TECHNOLOGY GUIDE 1:Hardware

TG1.1 Introduction

TG1.2 Strategic Hardware Issues

TG1.3 Computer Hierarchy

TG1.4 Input and Output Technologies

TG1.5 The Central Processing Unit

TECHNOLOGY GUIDE 1:

HARDWARE

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LEARNING OBJECTIVES

1. Identify the major hardware components of a computer system.

2. Discuss the strategic issues that link hardware design to business strategy.

3. Describe the hierarchy of computers according to power and their respective roles.

4. Differentiate the various types of input and output technologies and their uses.

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LEARNING OBJECTIVES (CONTINUED)

5. Describe the design and functioning of the central processing unit.

6. Discuss the relationships between microprocessor component designs and performance.

7. Describe the main types of primary and secondary storage.

8. Distinguish between primary and secondary storage along the dimensions of speed, cost, and capacity.

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TG 1.1 INTRODUCTION

• Hardware consists of: – Central processing unit (CPU)– Primary storage– Secondary storage– Input technologies– Output technologies– Communication technologies

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TG1.2 STRATEGIC HARDWARE ISSUES

• How do organizations keep up with the rapid price and performance advancements in hardware?

• How often should an organization upgrade its computers and storage systems?

• Will upgrades increase personal and organizational productivity?

• How can organizations measure such increase?• How should organizations determine the need for new

hardware infrastructures?• How do organizations manage employees who can

“work from anywhere?”

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TG1.3 COMPUTER HIERARCHY

1. Supercomputers

2. Mainframe Computers

3. Midrange Computers

4. Microcomputers

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MICROCOMPUTERS

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TG1.4 INPUT AND OUTPUT TECHNOLOGIES

• Two Main Types of Input Technologies:– Human data-entry: keyboard, mouse, pointing stick, trackball,

joystick, touch-screen, stylus, digital pen, Wii, Webcam, and, voice-recognition

– Source-data automation: magnetic stripe reader, barcode scanners, optical mark reader, sensors, cameras, RFID, optical character recognition

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TG1.5 THE CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT

• Central processing unit (CPU) performs the actual computation or “number crunching” inside any computer.

• The CPU is a Microprocessor made up of millions of microscopic transistors embedded in a circuit on a silicon wafer or chip. Parts of a microprocessor include: – Control unit– Arithmetic-logic unit (ALU)– Registers

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FIGURE TG 1.2 PARTS OF A MICROPROCESSOR

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FIGURE TG 1.3 HOW THE CPU WORKS

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ADVANCES IN MICROPROCESSOR DESIGN

• Moore’s Law: microprocessor complexity would double every two years.

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COMPUTER MEMORY

• Two basic categories of computer memory:– Primary storage: stores small amounts of data and information

that the CPU will use immediately.– Secondary storage: stores much larger amounts of data and

information—an entire software program, for example—for extended periods of time.

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HIERARCHY OF MEMORY CAPACITY

• Kilobyte (KB): one thousand bytes.• Megabyte (MB): one million bytes • Gigabyte (GB): 1 billion bytes • Terabyte: One trillion bytes.• Petabyte: One thousand terabytes.• Exabyte: One thousand petabytes.• Zettabyte: one thousand exabytes.

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PRIMARY STORAGE

• Primary storages stores three types of information for very brief periods of time: – data to be processed by the CPU– instructions for the CPU on how to process the data– operating system programs that manage various aspects of the

computer’s operation

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PRIMARY STORAGE (CONTINUED)

• There are 4 main types of primary storage:– Registers– Random access memory (RAM)– Cache memory– Read-only memory (ROM)

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SECONDARY STORAGE

• Secondary storage has the following characteristics:– nonvolatile– more time is needed to retrieve data from secondary storage

than from RAM– cheaper than primary storage – consists of a variety of media, each with its own technology

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SECONDARY STORAGE (CONTINUED)

• Types of secondary storage:– Magnetic tape– Magnetic disks (called hard drives)– Flash memory devices (or memory cards) – Optical disk drives (CD-ROM, DVD, Blu-ray disk)

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PRIMARY MEMORY COMPARED TO SECONDARY STORAGE

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TECHNICAL GUIDE CLOSING

1. Six major hardware components of a computer system: central processing unit (CPU), primary storage, secondary storage, input technologies, output technologies, and communications technologies.

2. There are several strategic issues linking hardware design to business strategy such as how do organizations keep up with the rapid price and performance advancements in hardware?

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TECHNICAL GUIDE CLOSING (CONTINUED)

3. The hierarchy of computers according to power and their respective roles: Supercomputers, Mainframes, Midrange Minicomputers

4. The two types of input technologies are: human data-entry and source-data automation. Output technologies include various types of monitors, impact and nonimpact printers, plotters, and voice output.

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TECHNICAL GUIDE CLOSING (CONTINUED)

5. CPU is made up of the arithmetic-logic unit (ALU), registers and control unit.

6. Microprocessor designs aim to increase processing speed.

7. Four types of primary storage: registers, cache memory, random access memory (RAM), and read-only memory (ROM). Secondary storage includes magnetic media (tapes; hard drives; and thumb, or flash, drives) and optical media (CD-ROM, DVD, and Blu-ray disks).

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TECHNICAL GUIDE CLOSING (CONTINUED)

7. Primary storage has much less capacity than secondary storage, and it is faster and more expensive per byte stored. Secondary storage is much slower and less expensive.

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