1. How Computers Work
•The Four Basic Operations
•The Boot Process
•Hardware Components & Their Functions
•Differences in Portable Devices
2. The Four Basic Computer
Operations
Input – Getting data from the
outside world into the computer
Processing – Manipulating the
information
Output – Presenting data from the
computer to the outside
Storage – Efficiently and
inexpensively holding data for later
use.
4. The Boot Process
1. The Basic Input/Output System (BIOS)
setup program loads and runs
2. The Power-On-Self-Test (POST) runs
3. The Operating System loads
4. System Configuration
5. System utilities load
5. PC Components
Case
Processor
Power Supply
Motherboard
Memory
Hard Drives
Removable Media Drives
Video, Audio Functionality
Monitor
Mouse, Keyboard
6. The Processor
Single core vs. Dual core
Intel vs. AMD
Trade-off between price and speed
• The newest, fastest processors are
always overpriced. Best "bang for the
buck" is with the next step down.
7. System Memory
How much?
• Single core or dual core processor
• Types of applications
What kind?
• Types
SDRAM
DDR SDRAM
DDR2 SDRAM
• Motherboard and CPU must support.
8. Choosing a Power Supply
Enough power for high class video
cards
Special connectors available for SATA
Hard Drives and PCI-E video cards
Motherboard may have a 20-pin or
24-pin main connector
9. Storage
Hard Drives
• How much, based on applications used
• What type (SATA or PATA)?
Optical Drives
• CD Burner, DVD-ROM, DVD Burner
(Single Layer or Dual Layer)
• How many? Two really make copying
disks easy.
Floppy Drive?
10. Hard Drives
IDE (ATA)
• EIDE – ATA2 aka Fast ATA
• ATA3 – Ultra ATA - Improved interface,
hard drives can report status
information to the MB.
• Two devices per channel (or cable)
SATA – Serial ATA
• One device per channel
SCSI – Many devices can be daisy-
chained.
11. Choosing a Motherboard
Supports the chosen Processor
Storage connectors ( PATA [aka IDE],
SATA150, SATA 3.0)
Memory type and amount
Built-ins (Video, Audio, LAN)
Graphic Card support (PCI-e, AGP)
PCI Expansion slots
RAID support
12. Factors in Choosing a Case
4 Form Factors
• Desktop
• Mid-Size Tower
• Full-Size Tower
• Little, Teeny, Tiny Cases (VSFF)
External and Internal Drive Bays
Front (Top) Panel Multi-Media
Connectors
Cooling System (can also add-on)
13. Display
Made up of two components
• Monitor
• Video card or circuitry
14. Monitors
CRT
• Cheaper
• Takes up more desktop real estate
• Can tire your eyes
Flat Panel
• More expensive
• Saves space
• Sharper Image
15. Video Cards
PCI
• Fits in a standard expansion slot
• General purpose video
Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP)
• AGP 2X/4X, AGP 4X/8X, AGP Pro 4X/8X
PCI Express (PCIe)
• PCIe x1, PCIe x4, PCIe x8, PCIe x16
16. Replacing a Video Card
Make sure you don't buy too much
card for the monitor.
It doesn't matter if the original video
was built-in to the motherboard.
Installing a video card and loading
drivers "takes over" from the old
video.
Get a card the motherboard
supports.