Henry Brady Computer Components Unit 2 – Computer Systems

Motherboard PCI-E Slot CPU Socket RAM Slot Motherboard Power SATA Port USB SocketFront Panel CPU Power PCI Slot With these you can use a SATA Cable to connect your hard drive and/or DVDRW to the Motherboard Any memory sticks you have will be put here The power supply you have with have a 24-pin connection, that will go here. If you have a Graphics Card with a PCI-E Socket it will go here The PCI slot is where devices such as wireless cards or USB expansions will go. Your processor and fan will go here, the pins are in the shape of what the bottom of the CPU looks like, they will bend and break if it is not correctly placed. On the power supply there is a 4 pin connector that will go here and give power to the CPU Fan

The CPU, or processor, processes all information and performs all computations your computer needs to be done. They carry out the instructions of a computer program by performing the basic arithmetical, logical, and input/output operations of the system. Everything that you do, from running your calculator program to your advanced 3D video game, is done on your processor. There are two main companies when it comes to top processors, they are AMD and Intel. Processor

The memory is what helps to boot up the computer, it also varies the speed of how quick applications boot up and how many thinks you can run at once. Some people have large amounts of ram in their computer, this depends on what you will be doing on it, if you’re gaming or editing you will need a high amount e.g. 8-16GB as it will be running many things at once. Memory DDR Memory comes in 3 different types; DDR DDR2 DDR3 With DDR3 being the newest, which ever one is inside your computer depends on the age of it. Obviously ddr3 is easier to get your hands on due to its mass production whereas ddr1 + ddr2 is now discontinued.

The power supply is what gives power to each of the components inside the computer, it connects to the motherboard which then connects to almost everything inside the system such as Hard Drives, DVDRW and floppy drives. The power of each power supply can vary depending on the components, some require higher amounts of power there for you will need a larger power supply. Power Supply Depending on the age of the component you’re wanting to connect to the computer you may have to use a different kind of cable when doing so, different generations of equipment use alternate cables.

The hard drive is where you store your operating systems and information, they come in a rage of different sizes from 80gb to 3tb You may even come across some with different connections IDE,SATA These can all effect the price. With IDE being the older generation of equipment you will more than likely not come across it very often due to it being discontinued. Hard Drive You will notice SATA hard drives being cheaper than IDE due to it’s mass production.

A DVDRW’s use is to pick up any media disks you have put into it, whether you’re booting from the disk or just reading something from it. Once the disk is put into the tray it will search on the disk for any readable files and then allow you to access the data on them. DVDRW

A Graphics Card is a device that is placed at the bottom of the motherboard in a PCI-E slot, they come with a range of different connections each showing its age, with PCI-E being the newest. A graphics card is an expansion card which generates a feed of output images to a display (for example a monitor). There are many types of cards you can buy, Brands, Sizes, Memory all of which alter in price. With some you could be paying up to £2000. Graphics Card

There are many operating systems to choose from, each functioning in a different way. All operating systems allow application software to run and save on the hard drive, without an operating system you will be unable to use your system. Operating System