INFORMATION SHEET 1.

1-5
Computer systems’ components and peripherals

Learning Objective:

After reading this INFORMATION SHEET, YOU MUST be able to identify and explain the
use/function of different types of computer, its components, and peripheral devices.

Computer Hardware Defined:

 Is the physical part of a computer, including the digital circuitry, as
distinguished from the computer software that executes within the
hardware.
 The hardware of a computer is infrequently changed, in comparison with
software and data, which are “soft” in the sense that they are readily
created, modified or erased on the computer

HARDWARE COMPONENTS OF A COMPUTER

System Unit
- The case that houses the processor, motherboard, internal hard- and
floppy disks, power supply, and the expansion bus.

Power Supply
 Converts AC to DC and regulates the output voltage
to a value required by the load.
  A power supply (sometimes known as a power supply unit or PSU) is a
device or system that supplies electrical or other types of energy to an
output load or group of loads. The term is most commonly applied to
electrical energy supplies.

Block Diagram of Power Supply

Types of Power Supply

1. ATS (for Advanced Technology Standard)
2. ATX (for Advanced Technology Extended)
- The most common computer power supply is built to conform with
the ATX form factor. This enables different power supplies to be
interchangeable with different components inside the computer.
-The ATX (for Advanced Technology Extended) form factor was
created by Intel in 1995. It was the first big change in computer
case and motherboard design in many years.
- ATX overtook AT completely as the default form factor for new
systems. ATX addressed many of the AT form factor's annoyances
that had frustrated system builders.

ATX Power Supply connector

- Typical wattages range from 200 W to 500 W
- There are also other, smaller connectors, most of which have four
wires: two black, one red and one yellow. Each black wire is a
Ground, the red wire is +5 V, and the yellow wire is +12 V.”

3. BTX (for Balanced Technology Extended)

- In 2003, Intel announced the new BTX standard, intended as a replacement
for ATX. BTX (for Balanced Technology Extended) is a form factor for PC
motherboards, originally slated to be the replacement for the aging ATX
motherboard form factor in late 2004 and early 2005.

B T X Connector Pin Designation

B T X/ATX/AT HDD and FDD Power Connector Pin Designation

Pin Voltage Color

1 + 12 Yellow

2 Ground Black

3 Ground Black

4 +5 Red

Monitor
- An output device with a screen for the visual display of information.
Mouse
- a computer pointing device used to select and point on a computer screen.

Hard Disk Drive

 A nonvolatile storage where all programs and data being stored.

Floppy Disk Drive

- A drive that reads from or writes to separate diskettes which the user
inserts. Information is stored on the diskettes themselves, not on the drive.

CD ROM Drive
- A piece of hardware attached to a computer which allows it to read or play
a Compact Disk.

Connectors
There are two common connectors
 1. Floppy Disk Drive (FDD) bus wire/Ribbon Cable
 having 34 Pins Sometimes Pin 5 is remove to prevent incorrect insertion

2. Integrated Device Electronics (IDE) Cable

 40 PINS sometimes pin 20 is remove to prevent incorrect insertion
USB Storage Devices
- External permanent storage devices that uses USB Ports to connect to PC

External MODEM
- A piece of hardware that lets a computer talk to another computer over a
phone line.

Automatic Voltage Regulator

- A device that regulates the amount of voltage needed for a certain device to
function well.

Motherboard
- The main circuit board inside a computer. It contains the central
processing unit , the bus, memory sockets, expansion slots, and other
components.
Memory Modules/RAM
- A piece of circuit board that contains Memory chips for storing/retrieving
data randomly.

Video Card
- An adapter card used to manage the display on the monitor.

Ethernet Card (NIC)

- An expansion card that is used to
communicate with the other computers
Internal MODEM
- A piece of hardware that lets a computer communicate with another
computer over a phone line. Connected directly to the expansion slot of the
motherboard

Sound Card
- An expansion board that enables a computer to manipulate and output
sounds.

FM/TV Capture Card

- Allows your computer receive TV and Fm Signal. Also provides video input
terminal for video editing activity.

CPU
- Abbreviation of central processing unit, and pronounced as separate letters.
The CPU is the brain of the computer. Sometimes referred to simply as the
processor or central processor, the CPU is where most calculations take place. In
terms of computing power, the CPU is the most important element of a computer
system.
Rear Panel I/O

Rear Terminals

AC Power Plug
PS/2 mouse
port
PS/2 keyboard Parallel port
port
S/PDIF IEEE 1394 port
Port
Serial LAN (RJ-45)
Port port
USB Line in port
port Video
Microphone
Graphics
port
Line out/spk Adapter port
DVI port
out terminal
 PARTS OF THE MOTHERBOARD

ROM chip
- The chip or IC which contains and stores critical programs
such as the program that boots the computer and BIOS.

AGP Slot
- Accelerated Graphics Port supports 1.5 V
- Slot refers to a unit of space in a motherboard that supports AGP cards and it
yields a throughput rate of 266 MBps.

Expansion Slot (PCI or ISA)

A socket on the motherboard that accepts an
expansion card.
 * PCI – Peripheral Component Interconnect is a high-speed connection for
devices including modems, sound cards, LAN cards etc. It can run at clock speeds
of 33 or 66 MHz. At 32 bits and 33 MHz, it yields a throughput rate of 133 MBps.

FDD Connector/Socket
 A socket for Floppy Disk Drive cable connector
or interface.

Southbridge
 is the chip that controls all of the computers
I/O functions, such as USB, audio, serial, the
system BIOS, the ISA bus, the interrupt
controller and the IDE channels. In other
words, all of the functions of a processor
except memory, PCI and AGP. They do not
normally come with a heat sink.

Northbridge
- a Chip that connects to a CPU to memory, the PCI bus, Level 2 cache and AGP
activities. The Northbridge chips communicate with the CPU through the FSB.

System Panel Connector

- This connector accommodates several front panel functions
a. System Power LED
b. HDD Activity
c. ATX Power Switch
d. Reset Switch
IDE Connector Socket (Intelligent Drive Electronics or Integrated Drive Electronics)
- A socket for IDE Cable connector/interface

AT/ATX Power Connector Socket

- A socket for the ATX Power Supply Cable Connector.

Microprocessor Socket
- is the connector that interfaces between a computer's
motherboard and the processor itself. Earlier CPU sockets
and processors are built around the Pin Grid Array (PGA)
architecture, in which the pins on the underside of the
processor are inserted into the socket, usually with zero
insertion force (ZIF) to aid installation. Today, most of the
sockets used are built with Land Grid Array (LGA)
architecture. Processors used in this architecture are
sometimes termed as Pin less.

Memory Slots
- Slots for the memory modules (RAM) also called memory banks

CMOS Battery
- CMOS & Clock Backup batteries perform the same function in desktop
and laptop computers: when the computer is turned off, the battery maintains the
time and date, thus insuring their accuracy when the system is once again
restarted. More importantly, the battery saves the computers BIOS setup
configuration, which allows the system to efficiently reboot once it is restarted.

Self –Check 1.1-5

MATCHING TYPE

Instructions: Match the picture of the computer components and peripherals

in Column A with its corresponding name on Column B.
On your answer sheet, write the letter of the correct answer.

Column A Column B

1. A. CMOS Battery
2. B. Ethernet card

3. C. CPU

4. D. Microprocessor socket

5. E. Memory modules

F. Storage devices
G. Expansion Slot
 Answer Key
Self –Check 1.1-5

1. D
2. A
3. D
4. G
5. B