TESDA Assestment Review on

Computer Hardware Servicing NC II

(Internal Components) 2014 -2015

Familiarization of Basic
Parts of a system unit

Components that builds up

a personal computer

Keyboard
Wireless Keyboard
Wired Keyboard
USB Connector
Personal Sytem 2 Connector / PS2 Connector
Serial Connector

Mouse
Wireless Mouse
Wired Mouse
Optical Mouse
Mechanical Mouse (Track Ball)

MiniUSB Connector
Personal Sytem 2 Connector / PS2 Connector
Serial Connector
Bluetooth Connection

Monitor
CRT ( Cathode Ray Tube) Monitor
LCD (Liquid Cystal Display) Monitor
LED (Light-emitting diode ) based video
displays
USB Connector
VGA Port Connector
Printer
Buble Jet
Dot Matrix
Ink Jet
Plotter
Laser Printers
ETC
USB Connector
Serial Connector
Parallel Connector
Scanner
Speaker

System Unit

A computer case (also known as a computer

chassis, cabinet, box, tower, enclosure,
housing, system unit or simply case) is the
enclosure that contains most of the components
of a computer (usually excluding the display,
keyboard and mouse).
A computer case is sometimes incorrectly
referred to metonymously as a CPU or hard drive
referring to components housed within the case.

The Back of the System

Unit

Keyboard Port / mouse

port

The PS/2 connector is a 6pin Mini-DIN connector used

for connecting some
keyboards and mice to a
PC compatible computer
system.

Pin out

Female connector from the front

Pin 1

+DATA

Data

Pin 2

Not

Not

connected

connected*

Pin 3

GND

Ground

Pin 4

Vcc

+5 V DC at
275 mA

Pin 5

+CLK

Clock

Pin 6

Not

Not

connected

connected*
*

* On some computers mouse data for splitter

USB Ports

Universal Serial Bus (USB) is a specification to

establish communication between devices and a
host controller (usually a personal computer),
which has effectively replaced a variety of earlier
interfaces such as serial and parallel ports. (4pinned Connector)

USB can connect computer peripherals such as

mice, keyboards, digital cameras, printers,
personal media players, USB flash drives,
USB network adapters, and external hard drives.
For many of those devices, USB has become the
standard connection method.

Serial Port

a serial port is a
serial communication physical
interface through which
information transfers in or out
one bit at a time (contrast
parallel port).
A male 9-PIN connector
used for a serial port on a IBM
PC compatible computer.

Parralel Port

A parallel port is a type of interface

found on computers (personal and
otherwise) for connecting various
peripherals. In computing, a parallel port
is a parallel communication physical
interface. It is also known as a printer
port or Centronics port.
Port addresses
Traditionally IBM PC systems have allocated their first three parallel ports
according to the configuration in the table below.

PORT NAME Interrupt #

Starting I/O Ending I/O

LPT1

IRQ 7

0x378

0x37f

LPT2

IRQ 5

0x278

0x27f

LPT3

IRQ 2

0x3bc

0x3bf

IRQ Interrupt Request

Built-in Audio Port (Audio Port)

These are used to connect speakers, microphones,
and other audio devices.

Headphone Jack (Light Green)

A computer's headphone jack outputs any sound coming

from the computer into headphones or external speakers.

Mic Input (Light Pink)

Many computers come with a dedicated microphone input

port for plugging in an external microphone to interface

with the computer.

Mono Input (Light Blue)

A mono input port allows you to plug in an external

device, like a music mixing board, guitar or music player.

This port only allows for single-channel sound coming out
of both speakers.

Sound Card (Expansion

Card)

A sound card (also known as

an audio card) is an internal
computer expansion card that
facilitates the input and output
of audio signals to and from a
computer under control of
computer programs.
The term sound card is also
applied to external audio
interfaces that use software to
generate sound, as opposed to
using hardware inside the PC.

Built-in Video Port

(Video Port)

Video Graphics Array (VGA) (15 PIN)

Analog-based standard adopted in the late

1980s designed for CRT displays, also called
VGA connector. Some problems of this
standard are electrical noise, image distortion
and sampling error evaluating pixels.

Video Card (Expansion Card)

A video card, display card, graphics card, or
graphics adapter is an expansion card which
generates a feed of output images to a display.
The graphics card is most commonly
known as a graphics processing unit
(GPU).
Components
Graphics Processing Unit
A GPU is a dedicated processor optimized for
accelerating graphics. The processor is designed
specifically to perform floating-point calculations,
which are fundamental to 3D graphics rendering
and 2D picture drawing
Heat Sink
A Heat Sink Is mounted on high performance
graphics cards. A heat sink spreads out the heat
produced by the graphics processing unit evenly

Video BIOS
The video BIOS or firmware contains the basic
program, which is usually hidden, that governs the
video card's operations and provides the
instructions that allow the computer and software
to interact with the card.
Video memory
Video memory may be used for storing other data
as well as the screen image, such as the Z-buffer,
which manages the depth coordinates in
3D graphics, textures, vertex buffers, and
compiled shader programs.

Built-in NIC (Network Interface

Controller) Network Interface

The network interface or slot

is normally called just that,
and not a port. It is
sometimes referred to as an
Ethernet connector. It connects
your PC in a Local Area
Network.

Network Interface Controller

(NIC) LAN Card (Expansion Card)

A network interface controller (also

known as a network interface card,
network adapter, LAN adapter and by
similar terms) is a computer hardware
component that connects a computer to
a computer network.

Whereas network interface controllers

were commonly implemented on
expansion cards that plug into a
computer bus, the low cost and ubiquity
of the Ethernet standard means that
most newer computers have a network
interface built into the motherboard.

Internal Components of
a Mother Board

Typical ATX Motherboard

Motherboard
is the central printed circuit board (PCB) in
many modern computers and holds many of the
crucial components of the system, while
providing connectors for other peripherals. The
motherboard is sometimes alternatively known
as the mainboard, system board, or, on Apple
computers, the logic board.2011 -2012

Some types of Motherboard

AT Motherboard - The IBM AT

became a widely copied design in the
booming home computer market of the
1980s. IBM clones made at the time
began using AT compatible designs,
contributing to its popularity. In the
1990s many computers still used AT
and its variants. Since 1997, the AT
form factor has been largely
supplanted by ATX.

BTX (for Balanced Technology

Extended) is a form factor for
motherboards, originally slated to be the
replacement for the aging ATX
motherboard form factor in late 2004 and
early 2005.

Enhancements of BTX
Low-profile - With the push for eversmaller systems, a redesigned backplane
that shaves inches off height requirements
is a benefit to system integrators and
enterprises who use rack mounts or
blade servers.

ATX (Advanced Technology Extended) is a

motherboard form factor
specification
developed by Intel in 1995 to improve on
previous
de facto standards
like
the
AT form factor. It was the first big change in
computer case, motherboard, and power supply
design
in
many
years,
improving
standardization and interchangeability of parts..
ATX I/O plates
On the back of the
system, some major
changes were made. The
AT standard had only a
keyboard connector and
expansion slots for add-on
card backplates.

CPU socket or CPU slot

A CPU socket or CPU slot is

a mechanical component that
provides mechanical and
electrical connections
between a device (usually a
microprocessor) and a
printed circuit board (PCB).
This allows the CPU to be
replaced without risking
the damage typically
introduced when using
soldering tools.

Socket
name

Socket 462/
Socket A

Year of
Year of
introducti
CPU families
EOL
on

2000

AMD Athlon
AMD Duron
AMD Athlon
XP
AMD Athlon
XP-M
AMD Athlon
MP
AMD
Sempron

Package

Pin
count

Pin pitch

Bus speed

PGA

462

100-200MHz
This is a
double data
rate bus
having a 400
MT/s

Notes

(megatransfe
rs/second) fsb
in the later
models

CPU sockets are used in desktop and server computers (laptops

typically use surface mount CPUs) because they allow easy
swapping of components, they are also used for prototyping new
circuits.

CPU Fan and Heatsink Mount

a heat sink is a passive

component that cools a device
by dispelling heat into the
surrounding air.
A heat sink is designed to
increase the surface area in
contact with the cooling fluid
surrounding it, such as the air.
Design and surface treatment
are some of the factors which
affect the thermal performance
of a heat sink. Heat sinks are
used to cool computer
central processing units or
graphics processors.

Thermal grease / paste

also called ( thermal gel, thermal

compound, thermal paste, heat
paste, heat sink paste, heat
transfer compound, heat transfer
paste (HTP) or heat sink compound)
is a fluid substance, originally with
properties similar to grease, which
increases the thermal conductivity of a
thermal interface by filling microscopic
air-gaps present due to the imperfectly
flat and smooth surfaces of the
components; the compound has far
greater thermal conductivity than air
(but far less than metal).

CPU Fan Connector

Connectors usually used for computer fans

(there is no agreed standard) are

3-pin Molex connector

This connector is used when connecting a
fan to the motherboard or other circuit
board. The three pins are used for ground,
+12 V power, and a tachometer signal.
4-pin Molex connector
This is a special variant of the Molex KK
connector with four pins but with the
locking/polarisation features of a 3-pin
connector. The additional pin is used for a
pulse-width modulation signal to
provide variable speed control.

24 Pin ATX Power Connector

The power connector powers the object

on the board such as CPU and
memory, but it doesnt power the Hard
drive, CD-ROM, or Floppy drives.

Originally the motherboard was powered by

one 20-pin connector. An ATX power supply
provides a number of peripheral power
connectors, and (in modern systems) two
connectors for the motherboard: a 4-pin
auxiliary connector providing
additional power to the CPU, and a
main 24-pin power supply connector, an
extension of the original 20-pin version.

Floppy Disk Drive

Connector

This 34 pin FDD port/connector

( Floppy Disk Drive Port /
Connector provides
standardized interface for FDD
or Floppy Disk Drive.

IDE Connector EIDE Connector

Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE) or

Enhanced Integrated Drive
Electronics (EIDE)

IDE / EIDE Connector/Ports provides

standardized interface for Hard Drives,
CD-Media Drives, and other EIDE/IDE
devices.
Each IDE/EIDE Port/Connector has 40-pin

Parallel ATA (PATA), originally AT

Attachment, is an interface standard for
the connection of storage devices such as
hard disks, solid-state drives, floppy
drives, and optical disc drives in
computers.

SATA Connector

Serial ATA (SATA or Serial Advanced

Technology Attachment) is a
computer bus interface for connecting
host bus adapters to
mass storage devices such as
hard disk drives and optical drives.

Connectors and cables present the

most visible differences between SATA
and parallel ATA drives. Unlike PATA,
the same connectors are used on 3.5inch (89mm) SATA hard disks for
desktop and server computers and 2.5inch (64mm) disks for portable or small
computers.

CMOS Backup battery

Complementary metaloxide
semiconductor (CMOS)

CMOS is also sometimes referred

to as complementary-symmetry
metaloxidesemiconductor (or
COS-MOS)

A backup battery provides power

to a system when the primary
source of power is unavailable.
Backup batteries range from small
single cells to retain clock time and
date in computers.

Expansion Slots
An expansion slot is a socket on the motherboard that is used
to insert an expansion card (or circuit board), which provides
additional features to a computer such as video, sound,
advanced graphics, Ethernet or memory.
The expansion card has an edge connector that fits precisely
into the expansion slot as well as a row of contacts that is
designed to establish an electrical connection between the
motherboard and the electronics on the card, which are
mostly integrated circuits.

DIMM Memory Slots (Memory

Slots)

A DIMM or dual in-line memory

module, comprises a series of
dynamic random-access memory
integrated circuits. These modules
are mounted on a
printed circuit board and designed for
use in personal computers,
workstations and servers.

DIMMs began to replace SIMMs

(single in-line memory modules) as
the predominant type of memory
module as Intel P5-based Pentium
processors began to gain market
share.

The most common types of DIMMs are:

72-pin SO-DIMM (not the same as a 72-pin SIMM), used for FPM
DRAM and EDO (extended data output) DRAM
100-pin DIMM, used for printer SDRAM
144-pin SO-DIMM(small outline), used for SDR SDRAM
168-pin DIMM, used for SDR SDRAM (less frequently for FPM/EDO
DRAM in workstations/servers) (3.3 Volts)
172-pin MicroDIMM, used for DDR SDRAM (3.3 Volts)
184-pin DIMM, used for DDR SDRAM (2.5 Volts)
200-pin SO-DIMM, used for DDR SDRAM and DDR2 SDRAM
204-pin SO-DIMM, used for DDR3 SDRAM
214-pin MicroDIMM, used for DDR2 SDRAM
240-pin DIMM, used for DDR2 SDRAM, DDR3 SDRAM and FB-DIMM
DRAM
244-pin MiniDIMM, used for DDR2 SDRAM

The memory slots connection to the RAM is called Attachment or

Contacts.

Accelerated Graphic Port (AGP)

The Accelerated Graphics Port (often

shortened to AGP) is a high-speed pointto-point channel for attaching a video
card to a computer's motherboard,
primarily to assist in the acceleration of 3D
computer graphics.

Commonly the accelerated graphic port

having 64 contacts on each side of the
edge connector.

The primary advantage of AGP

over PCI is that it provides a
dedicated pathway between
the slot and the processor
rather than sharing the PCI
bus. In addition to a lack of
contention for the bus, the
point-to-point connection
allows for higher clock speeds.

PCI Slots

PeripheralComponentInterconnect) The
most widely used hardware interface for
connecting peripheral devices. Used in
computers of all sizes, PCI provides a shared
data path between the CPU and peripheral
controllers.
PCI (PCI is an initialize formed from
Three 5-volt 32-bit
Peripheral Component Interconnect,
PCI expansion slots
part of the PCI Local Bus standard and
on a motherboard
often shortened to PCI) is a computer bus
for attaching hardware devices in a
computer.
The PCI connector is defined as having 62
contacts on each side of the
edge connector, but two or four of them are
replaced by key notches, so a card has 60 or
58 contacts on each side. Pin 1 is closest to
the backplate. B and A sides are as follows,
looking down into the motherboard

Communications and
Networking Riser (CNR) Slot

used for specialized networking,

audio, and telephony equipment. A
motherboard manufacturer can
choose to provide audio,
networking, or modem functionality
in any combination on a CNR card.

Chipset
A chipset is a group of integrated circuits
(microchips) that can be used together to
serve a single function and are therefore
manufactured and sold as a unit. For example,
one chipset might combine all the microchips
needed to serve as the communications
controller between a processor and memory
and other devices in a computer.

Super I/O Chips / Super Input

and Output Chips
Chipset / Chip
A chipset, PC chipset, or chip set refers to a
group of integrated circuits, or chips, that are
designed to work together. They are usually
marketed as a single product.

A super I/O chip combines interfaces for a variety of low-bandwidth

devices. The functions provided usually include:

A floppy disk controller

A parallel port (commonly used for printers)
One or more serial ports
A keyboard and mouse interface.
Temperature sensor and fanspeed monitoring

A super I/O chip may also have other interfaces, such as a game port or an
infrared port. By combining many functions in a single chip, the number of
parts needed on a motherboard is reduced, thus reducing the cost of
production.

BIOS Flash Chip

The BIOS software is built into the PC, and is

the first code run by a PC when powered on
('boot firmware'). When the PC starts up, the
first job for the BIOS is the power-on self-test,
which initializes and identifies system devices
such as the CPU, RAM, video display card,
keyboard and mouse, hard disk drive,
optical disc drive and other hardware. The
BIOS then locates boot loader software
held on a peripheral device (designated
as a 'boot device'), such as a hard disk
or a CD/DVD, and loads and executes
that software, giving it control of the PC.
This process is known as booting, or booting
up, which is short for bootstrapping.
BIOS software is stored on a non-volatile ROM
chip on the motherboard.

This BIOS chip is

housed in a PLCC
package, which is,
in turn, plugged
into a PLCC socket.

Northbridge Chipset
The Northbridge is the
controller that interconnects
the CPU to memory via the
frontside bus (FSB).
It also connects peripherals
via high-speed channels
such as AGP and PCI
Express.
The Northbridge may include
a display controller,
obviating the need for a
separate display adapter.

South Bridge Chipset

The Southbridge controller

handles the remaining I/O,
including the PCI bus,
parallel and Serial ATA
drives (IDE), USB,
FireWire, serial and
parallel ports and audio
ports.
Northbridge and Southbridge
were changed to Memory
Controller and I/O Controller

Integrated Audio Codec

Chip

is a built in internal chip

that facilitates the input
and output of
audio signals to and from
a computer under
control of computer
programs.

Integrated Gigabit
Ethernet Chip

Gigabit Ethernet, a
transmission technology
based on the Ethernet
frame format and protocol
used in local area
networks (LANs), provides
a data rate of 1 billion bits
per second (one gigabit).

Headers
headers are connectors on a computer's
motherboard that provide a USB signal for the
ports located on the front panel of many
desktop computer cases.

Audio Header

img

The audio header is a small, yellow port that sits on the

motherboard. It contains 10 pins that are arranged in
groups of two. The pin itself is modular, with each set of
pins connected to each other..
Pins
Each port serves a unique purpose. Pins one and two
serve as the port's ground. These pins complete an
electric circuit that allows information to flow through the
port. Ports four and three of the audio header signal the
computer that the front panel audio module is installed
when you first turn the computer on, while ports five, six
and seven test the headphone jack. Ports nine and 10
test the microphone jack. Port eight is not used.

USB Header/s
USB headers are
connectors on a
computer's motherboard
that provide a USB signal
for the ports located on the
front panel of many
desktop computer cases.

Front Panel Connector

Front panel Connector

Every motherboard has several connectors for various items on

the front of the system unit,such as the power and reset
buttons, the power and hard drive activity lights,and the tiny
PC speaker.
Front panel connections: HDD LED (hard disk light), power
(on/ off) switch and RESET switch in the top row. Below:
mini speaker.
.

SP, SPK, or SPEAK: the loudspeaker output. It has four pins.

RS, RE, RST or RESET: connect the two-pin Reset cable here.

PWR, PW, PW SW, PS or Power SW: power switch, the PC's on/
off switch. The plug is two-pin.

PW LED, PWR LED or Power LED: the light-emitting diode on

the front panel of the case illuminates when the computer is
switched on. It is a two-pin cable.

HD, HDD LED: these two pins connect to the cable for the hard
disk activity LED.

Don't worry about polarity. The Reset and On/ Off

switch will work no matter how they are connected, but
the LEDs will not light up if they are connected in

Exercise I

Added Components
of a System Unit to
Complete the Set

Power supply

The ATX specification requires the power supply to produce

three main outputs, +3.3V, +5V and +12V. Low-power
12V and 5VSB (standby) supplies are also required. A 5V
output was originally required because it was supplied on the
ISA bus, but it became obsolete with the removal of the ISA bus
in modern PCs and has been removed in later versions of the
ATX standard.

Originally the motherboard was powered by one 20-pin

connector. An ATX power supply provides a number of
peripheral power connectors, and (in modern systems) two
connectors for the motherboard: a 4-pin auxiliary connector
providing additional power to the CPU, and a main 24-pin power
supply connector, an extension of the original 20-pin version.

24-pin ATX12V 2.x power supply connector

(20-pin omits the last four: 11, 12, 23 and 24)

Color

Signal

Pin

Pin

Signal

Color

Orange

+3.3V

13

+3.3V

Orange

+3.3V
sense

Brown

Orange

+3.3V

14

12V

Blue

Black

Ground

15

Ground

Black

Red

+5V

16

Power on

Green

Black

Ground

17

Ground

Black

Red

+5V

18

Ground

Black

Black

Ground

19

Ground

Black

Grey

Power good

20

Reserved

N/C

Purple

+5V
standby

21

+5V

Red

Yellow

+12V

10

22

+5V

Red

Yellow

+12V

11

23

+5V

Red

Orange

+3.3V

12

24

Ground

Black

Pins 8, 13, and 16 (shaded) are control signals, not power:

o
"Power On" is pulled up to +5V by the PSU, and must be driven
low to turn on the PSU.
o
"Power good" is low when other outputs have not yet reached,
or are about to leave, correct voltages.
o
The "+3.3 V sense" line is for remote sensing.[7]
Pin 20 (formerly 5V, white wire) is absent in current power supplies;
it was optional in ATX and ATX12V ver. 1.2, and deleted as of ver. 1.3.
The right-hand pins are numbered 1120 in the 20-pin version.

Four wires have special

functions

PS_ON# or "Power On" is a signal from the motherboard to the power

supply. When the line is connected to GND (by the motherboard), the
power supply turns on. It is internally pulled up to +5V inside the
power supply.

PWR_OK or "Power Good" is an output from the power supply that

indicates that its output has stabilized and is ready for use. It remains
low for a brief time (100500ms) after the PS_ON# signal is pulled low.

+5VSB or "+5V standby" supplies power even when the rest of the
supply lines are off. This can be used to power the circuitry that controls
the Power On signal.

+3.3V sense should be connected to the +3.3V on the motherboard

or its power connector. This connection allows for remote sensing of the
voltage drop in the power supply wiring.

Molex Power Connector

This connector powers Hard

Disk Drive and also the
CD/DVD ROM.
The connector housing
haschamferedcorners on
one side to prevent the user
from plugging it in incorrectly.
Pin #

Color

Function

Yellow

+12V

Black

Ground

Black

Ground

Red

+5V

15 pin Sata Power

Connector

The SATA 15 pinpower

supplyconnector is one of the
standardperipheralpower
connectors in computers today.

This power connector is the standard

connector for allSATAbased
hard drivesandoptical drives.

A 15-pin SATA power connector. Note

that this connector is missing the
3.3V (orange) wire.

Central processing unit (CPU)

The central processing

unit (CPU) is the portion
of a computer system
that carries out the
instructions of a
computer program, and is
the primary element
carrying out the functions
of the computer or other
processing device.

Types of Processor (INTEL & AMD)

Socket
name

Year of
Year of EOL
introduction

Socket 2000
462/
Socket
A

CPU families

Package

Pin
count

AMD
PGA 462
Athlon
AMD Duron
AMD
Athlon XP
AMD
Athlon XPM
AMD
Athlon MP
AMD
Sempron

Pin pitch

Bus speed

100
200MHz
This is a
double
data rate
bus having
a 400 MT/s
(megatran
sfers/secon
d) fsb in
the later
models

Note
s

CPU Fan and Heatsink

Mount

a heat sink is a passive component that cools a

device by dissipating heat into the surrounding air.
Heat sinks are used to cool electronic components
such as high-power semiconductor devices, and
optoelectronic devices such as higher-power lasers
and light emitting diodes (LEDs). Heat sinks are
heat exchangers such as those used in
refrigeration and air conditioning systems, or the
radiator in an automobile.

A heat sink is designed to increase the surface

area in contact with the cooling fluid surrounding
it, such as the air. Approach air velocity, choice of
material, fin (or other protrusion) design and
surface treatment are some of the factors which
affect the thermal performance of a heat sink.
Heat sinks are used to cool computer
central processing units or graphics processors.

Random Access Memory (RAM)

andom access memory (RAM) is a form of

computer data storage. Today, it takes the form of
integrated circuits that allow stored data to be accessed in
any order with a worst case performance of constant time.

DDR SDRAM (DDR1) DIMMs - DIMMs based on Double

Data Rate (DDR) DRAM have data but not the strobe at
double the rate of the clock. This is achieved by clocking on
both the rising and falling edge of the data strobes.

184-pin DIMM, used for DDR SDRAM (2.5 Volts)

PC1600 = 200MHz data

address and control
PC2100 = 266MHz data
address and control
PC2700 = 333MHz data
address and control
PC3200 = 400MHz data
address and control

& strobe / 100MHz clock for

& strobe / 133MHz clock for
& strobe / 166MHz clock for
& strobe / 200MHz clock for

DDR2 SDRAM DIMMs - DIMMs based on Double Data Rate 2 (DDR2) DRAM
also have data and data strobe frequencies at double the rate of the clock. This
is achieved by clocking on both the rising and falling edge of the data strobes.
The power consumption and voltage of DDR2 is significantly lower than DDR(1)
at the same speed.
PC2-3200 = 400MHz data & strobe / 200MHz clock for address and control
PC2-4200 = 533MHz data & strobe / 266MHz clock for address and control
PC2-5300 = 667MHz data & strobe / 333MHz clock for address and control
PC2-6400 = 800MHz data & strobe / 400MHz clock for address and control
PC2-8500 = 1066MHz data & strobe / 533MHz clock for address and control
DDR3 SDRAM DIMMs - DIMMs based on Double Data Rate 3(DDR3) DRAM
have data and strobe frequencies at double the rate of the clock. This is
achieved by clocking on both the rising and falling edge of the data strobes.
The power consumption and voltage of DDR3 is lower than DDR2 of the same
speed.
PC3-6400 = 800MHz data & strobe / 400MHz clock for address and control
PC3-8500 = 1066MHz data & strobe / 533MHz clock for address and control
PC3-10600 = 1333MHz data & strobe / 667MHz clock for address and control
PC3-12800 = 1600MHz data & strobe / 800MHz clock for address and control
PC3-14900 = 1866MHz data & strobe / 933MHz clock for address and control
PC3-17000 = 2133MHz data & strobe / 1066MHz clock for address and
control

Video Graphic Adaptor (VGA) Card

or Video Card

A video card, display card, graphics

card, or graphics adapter is an
expansion card which generates a feed
of output images to a display. The
graphics card is most commonly
known as a graphics processing unit
(GPU).

Video Graphics Array (VGA) (15 PIN)

Analog-based standard adopted in the
late 1980s designed for CRT displays,
also called VGA connector. Some
problems of this standard are
electrical noise, image distortion and
sampling error evaluating pixels.

Motherboardviaone of:
ISA
MCA
VLB
PCI
AGP
PCI-X
PCI Express
Others
Displayviaone of:
VGA connector
Digital Visual Interface
Composite video
S-Video
Component video
HDMI
DMS-59
DisplayPort
Others

Hard Disk Drive (HDD) or Hard

Disk

The primary storage device of the system

unit , it is also known as the long term
memory storage.

A hard disk drive (HDD) is a non-volatile,

random access device for digital data. It
features rotating rigid platters on a motordriven spindle within a protective enclosure.
Data is magnetically read from and written
to the platter by read/write heads that float
on a film of air above the platters.

Advertised capacity
by manufacturer
(using decimalmultiples)

Expected capacity
by consumers in class action
(using binarymultiples)

With prefix
100MB

Bytes
100,000,000

Bytes
104,857,600

Diff.

100GB

100,000,000,000

107,374,182,400

7.37%

1TB 1,000,000,000,000 1,099,511,627,776

9.95%

4.86%

Reported capacity
Windows
(using binary
multiples)
95.4MB
93.1GB,
95,367MB
931GB,

MacOSX 10.6+
(using decimal
multiples)
100.0MB
100.00 GB
1,000.00GB

Current hard disk form factors

Form factor

Width

Height

Largest capacity

Platters (Max)

3.5

102mm

25.4mm

3TB (2010)/4 TB
Prototype (2011)

2.5

69.9mm

715mm

1.5TB (2010)

1.8

54mm

8mm

320GB (2009)

Obsolete hard disk form factors

Form factor
5.25 FH
5.25 HH
1.3
1 (CFII/ZIF/IDE-Flex)
0.85

Width
146mm
146mm
43mm
42mm
24mm

Largest capacity
47GB (1998)
19.3GB (1998)
40GB (2007)
20GB (2006)
8GB (2004)

Six hard drives with 8, 5.25, 3.5, 2.5,

1.8, and 1 disks, partially
disassembled to show platters and readwrite heads, with a ruler showing inches

Platters (Max)
14
4
1
1
1

CD / DVD Rom (Read only memory)

an optical disc drive

(ODD) is a disk drive that
uses laser light or
electromagnetic waves near
the light spectrum as part of
the process of reading or
writing data to or from
optical discs.
Some drives can only read
from discs, but recent drives
are commonly both readers
and recorders, also called
burners or writers.

Sound Card

A sound card (also known as an audio

card) is an internal computer
expansion card that facilitates the input
and output of audio signals to and from a
computer under control of computer
programs. The term sound card is also
applied to external audio interfaces that
use software to generate sound, as
opposed to using hardware inside the PC.

Typical uses of sound cards include

providing the audio component for
multimedia applications such as music
composition, editing video or audio,
presentation, education and entertainment
(games) and video projection.

Network Interface Controller (NIC)

A network interface controller (also

known as a network interface card,
network adapter, LAN adapter and by
similar terms) is a computer hardware
component that connects a computer to
a computer network.

Whereas network interface controllers

were commonly implemented on
expansion cards that plug into a
computer bus, the low cost and ubiquity
of the Ethernet standard means that
most newer computers have a network
interface built into the motherboard.

Expansion card types

Video cards
Sound cards
Network cards
TV tuner cards
Video processing expansion cards
Modems
Compatibility card (legacy)
Solid-state drive
Memory expansion cards (legacy)
Hard disk cards (legacy)
Clock/calendar cards (legacy)
Security device cards
Radio tuner cards

SATA and PATA Cables

PATA Cables
Parallel ATA cables transfer data 16 bits at a
time. The traditional cable uses 40-pin
connectors attached to a ribbon cable. Each
cable has two or three connectors, one of
which plugs into an adapter interfacing with
the rest of the computer system. The
remaining connector(s) plug into drives.
ATA's cables have had 40 wires for most of
its history (44 conductors for the smaller
form-factor version used for 2.5" drives
the extra four for power), but an 80-wire
version appeared with the introduction of
the Ultra DMA/33 (UDMA) mode.

ATA cables:
40 wire ribbon cable (top)
80 wire ribbon cable (bottom)

Differences between connectors on 80conductor cables

The image shows PATA connectors

after removal of strain relief, cover,
and cable. Pin one is at bottom left of
the connectors, pin 2 is top left, etc.,
except that the lower image of the
blue connector shows the view from
the opposite side, and pin one is at
top right.

Each contact comprises a pair of

points which together pierce the
insulation of the ribbon cable with
such precision that they make a
connection to the desired conductor
without harming the insulation on
the neighboring wires. The center
row of contacts are all connected to
the common ground bus and
attached to the odd numbered
conductors of the cable.

Serial ATA (SATA or Serial Advanced

Technology Attachment) is a computer bus
interface for connecting host bus adapters to
mass storage devices such as hard disk drives
an

The SATA standard defines a data cable with

seven conductors (3 grounds and 4 active data
lines in two pairs) (7 pinned) and 8mm wide
wafer connectors on each end. SATA cables can
have lengths up to 1 metre (3.3ft), and connect
one motherboard socket to one hard drive.

SATA connectors may be straight, right-angled,

or left angled. Angled connectors allow for
lower profile connections. Right-angled (also
called 90 degree) connectors lead the cable
immediately away from the drive, on the circuit
board side. Left-angled (also called 270 degree)
connectors lead the cable across the drive
towards its top.

Acronyms

ATX Advance Technology Extended

SDRAM Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory
DRAM Dynamic Random Access Memory
EDO RAM Extended Data Output Random Access Memory
SIMM Single Inline Memory Module
DIMM Double Inline Memory Module
RIMM Rambus Inline Memory Module
USB Universal Serial Bus
ISA Industry Standard Architecture
PCI Peripheral Component Interconnect
EISA Extended Industry Standard Architecture
IDE Integrated Drive Electronics
SCSI Small Computer System Interface
DDR Double Data Rate
UDMA Ultra Direct Memory Access

Disassembling and
Assembling of Desktop
Computer