PC Hardware

what is a computer?

an electronic device that can follow instructions to accept input, process the input and then produce information

what did the first gen computers use for circuitry?

vacuum tubes

what was the programming language for 1st gen comps

machine language

how was input uploaded and output shown in first gen comps?

input- punched cards and papertape

output- printouts

what technology did the 2nd gen comp use

transistors

what did the 2nd gen use for main memory and storage?

magnetic cores for primary memory and magnetic tapes for storage

what programming language did 2nd gen comps use?

assembly language, COBOL, FORTRAN

what technology did the 3rd generation use?

Integrated circuits

which generation of computers introduced significant changes to tech like allowing multiprogramming, the introduction of operating systems, and introduced keyboard and monitors

third generation

in which generation was microprocessors introduced

4th generation

when was the GUI introduced?

4th gen

what does the 5th gen comps focus on?

artificial intelligence and quantum computing

which generation of comps introduced parallel processing(use of multiple processors), cloud computing and natural language processing?

5th gen

Computers can be classified based on what?()4

1. size

2. use

3. purpose

4. processing power

state 4 uses of supercomputers

weather forecasting, nuclear simulations, quantum mechanics, scientific research

Performance in supercomputers is measured in?

FLOPS (floating point operations per second)

state 3 uses of mainframe computers

banking transactions, airline ticket reservation, census data processing

state 4 uses of minicomputers

manufacturing process control, database management, business applications, scientific research

what is another name for microcomputers?

Personal computers

state uses of microcomputers(4)

home and office work, software development, entertainment, gaming

state uses of a workstation(5)

3D rendering, computer aided design, virtual simulations, video editing, data analysis

what are embedded computers?

these are specialized computers that are embedded within other devices to control specific functions

state uses of embedded systems(5)

appliances, medical devices, automotive systems, smart devices, and industrial machines

what is a motherboard?

the central circuit board of a computer and a platform on which all other components connect and communicate

function of a chipset

to manage data flow between the CPU memory and peripherals

functions of memory slot

to hold Ram modules.

function of expansion slots

for adding additional hardware

function of BIOS/UEFI chip

stores firmware that helps initialize and start computer during booting

function of power connectors

Provides power to various parts of the components

I/O port function

connect external devices to mother board

function of PCIe slots

for expansion cards like GPUs or SSDs

SATA Connectors function

for connecting harddrives and optical drives

USB ports function

for connecting peripherals

function of ethernet port

for network connectivity

what did the first gen computers use for memory?

magnetic drums