MICROPROCESSOR


A microprocessor is a programmable digital electronic component that incorporates the functions of a central processing unit (CPU) on a single semiconducting integrated circuit (IC). The microprocessor was born by reducing the word size of the CPU from 32 bits to 4 bits, so that the transistors of its logic circuits would fit onto a single part. One or more microprocessors typically serve as the CPU in a computer system, embedded system, or handheld device.



CISC CHIPS



A complex instruction set computer (CISC) is a microprocessor instruction set architecture (ISA) in which each instruction can execute several low-level operations, such as a load from memory, an arithmetic operation, and a memory store, all in a single instruction. The term was retroactively coined in contrast to reduced instruction set computer (RISC).


RISC CHIPS


The reduced instruction set computer, or RISC, is a CPU design philosophy that favors an instruction set reduced both in size and complexity of addressing modes, in order to enable easier implementation, greater instruction level parallelism, and more efficient compilers. As of 2007, common RISC microprocessors families include the DEC Alpha, ARC, ARM, AVR, MIPS, PA-RISC, Power Architecture (including PowerPC), and SPARC.


CONTROXERSY


A controversy or dispute is a matter of opinion over which parties actively disagree, argue, or debate. Controversies can range in size from private disputes between two individuals to large-scale disagreements between societies.




KINDS OF MEMORY CHIPS

RAM comes in many different kinds of configurations and types, and it runs at many different speeds, as well. Before you upgrade, you need to know how to spot the different types. Pictured in these steps are the different types of RAM, including the older-style DIPs and newer SIMMs, DIMMs, and RIMMs. You should also view the "What Is RAM Density?" tutorial for more in-depth information about DIMMs and RIMMs
If you have a very old computer, it might use a dual inline package (DIP) kind of memory. DIPs came in pairs or sets of eight and could be soldered into holes on the computer's motherboard or plugged into a socket that was soldered on the motherboard. This method was fine when computers typically operated on a couple of megabytes or less of RAM, but as the need for memory grew, the number of chips needing space on the motherboard increased. Systems using this memory will not be able to run Windows® 98 and above.
The two basic types of RAM today are Synchronous Dynamic RAM (SDRAM) and Rambus Dynamic RAM (RDRAM). The form you use depends on the RAM sockets installed on your motherboard (the largest printed circuit board in your computer). To know what to buy, you will need to know the limitations of your system, which can be found by checking the motherboard or your PC manual. See the "Memory Module Descriptions" tutorial for more information
The two basic types of memory modules are Dual Inline Memory Modules (DIMMs) and Single Inline Memory Modules (SIMMs). These modules are a little more than an inch high and four to six inches wide, and connect to your motherboard with pins. The number of pins refers to how many contact strips are on the connector side of the SIMM or DIMM.
SIMMs (Single Inline Memory Modules) plug into long matching sockets on your motherboard. Typically, a motherboard has two or three banks of SIMM sockets into which you plug the memory. SIMMs primarily come in 72-pin formats. The typical capacities of these are 1MB, 2MB, 4MB, 8MB, 16MB, and 32MB. This type of memory is old and not common in today's machines.
DIMMs (Dual Inline Memory Modules) look a lot like SIMMs, but they come in a 168-pin format. They are usually a faster and higher-performance memory than SIMMs, and are used in Pentium® PCs. Their typical size is 128 MB of RAM with additional sizes of 256 and 512.
RIMMs (Rambus Inline Memory Modules) look alot like DIMMs and fit in the same area as a DIMM connector. RIMMS have 184 pins in contrast to a DIMM's 168, but use the same socket specification as a standard 100MHz DIMM. RIMMs are typically compatible with Pentium PCs that have 1GHz or more processors. Check your PC's or motherboard's manual to verify whether or not you have a motherboard with the proper Rambus Circuitry to support RIMMs. See the "RIMMs" tutorial for more information.
A SIMM or DIMM usually has nine chips of memory on it, eight of which are used for the memory itself. The ninth chip is the parity chip, and is used for error checking. Some computer systems require parity chips, while others do not. In general, Pentium-based computers don't require parity memory. Parity memory usually costs more than non-parity memory. Check your PC's or motherboard's manual to see which kind of memory your PC requires.


KINDS OR TYPES OF EXPANSION


ISA -- Industry Standard ArchitectureEISA -- Enhanced Industry Standard ArchitectureFound in IBM-compatible desktop computers.These expansion slots are a standard way to connect more devices to a PC-compatible computer. "ISA" is an older style that is typically found on computers with 80286 ("286"), 80386 ("386") and 80486 ("486") microprocessors.
NuBusFound in Macintosh computers.NuBus slots are used to connect many kinds of expansion cards, including network adapter cards, video cards, additional cache cards and PC computer expansion cards.
PCI -- Peripheral Component InterconnectFound in many IBM-compatible desktop computers and newer Macintosh computers.PCI is a standard bus adapter that allows high-speed connections to most peripheral devices, including video adapter cards, network cards, cache cards and PC computer expansion cards.
Small Computers System InterfaceFound on desktop computers, predominantly in Macintoshes.SCSI expansion slots allow you to connect a wide variety of devices like CD-ROM drives, printers and scanners. You can connect up to six different SCSI devices in a chain.

A. Hard Drive
MOTHER BOARDUniversal Serial Bus (USB) - a serial bus standard to interface devices. A major component in the legacy-free PC, USB was designed to allow peripherals to be connected using a single standardized interface socket, to improve plug-and-play capabilities by allowing devices to be connected and disconnected without rebooting the computer (hot swapping). Other convenient features include powering low-consumption devices without the need for an external power supply and allowing some devices to be used without requiring individual device drivers to be installed.Parallel Port - a type of socket found on personal computers for interfacing with various peripherals. It is also known as a printer port or Centronics port. The IEEE 1284 standard defines the bi-directional version of the port.CPU socket (or CPU slot) - widely used to describe the connector linking the motherboard to the CPU(s) in certain types of desktop and server computers, particularly those compatible with the Intel x86 architecture.Accelerated Graphics Port (also called Advanced Graphics Port, often shortened to AGP) - a high-speed point-to-point channel for attaching a graphics card to a computer's motherboard, primarily to assist in the acceleration of 3D computer graphics. AGP is often referred to as a 'bus'; however, this is a misnomer - a single AGP controller is only capable of controlling a single device. This is the main reason that almost all mainboards have only a single AGP slot, although motherboards have been built with multiple independent AGP slots. AGP is currently being phased out in favor of PCI Express.Peripheral Component Interconnect, or PCI Standard (in practice almost always shortened to PCI), specifies a computer bus for attaching peripheral devices to a computer motherboard. These devices can take any one of the following forms:Complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) - a major class of integrated circuits. CMOS technology is used in chips such as microprocessors, microcontrollers, static RAM, and other digital logic circuits. CMOS technology is also used for a wide variety of analog circuits such as image sensors, data converters, and highly integrated transceivers for many types of communication.IDE Controller - is primarily used to refer to devices for connecting SCSI, Fibre Channel and eSATA devices, but devices for connecting to IDE, ESCON, Ethernet, FireWire, USB and other systems may also be called host adapters. Recently, the advent of iSCSI has brought about Ethernet HBAs, some including TCP Offload Engines.Memory Slot – use to store or install the Random access memory (RAM), a type of data storage used in computers. It takes the form of integrated circuits that allow the stored data to be accessed in any order — that is, at random and without the physical movement of the storage medium or a physical reading head.Floppy Disk Controller (FDC) is a special-purpose chip and associated circuitry that directs and controls reading from and writing to a computer's floppy disk drive (FDD). This article contains concepts common to FDCs based on the NEC µPD765 and Intel 82072A and their descendants, as used in the IBM PC and compatibles from the 1980s and 1990s. The concepts may or may not be applicable to, or illustrative of, other controllers or architectures.Computer Fan Plug-in – a slot used to connect the computer fan. Computer Fan can be any fan inside a computer case used for cooling purposes, and may refer to fans that draw cooler air into the case from the outside, expel warm air from inside, or move air across a heatsink to cool a particular component. The use of fans and/or other hardware to cool a computer is sometimes referred to as active cooling.Power Supply Plug-in – is a slot where the source of power is plugged. Power Supply(sometimes known as a power supply unit or PSU) is a device or system that supplies electrical or other types of energy to an output load or group of loads. The term is most commonly applied to electrical energy supplies, less often to mechanical ones, and rarely to others.

C. System Unit
SIMMS – Single Inline memory Modules. SIMMs are electronic modules about 10-1/2 centimeters long that sit in slots, usually located on the main system board.Video Adapter – also called Video Card. This is the interface card installed in the computer that controls and produces video on the monitor.Motherboard – the main electronic circuit in a PC.Power Supply - a case that holds a transformer, voltage control, and (usually) a cooling fanSound Board – also called Sound Card. Ttranslates signals from the system board into analog voltage levels, and has terminals to plug in speakers.CD-Rom Drive - the most common type of removable media, cheap but fragile.
D. KEYBOARD

Typewriter Keys - A typewriter is a mechanical, electromechanical, or electronic device with a set of "keys" that, when pressed, cause characters to be printed on a document, usually paper.The Windows key or Windows logo key (in short WinKey, or rarely Flag key or Menu Key) is a keyboard key originally introduced for the Windows 95 operating system. On keyboards lacking a Windows key, Ctrl+Esc can instead be pressed.A function key is a key on a computer or terminal keyboard which can be programmed so as to cause an operating system command interpreter or application program to perform certain actions. On some keyboards/computers, function keys may have default actions, accessible on power-on.Print screen/sysrq - Usually located at the upper right hand corner of your keyboard next to the Scroll Lock and Pause/Break keys. Often abbreviated PrtScr, the Print Screen key is a useful key supported on most PCs.Arrow keys are buttons on a computer keyboard that move the cursor in a specified direction. They are typically located at the bottom of the keyboard to the side of the numeric keypad, usually arranged in an inverted-T layout but also found in diamond shapes.Numeric keypad, or numpad for short, is the small, palm-sized, seventeen key section of a computer keyboard, usually on the very far right. The numeric keypad features digits 0 to 9, addition (+), subtraction (-), multiplication (*) and division (/) symbols, a decimal point (.) and Num Lock and Enter keys.The Enter key (or the return key) in most cases causes a form or dialog box to operate its default function, which is typically to finish an "entry" and begin the obviously desired process.Num Lock - If you want to use the numeric keypad on the right end of the keyboard to display numbers, the Num Lock key must be selected (usually a light above the Num Lock will indicate that it is on). If you want to use the keypad to navigate within a document, turn off Num Lock by pressing the key (the light will go off).Caps Lock - Locks the keyboard in "Capitals" mode (only applies to Alpha keys). The Caps Lock key should be used with caution. Using ALL CAPS is a usability no-no as many have difficulty scanning text that is ALL CAPS. Also, when sending email in all caps, this could be misconstrued as shouting at someone.The Scroll Lock key is a remnant from the original IBM PC keyboard. In the original design, Scroll Lock was intended to modify the behavior of the arrow keys. When the scroll lock mode was on, the arrow keys would scroll the contents of a text window instead of moving the cursor.

E. Printer

Paper Roll - Pieces of paper used for printing.Roll Cover – Cover use to protect the paper inside.Power Pack – From electrical plugSpindle - A pin or rod holding a bobbin or spool on which thread is wound on an automated spinning machine.Ribbon Cartridge - A case containing a ribbon in a spool, for use in printers and electric typewriters.Ribbon Cover – Protects the cartridge inside.Power Switch – turn the printer on/off.Power Light – Power indicator.Low Paper Indicator – serve as a sign if the printer is out of paper or low in paper

MAJOR COMPONENTS OF A COMPUTERSYSTEM

HARDWARE

The hardware components of a computer system are the electronic and mechanical parts.

Computer hardware
A typical Personal computer consists of a case or chassis in a tower shape (desktop) and the following parts:

Internals of typical personal computer

Typical Motherboard found in a computer
Motherboard or system board with slots for expansion cards and holding parts
Central processing unit (CPU)
Computer fan - used to cool down the CPU
Random Access Memory (RAM) - for program execution and short term data storage, so the computer does not have to take the time to access the hard drive to find the file(s) it requires. More RAM will normally contribute to a faster PC. RAM is almost always removable as it sits in slots in the motherboard, attached with small clips. The RAM slots are normally located next to the CPU socket.
Firmware usually Basic Input-Output System (BIOS) based or in newer systems Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) compliant
Buses
PCI
PCI-E
USB
HyperTransport
CSI (expected in 2008)
AGP (being phased out)
VLB (outdated)
ISA (outdated)
EISA (outdated)
MCA (outdated)
Power supply - a case that holds a transformer, voltage control, and (usually) a cooling fan
Storage controllers of IDE, SATA, SCSI or other type, that control hard disk, floppy disk, CD-ROM and other drives; the controllers sit directly on the motherboard (on-board) or on expansion cards
Video display controller that produces the output for the computer display. This will either be built into the motherboard or attached in its own separate slot (PCI, PCI-E or AGP), requiring a Graphics Card.
Computer bus controllers (parallel, serial, USB, FireWire) to connect the computer to external peripheral devices such as printers or scanners
Some type of a removable media writer:
CD - the most common type of removable media, cheap but fragile.
CD-ROM Drive
CD Writer
DVD
DVD-ROM Drive
DVD Writer
DVD-RAM Drive
BD
BD-ROM Drive
BD Writer
Floppy disk
Zip drive
USB flash drive AKA a Pen Drive, memory stick
Tape drive - mainly for backup and long-term storage
Internal storage - keeps data inside the computer for later use.
Hard disk - for medium-term storage of data.
Disk array controller
Sound card - translates signals from the system board into analog voltage levels, and has terminals to plug in speakers.
Networking - to connect the computer to the Internet and/or other computers
Modem - for dial-up connections
Network card - for DSL/Cable internet, and/or connecting to other computers.
Other peripherals
In addition, hardware can include external components of a computer system. The following are either standard or very common.

Wheel Mouse
Main article: input device
Input or Input devices
Text input devices
Keyboard
Pointing devices
Mouse
Trackball
Gaming devices
Joystick
Gamepad
Game controller
Image, Video input devices
Image scanner
Webcam
Audio input devices
Microphone
Main article: output device
Output or Output devices
Image, Video output devices
Printer Peripheral device that produces a hard copy. (Inkjet, Laser)
Monitor Device that takes signals and displays them. (CRT, LCD)
Audio output devices
Speakers A device that converts analog audio signals into the equivalent air vibrations in order to make audible sound.
Headset A device similar in functionality to computer speakers used mainly to not disturb others nearby

SOFTWARE

The software components of a computer system are the intangible parts: the data and the computer programs.

Computer software, consisting of programs, enables a computer to perform specific tasks, as opposed to its physical components (hardware) which can only do the tasks they are mechanically designed for. The term includes application software such as word processors which perform productive tasks for users, systemsoftware such as operating systems, which interface with hardware to run the necessary services for user-interfaces and applications, and middleware which controls and co-ordinates distributed systems.

PEOPLEWARE

Peopleware is a popular book about project management. The first chapter of the book claims, "The major problems of our work are not so much technological as sociological in nature." The book approaches sociological or 'political' problems such as team 'jelling', quiet in the work environment, and the high cost of turnover.
The authors presented most subjects as principles backed up by some concrete story or other information. As an example, the chapter "Spaghetti Dinner" presents a story (fictional, but similar to true stories) of a manager inviting a new team over for dinner and then having them buy and prepare the meal as a team, in order to produce a first team success. Other chapters use real-life stories or cite various studies to illustrate the principles being presented...

Bachelor of science Information technology