LectureHardware

I/O, Computer Components, and Ports

Information Processing Cycle

Processing

Storage

Input

Output

Take in data from keyboard, mouse,

scanner, microphone, camera etc

Take in data from keyboard, mouse,

scanner, microphone, camera etc

Data is processed by CPU, sent to RAM, via BUS. Cache, GPU’s,

Expansion Cards

Data is processed by CPU, sent to RAM, via BUS. Cache, GPU’s,

Expansion Cards

Send processed data to monitor,

printer, speakers, network

Send processed data to monitor,

printer, speakers, network

Store for later use on a storage

medium: hard disk, floppy, USB, CD,

DVD, etc

Store for later use on a storage

medium: hard disk, floppy, USB, CD,

DVD, etc

Input and Output (I/O)

• Input Devices– Keyboard– Mouse– Scanner

• Output Devices– Printer– Monitor

• Dual-Function– Fax Machine– Modems– Network Cards

Computer Hardware

Processing: (CPU)

• Performs the majority of processing

• Usually Intel or AMD Chips– Celeron, Athlon, Pentium, Xeon are

brand names for these companies

fan on top of processor

Processing: CPU Clock Speed

• Also called “Frequency”• How fast the CPU can process data. • Measured in

GHz (gigahertz)• 1.7 ~ 3.7+

GHz• Billions of

cycles per second

Processing: CPU measurements

• IPC - Instructions Per Cycle– Average number of instructions

executed each clock cycle

• FLOPS – Measure of Performance– Cores x Clock x FLOPs/cycle

• IPS – Instructions Per Second

CPU Clock Speed History - Intel

CPU TERMS: pg 1

Cache: Internal memory in the CPU, housing frequently accessed data and instructions for superfast turnaround on memory requests.

Clock speed: The speed at which a CPU executes its instructions, usually measured in gigahertz (billions of cycles per second); also known as the chip's "frequency.“

Code name: A company's nomenclature for a new series of chips; may refer to a processor lineup ("Gulftown" or "Deneb"), a microarchitecture (Intel's "Nehalem"), or a platform (AMD's "Dragon") – “Sandy Bridge” (Intel) and “Ivy Bridge” is Intel's current line of chips. “PileDriver” is AMD’s current line of chips

Core: The part of the processor that reads and executes program instructions

Anatomy of a CPU

CPU TERMS: pg 2

Die: The physical surface area on which a semiconductor circuit is fabricated. Smaller die sizes reduce chip manufacturing costs and chip power consumption.

GPU: Graphics processing unit-the chip that processes graphics and video. It may be located on the CPU, as part of the motherboard chipset, or on a separate ("discrete") graphics card.

Nanometer: One billionth of a meter; the unit used to gauge the distance between the narrow connections tying transistors on a CPU.

Socket: The electrical interface on the motherboard, where the CPU sits; usually backward-compatible over chip iterations.

Processing: Core – reads and executes program instructions

• Thin wafers of siliconhold hundreds of processing cores.

• Each core containsmillions of transistors

• A transistor is a semiconductor device used to amplify and switch electronic signals

• Click Here for more

Moore’s Law

• Named for Intel Co-Founder Gordon Moore • Moore writes in a 1965 Paper:• “The number of transistors that can be

inexpensively placed on an integrated circuit is increasing exponentially, doubling approximately every two years”

• Moore’s Law has applied to all aspects of technology from computers to cell phones

• Running out of space – 3D

Moore’s Law: Its true!

Multi-core systems

• Multi-Core systems (ie Intel Core Duo) connect two CPUs together to the same die on the motherboard.

• A dual-core processor with two cores at 2GHz may perform very nearly as fast as a single core of 3.7GHz

• Intel core i7 – 4 or 6 cores

CPU TERMS: pg 3

Multithreading: Rotating between multiple threads, or independent sequences of instructions, in order to reach faster and more efficient processing; supports multitasking

Hyper-Threading (Intel): similar to above – specifically engaging multiple cores

Turbo Boost (Intel): Exceeding maximum Ghz of processing speed when certain conditions are met for added performance

Parallel Processing: CPUs working together to execute instructions for one job more quickly; often used with servers and mainframes

Multi-Processing: Each CPU (or core) typically works on a different job; often used with personal computers with multi-core processors

Processing: CPU Cache

• A temporary storage area for frequently/recently accessed data

• Fewer requests to RAM and Hard Drive, speeds up the processing

• Measured in megabytes (MB) or kilobytes (KB), such as 512 KB

• L1 is fastest, L2 next fastest, etc.• Speed and location• “Shared Cache” is cache

that is shared among all cores.

Current Family of Intel Chips

17 34 562 8

2 cores 4 MB L-3

4 cores

TurboBoost*

6 cores 6 MB L-3

GPU on core

6 cores 12 MB L-3

6 cores MB L-3

TurboBoost*

NO Turbo*

2 cores No L-3

4 cores No L-3

4 cores 6 MB L3

TurboCore*

2011

Chips: Ivy/Sandy Bridge (Intel)FX (AMD)Top of the line

Note pricing! For chip only!!!

Extra: Tablets (and Smartphones!)

• CPU works similarly• Same “jobs”• Intel and AMD (Windows)• Also, ARM with licensing (Apple,

NVIDIA)• Read More• Great Explanation

Processing: RAMRandom Access

• Volatile• Temporary storage for all data and

processes (programs) currently running

• Measured in type, size, speed,– Size: 4.0 GB +– Speed: 600 MHz +

RAM Speeds

RAM speed is measured in megahertz (MHz). RAM is measured by its speed (MHz) and by its size (megabytes or gigabytes).

For example you could have DDR3 RAM (name) 600mhz (speed of the RAM)

Processing:RAM Types

• SDRAM stands for Synchronous RAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory). Old standard in PC industry for memory

• DDR SDRAM (double data rate synchronous dynamic RAM) takes all the features of ordinary SDRAM and increases the frequency bandwidth to improve system performance and speed.

• DDR3 SDRAM – Today’ Standard (double-data-rate type 3 synchronous dynamic random access memory) Its primary benefit is the ability to operate the external data bus twice as fast as DDR SDRAM.

• GDDR# (5) newest – graphics memory, higher speeds and larger bandwidth

DIMMS and SIMMS

• Single in line Memory Modules– Same electrical contact on both sides of the module– 32 bit data path

• Double in line Memory Modules– DIMMs have separate electrical contacts on each side

of the module– 64 bit data path

• 2 SIMMS = 1 DIMM

Buying RAM: Today’s Standards

Processing: CPU Front Side Bus

• The connecting path between the processor and other key components such as the memory controller hub.

• Bus speeds are measured in GHz or MHz.

• Width – wires data travel• QPI – Intel “Quick Path

Interface – Replaces FSB

Relationship between the CPU & RAM

More info on RAM - Wikipedia

Processing:Expansion slots and cards

• An expansion card is a circuit board that can be inserted into an expansion slot of a motherboard to add additional functionality for video, audio, or other uses:

•AGP Slot (for video cards)•PCI Slots (misc devices and ports)

•PCMCIA (for laptops)

Processing:Video Cards or GPUs

• Generates and outputs images to a display• Old Standard = 32 Megabytes• New = 128 – 256 MB+

– Needed to run DirectX 9 graphics built into Vista

• Dedicated Graphics card most powerful• Integrated graphics solution uses portions of

RAM for graphics• Best Graphics Card for you

Processing:Wireless Cards

• Evaluate Based on– Data transfer rates (measured in Mbit/s); these

range from 2 Mbit/s - 54 Mbit/s.– Transmit power (measured in dBm)– Network standards (may include standards such

as 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, etc)

• Learn About Wireless Cards

Processing:Ports: Connecting slots & peripherals

Ports

Cat-5(network)

USB

Video/Monitor - VGA

Serial

Firewire

HDMI

DVI

More Ports

Storage Devices – Long term

• Hard disk– Magnetic– Solid state

• USB media• Optical storage media

– CD CDR CDRW DVD

• Floppy disks? Old• Zip disks? Older• Tapes? Oldest

HDDs and SSDs

• HDD’s : Hard Disk Drives that use spinning magnetic platens and read/write heads

• SDD’s : Solid State Drives retain data in non-volatile microchips and contain no moving parts.

• SSD’s less susceptible to shock; quieter –but more expensive.– Longevity of “write” area problem for SSD’s

Hard Drive Photos

Hard Drive Photos

Hard Disk

Hard Disk Head

Reading a Hard Disk

• Disks are read just like a record player– Data is stored on the disk– The disk spins– A head moves back and forth– Data is read and sent to the motherboard

• Data is stored magnetically as charged (on) or not charged (off)

Storage – FAT/NTFS

Solid State Drives

Use non-volatile chips for storage (Flash), rather than magnetic platens and read/write heads – no moving parts

Solid State Drive

• Solid state hard drives use a series of transistors, pieces of silicone and semiconductors to transfer the electrical current.

• Like all data storage, solid state drives use binary, a series of 1s and 0s, to represent data.

• A 0 is represented by a transistor that cannot accept an electrical current, while a 1 is represented by one that allows the flow of electricity.

Solid State Pricing Example

Hybrid Hard Drives

RAM vs Hard Drive

vs.

• Electronic• Very fast• Expensive• Small capacity• Temp storage

• Magnetic/Electronic• Slower• Cheap/Expensive• Large capacity• Long term storage

Relationship:CPU, RAM, and the Hard Drive

Past … Present … Future ?

Types of Software

• System Software– Operating System

• Unix, Windows, Linux, OSx, Solairs• 32bit vs 64 bit

– A system with a 64-bit operating system (Windows® 7,8) can handle larger amounts of information than a 32-bit system. Since it can use more RAM—4 GB and up—a 64-bit computer can be more responsive when you're running lots of programs at once

• Duties: Multitasking, Memory Management, Buffering and Spooling, Command Line and GUI, Clipboard, Management of all peripheral devices

– Utility Programs : File Management, Anti-Virus, Anti-Spyware, Diagnostic Utilities, Backup and Recovery, Network and Internet Utilities

Types of Software

• Application Software – Used to perform specific tasks– Word Processing– Spreadsheet– Database – Presentation– Internet Browsing– Multimedia – Games

OS Requirements

• Software is always written for a specific operating system

• Programmers sometimes release multiple versions of an application for different OSes

Check your own system:

• Computer• Properties

Windows Operating System

Mac OSx

• Apple• About this Mac• More Info

Mac Properties

Computer Longevity

• Always buy as much CPU and RAM as you can afford

• Longevity will depend on usage• Everyday business tasks require

less processing power• Graphics, multimedia, require

large amts of CPU and RAM

Upgrading your computer

• Add RAM

• Additional Hard Drive

• Faster Video Card

• Faster CPU

Let Shop!

• www.dell.com• www.apple.com/mac• www.acer.com• www.gateway.com• www.sony.com• www.costco.com• www.bestbuy.com• And others!