5 th October 2004Hardware – KS41 Hardware Objectives: Computer systems  What do they do?  Identify the hardware that makes up a computer system (PC) Inputs and Outputs  Identify them and how they fit into the computer system Storage devices and media  Identify the devices available and when they should be used

5 th October 2004Hardware – KS42 Computer systems Computer systems process DATA electronically  Data is INFORMATION that has been suitably prepared  Information = DATA + Meaning Computers are PROGRAMMABLE, we can tell them what to do  If we want a specific output, we program the computer accordingly Computer systems include:  Mainframes  PCs  Networks of PCs  Microwave ovens  Video Cassette Recorder and Set Top Boxes

5 th October 2004Hardware – KS43 Parts of a computer system (PC) HARDWARE/ DEVICES OUTPUTS OPERATING SYSTEM INPUTS APPLICATION SOFTWARE BUS/ Port BUS/ Port The PC tower ‘the box’

5 th October 2004Hardware – KS44 Some definitions Hardware These are the parts that you can see. They include the parts inside the box Software Operating systems  These control the hardware so that users and their applications can easily make use of it e.g. MSDOS, Windows XP, Linux, PSOS, OS X Applications  These do the jobs that the user wants e.g. word, excel… Inputs Peripherals that are used to capture data and send it to a computer system e.g. scanner, digital camera Outputs Peripherals that output data e.g. printer, screen, speaker Buses/Ports/Connections These carry the data to and from the main box and CPU/memory e.g USB, Firewire, serial, parallel, IDE, Bluetooth

5 th October 2004Hardware – KS45 Hardware inside the box MOTHER BOARD MODEM FLOPPY DISK DRIVE CDROM/DVD DRIVE HARD DISK DRIVE CPUROM RAM SOUND CARD POWER SUPPLY GRAPHICS CARD The PC tower ‘the box’ Connects to telephone line Connects to speakers Connects to mains

5 th October 2004Hardware – KS46 Some more definitions CPU Central Processing Unit runs the software programs and makes the calculations e.g Intel Pentium, PowerPC ROM Read Only Memory contains programs that the computer need to start up. It’s a chip on the mother board. Also known as the BIOS RAM Random Access Memory is loaded with programs and data that the user chooses to put there. Several chips on a card. (512kB) Hard Disk Drive This holds most of the data used on a computer and can be retrieved relatively quickly. (20GB-260GB) Floppy Disk Removable media that holds a small amount of data (1.44MB) CD Holds much more data than Floppy and is quicker to retrieve (600MB) DVD Holds even more data than a CD (17GB)