chapter 5 computer

parallel processing

For multicore processors to be used effectively, computers must understand how to divide tasks into parts that can be distributed across each core—an operation called Windows 11 and macOS Big Sur support parallel processing. Software developers use this technology for a wide range of applications from scientific programs to sophisticated computer games.

Hidden costs

Some games require high data usage that can rack up charges on your phone bill, and some may try to access personal information on your phone that you don't intend to share

Compatibility—

The fact that PC hardware is so customizable can make it difficult to be sure that the game you purchase is compatible with your PC configuration. PC gamers must know their system specifications when buying video games to be sure that the game will run on their system.

clock speed

The processing speed of a microprocessor is typically represented by is related to the number of times the CPU can fetch and process data or instructions in a second

Smartwatches

This device acts as a watch, fitness monitor, and communication device

Power supply units

convert AC to DC and power desktops.

Two-in-one laptop

which include a touch screen and the ability to fold flat like a tablet computer. These laptops offer the advantages of a laptop with the convenience of a tablet

Unicode

—16-bit code, most widely used standard

expansion busses

, connects the CPU to other components on the system board, including expansion slots.

system unit aka system chassis

, is a container that houses most of the electronic components that make up a computer system

There are two major categories of microprocessors developed today

: mobile and desktop.

bus width

A bus is a pathway for bits representing data and instructions. The number of bits that can travel simultaneously down a bus is known as the

Indy games—

Beyond offering the highest-quality video game experience, gaming PCs also have access to niche and independent (indy) video game developers, who cannot easily release games on consoles or mobile devices.

Console Gaming

Consoles have specialized hardware that produce high-quality graphics and sound and are designed to take advantage of TVs and home theaters. They provide wireless controllers for playing from the living room couch and HDMI ports to support standard TV resolutions and sound configurations. Also, because consoles are standardized and popular, they often have large libraries of games to choose from. ex Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Xbox Series X and S, and the Sony PlayStation 5.

binary system o

Data and instructions can be represented electronically with a two-state Each 0 or 1 is called a bit A byte consists of 8 bits. A hexadecimal system (hex) uses 16 digits to represent binary numbers.

tower unit or tower computer.

Desktop system units that are placed vertically are sometimes referred to as a

byte

Eight bits group together to form . A 32-bit-word computer can access 4 bytes at a time. A 64-bit-word computer can access 8 bytes at a time

Universal serial bus (USB)

External USB devices are connected from one to another or to a common point or hub and then onto the USB bus. The USB bus then connects to the PCI bus on the system board. The current USB standard is USB 3.4.

EBCDIC—Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code.

Historically used for mainframe computers.

ASCII—American Standard Code for Information Interchange.

Historically used for personal computers

Activity trackers

This device monitors daily exercise and sleep patterns. It also connects wirelessly to desktops, laptops, and smartphones to record and share data ex Garmin Vivoactive 4

sd cards

To meet the size constraints of cell phones, tablets, and laptops, fingernail-size expansion cards known as

Computer systems typically have a combination of different types of expansion buses.

USB, FireWire, and PCIe

expansion cards

Users can insert optional devices known as expansion cards into these slots

virtual memory

With virtual memory, large programs are divided into parts, and the parts are stored on a secondary device, usually a hard disk. Each part is then read into RAM only when needed. In this way, computer systems are able to run very large programs.

wireless network card

allow computers to be connected without cables. As we will discuss in Chapter 8, wireless networks in the home are widely used to share a common Internet connection. Each device on the network is equipped with a wireless network card that communicates with the other devices.

cell phone

almost all monitor, with the system unit, secondary storage, and all electronic components located behind the monitor

Ethernet ports

are a high-speed networking port that has become a standard for many of today's computers. Ethernet allows you to connect multiple computers for sharing files, or to a DSL or cable modem for high-speed Internet access.

DisplayPorts (DP)

are audiovisual ports typically used to connect large monitors. They are popular on gaming computers with high-end graphics cards.

Wearable computers

are one of the first evolutionary steps to the Internet of Things (IoT) hese devices contain an embedded computer on a chip that is typically much smaller and less powerful than a cell phone's.

FireWire buses

are similar to USB buses but are more specialized. They are used primarily to connect audio and video equipment to the system board.

Network interface cards (NIC), also known as network adapter cards

are used to connect a computer to a network. The network allows connected computers to share data, programs, and hardware. The network adapter card connects the system unit to the network via a network cable.

Cables

are used to connect exterior devices to the system unit via the ports. One end of the cable is attached to the device, and the other end has a connector that is attached to a matching connector on the port. Standard cables include USB, HDMI, Thunderbolt, and Ethernet. (

Character encoding standard

assign unique sequences of bits to each character. Three standards are as follows:

microprocessor

brains" of the computer system. It has two basic components: the control unit and the arithmetic-logic unit.

DIMM (dual in-line memory module)

can be added to add more ram to the computer Windows 11, Microsoft recommends that your computer have at least 4 GB, or 4 billion bytes, of RAM.

Universal serial bus (USB) ports

can be used to connect several devices to the system unit and are widely used to connect keyboards, mice, printers, storage devices, and a variety of specialty devices. A single USB port can be used to connect many USB devices to the system unit. There are many types of USB ports.

system busses

connects the CPU to memory on the system boar

Logical operation

consist of comparisons such as whether one item is equal to (=), less than (<), or greater than (>) the other

chips aka silicon chip, semiconductor, or integrated circuit

consist of tiny circuit boards etched onto squares of sandlike material called silicon. can be tiny

central processing unit (CPU) or processor

contained on a single chip called the microprocessor

system board aka mainboard or motherboard

controls communications for the entire computer system All devices and components connect to the system board, including external devices like keyboards and monitors and internal components like hard drives drives and microprocessors. The system board acts as a data path and traffic monitor, allowing the various components to communicate efficiently with one another. cell phones, tablets, and wearable computers, the system board is located behind the screen. laptops and desktops, the system board is typically located at the bottom of the system unit or along one side. It is a flat circuit board covered with a variety of different electronic components, including sockets, slots, and bus lines

• Games

each console has types of games that they are best known for. Nintendo, for example, tends to attract more casual and family-friendly gamers, whereas the Xbox is famous for its intense online competition

peripherals

external devices, such as a monitor and keyboard.

Arithmetic operation

fundamental math operations: addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division

Tablets

generally more powerful then cellphones

types of expansion cards

graphics cards and Network interface cards (NIC), also known as network adapter cards and • Wireless network cards

Read-only memory (ROM) chips

have information stored in them by the manufacturer. Unlike RAM chips, ROM chips are not volatile and cannot be changed by the user. "Read only" means that the CPU can read, or retrieve, data and programs written on the ROM chip. However, the computer cannot write—encode or change—the information or instructions in ROM Not long ago, ROM chips were typically used to contain almost all the instructions for basic computer operations. For example, ROM instructions are needed to start a computer, to access memory, and to handle keyboard input. Recently, however, flash memory chips have replaced ROM chips for many applications.

laptops

have their system units housed with selected secondary storage and input devices. monitor is separate from rest of computer , laptops typically use an attached keyboard and a mouse as the primary input devices.

Gaming laptops

high-end graphics hardware and very fast processors popular cuz portable

Random-access memory (RAM) chips

hold the program (sequence of instructions) and data that the CPU is presently processing ) RAM is called temporary or volatile storage because everything in most types of RAM is lost as soon as the computer is turned off.

cache memory

improves processing by acting as a temporary high-speed holding area between the memory and the CPU. The computer detects which information in RAM is most frequently used and then copies that information into the cache. When needed, the CPU can quickly access the information from the cache.

memory

is a holding area for data, instructions, and information. Like microprocessors, it is contained on chips connected to the system board

USB-C

is the newest USB port, found on high-end cell phones and laptops. USB-C is faster, smaller, and easier to use than previous USB types. Some USB-C ports also support Thunderbolt 3, a high-speed version of the USB-C port

USB-A

is the port found on most laptops and desktops

PCI Express (PCIe)

is widely used in many of today's most powerful computers. Unlike most other buses that share a single bus line or path with several devices, the PCIe bus provides a single dedicated path for each connected device.

Ultrabooks, aka ultraportables or mini notebooks

lighter and thinner with longer battery life than most laptops. accomplish these advantages by leaving out components such as optical drives and using energyefficient microprocessors

Casual gaming aka mobile games

meaning the games are easy to pick up and play in short bursts ex Super Mario Run and Candy Crush

Desktops

most powerful type of personal compute

chip carriers.

mounted to chips plug either directly into sockets on the system board or onto cards that are then plugged into slots on the system board. Sockets are used to connect the system board to a variety of different types of chips, including the microprocessor and memory chips

word

number of bits (such as 32 or 64) that can be accessed at one time by the CPU The more bits in a word, the more data a computer can process at one time

PC Gaming

offer the highest degree of customizability, with specialized graphics cards and input devices

Flash memory

offers a combination of the features of RAM and ROM. Like RAM, it can be updated to store new information. Like ROM, it does not lose that information when power to the computer system is turned off it is used to store the start-up instructions for a computer.

Coprocessors,

one of the more popular specialty processors, are specialty chips designed to improve specific computing operations ex virtual reality needs graphics coprocessor known as a GPU which show g3D images and encrypting data

Arithmetic-logic unit

performs two types of operations: arithmetic and logical

expansion slots

personal computers allow users to expand their systems by providing

Components

personal computers share surprisingly similar components, including system boards, microprocessors, and memory.

USB-B

ports are found on peripheral devices, like digital cameras and cell phones.

AC adapters

power laptops and tablets and recharge batteries.

Sockets

provide a connection point for small specialized electronic parts called chips.

slots

provide a connection point for specialized cards or circuit board These cards provide expansion capability for a computer system. For example, a wireless networking card plugs into a slot on the system board to provide a connection to a local area network.

High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) ports

provide high-definition video and audio, making it possible to use a computer as a video jukebox or an HD video recorder.

FireWire ports

provide high-speed connections to specialized FireWire devices such as camcorders and storage devices

bus lines

provide pathways that support communication among the various electronic components that are either located on the system board or attached to the system board

multicore processors

provide two or more separate and independent CPUs ex a quad-core processor could have one core computing a complex Excel spreadsheet, a second core creating a report using Word, a third core locating a record using Access, and a fourth core running a multimedia presentation—all at the same time. More significantly, however, is the potential for personal computers to run very large, complex programs that previously required expensive and specialized hardware.

There are three well-known types of memory chip

random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), and flash memory

Computer technicians

repair and install computer components and systems. Certification in computer repair or an associate's degree from professional schools is required. Expected salary range is $27,000 to $58,000.

DVI (Digital Video Interface) port

s connect digital monitors to your computer. These ports can only send video signals and cannot send audio signals. They can be found mainly on desktops.

Graphics card

s, which provide high-quality 3D graphics and animation for games and simulations. While many personal computer systems have a GPU connected directly to the system board, others connect through a graphics card. This card can contain one or more GPU chips and is standard for most gaming computers.

port

socket for external devices to connect to the system uni

all-in-one desktops.

some desktop computers, like Apple's iMac, have their monitor and system unit housed together in the same case.

Every computer system has two basic categories of buses

system busses and expansion busses

Control unit:

tells the rest of the computer system how to carry out a program's instructions. It directs the movement of electronic signals between memory, which temporarily holds data, instructions, and processed information, and the arithmetic-logic unit. It also directs these control signals between the CPU and input and output devices.

personal computer

the most widely used type of computer. It is the most affordable and is designed to be operated directly by an end user. ex cell phones, tablets, laptops, desktops, and wearable computers

BIOS (basic input/output system).

the start-up instructions for a computer

Augmented reality—sophisticated mobile game

use the mobile device's GPS and camera to create "augmented reality" multiplayer games, where the game's graphics are a mixture of video images from the phone's camera and fantasy elements in the game realm. ex Pokémon go

Upgrades

—Desktop PCs allow the computer hobbyist to upgrade hardware as technology improves. Gamers who are willing to open up their computer and replace parts can keep their gaming PC playing the newest games without having to buy a whole new computer.

Input devices

—Each console has its own controllers, with different strengths and weaknesses Nintendo offers motion-control controllers that use hand gestures to play games, Sony has a virtual reality headset, and Microsoft has a sophisticated set of cameras that can record body position and motion