Introduction to Computer Systems: Basic elements

What is a hardware element?

• A keyboard, a mouse, an operating system and a hard drive.

• Consists of tangible objects, the actual machinery, physical parts of the computer.

• Consists of algorithms and their computer representations: programs.

Which port do we use to connect the sound card to the motherboard?

• PCI

• SATA

• IDE

• PCI express

What is a software element?

• A keyboard, a mouse, an operating system and a hard drive.

• Consists of tangible objects, the actual machinery, physical parts of the computer.

• Consists of algorithms and their computer representations: programs.

Which one is true?

• The cache memory is an internal memory of the CPU that stores the most frequently used instructions.

• The cache memory is an internal memory of the CPU that stores all the instructions of the executing program.

• The cache memory is an internal memory of the CPU. It is volatile and has a great capacity.

• The cache memory is an internal memory of the CPU. It is non volatile and has a low capacity.

About a motherboard...

• The extended ATX is the most common one so it is used in most computers.

• Provides a physical interface for the interconnection of the other elements (processor, RAM memory, hard disk…)

• Micro ATX and Mini ITX models are smaller and have more connectors for expansion cards and RAM memories than the standard ATX.

Which one is true?

• It handles large amounts of data and performs calculations at low speed.

• It is placed in the motherboard by means of a PCI express socket.

• Receives data from the input peripherals (keyboard, mouse…) or RAM memory.

• Its cache memory determines the time it needs to complete a process.

About the RAM memory...

• It is placed on the motherboard, via dedicated sockets like the PCI slots.

• It is a read/write memory and non volatile.

• It is the one that stores the program to initialize the system.

• It is a volatile read/write memory.

About the Bios...

• It is a memory which stores a program to initialize the physical components when the computer is turned on.

• It is not in charge of checking these components to find posible errors or absence, like lack of RAM, CPU or hard disk.

• It is a volatile memory which stores a program to initialize the physical components when the computer is turned on

• Manages communications between the processor and the other elements of the motherboard.

About the RAM memory...

• If the RAM memory has a too large capacity the performance of the computer can be reduced.

• Stores programs and data required by the CPU during the execution of a program while providing quick acces to the processor.

• Stores programs and data required by the CPU during the execution of a program while providing slow acces to the processor.

• Sends information to the hard drive when the CPU wants to run a program.

About apps...

• Main software of the computer system.

• Software packages intended for the execution of specific tasks.

• Each peripheral device has an specific program which needs to be installed in order to allow the operating system to communicate and control the device.

• It manages hardware resources, programs and applications.