Computer Basics

1
Computer Basics

• What is a computer?
• How computer works.
• Overview of components.
• Current computer industry.
• Futures computer.

2
What is a computer

• Any device that receive input, store data and
  process information.
• Human does receive, store and process info but
  not a device so not a computer.
• In form of Desktop, Laptop, Super Computer,
  Personal Digital Assistant (PDA).
• To operate, need hardware to do physical and
  software to do logical operations.

• Image courtesy from Tunne Tietokonesi. 1. painos
  toukokuu 2005

3
What is a computer

• Hardware
• Branded box produced by companies like Dell (
  Number One), HP, Lenovo (IBM), Acer,
  Fujitsu-Siemens, Sony.. and Apple.
• Mostly for corporate market. These companies buy
  components directly from manufacturers, in large
  quantity and receive special prices.
• Un-branded computer. When you or shop or even
  small companies buy components from retail market
  and build up.

• Software
• Foremost is Operating System.
• Windows, Linux, Unix.
• Manage hardware and software of the computer,
  like controlling and allocating memory, network,
  process thread...
• Other software run on top of Operating system.
  Business software, Scientific software (Matlab),
  Multimedia applications.
• When computer first power on, an embbeded
  software called BIOS initiates the running of
  Operating System.BIOS is pre-installed into
  motherboard.

4
Overview of components

• CPU. Central processing unit. Currently most of
  CPU in the market is of x86 type, manufactured by
  either Intel or AMD. X86 is architecture used in
  PC. Mac machine used to use different type of CPU
  from IBM but since last year switch to Intel CPU
  also.
• RAM. Random Access Memory. Two type currently in
  the market DDR and DDR2. In Newman architecture,
  RAM and hard disk belong to the memory group.
  However, RAM run much faster than hard disk and
  also as such, much more expensive, used to store
  data that is currently most used by the computer.
  In case no data is found in RAM, access to hard
  disk is needed ( at much lower speed).
• Hard disk. Seagate, Maxtor (now acquired by
  Seagate), Hitachi, Samsung, Western Digital.
  Currently hard disk for PC come in two interface
  IDE and SATA and run at 7200 rpm. Server hard
  disk usually used SCSI interface , running at
  either 10000 rpm or 15000 rpm.
• Mainboard. Perhaps all mainboard manufacturers
  are Taiwanese companies. Asus, Epox, Gigabyte,
  MSI, Abit, Foxconn are familiar names. Some
  specialize in offer mainboard of high
  performance, like Ferrari in car industry. DFI is
  the most famous name currently.

5
Overview of components (contd)

• Graphic card on-mainboard graphic or discreet
  card.
• On-mainboard graphic card is sufficient for most
  uses except for graphic intensive operations like
  Games or scene rendering like Auto CAD.
  Advantage it is cheap, around 5 USD.
• Discreet card, price varies from 20 to 500 USD
  for home users and even couple of thousand USD
  for professional workstation. Two main
  manufacturers Nvidia and ATI. While on-mainboard
  graphic card uses system CPU and memory for
  rendering graphic, discreet graphic has its own
  GPU (graphic processing unit) and memory, as such
  freeing the main system from graphic works. Not
  only that, GPU and memory in discreet graphic
  card are many times faster than CPU and system
  memory in graphic-oriented operations (mainly
  floating point calculation).
• Computer Case Currently dominant ATX design. In
  form of full-size ATX or small size mATX and
  flexATX. New BTX design penetrating slowly with
  improved thermal management for the whole case.

6
Current computer industry

• With price continues to drop, the personal
  computer has gradually become commodity item
• IBM, who invented PC exactly 25 years ago, ceased
  to exist as PC manufacturer, due to low margin of
  profitability. It now becomes a information
  technology company.
• Highly customized due to level of sophistication.
  Manufacturers offer separate product for server,
  supercomputer, gaming, budget segments.
  Companies producing CPU like Intel and AMD has
  separate CPU for server, gamers and cost-minded
  person. RAM , hard disk manufacturers have
  customised products as well.
• In the past, the race has been exclusively
  focused on performance and it had been generally
  associated with CPU speed. But the failure of
  Pentium 4 architecture, which put emphasis on
  frequency has changed all that. Now, the focus is
  on offering Performance Per Wattage consumption.

7
Current computer industry (contd)

• 254 million unit of PCs in 2007 at a value of
  232bn.
• Laptop outsells desktop in US since June 2005.The
  industry focus on technology that allows less
  power consumption in CPUs (low frequency, low
  voltage), hard disk (Flash-based) and fuel-cell
  battery.
• Ultra light laptop (tablet, ..) or performance
  laptop (17 or even 19 inches monitor, double
  graphic card and hard disk), for gamer or
  professional on the go.
• More and more percentage of PCs is used for
  entertainment purpose. The PCs outlook and its
  thermal and noise management become important
  when PCs are used more and more in living room.
• HTPC (Home Theater PC) concept.

8
Current computer industry (contd)

• Ultra-light Tablet PC, running Windows Tablet XP
  Edition (source HP)

• Ultra-performance 19 inches laptop from
  VoodooPC. Two discreet graphic cards set up in
  SLI mode for extreme graphic. Can even have two
  hard disk for double IO.

9
Current computer industry (contd)

10
Current computer industry (contd)

• Intel put up a 1 million USD prize for new PC
  case design that will be more sexy, small and
  sleek. Winner announed in March 2007.
• CPU moves from single core to multiple cores
  (engines). 4-cores CPU at the end of this year,
  promising 80-core CPU in 5 years time.

11
Futures computers

• Moores law states that number of component in
  CPU will double for every 18 months. How long
  will Moores law hold until the limit of physics
  is touched (atomic level).
• New technologies are proposed. To mention some
• Using light as way of communication between
  computer components. The bandwidth will be much
  larger compared to traditional metal wire, just
  like optical fiber in telecommunication. Intel
  recently demonstrated the ability to create laser
  from silicon chip.
• Using protein in hard disk to achieve up to 50
  000 GB in the conventional DVD disc.
  http//in.tech.yahoo.com/060708/139/65pz8.html.
  10000 times improvement !!
• Ultimate quantum computer. Potentials and hypes
  are enormous.