Computer Hardware - Platforms and Technologies

BTEC NATIONAL DIPLOMA IN INTERACTIVE GAMING COMPUTER HARDWARE

Computer hardware is the physical part of a computer, including the digital circuitry, as distinguished from the computer software that executes within the hardware. The hardware of a computer is infrequently changed, in comparison with software and data, which are "soft" in the sense that they are readily created, modified or erased on the computer. Firmware is a special type of software that rarely, if ever, needs to be changed and so is stored on hardware devices such as read-only memory (ROM) where it is not readily changed (and is, therefore, "firm" rather than just "soft"). Most computer hardware is not seen by normal users. It is in embedded systems in automobiles, microwave ovens, electrocardiograph machines, compact disc players, and other devices. Personal computers, the computer hardware familiar to most people, form only a small minority of computers (about 0.2% of all new computers produced in 2003). BTEC NATIONAL DIPLOMA IN INTERACTIVE GAMING COMPUTER HARDWARE

A personal computer ( PC ) is a microcomputer whose price, size, and capabilities make it useful for individuals. We may never know who coined the phrase with the intent of a small affordable computing device but John W. Mauchly described such a device in a November 3rd 1962 New York Times article entitled "Pocket Computer may replace Shopping List". Six years later a manufacturer took a risk at referring to their product this way when Hewlett Packard advertised their "Powerful Computing Genie" as "The New Hewlett Packard 9100A personal computer". This advertisement was too extreme for the target audience and replaced with a much drier ad for the HP 9100A programmable calculator. BTEC NATIONAL DIPLOMA IN INTERACTIVE GAMING COMPUTER HARDWARE

During the next 7 years the phrase had gained usage so when Byte magazine, published it's first edition it referred to it's readers as being in the "personal computing field“ while Creative Computing defined the personal computer as a "non-(time) shared system containing sufficient processing power and storage capabilities to satisfy the needs of an individual user." Two years later when the 1977 Trinity of preassembled small computers hit the markets, the Apple II and the PET 2001 were advertised as 'personal computers' while the TRS-80 was a microcomputer used for household tasks including "personal financial management". By 1979 over half a million home computers were sold and the youth of the day had a new concept of the personal computer. BTEC NATIONAL DIPLOMA IN INTERACTIVE GAMING COMPUTER HARDWARE

Personal computers are also known as microcomputers and home computers. Often, the term "personal computer" is used exclusively for computers running a Microsoft Windows operating system, but this is erroneous. For example, a Macintosh running Mac OS and an IBM PC compatible running Linux are both personal computers. This confusion stems from the fact that the term "PC" is often used as a shorthand form for "IBM PC compatible" and historically Mac OS has run on non-IBM compatible hardware like the PowerPC architecture. Linux runs on virtually any kind of hardware, but was developed later and has not quite achieved the same popularity as Windows. BTEC NATIONAL DIPLOMA IN INTERACTIVE GAMING COMPUTER HARDWARE

Memory Output Input Processor Hard disk Flash memory CD or DVD Storage Temporary Data Holding Data Data Data Data Data

System Software: all the programs that help the computer function

operating system (OS) - including user interface

Application Software: all the programs you can use to perform a task

productivity software

special-purpose programs

BTEC NATIONAL DIPLOMA IN INTERACTIVE GAMING COMPUTER HARDWARE

BTEC NATIONAL DIPLOMA IN INTERACTIVE GAMING COMPUTER HARDWARE THE PHYSICAL COMPONENTS

Input devices

Processing

Output devices

Storage devices

Communications devices

BTEC NATIONAL DIPLOMA IN INTERACTIVE GAMING COMPUTER HARDWARE INPUT DEVICES

Keyboard

Mouse, Touch pad, Joystick

Touch screen

Digital Camera, Digital Video

Microphone, Sound card

Scanner

Barcode Reader

BTEC NATIONAL DIPLOMA IN INTERACTIVE GAMING COMPUTER HARDWARE OUTPUT DEVICES

Monitor, Video Adapter Card

Printer, Laser or Inkjet

Loudspeakers, Audio Output

BTEC NATIONAL DIPLOMA IN INTERACTIVE GAMING COMPUTER HARDWARE BITS AND BYTES

bit = b inary dig it the basic unit of information 1 or 0

byte = 8 bits enough combinations (2 8 = 256) to store essential characters

BTEC NATIONAL DIPLOMA IN INTERACTIVE GAMING COMPUTER HARDWARE BYTES SIZE

Byte a grouping of eight bits for instance - -> 0110 0001

Kb ( kilo byte) about 1000 bytes

Mb ( mega byte) about one thousand Kb or one million bytes

Gb ( giga byte) about one thousand Mb or one billion bytes

Tb ( tera byte) is about one thousand Gb or one trillion bytes

BTEC NATIONAL DIPLOMA IN INTERACTIVE GAMING COMPUTER HARDWARE PORT TYPES

Serial - bits flow in a single line

Parallel - several bits flow at once

SCSI - can connect up to 8 devices, fast data transfer

USB - can connect many devices, has hot swapping capability

Firewire - like USB, higher speed & more $

BTEC NATIONAL DIPLOMA IN INTERACTIVE GAMING COMPUTER HARDWARE MOTHERBOARD Printed circuit board with connectors slots for adapter cards slots for RAM chips ROM chip CPU

BTEC NATIONAL DIPLOMA IN INTERACTIVE GAMING COMPUTER HARDWARE MEMORY - RAM

Is the most common type of primary storage, or computer memory.

Used to store program instructions and data temporarily.

Unique addresses and can store in any location.

Can quickly retrieve information.

Will not remain if power goes off (volatile).

Information is stored permanently on a chip.

Contains startup instructions and other permanent data.

BTEC NATIONAL DIPLOMA IN INTERACTIVE GAMING COMPUTER HARDWARE MEMORY - ROM Example Of ROM (Read-Only Memory):

BTEC NATIONAL DIPLOMA IN INTERACTIVE GAMING COMPUTER HARDWARE PRIMARY STORAGE – HARD DISK

Size in Gigabytes

Magnetic technology

Fast access

BTEC NATIONAL DIPLOMA IN INTERACTIVE GAMING COMPUTER HARDWARE SECONDARY STORAGE – CD/DVD

*-R - recordable burn once

*-RW - rewritable erase and burn again

650 MB for a CD

4.7 GB for a DVD

8.5 GB for Dual Layer DVDs

In-expensive

BTEC NATIONAL DIPLOMA IN INTERACTIVE GAMING COMPUTER HARDWARE FLASH MEMORY – USB STICK

Flash memory is a non-volatile computer memory that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed.

It is a technology that is primarily used in memory cards and USB flash drives for general storage and transfer of data between computers and other digital products.

Easy to use and fairly inexpensive.

BTEC NATIONAL DIPLOMA IN INTERACTIVE GAMING COMPUTER HARDWARE NOSTALGIA write protection tab liner disk spindle hole sector hole plastic casing sliding metal shutter read/write opening