HARDWAR

INTRODUCTION
 Identifying the
components
of system modules.
 Motherboard
The spine of the The major
computer is mother
board, otherwise known components
as system board. inside a
motherboard
This is the olive green
or brown circuit board are:
that lines at the bottom The microprocessor
of the computer. The system's primary
ROM
This is the center of the
microcomputer system.
RAM
This connects all other Cache memory sections
components of a PC
together. Expansion slot
Motherboard
 FIRMWARE
An Often-used micro program or instruction set stored
in ROM.
Usually refers to the ROM-based software that
controls an unit.
It is a software that is encoded into a ROM chip and
can be run without extra instruction from the
operating system.
Computers CMOS setup program is the best example
of Firmware.
Firmware is found in all computer based products
from Cameras to Digital Peripherals.
FIRMWARE
 Power supply

The device in the computer which provides power to

the various components of the computer is called
power supply.

This power supply converts AC to DC. With different

values of DC like + / - 2.8v, + / - 3.3v, + / - 5v, + / -
12v, ground.

Generally +3.3, +5 stand by voltage is used only for

ATX motherboard types.
Power supply
 PROCESSOR
The brain of computer is
the Central Processing Unit
(CPU).
This component does all
the calculations and
performs 90% of all the
operations of computer.

Now a days it is very easy

to identify the processor in
a computer, in short the
biggest chip in the
motherboard is CPU.
It is a processor chip
consisting of millions of
transistors.
 MEMORY

Memory or Random access memory is the next most

prolific slots on the mother board.

They contains memory chips.

Memory chips are arranged on a small circuit board.

MEMORY
 STORAGE DEVICES

It hold the data to be accessed as well as the files the

system needs to operate and data needs to be saved.

Differs from each other in

Capacity,
Access time,
Physical type of media used.
 STORAGE DEVICES

HARD
DISK
5 ¼’
FLOPPY
 STORAGE DEVICES

3 ½’
FLOPPY CD DRIVE

TAPE
PEN DRIVE DRIVE
 Display Devices

Display
device is the
first output
device
through
CRT which we are
going to work
LCD
with the
computer.

Monitor is the
first output
TFTP device
 Adapter Cards
Adapter card
is the
electronics
board with
it’s own
processor
chip.

Sometimes it
is having it’s
own memory
to work with
system.

It is fixed to
the systems
 PORT
It used to connect to input or
out put devices to the system.

It is used to connect external

devices which are not possible
to connect internally to the
motherboard.

Port always refers to a single

device.

A single device can be

connected to a single device
at a time.
 System Case

Computer case is the

enclosure that
encases all the
components of a
computer
System Case
 Riser Card
Riser card is the extra card which carries PCI slots, ISA
slots, EISA slots, AGP slots.
It is a extension of motherboard, generally used for
low profile motherboard.
Riser Card
 IDENTIFYING
PORTS, CABLES, CONNECTORS
 PORTS TYPES
SERIAL This types of port communicates serially (bit 2
bit) between processor and device.

PARALLEL This types of port communicates parallel (byte

2 byte) between processor and device.

USB This is a type of serial port high speed

throughput. Comes with speed 480 Mbps.

IEEE 1394 This is a type of serial port high speed

throughput. Comes with speed 800 Mbps.
(firewire)
INFRARED This is a type of wireless communication port
high speed throughput. Comes with speed 4.5
Mbps.
PORTS

External Ports
 PORTS
SERIAL
 All the male ports present in the computer are

serial ports.
 Standard serial port :: male DB-9 pin port.

 Speed ::57-60KBps. Maximum cable length is 50

feet.
 Standard serial port is used to connect computer

peripherals to the computer.

 Null modem serial cable :: it is used to connect two

computers together.
 Common serial cable configuration.

 DB-9 female – DB-25male  standard modem cable.

 DB-9 female – DB-9 male  standard serial extension cable.
 DB-9 female – DB-9 female  null modem cable.
 DB-25 female – DB-25 female  null modem cable.
 DB-25 female – DB-25 male  standard serial cable or
standard serial extension
 PORTS
Parallel
 All the female ports available in the computer are just
parallel ports.
 Normal parallel port is DB-25 used for printers etc.
 Standard Parallel port :: only transmits data out of the
computer. Speed :: 150 KBps. Max Length:: 10 feet.
 Bidirectional parallel port :: it can both transmit and receive
data. Now a days it is inbuilt in the computers.
 Enhanced Parallel port :: Speed is double that of Bidirectional
port speed. 300KBps. This port is of IEEE1284 standard.
 This is of 2 types ECP (Enhanced Capabilities port) and EPP
(Enhanced Parallel port).
 ECP is designed to transmit data to printer with a high speed
by using a DMA channel.
 EPP is designed to transmit and receive data to peripherals
with a speed of 150KBps. Now a days it is available with
600KBps to 1.5MBps.
 PORTS
USB
 It is a 4 pin connector .
 Used to connect multiple peripherals up to
127 devices.
 Version 1.1 speed :: 12 Mbps (1.5 MBps).
 Version 2.0 speed :: 480 Mbps (60 MBps).
 USB HUB is available for our networking
which gives better performance than
normal HUB.
 COMMON PERIPHERAL
INTERFACES
IEEE 1394 (FireWire)
 Now it is known as fire wire 400. speed :: 400Mbps.
Carries data up to 4.5 meters.
 Fire Wire 800. speed :: 800Mbps.carries data up to
100 meters.
RCA
 It Is a two pin connector used to transmit or
receive audio and video signals.
PS/2
 It is commonly used key board or mouse ports.
 It is a six pin connector.
 It is faster than DIN-5 connectors.
 PORTS

DB-9 DB-9 DB-15

Male Male DB-
Female 15Female

DB-15 HD
Male DB-15 HD
DB-25 used for Female
DB-25 monitor
Male used for Video
Female
port
 PORTS

USB
female USB IEEE
male 1394

IEEE 1394
cable design

Infrared
device
 PORTS

RCA Male
RCA Female connectors
connectors
PORTS

PS/2 female
connector
DIN-5 female
PS/2 female connector
and male
connector

DIN-5 Male
connector
PORTS

CENTRONIC
S
connectors
 PORTS
Serial Port Cabling
 PORTS
USB Ports
The Universal Serial Bus (USB) supports a wide
range of desktop peripherals from Keyboard to
digital cameras.

It supports up to 127 devices.

 PORTS
Joystick / MIDI Ports

Built-in multimedia systems include a joystick/MIDI

port.
The port's interface is simple and combines
elementary hardware and software techniques.

The port uses a 15-pin female (DB15F) connector

(should not be confused with the Attachment Unit
Interface (AUI) port of the network card).

Note: The AUI port normally has a slide-lock

connector rather than the two screw posts associated
MOTHERBOARD
 MOTHERBOARD
Major 2 types of mother board
Integrated
Most of the components that would otherwise be
installed as an expansion slot are integrated to the
motherboard. If any of the component breaks then
it’s difficult to replace rather you have to replace the
motherboard.

Nonintegrated
Each major assembly is installed in the computer
as an expansion card. The major assembly means it
refers to components like, video circuitry, disk
controllers and accessories.
MOTHERBOARD
 MOTHERBOARD
System board Form Factors
AT
Processor, memory and expansion slots are all inline with each
other.
Now it is compressed to small in size called Baby AT, so only 1 or 2
full length expansion cards can be fixed. Processor is also far away from
power supply cooling fan, which needs extra cooling fins or fans for
processor. To over come this problem ATX has been designed.
ATX
it has processor and memory right angle to the expansion slots.
This arrangement puts the processor and memory in line with the
power supply fan. Where you can add comfortably the expansion slot
cards.
NLX (New Low-Profile extended)
It is a unique type of motherboard, here the expansion slots are
placed side ways on a special riser card.
 MOTHERBOARD
FSB
It is the short form for Front Side Bus.
It is also known as the Memory BUS or System BUS.

This bus connects the CPU with the main memory and
is also used to connect to other components within
the computer.
The FSB can range from speeds of 66MHz, 133, 100,
266 MHz, 400 MHz and beyond. 

When purchasing a computer Motherboard or new

computer knowing about its FSB is an important
criteria. 
The FSB speed can generally be set either using the
system BIOS or with jumpers located on the computer
Motherboard (AT)
Motherboard (Baby AT)
Motherboard (ATX)
Motherboard (NLX)
 MOTHERBOARD
BSB

It is the short form for Back Side Bus.

It is used to connect the CPU with the L2 cache.

Note: L2 cache also known as Level 2 cache is

located on the motherboard although with most
new processors is being found on the
processor.

The Back side BUS is found within the

processor and speed is determined by the
processor. 
 MOTHERBOARD
components
Chipset
Clock
Bus Architecture
 ISA Bus
 MCA Bus
 EISA Bus
 VESA Local Bus (VLB)
 PCI Bus
 AGP
 PCMCIA (PC Card) Bus
 CLOCK
To control the processor system RAM and bus the
original IBM PC used a single 8 MHz clock
However modern motherboards use multiple speeds
to control the various components.
Device/Bus Clock Speed (MHz) Generated As

Processor 266 System Clock x 4

Level 2 Cache 133 System Clock x2 (or Processor / 2)

System Bus 66

PCI Bus 33 System Clock / 2

ISA Bus 8.3 PCI Bus / 4

 Bus Architecture

A bus is the circuitry on a motherboard through which

data travels from the microprocessor to the other
components.

The bus architecture of a PC usually refers to the I/O

or expansion bus on the motherboard into which
devices such as modem and sounds cards are
connected.

 Processor Bus
 Memory Bus
 Cache Bus
 Local I/O Bus
 Bus Architecture
Expansion Bus

 The PC's expansion bus provides a high-speed

connection between internally connected
peripherals and the motherboard.

 The expansion bus allows peripherals to behave

like an integral part of the system and rapidly
transfer data to other components.
ISA Bus
MCA Bus
EISA Bus
VESA Local Bus (VLB)
PCI Bus
AGP
 AMR
Audio Modem Riser
 CNR

Communicati
on Network
Riser
PCMCIA (PC Card) Bus
 PROCESSORS
Introduction
Processors Terminology
 System Clock Speed
 Processor Cache
 Data Bus
 Address Bus
 Register Size
 Multi-tasking
 Multiprocessing
 Processor Modes
 PROCESSORS
The brain of computer is
the Central Processing
Unit (CPU).
This component does all
the calculations and
performs 90% of all the
operations of computer.

Now a days it is very

easy to identify the
processor in a computer,
in short the biggest chip
in the motherboard is
CPU.
It is a processor chip
consisting of millions of
transistors.
 8088
8088
The Intel 8088 processor was
used by the first IBM PC released
in 1981 and was supplied in a
40-pin Dual In-line Package (DIP)
and 20 pins in each row.
The processor had a clock speed
of 4.77 MHz.
8088 had limited performance
because the external data bus
was only 8-bits wide even
though it was a 16-bit processor.
But the 8-bit wide bus made life
easier for the designers who
developed PC-compatible
motherboards using the 8-bit
design techniques.
The processor could use 220
bytes of memory i.e. 1 MB of
memory because of the 20-bit
address bus.
 8086

Some of the PC clones

and early IBM PS/2
models had used the
8086 processors.

Except the 16-bit data

bus in 8086 instead of
the 8-bit data bus in
8088 both 8088 and
8086 are architecturally
similar to each other.
 80286
It was the first processor by
Intel which offered protected
mode and improved the
performance of the system at
the same clock speed.

The processor was available

in 6, 8,10,12 and 20 MHz
versions packaged in either
DIP or Plastic Leadless Chip
Carrier (PLCC).

You can recognize the PLCC

package by the arrangement
of the thin legs around its
border.
 80386
The first notebook computers
used the 80386SX chip and
the 80386DX which also
included power management
features.
It was packaged in either
PLCC or as Pin Grid Array
(PGA) which is a square
package with an array of pins
on one side.
There was an equivalent of
250 0 transistors in 80386.
The 80386 processor came in
two variants
 80386DX

 80386SX
 80486
It was introduced in 1989 by
Intel and its versions like
80486 and 80486SL was a
popular choice for laptops
because of its low power
consumption and cost.

It had a 32-bit address bus

due to which it could
address up to 4 GB of
memory including both
actual and virtual memory
just like 80386
The normal 80486DX
processor contains 1.25
million transistors.
 PENTIUM
Intel launched the
Pentium in 1993 with
32-bit address bus and
32-bit registers like the
80486 processors

To improve the speed of

data transfer from
memory to processor
the Pentium uses a 64-
bit data bus.

It is also the first

processor which has
been specifically
developed to work with
 INTEL PENTIUM PRO
(p6)
Unlike the Complex Instruction
Set Computer (CISC)
generally used by PCs,
Pentium Pro uses an internal
Reduced Instruction Set
Computer (RISC)

With a clock speed of 133

MHz Pentium Pro runs at
approximately twice the speed
of a 100 MHz Pentium.

It had a 36-bit address bus

due to which it can
theoretically address up to 64
GB of memory including both
actual and virtual memory.
 PENTIUM with MMX
Technology
About 57 multimedia microcode instructions have
been added to the basic Pentium instruction set by
the Intel Pentium MMX technology processors.

This increases the ability of data processing speed for

audio video and graphics by up to 60% though it is
dependent on the software being able to use MMX
instructions.

Pentium MMX runs non-MMX enhanced software at an

increase processing speed of 10 - 20 % faster than
original Pentium processor at the same clock speed
due to the doubling of the data and code caches to
16K.
 Pentium II
It is an improved Pentium Pro
with MMX extensions and
having 32KB of Level 1
cache.

The original 233 MHz version

is now available in 266 MHz
300 MHz 333 MHz 350 MHz
400 MHz and 450 MHz clock
speeds

The PII processor is

composed of discrete chips
like Pentium Pro which is
incorporated into a module
called as a single edge
cartridge (SEC)

The SEC fits into a 242-pin

slot called as Slot 1 on the
motherboard.
 Celeron

Due to the high expense of PII processors Intel

has launched a range of low price processors
under the brand name of Celeron so that it is
available to more users.

The first Celeron CPU was actually a PII

processor without the built-in Level 2 cache
and

The second Celeron CPU had only 128KB of L2

cache integrated.
 Pentium III
It can support a system bus of
either 100 MHz or 133 MHz.

It is available in clock speed

versions from 450 MHz to 1.0
GHz with a full speed L2 cache of
256KB or a half speed L2 cache
of 512KB.

It has 70 new instructions called

as Internet Streaming Extensions
(SIMD) built into it which
improves audio and video
streaming 3 processing speech
recognition.
 Pentium IV
It is available in clock
speed versions from 1.3
GHz to 1.7 GHz.

It uses a new
architecture called as
Net Burst that has a
faster system bus.

It also has a new cache

system called as
execution trace cache
along with an improved
floating point that
enhances 3D graphics.  
 Pentium IV
Processor

Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor

Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor
supporting Hyper-Threading
Technology†

Architecture 90 nm, 130 nm process technology 90 nm, 130 nm, 180 nm process technology
L2 Cache 512 KB, 1 MB 256 KB, 512 KB, 1 MB
Clock Speed 2.40 to 3.40 GHz 1.30 to 2.80 GHz
Front Side Bus 800 MHz 400, 533 MHz
Chipset 800 MHz Intel® E7221, 875P, 865PE, 865G, NA
system bus 865GV, and 848P chipsets
Chipset 533 MHz Intel® 865P, 850 Chipset Family, Intel® 865P, 850 Chipset Family, 850E,
system bus 850E, 845PE, 845GE, 845GV, 845E 845PE, 845GE, 845GV, 845E and 845G
and 845G chipsets
Chipset 400 MHz NA Intel® 845GL and 845 chipsets
system bus
Socket mPGA478
Processor
Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor Supporting Hyper-Threading Technology†

Processor NumberΔ 670, 660, 650, 640, 630 571, 570J°, 561, 560J, 560, 551, 550J, 550, 541, 540J,
540, 531, 530J, 530, 521, 520J, 520
Architecture 90 nm process technology
L2 Cache 2 MB 1 MB
Clock Speed 3 to 3.80 GHz 2.80 to 3.80 GHz

Front Side Bus 800 MHz

Chipset 800 MHz Intel® 945P Express, 945G Express, 925XE Express**, 925X Express, 915G Express
system bus , 915GV Express, 915GL Express, 915P Express, 915PL Express and E7230
Chipsets
Socket LGA775
Intel® Desktop Boards Download matrix for desktop boards compatible with the Intel Pentium 4 processor
[PDF 91KB]
Hyper - Threading Technology Yes
†

Intel® Extended Yes Available on 571, 561, 551, 541, 531, and 521
Memory 64
TechnologyΦ
Execute Disable Bit° Yes Available on 571, 570J°,561, 560J, 551,550J, 541, 540J
,
531, 530J, 521, 520J
Not available on 560, 550,540, 530, 520
 Summary of Processor
Specifications
Internal cache
Addressable Processor Speed Math Data
Chip Registers data / Voltage
Memory (MHz) Co-processor bus
instruction

8088 1 MB 4.77 8 8087 16-bit 8-bit None 5

8086 1 MB 4.77 8 10 8087 16-bit 16-bit None 5

80286 16 MB 6-20 80287 16-bit 16-bit None 5

80386SX 16 MB 16 - 33 80387 32-bit 16-bit None 5

80386SL 16 MB 16 - 33 80387 32-bit 16-bit None 5

80386DX 4 GB 16 - 40 80387 32-bit 32-bit None 5

80486SX 4 GB 16 - 33 80487SX 32-bit 32-bit 8 KB 5

80486SL 4 GB 25 - 33 In-built 32-bit 32-bit 8 KB 3.3

80486DX 4 GB 25 - 50 In-built 32-bit 32-bit 8 KB 5

80486DX2 4 GB 50 66 In-built 32-bit 32-bit 8 KB 3.3 or 5

80486DX4 4 GB 75 100 In-built 32-bit 32-bit 16 KB 3.3 or 5

Pentium 4 GB 60 66 In-built 32-bit 64-bit 8KB/ 8 KB 3.3 or 5

120 133 150 166

Pentium 4 GB In-built 32-bit 64-bit 8KB/ 8KB 3.3
200

Pentium with
4 GB 166 - 233 In-built 32-bit 64-bit 16KB/ 16KB 2.8 or 3
MMX

Pentium Pro 64 GB 120 - 200 In-built 64-bit 64-bit 8KB/ 8KB 3.1

Pentium II 64 GB 233 - 450 In-built 64-bit 64-bit 16KB/ 16KB 2.8

 Processor Sockets
Designation No of Pins No of Pin Rows Voltage Supported Processors
80486DX 80486 80486 80486 and
Socket 1 169 3 5V
OverDrive

80486DX 80486 80486 80486

Socket 2 238 4 5V OverDrive Pentium
OverDrive63 and 83

80486DX 80486 80486 80486

Socket 3 237 4 5V 3.3 AMD 5x86 Cyrix 5x86 Pentium
OverDrive63 and 83

Pentium 60-66 Pentium OverDrive

Socket 4 273 4 5V
120 / 133

Pentium 75-133 MHz Pentium

OverDrive 125-166 MHZ
Socket 5 320 5 3.3V
Pentium with MMX OverDrive
123-166 MHz

Socket 6 235 4 3.3V Not used

Pentium 75-200 MHz Pentium

OverDrive Pentium with MMX
Socket 7 321 5 2.5 V - 3.3V
Pentium with MMX OverDrive
6 K5 K6 6

Socket 8 387 5 3.1V 3.3 Pentium Pro

Pentium II Pentium Pro with socket
Slot 1 242 N/A 3.3V
8 on daughtercard
SOCKET PROCESSOR AND
SOCKET
SLOT PROCESSOR AND
SOCKET
 CPU
These were available in 3 forms.

PGA (Pin Grid Array).

DIP (Dual Inline Package).

SECC (Single Edge Contact Card).

type PG
CPU
A

DIP

SECC
 MEMORY

Memory or Random access memory is the next most

prolific slots on the mother board. They contains
memory chips.

Memory chips are arranged on a small circuit board. It

is available in mainly 2 two types.

SIMM (Single Inline Memory Module).

DIMM (Dual Inline Memory Module).
These are having 30, 72, 168, 184 pins module.
Generally 168 pin module is DIMM type.
 MEMORY
Working of RAM
SLOTS
SLOTS
Micro DIMM
So DIMM
RIMM
 RAM)
This type of RAM needs a constant refresh signal in a
periodic interval in order to keep the information
what is written there.

This is chipper than SRAM.

Which is slower than SRAM.

But it is simpler than SRAM in manufacturing.

Access time is 80 nanosec.

 EDRAM

Both static and dynamic RAM are brought together to

create an improved DRAM, referred to as Enhanced
DRAM.

When SRAM is integrated, a performance of 40% can

be gained. They are used in L2 cache memory.
 SRAM (Static RAM)
This type of RAM doesn’t need constant refresh signal
in a periodic interval in order to keep the information
what is written there.

This is costlier than DRAM.

Which is faster than DRAM.

But it is more complicated than DRAM in

manufacturing.

Access time is 15 / 20 nanosec.

 SDRAM

SDRAM
 employs a special internal registers and clock signals to
organize the data request from the memory.
 It operates synchronously with the system clock. The two
versions of SDRAM are 2 clocks and 4 clocks.
SDR-SDRAM:
 Single Data Rate SDRAM. It transfers the data on one edge of
the system clock signal.
SGRAM: Synchronous Graphic RAM.
 It is designed to handle high performance graphics operation.
Here two memory pages can be opened at the same time.
ESDRAM: Enhanced SDRAM.
 It employs small cache buffers to provide high data access
rate. Used in L2 cache application.
VCM-SDRAM: Virtual Channel Memory SDRAM.
 It has onboard cache buffers to provide multiple access times
and to provide I/O transfer to each clock cycle. A special
chipset is required to support.
DDR-SDRAM:
 Double Data Rate SDRAM. It can transfer data at both

rising and falling edges of each clock cycles.

EDDR-SDRAM:
 Enhanced DDR-SDRAM. It employs onboard cache registers
to deliver improved performance.
FPM DRAM: Fast Page Mode DRAM.
 It was the most common type of RAM at the time of
486/Pentium transition. It allows the data to be paged or
swapped into the memory faster than the earlier version.
EDO DRAM: Extended Data Output DRAM.
 It increases the performance by 10 to 15 percent over

FPM DRAM by eliminating memory wait states. It should

be used with the motherboard designed for that.

VRAM: Video RAM.

 It is used to store the image data for processing by the

video adapter. It allows the adapter to display higher

resolution images.
WRAM: Windows RAM.
 It is a special version of VRAM and is optimized to

transfer blocks of data at a time. It speeds up to 150%

of VRAM.
 HANDS ON “CMOS”
Default settings Date and time

CPU settings Security

Printers parallel port Plug and play BIOS

Disabling on-board
COM / Serial ports
devices
Floppy drive
Disabling virus
Memory protection

Boot sequence Power management

 Identifying the
basic procedure
for
adding and removing
desktop components
Motherboard Display device
Fdd Keyboard

Mouse
Hdd
Nic
Cd / cdrw
Sound card
Dvd / Dvdrw Video card
Power supply
Modem
Cooling systems SCSI
Processor /cpu Usb
Memory
 Identifying
Typical IRQs, DMA, and
I/O addresses
Sound card

Internal modem

Floppy drive controllers

Hard drive controllers

Multimedia devices

NIC

ports
 Identifying For
installing and
configuring IDE devices
IDE
ATA

Serial ATA
PIO

Master / slave / cable select

Devices per channel

Primary / secondary
Cable orientation / requirements