Installing, Configuring, and Troubleshooting Internal System Components

Vocabulary flashcards covering CPU architectures, power supplies, BIOS/UEFI firmware, hardware troubleshooting, and custom PC client configurations.

Central Processing Unit (CPU)

The processor that executes program instruction code, performs mathematical and logical calculations, and controls Input/Output (I/O) functions.

Micron

A unit of length equal to one millionth of a meter ($10^{-6}\,m$).

Nanometer (nm)

A unit of length equal to one billionth of a meter ($10^{-9}\,m$).

Register

A temporary storage area available to the different internal units within the CPU.

x86-32 (IA-32)

The 32-bit instruction set (Intel Architecture) used by IBM PC compatible CPUs, updated from the original 16-bit x86 instruction set.

AMD64

AMD's 64-bit instruction set extension, also adopted by Intel as EM64T (Intel 64) and commonly referred to as x86-64 or x64.

Data Bus

The portion of the system bus between the CPU and memory whose width (64-bit on current CPUs) determines how much data can be transferred per clock cycle.

Address Bus

The portion of the system bus between the CPU and memory whose width determines how many memory locations the PC can access.

CPU Cache

A small block of high-speed memory that enhances performance by preloading code and data from relatively slow system memory and passing it to the CPU on demand.

Superpipelining

An architectural design featuring longer execution pipelines with multiple stages performing shorter actions (micro-ops) at each stage.

Simultaneous Multithreading (SMT)

A technique (referred to as HyperThreading or HTT by Intel) that allows multiple instruction streams (threads) to run through the CPU concurrently by duplicating registers.

Symmetric Multiprocessing (SMP)

An approach that speeds up system performance by physically installing two or more physical CPUs on a multisocket motherboard.

Chip Level Multiprocessing (CMP)

An approach combining two or more physical processor cores on the same die, such as dual-core or multicore CPU packages.

Core Clock Speed

The internal frequency at which a CPU executes processes and accesses L1 and L2 cache.

Front Side Bus (FSB) Speed

The speed of the interface connecting the CPU to system memory.

Overclocking

The practice of increasing CPU core clock speed or FSB speed beyond factory default settings via system setup firmware to boost performance.

Throttling

Power management routines that reduce CPU power states and clock speed to decrease power consumption or protect the processor from overheating.

Second Level Address Translation (SLAT)

A virtualization extension designed to improve virtual memory management, known as Extended Page Table (EPT) by Intel and Rapid Virtualization Indexing (RVI) by AMD.

Integrated Graphics Processor (IGP)

A built-in graphics adapter integrated directly into the CPU package rather than located on a separate expansion card or motherboard chipset.

Land Grid Array (LGA)

A CPU form factor used primarily by Intel where the connecting pins are located on the motherboard socket rather than on the processor.

Pin Grid Array (PGA)

A CPU form factor used primarily by AMD where pins are located on the underside of the chip and plug into holes on a Zero Insertion Force (ZIF) socket.

Heat Sink

A passive cooling block made of copper or aluminum with fins designed to dissipate heat from components via air convection.

Thermal Paste

A thermally conductive compound gel applied between the CPU surface and heat sink to fill microscopic air gaps and facilitate efficient heat transference.

Passive Cooling

Cooling mechanisms, such as heat sinks, heat pipes, or heat spreaders without fans, that operate without consuming electrical power.

Active Cooling

Cooling devices, such as fans or liquid cooling pumps, that require electrical power to operate.

Heat Pipe

A sealed tube containing liquid coolant (water or ethanol) that evaporates near a hot component, condenses at a cooler point, and flows back to provide enhanced cooling.

Firmware

Specialized low-level software stored in non-volatile memory chips that initializes hardware components and loads the main operating system.

Basic Input/Output System (BIOS)

Legacy system firmware that provides industry-standard program code to initialize essential hardware components and ensure IBM PC compatibility.

Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI)

Modern system firmware supporting 64-bit CPU boot operation, graphical user interfaces with mouse input, networking capabilities, and Secure Boot.

Serial Presence Detect (SPD)

A chip located on memory modules that provides module specifications to system software during boot.

Real Time Clock (RTC)

A motherboard component powered by an onboard battery that maintains the continuous system calendar date and time.

Secure Boot

A UEFI security feature that verifies operating system boot loaders against stored digital certificates to prevent unauthorized or malware-modified code from executing.

Voltage

The potential difference between two points in an electrical circuit, measured in Volts (V).

Current

The actual flow of electrons through an electrical circuit, measured in Amps (I or A).

Resistance

The degree of opposition to electrical current flow through a conductor, measured in Ohms ($\Omega$).

Electrical Power

The rate at which electricity is drawn from a supply, measured in Watts (W) and calculated as $W = V \times I$.

Power Supply Unit (PSU)

An internal PC component that converts AC grid power into required DC low voltages (+3.3 V, +5 V, +12 V) for system hardware.

Rail

An internal PSU wire or circuit line delivering direct current at a specific voltage output.

Overcurrent Protection (OCP)

A PSU safety feature that cuts off the circuit if the electrical current on a rail exceeds a safe limit.

P1 Adapter

The primary motherboard power connector from the PSU, configured as either a 20-pin connector or a 24-pin (20+4 pin) connector.

Molex and SATA Power Connectors

Power adapters used to supply +12 V and +5 V power to internal peripheral devices such as hard drives and optical drives.

Multimeter

An electronic measurement device used to measure voltage, current, and electrical resistance across components and circuits.

Power Supply Tester

A specialized testing device designed to quickly verify PSU cable connectors and output voltages without manually testing individual pins with a multimeter.

Power On Self Test (POST)

A diagnostic routine executed by system firmware upon startup to verify essential hardware components before loading the operating system.

Beep Code

An audible sequence of beeps generated by POST to indicate specific hardware failures when screen output is unavailable.

Chip Creep

The gradual working loose of an adapter card or component from its socket over time due to thermal expansion and contraction.

Standard (Thick) Client

An ordinary office end-user computer configured to run locally installed desktop operating systems and applications.

Thin Client

A low-power PC or appliance designed primarily to act as an interface to virtual desktop environments (VDI) or software hosted on network servers.

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)

A setup where user desktop environments and software processing are hosted centrally on network servers rather than on local client hardware.

Audio Interface

An external professional-level sound unit featuring $\frac{1}{4}\text{"}$ phone plugs, S/PDIF, and 5-pin DIN MIDI ports for high-quality audio recording and production.

Network Attached Storage (NAS)

A dedicated appliance containing hard drives/RAID arrays that connects directly to a network to provide shared file storage services.