inside a pc exploring the major components copyright © texas education agency, 2011. all rights...

Inside a PCExploring the Major Components

Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2011. All rights reserved.


Inside a PC: Objectives

Students will identify and explain the function of the major components inside a personal computer (PC).

Students will work in teams to remove and replace elements attached to a motherboard.

I. Safety First – General Guidelines:

A. Wear a static discharge wristband while working on computer components.

B. BEWARE – some electronic devices will store energy and discharge at unexpected times. This will hurt the computer more than it will hurt you.


I. Safety First – General Guidelines:

C. Disconnect the power cord before removing the case.

D. Disconnect the peripheral devices, including the keyboard and mouse.


II. Major Components:

A. Motherboard1. Referred to as the heart of

the computer.2. The Main circuit board of the

computer.3. Contains the CPU chip, PCI

slots, AGP slots, RAM slots.4. Allows all components to communicate with each

other

Courtesy of Howstuffworks.com



B. CPU: Central Processing Unit

1. Runs software processes

2. Location: under the heat sink

3. Remove with chip pulling tool

Courtesy of Howstuffworks.com


C. RAM Random Access Memory

1. Is a board made up of memory chips.

2. Volatile Memory3. Data lost with power

down4. The board fits into the

RAM slots on the motherboard



http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ca/Memory_module_DDRAM_20-03-2006.jpg

D. Expansion Cards1. A small circuit board that

fits into slots on the motherboard.

2. Common types of expansion slots are: PCI and AGP.

3. Types of Cards NIC, Video, Audio, USB

ports, FireWire ports.



D. Expansion Cards1. Have ports located on the

vertical edge of the card.2. Once the cover or case is put

back in place, the ports can be seen on the back side of the computer (also called the backplane).

3. Peripheral devices (such as speakers) can be plugged into these ports.



E. Hard Disk (Drive) An input/output device

that stores hard disk program/data files used by a PC.

F. IDE Cable Cable that looks like a

ribbon. It connects the hard drive

to the motherboard.



F. Optical Drive (CD Drive)1. Uses a light reader to

record/store information. 2. DVD or CD-ROM R/W Drive



G. Power Supply1. Converts external power2. Regulates and distributes appropriate

power throughout the PC.Power supply optical drive

hard

driveVideo card

III. Major Components:


Lab Assignment

You will explore the major components inside a PC! Follow lab assignment instructions.

You will be divided into teams and assigned a work station.Take turns removing & replacing elements attached to the motherboard.Complete and turn in Lab Report.


inside a pc exploring the major components copyright © texas education agency, 2011. all rights...

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