P1. Functions of the computer systems

Cole Hart

Power Supply

This supplies power (DC) for all the components in your computer.

RAM

Ram determines how many

applications you can have open at once.

CPU

CPU stands for Central Processing Unit the CPU has four primary functions:

Fetch, decode, execute and write back.There are 3 types of Cores to the CPU, these are Dual, Quad and Single Core. The quad core is faster because there is 4 processers sharing the same job,

Furthermore the quad core will also be hotter because there is 4 of them. For instance if I have got an i7 quad core

2.2Ghz it will be 8.8Ghz.

Heat SinkThe heat sink helps the

CPU to cool down by getting rid of excess heat

Motherboard

The motherboard holds all of the components in place, the motherboard

goes inside the case.

NIC, Wireless NIC and Video adapter.

NIC stand for network interface card, the NIC lets you connect to the internet via Ethernet and the wireless NIC lets you connect to the internet via wireless, and the video adapter

has all the important ports such as VGA, headphone and microphone slots.

Hard Disk Drive

The hard disk drive or HDD is where you save your work, this is also known as the

C: drive. This is where the

applications are stored/saved.

Optical Drive

The optical drive lets you play DVD’s CD’s and you can insert

disks such as installing a game, or adobe Photoshop etc.

PATA Drive

PATA or (Parallel Advanced Technology Attachment) the PATA

drive is used to connect the HDD to the motherboard.

Floppy Drive

We don’t use floppy drives anymore, because it didn’t hold enough memory

so now we have started to use the more modern USB.

SATA cableThe external SATA ports

provide the same function but for an external device. Most

external hard drives are already formatted. You just

connect the data cable (as you would if you were connecting a

USB device).

External Cables

Some of the external cables are, USB, mouse, keyboard and VGA. These are all slots at the back

of the tower, you will need the mouse and keyboard to actually use the computer and If you wanted to connect a monitor you would use the

VGA.