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Computer as a System

Definition: Is an electronic device that accepts data / instructions and processes it into meaningful information. Data : It is any fact or figure, eg. Numbers, names, etc Information : Processed data, eg 2 + 5 = 7
System Unit
Printer Speaker Monitor

Microphone

Keyboard

Mouse

Device
Any piece of equipment that can be attached to a network or computer; for example, a Monitor, Keyboard, hard disk drive, DVD drive, etc which are required for the functioning of the computer Devices normally require a device driver to function with Windows.

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Peripheral
These are like accessories such as a printer, modem, or joystick, that is connected to a computer and is controlled by the computer's microprocessor. No driver is required for peripherals

System Unit

Devices

Peripheral

Working Principle of a Computer


Primary Memory

Input Units

CPU (Central Processing Unit)

Output Units

This model of the typical digital computer is often


called the von Neumann computer. Programs and data are stored in the same memory: primary memory The computer can only perform one instruction at a time.

How the CPU Works

What is this??????

The System Unit


Box that contains the central electronic components of the computer:
CPU/RAM/ motherboard Expansion cards Power supply Storage devices

System Unit - The Front Panel


Drive Bays Memory card
reader Floppy Drive Productivity Ports Power Button

System Unit - The Back Panel


Ports for peripheral devices Types of ports:
Serial Parallel VGA USB Connectivity

Inside the System Unit


Essential electronic
components used to process data Types of components:
Power supply Hard disk drive Motherboard CPU Expansion cards

Expansion Cards
Adds function Provides new connections for peripheral
devices Common types:
Sound Modem Graphic card Network (NIC)

System Unit Motherboard

Central Processing Unit (CPU)



Referred to as the brains of the computer Controls all functions of the computer Processes all commands and instructions Can perform billions of instructions per second Commonly called Microprocessor

The System Clock


Every microprocessor contains a system clock.
Controls how fast the operations within a computer take place.

The computers speed is measured by the


speed of its internal clock - a device to

synchronize the electric pulses.

Processing speeds are expressed in


MegaHertz(MHz) or GigaHertz (GHz)

The higher the clock speed - the faster the


computer

Measurements
Unit
Storage Byte (8 bits) bps (bits Per sec)

210
Kilo: KB Kilo: Kbps

220
Mega: MB Mega: Mbps

230
Giga: GB Giga: Gbps

240
Tera: TB Tera Tbps

Transmission Speed

Unit
Time second Unit Frequency Hertz (Hz)

10-3
millisec (ms) 103 KiloHz (KHz)

10-6

10-9

10-12
picosec (ps) 1012 teraHz (THz)

microsec nanosec (s) (ns) 106 megaHz (MHz) 109 gigaHz (GHz)

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