A+ certification

A rail is the term used to describe each voltage line of the power supply. What is the most common rail used, especially in high-end gaming systems?

+12 Volt rail

What is the most likely sequence of steps when installing a card that captures video input?

1) Install the drivers, 2) install the card 3) install the application software that comes bundled with the card; and 4) manage the card using the applications.

What was the first DIMM to run synchronized with the system clock?

168-pin SDRAM DIMM

What type of memory module has one offset notch, supports dual channels, or can be installed as a single DIMM?

184-pin DDR DIMM

What is the main motherboard power connector used today?

24-pin P1 connector.

What type of memory module has one notch near the center of the edge connector and supports dual channels, or can be installed as a single DIMM?

240-pin DDR2 DIMM.

A certain memory module has the fastest memory currently available, supports quad, triple, or dual channels, or can be installed as a single DIMM. What type of memory module is this?

240-pin DDR3 DIMM.

What is the maximum amount of RAM that can be used with a 32-bit OS?

4 GB.

What type of connector is used for I.D.E (PATA) drives?

4-pin Molex connector.

What type of connector provides an extra +12 V for high-end video cards using P.C.I Express, Version 2 standard?

8-pin P.C.I.e connector.

You are configuring a thin client that is receiving a virtual desktop from a server. What application would be most likely to be supported on this client?

A browser.

What are the two components of a cooler that sits on top of the CPU?

A fan and a heat sink

All Intel or AMD desktop and laptop processors on the market today are hybrid processors. Which statement regarding a hybrid processor is correct?

A hybrid processor can use a 32-bit operating system or a 64-bit OS.

What distinguishes a zero client from either a thick client or a thin client?

A zero client is built by the manufacturer.

When processors began to require more power, the A.T.X Version 2.1 specifications added a 4-pin motherboard auxiliary connector near the processor socket to provide an additional 12 Volts of power. A power supply that provides this 4-pin 12 volt power cord is called a (n) _________________________.

ATX 12Volt power supply.

What are the three most popular motherboard form factors?

ATX, microATX, and Mini-ITX

Which statement regarding expansion cards is correct?

An expansion card is a circuit board that provides more ports than those provided by the motherboard.

What program can easily make changes to the setup values stored in CMOS RAM?

BIOS setup

How can detailed information about a system's memory configuration and amount be obtained?

BIOS setup reports memory configuration and amount.

What term is sometimes used interchangeably with throughput?

Bandwidth.

How does one access the BIOS setup program?

By pressing a key or combination of keys during the boot process

What type of monitor was first used in television sets, takes up a lot of desk space, and is now largely obsolete?

C.R.T

Which computer component houses the power supply, motherboard, expansion cards, and drives?

Computer case

A connector leading from the front of the computer case to the motherboard labeled as HDD LED _________________________.

Controls the drive activity light on the front panel that lights up when any SATA or I.D.E device is in use.

What is a transfer method that transfers data directly from the hard drive to memory without involving the C.P.U?

D.M.A

What type of port is capable of transmitting both digital and analog video?

D.V.I (Digital Video Interface) port.

Which type of memory module runs twice as fast as regular SDRAM, and processes data when the system clock beat rises and again when it falls?

DDR.

What type of memory module is used by all new desktop motherboards on the market today?

DIMM (dual inline memory module).

What is the term for the memory slots on the motherboard that hold memory modules?

DIMM slots.

What is a type of memory that loses its data rapidly, requiring the memory controller to refresh it several thousand times a second?

DRAM.

When installing a video card, error messages about video appear when Windows starts, indicating a possible conflict with onboard video. What can be done to correct this conflict?

Disable the onboard video in Device Manager.

What type of port transmits digital video and audio (not analog transmissions), and is slowly replacing VGA and DVI ports on personal computers?

Display Port.

Which statement regarding error-checking technology (ECC, or error-correcting code) is correct?

ECC (error-correcting code) memory costs more than non-ECC memory, but it is more reliable.

USB 2.0 is an example of a type of bus that does not run in sync with the system clock. What type of bus is this?

Expansion bus.

What type of port is used for high-speed multimedia devices such as a digital camcorder?

FireWire port.

Wires leading from the front of the computer case to the motherboard are called the _________________________.

Front panel connectors.

A customized system has the following specifications: a powerful processor with at least 8 GB of RAM, a high-end video card or possibly dual video cards, high-end sound card, and liquid cooling. This best describes a (n) _________________________.

Gaming PC

What type of customized system would be most useful to an engineer working with CAD software to design bridges, an architect who designs skyscrapers, a graphics designer who creates artistic pages for children's books, and/or a landscape designer who creates lawn and garden plans?

Graphics or CAD/CAM workstation.

After the OS is installed, the boot sequence should typically be changed to boot first from which hardware device?

Hard drive

A customized system includes the following features: application software, e.g., Windows Media Center, HDMI port, cable TV input, satellite TV input, Internet access, remote control, SSD hard drive and a low-speed fan to minimize background noise, and a surround sound system. This best describes a(n) _________________________.

Home Theater PC (HTPC)

What type of customized system would be most likely to feature the following hardware components: Intel Core i5 processor, 8 GB RAM, hardware RAID implemented on the motherboard, network port rated for Gigabit Ethernet (1000 MBPS), a USB printer, and onboard video?

Home server PC.

A network printer is identified on the network by its _________________________.

IP address

Which statement regarding memory performance is correct?

If you install modules of different speeds in the same system, the system will run at the slowest speed or might become unstable.

What are the two major manufacturers of processors?

Intel and AMD.

Which statement is correct regarding supervisor and power-on passwords?

Jumpers can be set to clear both passwords.

Which of the following is currently the most popular Intel socket?

LGA1155 socket.

Intel recommends liquid cooling methods for which of the following sockets?

LGA2011.

Which Intel socket is used in high-end gaming and server computers?

LGA2011.

SO-DIMM memory modules are used in _________________________.

Laptops.

Today's processors all have some memory on the processor chip (called a die). Memory on the processor die is called _________________________.

Level 1 cache (L1 cache).

Which type of bus is primarily used today and is characterized as running in sync with the system clock?

Local bus

When configuring a motherboard, what information is needed to find the correct user guide for a motherboard?

Manufacturer and model of the motherboard

Which of the following form factors lowers the total cost of a system by reducing the number of expansion slots on the motherboard, reducing the power supplied to the board, and allowing for a smaller case size?

MicroATX

Which statement is correct with reference to a mid-range to high-end audio and video editing workstation?

Most users will require dual or triple monitors.

Which of the following may include several internal connectors, including parallel ATA (PATA) connectors (also called IDE connectors), a floppy drive connector, serial ATA (SATA) connectors, SCSI connectors, a USB connector, and/or a FireWire (IEEE 1394) connector?

Motherboard

For dual, triple, or quad channels to work, the _________________________ and the DIMM must support the technology.

Motherboard.

What name is used to describe ports that come directly off the motherboard?

On-board ports

_________________________ refers to sound ports embedded on a motherboard.

Onboard sound.

A measure of the total bandwidth of data moving between the module and the CPU is called _________________________.

PC rating.

Which statement is correct regarding the PCI Express (P.C.I.e) bus?

PCI Express uses a serial bus.

Which type of slot contains a single lane for data, which is actually four wires?

PCI Express x1.

Which of the following is focused on the server market, and therefore, unlikely to be seen in desktop computers?

PCI-X

Sandy Bridge technology introduced _________________________, in which the processor can access four DIMMs at the same time.

Quad channels.

What feature is indicative of an ultra-high-end customized CAD workstation?

Quadro 6000 GPU.

What temporarily holds data and instructions as the CPU processes them, and is stored on memory modules that are installed in memory slots on the motherboard?

RAM

_________________________, an older type of module designed by Rambus, Inc., has 184 pins and two notches near the center of the edge connector.

RIMM.

Which statement regarding older RAM technology is correct?

RIMMs can still be purchased as replacement modules for older motherboards.

Which statement is correct regarding a PCI riser card?

Riser cards are available for PCIe and PCI-X slots; however, they are not available for conventional PCI slots. A P.C.I riser card installs in an expansion slot and provides another slot at a right angle.

Which statement regarding static RAM (SRAM) is correct?

SRAM is faster than dynamic RAM (DRAM).

A drive receives power by a power cable from the power supply and communicates instructions and data through a cable attached to the motherboard. Which is the faster of the two standards that hard drives, optical drives, and tape drives use for both of these types of connections?

Serial ATA (SATA) standard.

An expansion card with sound ports is called a (n) _________________________.

Sound card.

A port receives input from a TV cable and lets you view television on your computer monitor. This port is on what type of card?

TV tuner card.

What is used at each end of the SCSI chain to reduce the amount of electrical "noise," or interference on a SCSI cable?

Terminating resistor.

Which statement is correct?

The actual processor frequency and the clock speed can be viewed using the BIOS setup screens.

Which statement regarding PCI buses is correct?

The first PCI bus had a 32-bit data path, supplied 5 Volt of power to an expansion card, and operated at 33MHz.

What determines the size of the power supply and the placement of screw holes and slots used to anchor the power supply to the case?

The form factor of a power supply

What is the advantage of a fan connector with four holes?

The four hole connector supports pulse width modulation (PWM) which reduces the overall noise in a system.

Which statement regarding Hyper-Threading and HyperTransport is correct?

The net effect is to appear as though there are two logical processors for each physical processor or core.

Suppose a board has four DIMM slots with four DIMMs installed and has two dual memory channels, Channel A and Channel B. Which statement is correct?

The pair of DIMMs in a channel must be equally matched in size, speed, and features.

Which statement regarding the thermal compound used with the cooler is correct?

Thermal compound transmits heat better than air and makes an airtight connection between the fan and the processor.

When installing adapter cards, what is the primary reason that an empty slot should be left between cards?

To allow adequate airflow

Which statement is correct?

To get the highest performance, memory slots are placed on either side of the processor in order to shorten the length of the memory bus.

Which statement is correct regarding power supply considerations?

To know what size power supply you need, add up the wattage requirements of all components, and add 30 percent.

A new standard that is slowly replacing the BIOS standard serves as an interface between firmware on the motherboard and the operating system. It improves on processes for booting, handing over the boot to the OS, and loading device drivers and applications before the OS loads. What is the name of this new standard?

Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI)

Which statement concerning BIOS updates is correct?

Update your BIOS only if you're having a problem with your motherboard or there's a new BIOS feature you want to use.

What type of adapter card captures video input and saves it to a file on the hard drive?

Video capture card.

What component draws the most power in a system?

Video card.

Most processors on the market today support virtualization. How is this feature enabled?

Virtualization must be enabled in BIOS setup.

A customized system has the following specifications: multicore processor, adequate RAM (because each machine ties up its assigned RAM), and adequate hard drive space for each OS. This best describes a (n) _________________________.

Virtualization workstation.

Suppose that one physical machine is hosting multiple activities that are normally performed on multiple machines. This process is known as _________________________.

Virtualization.

Which statement regarding parity is correct?

When a byte is read back from the memory module, the memory controller checks the odd or even state.

Which statement regarding dual voltage options is correct?

When changing the voltage selection, it is advisable to turn off the computer and unplug the power supply.

What is one reason that Windows Home Server 2011 might be considered a better choice as the OS of a home server PC than Windows 7 OS?

Windows Home Server 2011 provides additional security features.

Which statement regarding a Rambus memory module (RIMM) is correct?

With RIMMs, each memory slot on the motherboard must be filled to maintain continuity throughout all slots.

A DIMM with memory chips installed on both sides of the module is called a _________________________.

double-sided DIMM

A graphics processing unit (GPU) is a processor that manipulates graphic data to form the images on a monitor screen. An integrated GPU is _________________________.

embedded in the CPU package

What term refers to the process of upgrading or refreshing the programming stored on the firmware chip?

flashing BIOS or Updating BIOS

Sling box by Sling Media represents one popular type of _________________________.

home server PC

A connector leading from the front of the computer case to the motherboard, labeled as Reset SW, _________________________.

is for the switch used to reboot the computer.

A hard drive, also called a hard disk drive (HDD), _________________________.

is permanent storage used to hold data and programs.

A(n) _________________________ is two small posts or metal pins that stick up off the motherboard that is open or closed; it is open if it has no cover and closed when it has a cover on the two pins.

jumper

Keeping computer components from overheating via _________________________ consists of a small pump that sits inside the computer case, and tubes that move liquid around components and then away from them to a place where fans can cool the liquids.

liquid cooling.

The ability of a system to do more than one thing at a time is accomplished by several means. One method involves multiple processors installed in the same processor housing. What is this called?

multi-core processing.

A regular desktop computer or laptop that is sometimes used as a client by a virtualization server is called a (n) _________________________.

thick client.