything from high quality images to many text
documents in under a few seconds. In other words, the function of a printer is
to turn digital data into printed media.
Peripheral Devices
(Input)
Cameras are image formatting devices that capture light to
make images, to capture the images properly it has to manipulate the light.
Within the camera there is either a photographic film or a silicon image sensor
which captures the pictures. Modern day digital cameras also have lenses but
they may not use film to save the images, instead of film they have SD cards
which you can easily just take out, insert it into your PC/Laptop and then view
or print them individually..jpg)
A computer Mouse allows users to move a cursor smoothly
across a computer screen. It's one of the most essential input devices unless
your computer is touch screen. The mouse allows you to select, drag, hover and
click. The mouse allows you to switch between many different applications/programs,
when moving your mouse around on the screen, it moves with great accuracy so
it's very comfortable to use. It allows you to click on links on a website,
allows you to click on buttons and many more things you would find hard if you
were to do on a keyboard. It also may come with a scroll button which allows
you to rapidly proceed to another page, it also allows users to zoom in and out.
I have briefly described what the functions are of some computer hardware components.
