everything you ever wanted to know about computers
Post on 07-Apr-2018
226 Views
Preview:
TRANSCRIPT
-
8/4/2019 Everything you ever wanted to know about computers
1/26
(But now I bet you are sorry you asked)
-
8/4/2019 Everything you ever wanted to know about computers
2/26
Most people have a passing curiosity about these mysteriousdevices that seem to infiltrate every aspect of Modern Life.
Unfortunately, sometimes they make the mistake of askingme, an engineer/geek Just how do those things work?
I usually start with the history of the atom and four hours later
I am still trying to explain the need for the Flux Capacitor.The purpose of this presentation is to curtail my need toexplain every boring detail and to make computers easier tounderstand for the Sub Genius.
-
8/4/2019 Everything you ever wanted to know about computers
3/26
Just the Facts, Jack
Inside of every
computer there a
few basic parts.
The Motherboard
This is the main part thateverything thing else
plugs into or onto.
-
8/4/2019 Everything you ever wanted to know about computers
4/26
Just the Facts, Jack
Inside of every
computer there a
few basic parts.
The Drives(Hard Drives, CD/DVD or
Solid State Drives)
The drives connect to the
Motherboard through the
IDE connectors (older) or
the SATA connectors.
-
8/4/2019 Everything you ever wanted to know about computers
5/26
Just the Facts, Jack
Inside of every
computer there a
few basic parts.
The Memoryor RAM(Random Access Memory)
There are many flavors ofRAM, but these days you
probably have either DDR2
or DDR3 = newer and
faster.
-
8/4/2019 Everything you ever wanted to know about computers
6/26
Just the Facts, Jack
Inside of every
computer there a
few basic parts.
The CentralProcessing Unit
or CPU
Usually made byIntel or AMD
(American Micro Devices).
-
8/4/2019 Everything you ever wanted to know about computers
7/26
Just the Facts, Jack
Inside of every
computer there a
few basic parts.
The GraphicsProcessing Unit
or GPU.
Usually made byNvidia or AMD.
-
8/4/2019 Everything you ever wanted to know about computers
8/26
The Motherboard
This is the main part thateverything thing else
plugs into or onto.
The MB has many chips,
slots, plugs and circuitsthat are printed onto a
piece of plastic. It serves
to connect a bunch of
stupid chips into a smart
collection of silicon that
we can occasionally make
to do something useful.
-
8/4/2019 Everything you ever wanted to know about computers
9/26
The Motherboard
The Power ConnectorsInside of your box or lying
on the floor near your
laptop is a Power Supply
Unit or PSU. It convertswall power at 120 volts
alternating current (~)
into power the computer
can use. The computer
needs 12 or 5 or 1.273etc. volts direct current
(+/-), going to the right
place at the right time.
-
8/4/2019 Everything you ever wanted to know about computers
10/26
The Motherboard
The PCI slotsPCI meansPersonal Computer Interface.These provide a means toadd devices to yourcomputer such as a Video
Graphics Card, or more USBports. PCI is standard.PCIe(xpress) x1 is newer,and PCIe x16 is a high speedslot used for graphics cards.Many computers have thegraphics chips built onto theMotherboard, as a lowerperformance alternative.
Most laptops do not have PCIexpansion slots.
-
8/4/2019 Everything you ever wanted to know about computers
11/26
The Motherboard
The I/O connectors.
Without Input and Outputthe computer would notknow what to do, nor
would we know what itwas doing. These includemice, keyboards,monitors, printers,scanners, joysticks,
wheels, speakers,networks, cameras andother USB (UniversalSerial Bus) devices.
-
8/4/2019 Everything you ever wanted to know about computers
12/26
The Drives
(Hard Drives, CD/DVD orSolid State Drives)
The drives connect to the
Motherboard through the
IDE connectors (older) orthe SATA connectors.
The drives are the only
way your computer can
remember anything oncethe power has been shut
off. They are used to load
data into the memory
chips.
-
8/4/2019 Everything you ever wanted to know about computers
13/26
The Drives
Hard Drives are an unholymarriage between arecord player and acassette tape (Kids, askyour parents). The
aluminum platter iscoated with magneticstuff (rust). The actuatorarm moves back and forthlike a record needle,
zapping the platter withmagnetic pulses as itspins. The arm does notmove in a spiral, it can goanywhere at anytime.
-
8/4/2019 Everything you ever wanted to know about computers
14/26
The Drives
CD/DVD Drives use a laserbeam to detect or burn tiny
holes onto an aluminum foil
disk. You can see the laser
lens in the middle (blue
circle). The drive spins thedisk and the laser moves
back and forth to see the
entire disk (you can see the
rods it slides on at either
side of the picture). CDs usea red laser and DVDs use a
blue laser. The blue laser
can make a smaller hole.
-
8/4/2019 Everything you ever wanted to know about computers
15/26
The Drives
Solid State Drives - SSDs
These are a new and expensive type ofdrive that is essentially a huge and fastUSB Flash Drive that uses non-volatilememory (it retains its memory whenthe power goes off).
They cost 10 times more than a normaldrive, but they can be more than 50
times faster and use a lot lesselectricity. They are used in businessesthat need to cram more capacity intothe same IT room. One thing SSDs areexcellent at is as Internet servers
where 1000s of tiny bits of info needto be delivered super fast. Those kindof operations make a mechanical hard
drive slow down when the arm has towiggle all over the disk.
They are great for putting programson, so the Operating System and othersoftware can load up faster. Mostpeople then use a conventional Harddrive for saving their data.
-
8/4/2019 Everything you ever wanted to know about computers
16/26
The Drives
The InternetIt is best to think of theInternet as just another Harddrive that is connected toyour computer. It is just a
Hard drive that is infinitelyHUGE, Complex and gettingbigger all the time. TheWorld Wide Web is just theagreed upon means toorganize and display all of
that stuff so that meremortals dont get their LOLKittens mixed up with theirWikiLeaks.
-
8/4/2019 Everything you ever wanted to know about computers
17/26
Memory or RAM
(Random Access Memory)This is the computers
REAL brain.
A computer can not think
about anything until oneof the drives places the
data into memory.
Then the data passes back
and forth between theCPU and the RAM through
the Motherboard circuits.
-
8/4/2019 Everything you ever wanted to know about computers
18/26
Memory: The Sequel or ROM
(Read Only Memory)The ROM chips do not lose theirmemory when the power goesoff.
A powered down computer isbeyond stupid. The main ROM
is called the BIOS (Basic InputOutput System) and it tells theMotherboard how to turn thisconfusing collection of chipsand wires into a computer thatcan then load the OperatingSystem (Windows, Mac, etc.).
When you see the black andwhite text as the computer isstarting up you are looking atthe BIOS in action.
-
8/4/2019 Everything you ever wanted to know about computers
19/26
The CPU
Have you ever wonderedwhat 410 million transistorson circuitry so dense it isequal to a map of everystreet in the U.S.miniaturized down to less
than 1 centimeter squarelooks like?
And this is an obsolete
Intel Core 2 Duo.
CPUs have progressed to thepoint that only other SuperCPUs can design them, kindof like the Terminator.
Scary isnt it?
-
8/4/2019 Everything you ever wanted to know about computers
20/26
The CPU
The CPU is like the engine ofyour car. It makes everything go,but without hundreds of othersystems supporting it, the CPU isas dumb as the sand from
whence it came.
Many PC sellers try to foolpeople into buying the fastestCPU. But if the Motherboard,Drives, Memory and Graphics are
junk, the CPU can not do its jobproperly.
Just imagine if you tried to racea car with a huge amount ofhorsepower, but it had skinnytires. You would go nowhere fastand crash at the first corner.
-
8/4/2019 Everything you ever wanted to know about computers
21/26
The CPU
When one is building acomputer the slowest part isthe weakest link. This iscommonly referred to as abottleneck.
One needs fast Motherboardcircuitry (referred to as theFront Side Bus or FSB),Memory speed, Drive speedand a Graphics ProcessingUnit (GPU) to give the CPU
the ability to flex itsmuscles.Typically the CPU isbottlenecked by the rest ofthe system.
-
8/4/2019 Everything you ever wanted to know about computers
22/26
Graphics Processing Unit
The GPU is the part of thecomputer that draws on thescreen. A long time ago itwas determined that it ismuch better to have aspecialized mini computeron a card (or a chip) tohandle all of the graphics.This frees up the CPU to dothe heavy thinking. Themost popular GPUs aremade by NvidiaGeForce orAMDRadeon. And thereare very expensive GPUsmade for professional usesuch as engineering ordigital content creation(movies and games).
-
8/4/2019 Everything you ever wanted to know about computers
23/26
Graphics Processing Unit
For many people an on the
Motherboard or IntegratedGraphics Chip is just fine. Ifyou do graphics or playgames, A good GPU is one ofthe most cost effective waysto upgrade your computer.
This is me comparing thespeed of my old 9600 GPUin red to my new 465 ingreen. Laptops usually cannot upgrade the GPU, solook before you buy.
For professional work someGPUs can cost more than thecomputer they are pluggedinto.
-
8/4/2019 Everything you ever wanted to know about computers
24/26
How it all works
The CPU thinks in clock cycles. It is like
a very limited person that can dothings extremely fast. Let us look at
the schedule of a typical CPU cycle.
12:00- Read the Mouse
01:00- Write the Mouse to RAM
02:00- Read the Keyboard
03:00- Write the Keyboard to RAM04:00- Read the Hard drive to RAM
05:00- Write the RAM to the Hard drive
06:00- Try to figure out what that idiot
pounding the keyboard wants
07:00- Tell the GPU to draw something
08:00- Read the Internet
09:00- Tell the sound chip to beep
10:00- Send a bit of power to all the
components
11:00- The cycle is almost over, I
better crunch a few numbers
12:00- Lather, Rinse, Repeat
-
8/4/2019 Everything you ever wanted to know about computers
25/26
How it all works
Smart Phones, Tablets and MP3 players
are a special breed of computers thatare usually powered by a System On a
Chip or SOC. Apple makes their own
SOCs and another popular brand is
made by ARM in England. Inside they
work just like any other Mainframe,
Desktop or Laptop.
Most of these smaller devices do not
have hard drives and use non-volatile
memory much like a Solid State Drive.
A regular Hard drive is 3.5 inches,
Laptops use 2.5 inch drives, but iPods
and other MP3 players use 1 inch Hard
drives.It amazes me that a drive the size of a
Quarter can hold more information than
the entire computer network that I
used to manage in my engineering
office back in the 1990s
-
8/4/2019 Everything you ever wanted to know about computers
26/26
(Are you still sorry you asked?)
XYZcoordinates 2011
Cort Anthony Byron Graphic Designer
top related