CIS Chapter 2: Hardware

How do you know which printer to buy?

1. Budget 2. Speed 3. Color or Black/white 4. Cost per page 5. Multiple Copies 6. Graphics and photo printing 7. paper types and sizes 8. System compatibility 9. Future Needs 10. Wireless capability

Steps to Machine Cycle (4)

4 steps: FETCH DECODE EXECUTE STORE

Biometric Input

Authenticates person's identity by verifying personal characteristic

The System Unit

Case that contains electronic components of the computer used to process data. Includes: processor, memory, adapter cards, drive bays and power supply

CD-ROM

Compact disc read-only memory. Cannot erase or modify contents.

Scanners

Devices that capture rather than you writing, speaking or typing

tape (Magnetic Storage)

Magnetically coated plastic ribbon capable of storing large amounts of data at low cost

SSD - Solid State Drives

No moving parts Often have faster seek times but slower write times compared to fastest mechanical drives

head crash (Magnetic Storage)

Occurs when read/write head touches platter surface

disk cache (Magnetic Storage)

Portion of memory that processor uses to store frequently accessed items

Video Input

Process of entering full-motion images into computer

Quality of LCD depends on?

Resolution, Response time , Pixel pitch (dot pitch), Contrast ratio

Miniature Mobile Storage Media

Storage for small mobile devices using flash memory

Audio Input

The process of entering input by speaking into a microphone

Categories of Storage

Volatile vs Non-volatile Local vs Network Primary vs Secondary Sequential vs Direct Access

Output Device

allows a user to observe the results of computer processing with one or more senses.

Input Device

assists in capturing and entering data into a computer system.

Processing

carries out the instructions provided by software using specially designed circuitry and a well-defined routine to transform data into useful outputs.

Multicore Processor

combines multiple CPUs on one chip to share the workload and speed up processing.

Video Card

combines video processing and storage onto an expansion card, or integrated onto the motherboard to manage video images for display.

Integrated Circuit

connects tiny transistors and other electronics components on a thin piece of semiconductive material such as silicon.

Special-Purpose Input Device

designed to provide input for one specific type of activity.

Transistor

electronics component typically composed of silicon that opens or closes a circuit to alter the flow of electricity to store and manipulate bits.

Central Processing Unit

group of circuits that perform the processing in a computer, typically in one integrated circuit called a microprocessor.

Optical Storage

media, such as CDs, DVDs, and Blu-ray discs, store bits by using an optical laser to burn pits into the surface of a highly reflective disc.

General-Purpose Input Device

one that is designed to be used for a wide variety of computing activities.

Printer

output device dedicated to providing computer output on paper or three-dimensional output in plastic

Motherboard

primary circuit of a computer to which all core components are connected, including the CPU.

Multiprocessing

processing that occurs using more than one processing unit to increase productivity and performance

Machine Cycle

provides an orderly method of processing software instructions.

Read Only Memory (ROM)

provides permanent storage for data and instructions that do not change, such as firmware — programs and data from the computer manufacturer, including the boot process used to start the computer.

Display

provides visual computer output for observation on a monitor or screen.

Magnetic Storage

storage technology that uses the magnetic properties of iron oxide particles rather than electric charges to store bits and bytes more permanently than RAM.Magnetically stored data lasts years, even decades, before deteriorating.

Solid-State Storage

stores data using solid-state electronics such as transistors, and unlike magnetic and optical media, does not require any moving mechanical parts.

Random Access Memory (RAM)

temporary, or volatile, memory that stores bytes of data and program instructions for the processor to access.

Storage

the ability to maintain data within the system temporarily or permanently.

Input/Output (I/O)

the manner in which data is received into a computer system, and the manner in which information and the results of processing are provided to the user from a computer system.

Moore's Law

the number of transistors on a chip will double about every two years

Hardware

the tangible parts of a computer or digital device, and typically includes support for processing, storage, input, and output.