McGraw-Hill Technology Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

All
McGraw-Hill Technology Education Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All
 Chapter 5A

Transforming Data Into

Information

McGraw-Hill Technology Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All

 How Computers Represent Data
• Number systems
– A manner of counting
– Several different number systems exist
• Decimal number system
– Used by humans to count
– Contains ten distinct digits
– Digits combine to make larger numbers

5A-3
 How Computers Represent Data
• Binary number system
– Used by computers to count
– Two distinct digits, 0 and 1
– 0 and 1 combine to make numbers

5A-4
 How Computers Represent Data
• Bits and bytes
– Binary numbers are made of bits
– Bit represents a switch
– A byte is 8 bits
– Byte represents one character

5A-5
 How Computers Represent Data
• Text codes
– Converts letters into binary
– Standard codes necessary for data transfer
– ASCII
• American Standard Code
for Information Interchange
• It is binary code used to handle text using the
English alphabet, numbers, and other common
symbols.
• The code includes definitions for 128
characters.
5A-6
 How Computers Process Data
• Memory
– Stores open programs and data
– Small chips on the motherboard
– More memory makes a computer faster

5A-7
 How Computers Process Data
• Nonvolatile memory
– Holds data when power is off
– Read Only Memory (ROM)
– Basic Input Output System (BIOS)

5A-8
 How Computers Process Data
• Flash memory
– Data is stored using physical switches
– Special form of nonvolatile memory
– Camera cards, USB.

5A-9
 How Computers Process Data
• Volatile memory
– Requires power to hold data
– Random Access Memory (RAM)
– Data in RAM has an address
– CPU reads data using the address
– CPU can read any address

5A-10
 Components affecting Speed

5A-11
 How Computers Process Data
• The CPU
– Central Processing Unit
– Brain of the computer
– Control unit
• Controls resources in computer
• Instruction set
– Arithmetic logic unit
• Simple math operations
Registers

5A-12
 Continue…
•

5A-13
 How Computers Process Data
• Machine cycles
– Steps by CPU to process data
– Instruction cycle
• CPU gets the instruction
– Execution cycle
• CPU performs the instruction
– Billions of cycles per second
– Pipelining processes more data
– Multitasking allows multiple instructions

5A-14
 Continue…

5A-15
 Affecting Processing Speed
• Registers
• Registers are a type of computer
memory used to quickly accept, store,
and transfer data and instructions that
are being used immediately by the CPU.

5A-16
 Affecting Processing Speed
• Virtual RAM
– Computer is out of actual RAM
– Computer swaps data to virtual RAM
• Least recently used data is moved

5A-17
 Affecting Processing Speed
• The computer’s internal clock
– Quartz crystal
– Every tick causes a cycle
– Speeds measured in Hertz (Hz)
• Modern machines use Giga Hertz (GHz)

5A-18
 Affecting Processing Speed
• The bus
– Electronic pathway between components
– Expansion bus connects to peripherals
– System bus connects CPU and RAM
– Bus width is measured in bits

5A-19
 Affecting Processing Speed
• bus standards
– Industry Standard Architecture (ISA)
– Local bus
– Peripheral control interface
– Accelerated graphics port
– Universal serial bus
– IEEE 1394 (FireWire)
– PC Card

5A-20
 Affecting Processing Speed
• Peripheral control interface (PCI)
Is a type of local bus designed by Intel to
integrate new data types such as audio,
video.
–Found in most modern computers

5A-21
 Affecting Processing Speed
• Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP)
– Connects video card to motherboard
– Extremely fast bus
– Found in all modern computers

5A-22
 Affecting Processing Speed
• Universal Serial Bus (USB)
– Connects external devices
– Hot swappable
– Cameras, printers, and scanners

5A-23
 Affecting Processing Speed
• PC Card
– Used on laptops
– Hot swappable
– Devices are the size of a credit card

5A-24
 Affecting Processing Speed
• Cache memory
– Very fast memory
– Holds common or recently used data
– Speeds up computer processing
– Most computers have several caches
– L1 holds recently used data
– L2 holds upcoming data
– L3 holds possible upcoming data

5A-25
 Chapter 5B

Modern CPUs

McGraw-Hill Technology Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All

 A Look Inside The Processor
• Architecture
– Determines
• Location of CPU parts
• Bit size
• Number of registers
• Pipelines
– Main difference between CPUs

5B-27
Microcomputer Processors
• Intel
– Leading manufacturer of processors
– Intel 4004 was worlds first microprocessor
– IBM PC powered by Intel 8086
– Current processors
• Centrino
• Itanium
• Pentium IV
• Xeon
Microcomputer Processors
• Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)
– Main competitor to Intel
– Originally produced budget products
– Current products outperform Intel
– Current processors
• Sempron
• Athlon FX 64
• Athlon XP
Microcomputer Processors
• Freescale
– A subsidiary of Motorola
– Co-developed the Apple G4 PowerPC
– Currently focuses on the Linux market
Microcomputer Processors
• IBM
– Historically manufactured mainframes
– Partnered with Apple to develop G5
 Comparing Processors
• Speed of processor
• Size of cache
• Number of registers
• Bit size
• Speed of Front side bus
Advanced Processor Topics
• RISC processors
– Reduced Instruction Set Computing
– Smaller instruction sets
– May process data faster
– PowerPC and G5
Advanced Processor Topics
• Parallel Processing
– Multiple processors in a system
– Symmetric Multiple Processing
• Number of processors is a power of 2
– Massively Parallel Processing
• Thousands of processors
• Mainframes and super computers
Extending The Processors Power
• Standard computer ports
– Keyboard and mouse ports
– USB ports
– Parallel
– Network
– Modem
– Audio
– Serial
– Video
Standard Computer Ports
Extending The Processors Power
• Serial and parallel ports
– Connect to printers or modems
– Parallel ports move bits simultaneously
• Made of 8 – 32 wires
• Internal busses are parallel
– Serial ports move one bit
• Lower data flow than parallel
• Requires control wires
• UART converts from serial to parallel
Serial Communications
Parallel Communications
Extending The Processors Power
• SCSI
– Small Computer System Interface
– Supports dozens of devices
– External devices daisy chain
– Fast hard drives and CD-ROMs
Extending The Processors Power
• USB
– Universal Serial Bus
– Most popular external bus
– Supports up to 127 devices
– Hot swappable
Extending the Processors Power
• FireWire
– IEEE 1384
– Cameras and video equipment
– Hot swappable
– Port is very expensive
Extending the Processors Power
• Expansion slots and boards
– Allows users to configure the machine
– Slots allow the addition of new devices
– Devices are stored on cards
– Computer must be off before inserting
Extending the Processors Power
• PC Cards
– Expansion bus for laptops
– Hot swappable
– Small card size
– Three types, I, II and III
– Type II is most common
Extending the Processors Power
• Plug and play
– New hardware detected automatically
– Prompts to install drivers
– Non-technical users can install devices
 Chapter 5

End of Chapter

McGraw-Hill Technology Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All