Hardware

1
Hardware
http//www.flickr.com/photos/charlesbodi/56959101/
2
Computing Systems

• A computing system is composed of
• hardware the physical components of the system
• software the instructions that control the
  hardware
• Hardware components include
• Motherboard
• Central processing unit (CPU)
• Memory (RAM / Drives)
• IO Devices
• Video Card
• Sound Card
• Network Card

3
Computing System
CPU
4
Hardware Motherboard
http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ImageASRock_K7VT4A_P
ro_Mainboard.jpg
5
Hardware CPU

• Central Processing Unit
• An electronic chip that performs instructions
• The brains of a computing system
• A CPU can only perform very simple tasks
• Can add/subtract/multiply/divide two numbers
• Can compare two numbers to see if one is
  smaller/larger
• Can copy/move data from one place to another
• CPUs appear more powerful than this since these
  tasks are done very quickly

6
Hardware CPU
7
Hardware CPU
8
Hardware CPU
9
Hardware CPU
10
Hardware Storage

• All information needed for computing must be
  storable
• The instructions that a CPU must perform
• The data that the CPU requires as input
• The data that the CPU generates as output
• Computer storage (or memory) is used to
  remember these things

11
Hardware Storage

• All data is stored in binary form
• The smallest binary datum is a bit (off / on)
• Eight bits is a byte
• Storage capacity is usually specified as the
  number of bytes the device can remember.

12
Binary Things

• Denote an on switch as 1
• Denote an off switch as 0
• How many different patterns can you have with 2
  bits?
• How many different patterns can you have with 3
  bits?
• How many different patterns can you have with 8
  bits?
• How many different patterns can you have with N
  bits?
• What does each pattern mean?
• Could mean colors
• Could mean people
• Could mean numbers
• Could mean characters

13
http//news.com.com/Bigstorageonthecheap/2100-
1015_3-5808754.html
14
Hardware CACHE
15
Hardware RAM

• RAM
• Random Access Memory
• PCs
• Typically range between 500 Mega bytes up to 4
  Gigabytes

16
Hardware Disk Drive
Data is stored by magnetically charging bits on
a rotating disk. The bits are read/written by a
sensor Access is slow since the head (the
sensor) must be mechanically moved to the
location of the bit on the disk PC typically
comes with a 40-80 GigaByte disk
http//www.flickr.com/photos/jpstanley/74574509/in
/photostream/
17
Hardware Flash Drive

• Data is stored by charging small-scale
  batteries on the device.
• Most flash drives have a capacity of 256
  Megabytes up to 2 Gigabytes.