Exemplar Lesson on Computer Systems

Fundamentals o
Computer
Systems: Types
Computer Syste

LESSON 03A

Objectives

 Define types of Computer System

 List operational characterises of Components

 Outline choice, use and performance of different
components

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Personal
Computers

What defines a Personal Computer System?

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Multiple Choice

What type of waves are sound waves?

• Transverse Waves

• Longitudinal Waves

• Electromagnetic Waves

• Surface Waves

Internal
Components

 What are the critical
components that make
up a Computer System?

 Are there any additional
components that are
‘luxury’
addons/upgrades

 What other
components/peripherals
can be added to add
additional functionality?

We’ve used a few terms that you’re probably familiar with, but may not know the
specifics of how they work. Using the internet, research the function of the GPU & RAM

Multi-Functional Devices

Devices that are capable of performing more than one
specific function

Can you name any multi-functional devices? What makes
them multi-functional?

Lesson Summary

 A personal computer is a general purpose computing device that is small and cheap
enough for it to be used by individuals.

 They contain a motherboard that connects together the CPU, RAM, storage & expansion
cards.

 The CPU is the brains of the computer. It performs the actual processing.

 The RAM stores software and files while they’re in use.

The storage device will store software and files while they’re not in use.

 Expansion cards add extra capabilities to the device. For example, a graphics card gives
it powerful graphics rendering capabilities.

 A multifunctional device is a device that is capable of performing more than one specific
function.

 There are all kinds of multi-functional device, such as a multi-functional printer and a
smartphone. This means the internal components will vary greatly.

Types of Computer Systems (Cont.)

As we learnt last lesson, there are different types of computer
systems that each have their own role. These computer systems
have similar internal components, but there are differences

In this lesson, we’ll learn about types of computer system and the
purpose, features & uses of their internal components for:

 Servers

 Mobile devices

Servers

Some common examples of servers and the services they
provide include:

 Web servers: Host web pages and associated files, providing
access to them over a network

 Mail servers: Sends and receives emails over a network

 File servers: Stores and manages access to files and folders over
a network

 Print servers: Provides and manages access to printers over a
network

Internal
Components

Why would the
components be different
from that of a desktop
personal computer?

How do you think servers
make more efficient use of
multi-core CPU’s

Why does server RAM
include ECC (Error correct
code)

Why do servers have
additional protection from
HDD vibration?

Mobile Devices

 A mobile device is a computing device that is designed to be
portable by being compact, light-weight and capable of running for
extended periods on battery power.

 They’re also almost always capable of connecting to the internet
wirelessly, either through mobile broadband or Wi-Fi

Mobile Devices Internal Components

 With mobile devices, all of the main internal components are built
into a single integrated circuit (Referred to as “System-on-a-Chip”)
 As these components are built directly into the chip they are not
replaceable, so upgrading individual components is not possible
 Saves space for a larger battery
 More efficient for far greater performance than equivalent PC
components
 Lower power requirements, saving battery & reducing the heat
(no space for Fans in mobile device)
 The main memory uses LPDDR RAM (uses less power than
traditional DDR RAM)
 They also use Flash Memory for storage for similar reasons

Extension Task: Research more about System-on-a-Chip and how it is
beneficial to mobile devices.

Lesson Summary

• A server is a computer that manages access to different resources and
services over a network

• A server CPU generally has more Cache memory and more cores. Server
motherboards often allow for more than one CPU too

• Server RAM likely uses ECC to ensure it is capable of preventing errors.

• Servers generally use a HDD due to the larger capacity, server HDDs need
better dampening to prevent damage from vibrations

• Servers usually won’t have a GPU

• With mobile devices, all of the main internal components are built into a
single integrated circuit (“System-on-a-Chip”)

• Mobile CPUs use the ARM architecture, which is different to PC and server
CPUs

• Mobile RAM is usually LPDDR which uses less power

• Mobile storage is usually flash storage which is faster and uses less power.

Choice, Use & Performance of Internal
Components

 Internal components have a major impact on the
performance of computer systems and so choosing them
must be done carefully.

Factor affecting choice, use and performance of the:

 CPU

 RAM

 Graphics Card

CPU

Performance Factors include:
 Number of Cores: Each core can process an instruction (more cores
theoretically mean more instructions)
 Clock Speed: How many cycles per second (Each cycle an instruction
can be processed)
 Cache Size: Super fast memory that can pass instructions to the CPU
quickly

 Choice factors to include:
 The performance factors (Does it meet your software requirements)
 The motherboard CPU Socket

The CPU executes the instructions that make up the software
programs running on the computer

Extension Task: How do server CPUs differ to desktop CPUs? Research online

RAM

Performance Factors include:
 Memory Size

 Memory Speed – This represents how much data RAM can store & retrieve per
second

 Timings represent the number of cycles for the RAM to do something.

RAM performance is really a combination of it’s clock speed (how many cycles per
second) and it’s timings (how many cycles to do something)

 Choice factors to include:
 The performance factors (Does it meet your software requirements)

 The motherboard CPU Socket

The main memory of your computer is where
data is stored before it is processed by the CPU

Extension Task: What does DDR mean? Is there an alternative to DDR RAM?

Graphics Card

 The performance of the graphics card is affected by two main
factors:
 GPU Cores/Clock Speed – a specialised processor designed to perform
graphics processing,
 VRAM Size/Clock Speed – VRAM is used to store data the GPU will need
to render images, such as textures & the frame buffer.
 VRAM is more optimised for graphics processing tasks and also tends to
have a faster clock speed than RAM

 When choosing a graphics card the most important factors are a
powerful GPU, and a large amount of VRAM
 Connecting your graphics card will be done via a PCI Express port

A graphics card contains two major components
to support this. The GPU (Graphics Processing
Unit) & the VRAM (Video RAM).

Extension Task: Modern CPUs can have integrated graphics. Research how this
works and whether it is equivalent to a dedicated graphics card.

Cooling Graphics Cards

Video cards may use a lot of
electricity which is converted into
heat

If the heat isn’t dissipated, the
video card could overheat and
get damaged

Cooling devices are incorporated
to transfer the heat elsewhere

Power Demand

Fast Video Cards consume a great deal of
power

Power demands of GPU are mainly greater than
that of CPUs, meaning that the video card may
be the biggest power consumer in the system

Most connection systems that can be used to
connect a graphics card supply no more than
75watts to power a graphics card

For recent graphics cards that require more
than this level of power can connect to a direct
PSU power source

8 pin (150W) power source

Advantages
of Graphics
Cards

Anti-Aliasing: This is a technique used to counter
distortion caused by aliasing effects

Motion Blur: Effect used to blur objects moving
in fast motion

Texture Mapping: Allows the addition of detail on
surfaces, without adding complexity

Depth of Field: Technique that blurs out of focus
objects

Lens Flare: Imitation of light sources

Fresnel Effect: Reflections over an object,
depending on the angle of vision, the greater the
angle of vision the greater the reflection

Graphics Interface

It is the connection system which connects the
graphics card to the motherboard

Although there are many different connection
systems the main two in use today are AGP and PCI-
Express

Extension Task: Modern CPUs can have integrated graphics. Research how this
works and whether it is equivalent to a dedicated graphics card.

The graphics card's hardware directly
affects its speed. These are the
hardware specifications that most affect
the card's speed and the units in which
they are measured:
• GPU clock speed (MHz)
• Size of the memory bus (bits)
• Amount of available memory (MB)
• Memory clock rate (MHz)
• Memory bandwidth (GB/s)
• RAMDAC speed (MHz)

Graphics Card

Lesson Summary

So to summarise what we’ve learnt in this lesson so far:
 The CPU executes the instructions that make up the software programs running
on our computer
 CPU performance is affected by the number of cores, clock speed & cache size.
 Choosing a CPU is affected by numerous the performance factors, as well as the
CPU socket on your motherboard
 RAM is where data is stored before it is processed by the CPU
 RAM performance is affected by the amount of RAM, its clock speed and timings
 Like the CPU, choosing RAM is affected by various performance factors, as well
as compatibility with the RAM DIMM sockets on the motherboard
 Graphics cards are also specialised for performing graphics processing much
more efficiently.
 Graphics card performance is affected by the GPUs number of cores and clock
speed as well as the VRAM size and clock speed
 Choosing a graphics card is mostly affected by the performance factors though
you’ll want to ensure a PCI-Express port is available

Quiz 3: Question 1

Which of the following factors might you consider when
choosing a CPU?

Choose two options

1. GPU Cores

2. Cache Size

3. RAM Size

4. CPU Socket

Quiz 3: Question 2

With multithreading, how many instructions can a single
core process at the same time?

1. 1

2. 2

3. 3

4. 4

Quiz 3: Question 3

DDR3 RAM will work in a DDR4 RAM slot?

1. True

2. False

Quiz 3: Question 4

What is the name of the small amount of fast memory
located on the CPU?

1. Cache Memory

2. DDR RAM

3. VRAM

4. ROM

Quiz 3: Question 5

Which of the following factors will usually have a bigger
impact on RAM performance?

1. The amount of RAM available

2. The clock speed of the RAM

Quiz 3: Question 6

When a computer generates graphics the GPU performs
the rendering and texture mapping

1. True

2. False

Quiz 3: Question 7

Typically, how many cores does a modern high-end
graphics card GPU have?

1. 1

2. 10

3. 100s

4. 1000s

Quiz 3: Question 8

Which of the following would commonly be stored in
VRAM?

1. Operating System

2. Textures

3. Frame Buffer

4. Spreadsheet Files