COMPUTERS

WHAT IS A COMPUTER

• electronic device that stores information in a binary form
• binary is a series of 1 and 0 which means "true" and "false"
• computers respond to a specific set of instructions written in binary

COMPUTER PARTS

CASE/Chassis

• the case simply allows all of the computer's parts to fit together
• a laptop's monitor and keyboard is included in its case
• the case usually includes cooling fans, LEDs, and wires
• usually the case is chosen by which motherboard can fit inside

MOTHERBOARD

• the primary circuit board inside a PC
• all components connect to the motherboard in some way
• also known as "MOBO"
• vary by the type of components they can handle/ports included
• contain the BIOS for the PC

CPU

• stands for "central processing unit"
• also known as "processor" 
• the "heart of all PC operations"
• the performance of both hardware and software rely on CPU
• the most common architectures are 32-bit and 64-bit

CPU (cont.)

• cpu clock speed is measured in Hz
• the clock speed refers to the number of clock cycles per second 
• for example, 2.8 GHz CPU has 2.8 billion clock cycles per second
• this seems extremely fast but modern architecture expects it 
• we now have multi-core CPUs for dealing with this technology

POWER SUPPLY

• every component relies on a power supply
• for laptops it is a battery
• for desktop PCs it is a power outlet
• power supplies in PCs have a variety of wires to power components

RAM

• stands for "random access memory"
• even the fastest CPU needs to store information while processing 
• the RAM is to a countertop, as CPU is to a cook
• a fast CPU and an ample amount of RAM is required for a fast PC
• ROMs (read only memory) is also considered RAM (USB flash, CDs)

DRIvES

• hard drives and solid state drives
• these devices store data when the PC is not in use
• stores a PC's operating system (Windows/Mac/Linux)
• ideally connect directly to motherboard via SATA
• also includes optical (disc) drives

COOLING

• fans throughout computer case
• CPU cooled by a different cooler called heat sink
• heat sink draws heat away from CPU
• expensive liquid cooling for gamers and power intensive work
• overheating of any component will cause a variety of issues

PERIPHERALS

graphics cards

• also referred to as GPU (graphical processing unit)
• process complex graphics data to take a load off the CPU
• most motherboards have on board graphics
• usually instead of on board graphics, connect a new GPU
• newer cards with VRAM (video RAM) to store framebuffer

ports

• USB (universal serial bus)
• network ports (ethernet, FireWire)
• video (VGA, DVI, HDMI)
• audio

expansion slots

• PCI, PCI-x, and PCI-e slots on the motherboard
• add components not included with motherboard
• these components are called cards
• for example: graphics card, network card, FireWire card

POWERING UP

BIOS

• boot is controlled by the BIOS
• BIOS is the PC's basic input-output system
• BIOS is stored in a small card on MOBO
• updating BIOS is called "flashing the BIOS"
• provides a basic interface for hardware

BOOT (BOOTSTRAP) PROCESS

• power button activates power supply and sends power to MOBO
• PC performs a power-on self test (POST) within BIOS
• PC displays information about boot process
• BIOS attempts to access first drive designated as boot disk
• loads boot loader into RAM to find the OS (operating system)

OPERATING SYSTEM

• after a PC boots, the processes are controlled by the OS
• most common OS are Windows, Mac, and Linux
• responsible for a variety of tasks for management
• provides a user interface (UI) for interacting with the PC

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