Types of Computer

There are two bases on which we can define the types of computers. We will discuss the type of computers on
the basis of size and data handling capabilities. We will discuss each type of computer in detail. Let’s see first
what are the types of computers.

Supercomputer

When we talk about speed, then the first name that comes to mind when thinking of computers is
supercomputers. They are the biggest and fastest computers (in terms of speed of processing data).
Supercomputers are designed such that they can process a huge amount of data, like processing trillions of
instructions or data just in a second. This is because of the thousands of interconnected processors in
supercomputers. It is basically used in scientific and engineering applications such as weather forecasting,
scientific simulations, and nuclear energy research. It was first developed by Roger Cray in 1976.

Characteristics of Supercomputers
Supercomputers are the computers that are the fastest and they are also very expensive.
It can calculate up to ten trillion individual calculations per second, this is also the reason which makes it even
faster.
It is used in the stock market or big organizations for managing the online currency world such as Bitcoin etc.
It is used in scientific research areas for analyzing data obtained from exploring the solar system, satellites, etc.

Mainframe computer
Mainframe computers are designed in such a way that they can support hundreds or thousands of users at the
same time. It also supports multiple programs simultaneously. So, they can execute different processes
simultaneously. All these features make the mainframe computer ideal for big organizations like banking,
telecom sectors, etc., which process a high volume of data in general.
Characteristics of Mainframe Computers
It is also an expensive or costly computer.
It has high storage capacity and great performance.
It can process a huge amount of data (like data involved in the banking sector) very quickly.
It runs smoothly for a long time and has a long life.

Minicomputer
Minicomputer is a medium size multiprocessing computer. In this type of computer, there are two or more
processors, and it supports 4 to 200 users at one time. Minicomputer is similar to Microcontroller.
Minicomputers are used in places like institutes or departments for different work like billing, accounting,
inventory management, etc. It is smaller than a mainframe computer but larger in comparison to the
microcomputer.
Characteristics of Minicomputer
Its weight is low.
Because of its low weight, it is easy to carry anywhere.
less expensive than a mainframe computer.
It is fast.

Workstation Computer
A workstation computer is designed for technical or scientific applications. It consists of a fast microprocessor,
with a large amount of RAM and a high-speed graphic adapter. It is a single-user computer. It is generally used
to perform a specific task with great accuracy.
Characteristics of Workstation Computer
It is expensive or high in cost.
They are exclusively made for complex work purposes.
It provides large storage capacity, better graphics, and a more powerful CPU when compared to a PC.
It is also used to handle animation, data analysis, CAD, audio and video creation, and editing.

Personal Computer (PC)

Personal Computers is also known as a microcomputer. It is basically a general-purpose computer designed for
individual use. It consists of a microprocessor as a central processing unit(CPU), memory, input unit, and output
unit. This kind of computer is suitable for personal work such as making an assignment, watching a movie, or at
the office for office work, etc. For example, Laptops and desktop computers.
Characteristics of Personal Computer (PC)
In this limited number of software can be used.
It is the smallest in size.
It is designed for personal use.
It is easy to use.

Server Computer
Server Computers are computers that are combined data and programs. Electronic data and applications are
stored and shared in the server computer. The working of a server computer is that it does not solve a bigger
problem like a supercomputer but it solves many smaller similar ones. Examples of server computer are like
Wikipedia, as when users put a request for any page, it finds what the user is looking for and sends it to the user.

Analog Computer
Analog Computers are particularly designed to process analog data. Continuous data that changes continuously
and cannot have discrete values are called analog data. So, an analog computer is used where we don’t need
exact values or need approximate values such as speed, temperature, pressure, etc. It can directly accept the data
from the measuring device without first converting it into numbers and codes. It measures the continuous
changes in physical quantity. It gives output as a reading on a dial or scale. For example speedometer, mercury
thermometer, etc.

Digital Computer
Digital computers are designed in such a way that they can easily perform calculations and logical operations at
high speed. It takes raw data as input and processes it with programs stored in its memory to produce the final
output. It only understands the binary input 0 and 1, so the raw input data is converted to 0 and 1 by the
computer and then it is processed by the computer to produce the result or final output. All modern computers,
like laptops, desktops including smartphones are digital computers.

Hybrid Computer
As the name suggests hybrid, which means made by combining two different things. Similarly, the hybrid
computer is a combination of both analog and digital computers. Hybrid computers are fast like analog
computers and have memory and accuracy like digital computers. So, it has the ability to process both
continuous and discrete data. For working when it accepts analog signals as input then it converts them into
digital form before processing the input data. So, it is widely used in specialized applications where both analog
and digital data are required to be processed. A processor which is used in petrol pumps that converts the
measurements of fuel flow into quantity and price is an example of a hybrid computer.

Tablet and Smartphones

Tablets and Smartphones are the types of computers that are pocket friendly and easy to carry is these are
handy. This is one of the best use of modern technology. These devices have better hardware capabilities,
extensive operating systems, and better multimedia functionality. smartphones and tablets contain a number of
sensors and are also able to provide wireless communication protocols.

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 Motherboard And The Functions
Definition of the Motherboard
A motherboard is the main circuit board inside a computer that connects the different parts of a computer together. It
has sockets for the CPU, RAM and expansion cards and it also hooks up to hard drives, disc drives and front panel
ports with cables and wires.

Motherboard is also known as a mainboard, planar board or logic board, system board, mobo or MB. It links all the
individual parts of a computer together and also, allows the CPU to access and control these separate parts. Other
than bridging internal components, the motherboard ports also allows you to connect external devices to the
computer. Such external devices would include the monitor, speakers, headphones, microphone, keyboard, mouse,
modem and other USB devices.

Functions of the Motherboard

The functions of a computer motherboard are as follows:

i. The motherboard acts as the central backbone of a computer on which other modular parts are installed such
as the CPU, RAM and hard disks.

ii. The motherboard also acts as the platform on which various expansion slots are available to install other
devices / interfaces.

iii. The motherboard is also responsible to distribute power to the various components of the computer.

iv. They are also used in the coordination of the various devices in the computer and maintain an interface among
them.

v. Some of the Sizes in which the motherboards are available are : BTX, ATX, mini-ATX, micro-ATX, LPX, NLX etc..

Motherboard Components And Connectors

3. Motherboard Components and Connectors
A typical Asus P5N32-E SLI motherboard with constituent components is given below:

1. PCI SLOT (Peripheral Component Interconnect) : PCI slots are used to Insert or install Add-on cards, such as
LAN cards, Sound cards, Capture cards and TV tuner cards. There are usually anywhere from 1 to 6 PCI slots available
on the motherboard(above board has 2 PCI slots. ), they have decreased in number and are being replaced by the PCI
Express 1x slots.
2. PCI-E 16x Slot : the most common slot for Graphics cards, the PCI Express 16x slots provides 16 separate lanes or
data transfer. These are the 16x speed versions, which are currently the fastest. PCI-E16x allows up to 4 GB/s of peak
bandwidth per direction, and up to 8 GB/s concurrent bandwidth.

3. PCI-E 1x Slot : Single slot - In the PCIe 1.x generation, each lane (1x) carries 250 MB/s compared to 133 MB/s for
the PCI slots. These can be used for expansion cards such as Sound Cards, or Ethernet Cards.

4. Northbridge: This allows communication between the CPU and the system memory and PCI-E slots. It is a focal
Point of Motherboard and It is also called as Memory Controller Hub.

5. ATX 12V 2X and 4 Pin Power Connection : This is one of two power connections that supply power to
the .motherboard This connection will come from your Power Supply.

6. CPU-Fan Connection: This is where the CPU fan will connect. Using this connection over one fof the power supply
will allow the motherboard to control the speed of the fan, based on the CPU temperature.

7. Socket: This is where the CPU will plug in. The orange bracket that is surrounding it is used for high end heat sinks.
It helps to support the weight of the heat sink.

8. DIMM slots: DIMM's are by far and away the most used memory types in today's computers. They vary in speeds
and standards however and they need to match up to what your motherboard has been designed to take. The four
standards of DIMM's being used at the moment are SDR (Single Data Rate), DDR (Double Data Rate), DDR2 and DDR3.
The speeds of memory can vary between 66Mhz to 1600Mhz.

9. ATX Power Connector: This is the second of two power connections. This is the main power connection for the
motherboard, and comes from the Power Supply.

10. IDE connectors or PATA connectors : IDE full form is Integrated Device Electronics. it supports IDE devices,
such as Hard disks and CD and DVD drives. Most drives today come with SATA connections.

11. Southbridge: This is the controller for components such as the PCI slots, onboard audio, and USB connections.

12. SATA Connections : SATA full form is Serial Advanced Technology Attachment. These are connect with serial
ATA devices, such as Hard disk drives and CD or DVD drives.

13. Front Panel Connections: this is where we will hook in the connections from the case. These are mostly the
different lights on the case, such as power on, hard drive activity etc.

14. FDD Connection: The FDD is the Floppy Disk controller. Floppy Drive Connector is used to connect floppy drives.
It supports two floppy drives.

15. External USB Connections: There are usually a couple of these ports located on each motherboard used for
connecting pen drives and external hard drives, like Ipods or Mp3 players.

16. CMOS battery :This is the motherboard's battery, which is used to power the south bridge and the BIOS to save
the setting, data and time.

Different Types Of Motherboard Ports And Their Functions Explained

The below figure shows the connector side of the Motherboard:

1. RJ-45 (Registered Jack 45) LAN port : This port allows connection to a Local Area Network (LAN) through a
network hub using a RJ-45 cable.

2. Analog Audio port :This port connects a tape, CD, DVD player or other audio soures.

3. VGA Port(Video Graphics Array) :VGA cables carry an analog signal as opposed to a digital signal (ones and
zeroes). Using higher frequencies, it's possible to reach a relatively high range of video resolutions. However, video
quality directly responds to cable quality, and doubly so on higher resolutions. Due to this, the quality of a VGA image
can variate notable across different makes of cables.

4. USB (Universal Serial Bus) 2.0 Ports: There are usually a couple of these ports located on each motherboard
used for connecting pen drives and external hard drives, like Ipods or Mp3 players.
5. PS/2 Keyboard Port (purple) :This port is for a PS/2 keyboard

6. PS/2 mouse port (green):This port is for a PS/2 mouse.

7. 1394a Port : this port is used to connect to any firewire device. FireWire has largely been supplanted by USB.
Some professional audio hardware still uses FireWire, though; you may also occasionally find higher-speed IEEE 1394b
headers, but they are even rarer.

8. Optical S/PDIF Used for sound connections to home audio recievers or powered PC speakers with optical
connections.

9. eSATA port(External Serial Advanced Technology Attachment): It is an external interface for SATA
technologies. It competes with FireWire 400 and universal serial bus (USB) 2.0 to provide fast data transfer speeds for
external storage devices.

10. HDMI Connector(High-Definition Multimedia Interface):HDMI is a digital interface for transmitting audio and
video data in a single cable. It is supported by most HDTVs and related components, such as DVD and Blu-ray players,
cable boxes, and video game systems.

11. DVI (Digital Visual Interface) connector : It is used to send digital information from a computer to a digital
display, such as a flat-panel LCD monitor.

12. North Bridge : The northbridge typically handles communications among the CPU, in some cases RAM, and PCI
Express (or AGP) video cards, and the southbridge. Northbridge is directly connected to AGP video, thus providing
higher transfer rates.

13. South Bridge : The southbridge is one of the two chips in the core logic chipset on a personal computer (PC)
motherboard, the other being the northbridge. The southbridge typically implements the slower capabilities of the
motherboard in a northbridge/southbridge chipset computer architecture. A southbridge chipset handles all of a
computer's I/O functions, such as USB, audio, serial, the system BIOS, the ISA bus, the interrupt controller and the IDE
channels.

Cpu And Cpu Socket Types Used In Motherboard

4. CPU and CPU Socket types used in a Motherboard

1. CPU Types
There are two different types of CPU's
1. 32-bit CPU

 1. This are the older processor .32-bit processor has a structure that can process instructions less efficiently
 2. 32-bit processor can handle less instruction at one time
 3. 32-bit processor can only handle 4GB of memory
 4. Even though a 32-bit processor can handle up to 4GB of memory, having that much memory on a 32-bit
processor will not make it perform quicker.

2. 64-bit CPU

 1. 64-bits is larger than 32-bits, that means that a 64-bit processor can handle more instructions in one load.
 2. 64-bit processor which can handle up to 16EB (=1 billion GB) of memory or RAM.

2. CPU Socket types

The processor socket (also called a CPU socket) is the connector on the motherboard that houses a CPU and forms the
electrical interface and contact with the CPU. Motherboards are subcategorized by the type of processor socket they
have.

The types of CPU sockets are as follows :

1. LGA Sockets: The land grid array (LGA) is a type of surface-mount packaging for integrated circuits (ICs) that is
notable for having the pins on the socket rather than the integrated circuit. An LGA can be electrically connected to a
printed circuit board (PCB) either by the use of a socket or by soldering directly to the board. The below figure shows
the LGA socket on a mother board.

Example : LGA 1150

LGA 1150 also called Socket H3, is an Intel microprocessor compatible socket which supports the Intel Haswell
microprocessor.It is a replacement for the LGA 1155 (known as Socket H2). All socket 1150 motherboards support
varying video outputs (VGA, DVI, HDMI - depending on the model) and Intel Clear Video Technology.Chipset for LGA
1150 is codenamed Lynx Point. Intel Xeon processors for socket LGA 1150 use the Intel C222, C224, and C226 chipsets

The below figure shows the typical LGA 1150:

2. ZIF sockets:A zero insertion force (ZIF) socket, designed by Intel and includes a small lever to insert and remove
the computer processor. Using the lever allows a user to add and remove a computer processor without any tools.

Example: 40-pin ZIF socket

It high-quality, easy to use 40 pin ZIF socket that is 0.6" wide with gold-plated contacts. Compatible with 0.3" up to
0.6" wide ICs up to 40-pins. Makes for easy connecting or programming to many DIP ICs. High conductivity terminals
create solid connections. Armature makes it easy to open and close socket. The below figure shows the 40-Pin ZIF
socket :

Cpu Socket Types Used In Motherboard : Pga & Bga Sockets

3. PGA socket : it is a type of integrated circuit packaging. In a PGA, the package is square or rectangular, and the
pins are arranged in a regular array on the underside of the package. The pins are commonly spaced 2.54 mm (0.1")
apart, and may or may not cover the entire underside of the package.
PGAs are often mounted on printed circuit boards using the through hole method or inserted into a socket. PGAs allow
for more pins per integrated circuit than older packages such as dual in-line package (DIP). The below figure shows the
pin grid array at the bottom of a XC68020, a prototype of the Motorola 68020 microprocessor

4. BGA sockets : A Ball Grid Array (BGA) is a type of surface-mount packaging used for integrated circuits. BGA
packages are used to permanently mount devices such as microprocessors. The BGA is descended from the pin grid
array (PGA), which is a package with one face covered (or partly covered) with pins in a grid pattern which, in
operation, conduct electrical signals between the integrated circuit and the printed circuit board (PCB) on which it is
placed.Soldering of BGA devices requires precise control and is usually done by automated processes. BGA devices are
not suitable for socket mounting.A disadvantage of BGAs is that the solder balls cannot flex in the way that longer
leads can, so they are not mechanically compliant.

The example for the BGA is as shown in the below figure:

Bottom view of an Intel Embedded Pentium MMX