Chapter 1 Exam Essentials

Your boss wants to you 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, B, C. Solid-state drives (SSDs) are faster, generate less heat, and quieter than conventional HDDs. They are not cheaper per megabyte than HDDs, though.

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

A, B, E. RAM is memory, which is a temporary data storage area. SSD is a hard drive technology for data storage, and BD-ROM discs store data as well. PCI is an expansion slot type, and PSU is a power supply unit.

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

A, B. Network interface cards (NICs) and modems are devices that allow your computer to communicate with other computers and therefore are communications devices.

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

A, B. Parallel ATA (PATA) and Serial ATA (SATA) are two hard drive connection types. PCIe and AGP are expansion slots.

Which of the following is faster than RAM? Cache HHD SSD BD-ROM None of the above

A. Cache is temporary memory that is closer to the processor than RAM and is therefore slightly quicker. It usually comes in smaller quantities, though.

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

A. 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.

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. The BIOS stores configuration information such as time and date but 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.

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

B. 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.

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

B. CPU

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

B. DIMM. SODIMMS are smaller. SATA and PATA are hard drive connectors that are smaller as well.

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

B. Many sound cards had 15-pin joystick ports on them, as well as audio input and output jacks.

A user named Monika wants to upgrade the memory in her laptop. What memory form factor will she need? A DIMM B SODIMM C DDR3 D DDR2

B. Monika will definitely need SODIMMs, which are made for laptops. DIMMs are for desktop computers. SODIMMS come in both DDR2 and DDR3, so without more information you don't know which one she needs.

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. The chipset on the motherboard controls communications between the processor (CPU) and memory (RAM). The motherboard itself just provides connectivity.

You just installed more memory in your computer, but it's not recognized. Your friend suggests 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.

C Flash the BIOS

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. A solid-state drive (SSD) will provide faster bootup times than a conventional hard disk drive (HDD). Neither RAM nor CPUs provide storage space.

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

C. PCIe is the fastest expansion slot standard in the market today. PCI is much older and slower. Of the x64 (not yet anyway).

Purpose of CPU

CPUs perform mathematical operations on data,

Importance of System Cooling

Computers generate heat. Processors in particular generate a lot of heat. They need to be cooled off in order to survive. Case fans are generally good enough for computers. CPUs require more active cooling methods, such as a systems like liquid cooling.

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. Blu-ray discs (BD-ROM) store 25 GB per side per layer. That's far more than DVDs or CDs.

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

D. The power supply is connected to the motherboard with a 24-pin block connector.

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

D. 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.

You are helping a neighbor buy a computer, and based on a recent experience he insists that his system needs to remain working even if a hard drive fails. What should you suggest he buy? A SATA B PATA C RAID 0 D RAID 1

D. Your neighbor needs RAID 1, also known as disk mirroring. It writes data to both hard drives simultaneously. If one hard drive fails, the other will still be operational.

The difference between conventional hard drives and solid-state drives.

First, they both do the same thing, which is store data. Conventional hard disk drives have spinning platters and read/write heads, whereas SSDs use flash memory. SSDs are faster but more expensive than HDD

Purpose of Motherboards

Motherboards connect all of the components together and provide electrical pathways for data.

What do Network Cards do?

Network cards and modems are for communication. Network cards communicate via network cable or wirelessly, whereas modems use conventional telephone lines.

Features of Optical Discs

Optical discs store data but are not designed to replace hard drives. BD-ROMs store more data than DVD-ROMs, which store more than CD-ROMs.

Purpose of RAM

RAM is used as a temporary storage area for data that the processor and applications need.

Understand what Different Expansion Devices Do

Video cards produce images for display devices such as monitors. Audio (sound) cards produce sound. Network cards and modems are for communication. Network cards communicate via network cable or wirelessly, whereas modems use conventional telephone lines.