Computer Sciences and Information Technology - Term Paper Example

?Computer Sciences and Information Technology Motherboard The motherboard is the primary component of a computer, sometimes referred to as the mainboard, mobo, system board, or logic board1. The motherboard is the hub used to connect all the essential components of a computer. It acts as the “parent board”, which takes the shape of a printed circuit with connectors for memory modules, expansion cards, optical drives, video cards, sound cards and the processor among others. The motherboard is usually mounted inside a casing just opposite the most easily accessible side. It is firmly attached using screws through already drilled holes. Its front usually contains ports used to connect all the other internal components. In this case, one slot contains the central processing unit (CPU), while multiple slots allow for attachment of more memory modules. Other ports found on the motherboard allows for optical drive, floppy drive, and hard drive to connect through a ribbon cable. In addition, the computer case has some small wires that connect to the motherboard allowing for reset, power and LED lights to function. There is also a specially designed port on the motherboard through which power is supplied2. Part of the motherboard facing the back end of the case also has some ports. These ports are said to allow most external peripherals of the computer to connect to the monitor, keyboard, printer, mouse, phone lines, speakers and other external devices. Majority of motherboards also has FireWire and USB ports to enable compatible devices such as video cameras to connect to the computer when needed3. In fact, on the front side of the motherboard also exists quite a number of card slots. It is reported that these slots are where sound cards, video cards, and other expansion cards are connected to the motherboard. Functions of the motherboard System communication: It is through the motherboard that all forms of communication between the PC, its peripherals and other PCs plus the user go through4. Organization of devices: Is it has been elaborated everything within the computer are connected to the motherboard. In this way, its design dictates how the entire computer system is to be organized. Processor support: It is the motherboard socket that dictates the choice of processor that can be used in the system. Device control: The BIOS and chipset programs are usually built into the motherboard, which controls most data flow throughout the computer system. Support of peripherals: The motherboard components have a powerful function in determining the type of peripherals that a user can use in the PC of the computer. For instance, one cannot use AGP cards if the motherboard only has PCI slots. Upgradability: With the advancement in technology which see the emergence of new motherboards, it is a mater of fact that newer processors may experience compatibility problems with the hardware due to limitations of circuitry built-in to the board, which may not allow them to function. As a result, one may look for an upgrade at the manufacturer’s website or do upgrading5. System performance: The motherboard determines a great deal the performance of the computer since it dictates the type of memory, processors, system buses as well as hard disk interface speed that a computer system can have via BIOS settings or connectors. It is for this reason that in case a user upgrades after several years it is advisable to replace CPU, board and the memory6. 2. Central processing Unit (CPU) The CPU is arguably the brain of the computer, which is responsible for fetching, decoding, executing programs and performing mathematical and logical calculations7. In fact, without the CPU, the computer is just a nutshell. The CPU is made of numerous thin layers of transistors. The transistors are extremely tiny that blocks weak electricity when the charge is weak, but allows the same electricity to pass through when the power is strong enough. Since CPUs are small in size, they are sometimes referred to as microprocessors. Modern CPUs are called integrated chips. The CPU is usually inserted directly into the socket and pin side down, on the motherboard. Each motherboard is capable of supporting specific types of CPU. CPUs have two typical components namely: The arithmetic logic unit (ALU) whose function is to perform arithmetic and logic calculations8. The Control unit (CU) whose function is to extract instructions from memory decodes and executes them. Functions of the CPU Fetching: Firstly, the CPU usually retrieves the instruction that is needed to be run from the program memory. The instruction obtained is then stored at a specific address. The computer CPU contains a program counter whose work is to monitor the position of CPU in the program such as the address of the instruction being accessed by CPU9. Decoding: It is the CPU that decodes all the data flow within the computer system Execution of Data: Based on the command received by the CPU, it will perform the following functions. With the help of its arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU), the CPU of the computer solves all the complicated mathematical functions. It is also responsible for relaying data from one memory location to another. Writeback: It is argued that all the actions taken by CPU usually produce some output. The CPU is responsible for taking this output then writing it into the memory of the computer 3. Printers A printer is a peripheral device of a computer that accepts graphic and text output from a computer and transmits the information to paper for final production. Some printers are bought together with the computer however majority of printers come separately from computers. It is also worth noting that printers usually vary in speed, size, cost and sophistication. Nevertheless, the most expensive computers are used mainly for higher resolution-color printing10. Printer language Printer language printers usually have languages, which are generally the command from the computer to the printer, informing the printer on how to format the document to be printed. It is noted that these commands manages the graphics, font size, color and compression of data transmitted to the printer. The two common languages in a printer are Printer control Language and Postscript11. Research shows that there are four printer qualities that are of most interest to users. These are: Resolution: This refers to the sharpness of the text and images printed and are usually measured in dots per inch (dpi). In this regard, it is noted that the most expensive printers are capable of providing high resolution up to 600dpi, resulting in quality prints12. Color: Color is also an important aspect that most users tend to look at. In this regard, most printers are capable of producing color print. However, some can only print black and white especially the analogue printers. It is also worth noting the color printers are capable of printing even in black and white and are usually expensive since they use two cartridges that require regular replacement. For people who produce a lot of documents that do not require color print will find it cheap to use a black and white printer. Speed: speed is usually very important for those who do much printing. Cheap printers can produce only bout 3 to 6 sheet per minute. It is also worth noting that color printers are generally slower. Therefore, for individuals and corporations in need of bulk printing should invest in expensive printers, which are much faster13. Memory: Quite a number of printers usually come with a small amount of memory usually in megabytes. However, this memory can be expanded by the user. Research reveals that having more than the minimum amount of memory in a printer is helpful and faster when printing pages with large tables or images with lines round them. Disk Drives Magnetic media gadgets such as floppy disk, hard drive disks and external hard drives are what are known as disks. Disks can actually be rewritten unless they are blocked by their manufacturers, they can also be write-protected. Computer’s hard drive disks can further be partitioned into small volumes according to the storage needs of the owner. Disks are not the same as discs. Optical media such as the CD, CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, and DVD-RAM are known as discs. Other devices such as DVD-Video disc can also be classified under discs. It should be noted the there are different types of discs; some discs are read-only memory (ROM) while others can allow the writing of files onto them once unless a multisession writing of files is carried out. Computer users can burn content on CD-R or DVD-R. CD-RW, DVD-RW and DVD-RAM discs allows computer users to write and erase written content. Discs are gadgets that can be inserted or ejected from the computer14. Disk Storage Computers have always had storage and cannot work without disk storage. The gadget that the computer works on or creates must be held in storage. Inside a computer, there is storage found in the microprocessor, RAM, and Disk drives. The microprocessor itself has storage, but only a small amount. Long-term storage of data in computer system is provided by disk drives. Information can be written to a disk drive for later retrieval. The data store in computer disks stays there until it is erased or when the disk is damaged15. Floppy Personal computers have traditionally been set up to use a floppy disk; also known as a diskette or disk; to meet removable storage needs. Floppy disks are written to and read by floppy drives. Manufactures are no longer producing floppy disks since they are slow and have small storage capacity. A floppy disk is made up of a round piece of flexible plastic coated with a magnetizable substance. On the outer part of the floppy disk is confined by a square, rigged plastic cover. The floppy disk must be inserted into a floppy drive for it to function. When the disk is correctly inserted, the disk clicks into place, the metal shutter that covers an opening in the plastic cover is removed aside to show the magnetic surface of the disk, further, the eject button the is located on the front of the drive comes out. When the floppy disk in the floppy drive needs to be accessed, the drive is charged with the responsibility of rotating the disk within its plastic cover16. The drive’s head can read or write data to the surface of the disk as the disk spins. The write and read heads are capable of moving all over the surface of the disk to make sure that all information is read or written onto the disk. Computer users are advised not to eject the floppy disk while the drive’s indicator is still on. The removal of the drive should be done after the light has gone off by pressing the eject button located on the drive17. DVD PCs use a CD-ROM or DVD drive. Some PCs have one of each, but most modern PCs have a single DVD drive because all DVD drive can read CDs wile CD rives cannot read DVD. DVD drives can also record CDs and DVDs. The DVD drive uses DVDs and CDs (the 5-inch plastic, shiny discs). The discs often contain computer data, music, video, new software to install, reference material, photos or any other information. CD-ROM stands for Compact Disc, read –Only memory. Some PCs come with CD-ROM drives which are not capable of reading DVDs. The ROM in the CD-ROM ensures that the disk cannot be written to; computer user can also not save information into CD-ROM as they do with other disk drives. However, the computer can read CD-ROM18. DVD stands for Digital Versatile Disc. The drives read DVD-ROM discs, similar in appearance to CDs, but have the ability to store more data. In most cases, it is challenging to tell which drive is a CD or DVD drive. In particular, the CD drive has a CD logo on them while the DVD drives sport the DVD logo. CD-ROM or DVD discs may be referred to as CDs, DVDs, disks or Discs. Physically, all the discs look similar or may be labeled as CDs and DVDs. The main purpose of DVDs is to give the computer user a larger storage capacity for data which cannot be achieved by the normal CDs19. Hard Drive All computers come from the manufacturer with a hard disk drive (HDD), also referred to as a hard drive. Hard drives are used to store most programs and data. Internal hard drives which are located inside the PC cannot be to be removed. However, they can only be removed when they need to be repaired or replaced. External hard drives are inserted into the computer through the USB port. Apart from being used with computers, hard drives are also being incorporated into other products such as digital video recorders (DVRs), gaming consoles, portable media players, digital camcorders, mobile phones, and cars20. Hard drives store data is similar ways as the floppy drives. Hard drives store data magnetically by using the read and write heads to store and read data. In addition, hard drives are organized into tracks, sectors, and clusters. The disks that make up a hard drive are made of metal. The read and write heads are permanently sealed inside the hard drive to prevent contamination and for the disk to spin faster. Regardless of the size, one hard drive normally has several hard disks, each having the read and write heads21. Memory Computer memory, or RAM, provides storage to supplement what the microprocessor has. Computer memory storage is actively used by the microprocessor, and it’s where programs run, where users create things, and where the information is stored wile the users are using their PCs. Before the CPU can process any instructions that are provided by the user, the instructions are always stored in the RAM, for microprocessor to access the data. These instructions, together with other data processed by the CPU, are temporarily contained in the computer’s random access memory (RAM). Any computer should have some memory. Computer memory is created by several memory chips in the motherboard. More instructions can be processed in the CPU depending on the memory size available to the computer22. Computer memory is measure in terms of bytes. One thousand bytes can be referred to as a kilobyte (KB) while one thousand kilobytes being referred to as a megabyte (MB). A thousand megabytes constitutes a gigabyte (GB). Current computers come with at least 512MB memory, while some powerful computers have 2GB memory or more. Faster computers, or in the case whereby the user wants the system to be faster, much memory should be installed into the system23. Expansion cards Some personal computers have low speeds in processing data. Such computers can achieve more functionality by inserting an expansion card. The expansion card ensures that the features of the motherboard are expanded. There are several types of expansion cards can be used into a computer including the interface card, modem, MPEG decoder, network card, sound card, video card and video capture card. PCI slots are designed to allow the installation of expansion cards. AGP slot can also be used to install expansion cards. Expansion cards can only be installed to computers those posses the installation slots. There are other computer types that cannot accept expansion cards such as the apple iMac. In addition, computer laptops do not accept the traditional expansion cards due to their size; however, there are some laptops that can accept the removable PCMCIA cards24. Works Cited Abd-El-Barr, Mostafa, & El-Rewini, Hesham. Fundamentals of Computer Organization and Architecture: Volume 1. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, 2005. Print. Computer Science1.net. Expansion Card. N.d. Web. 27 August, 2012. https://Www.Computerscience1.Net/Expansion_Card. Gookin Dan. PCs for Dummies Quick Reference. New York. John Wiley and Sons. 2007. Print. Gookin, Dan. PCs for Dummies. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2007. Print. Jean.Mueller, Scott. Upgrading and Repairing PCs. New York, NY: Que Publishing, 2011. Print. Lotia, Manahar, & Nair, Pradeep. All about Motherboard: Complete Introduction and Troubleshooting. Upper Saddle River, NJ: BPB Publications, 2002. Print. Mathivanan, Noni. Microprocessors, PC Hardware and Interfacing. New York. PHI Learning. 2004. Print. Miller Micheals. Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Computer Basics. New York. Que Publishing. 2007. Print. Morley Deborah and Parker Charles. Understanding Computers; Today and Tomorrow, Comprehensive. New York. Cengage Learning. 2009. Print. Pogue David. Hard Drive. New York. Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated. 1995. Print. Read More