How a Computer Processes Data Computer fundamentals Copyright © 2006, HaiVD C 2 Objectives Identify computer system components. Explain how the CPU works. Differentiate between RAM and ROM. Describe how data is represented. Copyright © 2006, HaiVD C 3 Computer System Components A computer system requires many components to do its job: It requires some device or method to input data so it can be processed. It requires circuits and programs in order to process the data. It needs some type of output device to give the result of its processing to the user. It needs some mechanism for storing data. Copyright © 2006, HaiVD C 4 Common System Components This figure shows several devices that are common com- ponents of a com- puter system. Copyright © 2006, HaiVD C 5 System Motherboard Inside the case of a modern PC is the motherboard, which contains the electronic circuitry of the computer. Components found on the motherboard include The primary processing chip (CPU). The memory chips. Expansion slots for system interface cards. Ports for connecting external devices. BIOS chips that control system start-up. The circuitry that enables all of these components to communicate. Copyright © 2006, HaiVD C 6 Example of a Motherboard This figure shows the devices inside a PC case, including the motherboard, the power supply, and some storage devices. Copyright © 2006, HaiVD C 7 The Central Processing Unit The CPU is the brains of a computer system. The CPU is housed on a silicon chip that contains millions of switches and circuits. The CPU has two primary sections: Arithmetic/Logic Unit (ALU) This section performs arithmetic and logical operations. Control Unit This section is the boss of the CPU and coordinates all activity within the CPU. It uses programming instructions to control what actions the CPU performs and when it performs them. Copyright © 2006, HaiVD C 8 A CPU Chip This figure shows a CPU chip for a small computer. The CPU determines which of the millions of switches that it contains should be turned on or off by processing program statements that tell it what to do. Computer programs are written in programming languages, and each program statement causes one or more actions to occur in the CPU. Copyright © 2006, HaiVD C 9 Original chips were numbered 8086, 80286, 80386, 80486 You could buy chips from multiple vendors Intel trademarked its chip as the Pentium Pentium II, Pentium III, Pentium IV Clock speed (MHz or GHz) differentiates chips The central processing unit (cpu) or “brain” of the PC The Microprocessor Copyright © 2006, HaiVD C 10 Computer Memory Data being processed by a CPU is stored in system memory. Memory consists of addressable locations within the machine that the computer can access directly. Data stored in memory is not permanent. If the power fails, everything in memory is lost. Data must be stored on a disk or some other device when not being processed so it is not lost each time the computer shuts down. [...]... needed This type of memory loses any data it holds if the computer is shut down ROM – Read-Only Memory ROM is memory placed on the motherboard by the manufacturer and contains instructions that tell the computer how to start itself This data cannot be accessed or modified by application programs The contents of this memory are not lost when the computer is shut down Copyright © 2006, HaiVD 11 Auxiliary... shown here Machine cycles are measured in microseconds, and the faster your computer can process machine cycles, the faster it can process data Copyright © 2006, HaiVD 16 Computer System Controllers A PC motherboard also contains several controllers Controllers are devices that control the transfer of data between the computer and peripheral devices Common peripheral devices include a mouse,... for the system Copyright © 2006, HaiVD 27 Summary (continued) The motherboard also contains ports and expansion slots The central processing unit is the brains of the computer The computer is given instructions through computer programs The CPU has two main sections—the arithmetic logic unit and the control unit Copyright © 2006, HaiVD 28 Summary (continued) All calculations and comparisons... transfer of data between the computer and peripheral devices Peripheral devices are connected to the computer through serial and parallel ports Copyright © 2006, HaiVD 30 Summary (continued) The Universal Serial Bus is a new standard expected to replace serial and parallel ports Expansion boards are used to connect specialized peripheral devices or to add more memory to the computer The ASCII code... punctuation mark, or symbol has its own unique combination of ones and zeros Copyright © 2006, HaiVD 26 Summary Just about all computers perform the same general options: input, processing, output, and storage Input, output, and processing devices grouped together represent a computer system The motherboard is the center of all processing The motherboard contains the CPU, memory, and basic controllers... photosensitive computer chip, which converts the image to a series of pixels 2 megapixels is entry-level 3 megapixels is better 5+ megapixels There is no film; images are stored in memory; the more memory the more pictures 64Mb to 128Mb is suggested Copyright © 2006, HaiVD 23 Ports and Expansion Slots Serial and parallel ports are used to connect peripheral devices to the computer circuitry... port sticks out of the back of the PC case and is used to attach the device that this card controls Copyright © 2006, HaiVD 25 Data Representation Data is stored in a computer in binary format as a series of 1s and 0s Computers use standardized coding systems (such as ASCII) to determine what character or number is represented by what series of binary digits Data is stored in a series of 8-bit . How a Computer Processes Data Computer fundamentals Copyright © 2006, HaiVD C 2 Objectives Identify computer system components Describe how data is represented. Copyright © 2006, HaiVD C 3 Computer System Components A computer system requires many components to do its job: It