Chapter 1: Introduction to Personal Computer System

AGP

(Accelerated Graphics Port) was designed for use with 3D graphics applications. AGP uses a dedicated point-to-point channel so that the graphics controller can directly access main memory. It provides for a bandwidth of 266 Mbps to 1.07 Gbps. To use an AGP video card your motherboard must support it and include an AGP slot for the card unless its built into the motherboard itself. Most modern computers will support this type of card yet now they are being replaced with PCI-Express slots on new computers.

PCIe

(PCI Express) expands on and doubles the data transfer rates of the standard PCI interface. PCI Express is a two way (point to point bus) serial connection which avoids performance problems that can arise from bandwidth sharing on a common bus. Regular PCI uses a single parallel connection. It provides greater transfer speeds than PCI or AGP . It is also used with other devices such as network cards to achieve greater throughput than standard PCI. PCI Express is also compatible with existing PCI systems. It is the replacement for AGP for the latest generation of video cards.

PATA

(Parallel Advanced Technology Attachment) a computer interface for hard disk drive, optical disc drive, and/or solid-state drive. (is an interface standard for the connection of storage devices such as hard disk drives, floppy disk drives, and optical disc drives in computers.)

PCI

(Peripheral Component Interconnect) is the oldest of the three types of video cards. PCI is also used for devices such as sound and network cards. PCI uses a shared bus topology to allow for communication among the different devices on the bus. It provides for a bandwidth of up to 133 Mbps with a 64 bit version supporting up to 512 Mbps. PCI video cards can still offer high performance when you get a card with a lot of on board memory (128+ MB). This is your best and cheapest bet for the home or business user who is going to do general purpose computing.

What are the 6 types of power connectors described in the Cisco curriculum?

1.) 20-24 pins slotted connectors (motherboard) 2.) SATA keyed (disc drives) thinner than Molex 3.) Molex keyed (hard drives, optical drives, other drives) 4.) Berg keyed (legacy drives) smaller than Molex 5.) 4-8 pins (auxiliary, different area of the motherboard) 6.) 6-8 pins (internal component)

What voltages are provided from the PSU?

110V/115V or 220V/230V - several different volts

Describe the major differences between PCI, AGP, and PCIe expansion slots?

AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port), PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) and PCI Express. Each one has a different level of performance.

RAID 0

Advantages RAID 0 offers great performance, both in read and write operations. There is no overhead caused by parity controls. All storage capacity is used, there is no overhead. The technology is easy to implement. Disadvantages RAID 0 is not fault-tolerant. If one drive fails, all data in the RAID 0 array are lost. It should not be used for mission-critical systems.

RAID 1

Advantages RAID 1 offers excellent read speed and a write-speed that is comparable to that of a single drive. In case a drive fails, data do not have to be rebuild, they just have to be copied to the replacement drive. RAID 1 is a very simple technology. Disadvantages The main disadvantage is that the effective storage capacity is only half of the total drive capacity because all data get written twice. Software RAID 1 solutions do not always allow a hot swap of a failed drive. That means the failed drive can only be replaced after powering down the computer it is attached to. For servers that are used simultaneously by many people, this may not be acceptable. Such systems typically use hardware controllers that do support hot swapping.

RAID 5

Advantages Read data transactions are very fast while write data transactions are somewhat slower (due to the parity that has to be calculated). If a drive fails, you still have access to all data, even while the failed drive is being replaced and the storage controller rebuilds the data on the new drive. Disadvantages Drive failures have an effect on throughput, although this is still acceptable. This is complex technology. If one of the disks in an array using 4TB disks fails and is replaced, restoring the data (the rebuild time) may take a day or longer, depending on the load on the array and the speed of the controller. If another disk goes bad during that time, data are lost forever.

Southbridge chipset control?

Controls hard drives, USB ports, and expansion slots.

Northbridge chipset control?

Controls the Video Card (VC), CPU, and RAM

What is EEPROM?

Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory - (Flash ROMs) erasable and can be rewritten.

ECC

Error Correction Code memory can detect multiple bit errors in memory and correct single bit errors in memory.

HDD

Hard Disk Drive (HDD) - traditional magnetic disk devices - gigabytes (GBs) to terabytes (TBs) - speed, revolutions per minute (RPM). This indicates how fast the spindle turns the platters that hold data. The faster the spindle speed, the faster a hard drive can find data on the platters. Common hard drive spindle speeds include 5400, 7200, and 10,000 RPM.

What considerations make up a form factor?

Its physical design and look

What is normal output range for a power supply?

Normally use power supplies ranging from 250W to 800W output capacity. Some PCs 1200W.

There are several types of PCI Express video cards including:

PCI Express 1x 250 [500] MB/s PCI Express 2x 500 [1000] MB/s PCI Express 4x 1000 [2000] MB/s PCI Express 8x 2000 [4000] MB/s PCI Express 16x 4000 [8000] MB/s PCI Express 32x 8000 [16000] MB/s

What is parity memory and how does it differ from ECC memory?

Parity memory contains eight bits for data and one bit for error checking. The error-checking bit is called a parity bit. Parity just checks for errors and finds them - 1 extra bit ECC attempts to repair the errors as well - 8 extra bits

Explain benefits and drawbacks of RAID level 0, 1 and 5.

RAID 0 - striping RAID 1 - mirroring RAID 5 - striping with parity

What is RAM and what is it use for?

Random Access Memory - temporary working storage data and programs, accessed by PCU.

What is ROM

Read Only Memory - It boots the PC and loads the operating system. Nonvolatile

What are the benefits of an SSD over a traditional HDD?

SSDs use nonvolatile flash memory chips to store data. This means that they are faster than magnetic HDDs. SSDs have no moving parts and therefore make no noise, are more energy efficient, and produce less heat than HDDs.

Why is it important to set the voltage selector switch to the proper input voltage?

Setting the voltage to an incorrect input can damage he power supply and other part of your PC.

SSD

Solid State Drive (SSD) - nonvolatile - faster than HDD - GBs to TBs - no moving parts, no noise, more energy efficient, and produce less heat than HDDs. SSDs have the same form factor as HDDs and are increasingly being used in place of magnetic HDDs.

What type of RAM is typically used as cache memory?

The fast memory static RAM (SRAM) is cache memory for storing the most recently used data and instructions by the CPU.

Describe the main differences between SIMM, DIMM, and SODIMM memory modules.

The terms SIMM, DIMM, and SODIMM refer to the physical form of the memory module. SIMM stands for Single In-Line Memory Module. These modules come in standard forms of 30-pins or 72-pins, but can come in other nonstandard forms as well. - SIMMs is the oldest memory technology, with speeds measured in nanoseconds. SIMMs are typically installed in pairs. - DIMM stands for Dual In-Line Memory Module. These modules come in standard forms of 168, 184, or 240 pins. DIMMs can be installed individually, in pairs, or in groups. - SODIMM stands for Small Outline DIMM. SODIMMs are smaller in size, with standard pin out of either 144 or 200 pins. These modules are designed to fit laptop computers.

What is the purpose of a computer power supply?

To get direct current (DC) to components in a PC rather than the alternating current (AC) from the wall outlet.

What are the benefits of DDR3 RAM?

Transfer data at twice the rate, enabling higher bandwidth or peak data rates. Double Data Rate 3 SDRAM expands memory bandwidth by doubling the clock rate of DDR2 SDRAM. DDR3 SDRAM consumes less power and generates less heat than DDR2 SDRAM.

What is the purpose of implementing a RAID configuration?

to combine multiple, less-expensive drives into a single, higher-capacity and/or faster volume. On top of that, it designed to facilitate redundancy, also known as fault tolerance or failover protection, so that the array and its data remain usable when a drive fails.