National 5 Computing Science Hardware Requirements

2. Hardware and Software
In order to run, an information system will require:
Hardware
Software

3. Hardware and Software
The hardware requirements will include:
Input devices
Output devices
Computer with suitable processor and memory
Backing storage

4. Hardware and Software
In addition, consideration will need to be given to the device type
All computers also require an Operating System to be installed

5. Input Devices
As well as common input devices such as keyboard and mouse, we also need
to consider:
Touchpad
Scanner
Barcode reader
Digital camera
DV camera
Webcam
Graphics tablet
Touch screen
Joystick
Microphone

6. Output Devices
Output devices include:
Monitor (CRT replaced by LCD and TFT displays)
Laser printer
Ink jet printer
Flatbed plotter
3D printer
Speakers / headphones
Projector

7. Processor
Factors to consider when choosing a processor:
Type / manufacturer
Clock speed
Number of cores

8. Processor
The two main processor manufacturers are:
Intel
AMD
Each manufacturer offers a wide range of different processors.
Which one is best? It depends on what the processor has to do.
AMD tends to be slightly cheaper, good for budget gaming
Intel tends to be more powerful for high end tasks
Fairly irrelevant if all that’s required is basic word processing / web browsing

9. Processor
Clock speed
Every computer contains an internal clock that regulates the rate at which
instructions are executed and synchronizes all the various computer
components.
The CPU requires a fixed number of clock ticks (or clock cycles) to execute
each instruction. The faster the clock, the more instructions the CPU can
execute per second.
Clock speeds are expressed in gigahertz (GHz).
One gigahertz = 1 billion clock cycles per second.

10. Memory
RAM
More RAM means that more programs and their associated data can be stored
in memory at any time.
RAM is solid state – no moving parts which makes data transfer faster
RAM is volatile – contents are lost when not powered
RAM is measured in gigabytes (GB)

11. Memory
RAM
More RAM means that more programs and their associated data can be stored
in memory at any time.
In 2016 a typical desktop computer will come with between 2GB and 16GB
RAM
If there is insufficient RAM to hold the OS, open programs and data, the
computer will use “virtual memory” on the hard drive instead. This is much
slower.
Uses Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) which is slow because the
electric charge needs to be constantly refreshed and CPU cannot access RAM
during the refresh

12. Benchmarks
Given the wide range of processors available, and other aspects of the
hardware configuration which can impact on performance, it is difficult to
compare different computer systems.
When comparing different processors, a range of standard benchmark tests are
carried out and a score awarded.

13. Benchmarks

14. Benchmarks
Benchmark tests can be run on computer systems, evaluating how well they
will cope with real world tasks (gaming, video editing etc.)

15. Device Types
 Desktop computer – larger in size, easier to customise components, requires
connection to input/output devices.
 Laptop computer – mobile, more expensive than desktop due to need to fit
components into smaller space
 Tablet – touch screen, no moving parts
 Mobile phone – typically smaller than tablet, has ability to make phone calls
via SIM card

16. Device Types
 Supercomputer – large, very fast, very expensive, used in fields like weather
forecasting and areas where many fast calculations are required
 Mainframe – similar to supercomputer but where a supercomputer will be
focused on completing one task very quickly, mainframe tends to process
many programs at the same time