Chapter 1: Core Hardware Components

When you turn on your computer, it tells you that it does not have the time and date set and asks you to enter setup. What likely needs to be replaced? A. CMOS battery B. BIOS chip C. CPU D. Time controller

A. CMOS battery The BIOS stores configuration information such as time and date, but it is powered by the CMOS battery when the system is off. If the CMOS battery fails, the system will no longer retain its BIOS configuration. (Exploring Motherboards, Processors, and Memory p.20)

Which of the following is faster than RAM? A. Cache B. HDD C. SSD D. BD-ROM E. None of the above

A. Cache Cache is temporary memory that is closer to the processor than RAM, and it is therefore slightly quicker. It usually comes in smaller quantities, though. (Exploring Motherboards, Processors, and Memory p.11)

Difficulty: medium Your boss wants you to justify your suggestion to purchase solid-state hard drives. What are advantages of solid-state drives? (Choose three.) A. Faster than HDDs B. Generate less heat than HDDs C. Quieter than HDDs D. Cheaper than HDDs

A. Faster than HDDs B. Generate less heat than HDDs C. Quieter than HDDs (Exploring Storage and Expansion Devices p.39)

Which of the following are communications devices for computers? (Choose two.) A. NIC B. Modem C. PCIe D. Sound card

A. NIC B. Modem Network interface cards (NICs) and modems are devices that allow your computer to communicate with other computers and therefore are communications devices. (Exploring Storage and Expansions Device p.46-47)

Which of the following are hard drive connector types? (Choose two.) A. PATA B. SATA C. PCIe D. AGP

A. PATA B. SATA Parallel ATA (PATA) and Serial ATA (SATA) are two hard drive connection types. PCIe and AGP are expansion slots. (Exploring Motherboards, Processors, and Memory p.16)

Your friend Joe wants to add another hard drive to his computer. What should he check to make sure that his system will support it? A. PSU B. Expansion slots C. CPU D. RAM

A. PSU Joe needs to make sure his power supply has a free connector, as well as enough power to supply the drive. Hard drives do not use expansion slots. The CPU and RAM are indifferent to how many hard drives a computer has installed.

Which components in your computer store data? (Choose three.) A. RAM B. SSD C. PCI D. PSU E. BD-ROM

A. RAM B. SSD E. BD-ROM RAM is memory, which is a temporary data storage area. SSD is a type of hard drive, and BD-ROM discs store data as well. PCI is an expansion slot type, and PSU is a power supply unit. (Exploring Motherboards, Processors, and Memory p.29-30)

Which component inside a computer produces the most heat? A. PSU B. CPU C. GPU D. RAM

B. CPU The processor, or CPU, produces the most heat of any internal component. Care must be taken to ensure that the heat is properly dissipated or the processor will fail. (Exploring Power and Cooling p.53)

What is the name of the component that controls communication between the processor and memory? A. Motherboard B. Chipset C. CPU D. Expansion bus

B. Chipset (Exploring Motherboards, Processors, and Memory p.8)

Which of the following uses a 240-pin connector? A. SODIMM B. DIMM C. SATA D. PATA

B. DIMM Dual inline memory modules (DIMMs) can use 240-pin connectors (and other sizes too). SODIMMS are smaller. SATA and PATA are hard drive connectors that are smaller as well. (Exploring Storage and Expansion Devices p.33)

What type of expansion card allows your computer to talk to other computers without wires? A. Modem B. NIC C. PSU D. PCIe

B. NIC A network interface card (NIC) lets your computer participate on a network, either wired or wireless. Modems require telephone lines. PSU is a power supply unit, and PCIe is an expansion slot type. (Exploring Storage and Expansion Devices p..47)

A user named Monika wants to upgrade the memory in her laptop. What type of memory will she need? A. DIMM B. SODIMM C. DDR3 D. DDR4

B. SODIMM Monika will definitely need SODIMMs, which are made for laptops. DIMMs are for desktop computers. SODIMMS come in DDR2, DDR3, and DDR4, so without more information you don't know which one she needs (Exploring Motherboards, Processors, and Memory p.11 p.33)

You just installed more memory in your computer, but it's not recognized. Your friend suggests that you upgrade your BIOS. What's the best way to do this? A. Order a new BIOS chip from the motherboard manufacturer. B. Order a new BIOS chip from the memory manufacturer. C. Flash the BIOS. D. You can't upgrade a BIOS D. You can't upgrade a BIOS

C. Flash the BIOS. If you want to upgrade a BIOS, the best way to do so is to flash it. (Exploring Motherboards, Processors, and Memory p.30)

Which type of expansion slot provides the fastest data transfer speeds? A. PCI B. PCIe x1 C. PCIe x16 D. PCIe x64

C. PCIe x16 PCIe is the fastest expansion slot standard on the market today. PCI is much older and slower. Of the PCIe slots, PCIe x16 is the fastest. There is no PCIe x64 (not yet anyway). (Exploring Motherboards, Processors, and Memory p.15)

You want to upgrade your computer to give it a faster boot time and more space for your files. What should you purchase? A. RAM B. HDD C. SSD D. CPU

C. SSD A solid-state drive (SSD) will provide faster bootup times than a conventional hard disk drive (HDD). Neither RAM nor CPUs provide storage space. (Exploring Storage and Expansion Devices p..39)

Which of the following processor types is most likely to be found in a smartphone? A. 32-bit B. GPU C. Intel D. ARM

D. ARM Small devices, such as smartphones and tablets, are most likely using ARM processors. They could be 32-bit or 64-bit. A GPU is for video processing, and Intel does not currently produce ARM chips. (Exploring Motherboards, Processors, and Memory p.24)

Which of the following optical discs will store the most data? A. CD-ROM B. DVD-ROM DL C. DVD-ROM DS D. BD-ROM

D. BD-ROM Blu-ray Discs (BD-ROM) store 25 GB per side per layer. That's far more than DVDs or CDs. (Exploring Storage and Expansion Devices p.43)

Which device is connected to the motherboard with a 24-pin block connector? A. HDD B. SSD C. RAM D. PSU

D. PSU The power supply is connected to the motherboard with a 24-pin block connector (Exploring Power and Cooling p.48-49)

Which of the following devices is most likely to have a joystick port on it? A. Video card B. Sound card C. Network card D. Modem

Sound card Many sound cards had 15-pin joystick ports on them, as well as audio input and output jacks. (Exploring Storage and Expansion Devices p.45)

If your computer runs low on RAM, what will it use instead? A. Cache B. SSD C. Optical drive D. Virtual memory

Virtual memory Virtual memory is hard drive space used as extra memory if your system runs low on physical memory. It's slower than physical memory, though. (Exploring Motherboards, Processors and Memory p.28)