Key hardware components

The Role of the Motherboard



  • Facilitates communication between all components.

  • Houses CPU socket, RAM slots, expansion slots, and storage connectors.

  • Several types of Motherboards which differ by the shapes and sizes (ATX, MicroAtx, Mini-ITX). Therefore, ATX stands for (Advanced Technology eXtended) whilst ITX stands for (Information Technology eXtended).

  • Must match CPU socket and RAM type.

  • Choose based on the number of PCIe slots required which represents the expansion slots wherein we can install such as video cards, sound cards and network cards to expand the capabilities of our systems. Therefore, PCIe stands for peripheral component interconnect eXtended. 



Central Processing Unit (CPU)



  • Executes all instructions from software and hardware devices.

  • Speed measured in hertz or in other terms gigahertz (GHz) which it all happens cyclically. So, as instructions come in they are processed in a cycle which means it can’t execute everything, all at once. For each cycle, a certain amount of information is processed. So, a single hertz represents one cycle per second. Therefore, gigahertz is one billion cycles per second.

  • Key features include - cores and threads, clock speed, cache memory.

  1. Core: represents the processing core where instructions are executed. Therefore, most processors have multiple processing cores.

  2. Threads: represent the incoming flow of instructions which you also can have multiple threads as well.

  3. Clock Speed: it represents the gigahertz value.

  4. Cache Memory: A built-in memory directly in the processor that can temporarily hold values until processing of any given instruction set is complete.

  • The processor has to be compatible with the motherboard and socket type.

  • Ensure that the power (PSU) and cooling requirements are matching.



Random Access Memory (RAM)



  • Temporarily stores data for active applications.

  • Faster than storage devices such as hard drives because there are no moving parts but volatile (erased on shutdown) but that doesn’t happen with hard drives.

  • There are several different physical types of chips known as DIMMs (Dual In-Line Memory Module), SODDIM (Small Outline DIMM) which are designed for laptops because they are physically smaller, DDR (Double Data Rate) which refers to how information is accessed by memory, ECC (Error Correction Code) which it corrects errors if there are any problems with accessing the data, non-ECC it doesn’t have error correction code included.

  • Must match motherboard specifications.

  • More RAM improves multitasking and speed. Note: adding more memory doesn’t do anything in terms of speeding up your processor, it just allows your system to run at its maximum speed. In other words, it’s not so much that adding memory speeds things up, it’s that not having enough slows things down because your active workspace isn’t large enough, so the more applications you would load the less space you would have in memory which slows things down.

  • Modern RAM (Random Access Memory) is built using solid-state semiconductor technology.

  • RAM chips are typically made using MOS (Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor) technology, which uses microscopic transistors on silicon integrated circuits.

  • Two Main Types of RAM:

    • DRAM (Dynamic RAM):

      • Used as the main system memory in computers.

      • Each memory cell contains:

  1. 1 transistor

  2. 1 capacitor

  • Characteristics:

  1. Compact and cost-effective

  2. Capacitors gradually lose charge

  3. Memory cells must be refreshed thousands of times per second to retain data.

  • SRAM (Static RAM):

    • Primarily used for CPU cache memory.

    • Each memory cell uses:

  1. 4–6 transistors arranged as a flip-flop circuit.

  • Characteristics:

  1. Faster than DRAM

  2. More power-efficient

  3. Does not require constant refreshing

  • Disadvantages:

  1. Physically larger

  2. More expensive to manufacture.



Storage Devices - HDD vs SSD



  • There are two primary distinctions which are Hard disk drive (HDD) and solid-state drive (SSD).

  • Hard disk drives (HDD) are magnetic storage, and they tend to be slower but they are more cost-effective for large capacities. Therefore, they are slower because they have a spinning disk, so it spins to the right location in order to find the information you’re looking for. 

  • The new modern drives known as Solid-state drives (SSDs) are faster, more durable, but more expensive and as per gigabyte, the cost would be higher as well.

  • There is also non-volatile memory (NVMe) which is also a form of SSD but it’s even higher speed, and it’s directly connected to the motherboard.

  • NVMe is also a protocol used to directly access the information in processors which makes it even faster than SSDs. So it’s also more expensive and not as high in capacity.

  • The analogy that makes it easier to differentiate between storage and memory is that of a workplace environment that has something like a file cabinet, so imagine that every file is stored in the file cabinet that would represent the storage devices. Then, if you need to work on a particular file, you would go get that file and bring it back to your desk so that is memory because you’re working on just that one file at that point in time at your desk. Once you’re finished with it, you would return it back to the file cabinet/hard drive. So this is why not having enough memory can slow things down. Imagine that as being a very small workspace. So if that was the case then you could probably only work on one or two files at a time. But if you had a very large workspace/desk then you could work on many files at the same time. So that's why it seems to speed things up if you have more memory. But again it’s not really having more memory speeds things up, it’s that not having enough space slows things down.



Power Supply Unit (PSU)



  • Power supply unit (PSU) Converts electrical power from the wall outlet into usable power for components in your system. The term usable has been used here because the standard power that would come out of wall jack is far too high a level for the components of your system. Therefore, many of them operate at microvolt levels, so it converts the power into what is needed by the components of the system.

  • PSU is measured in watts (W) and the standard efficiency rating is 80 plus.



Cooling Systems



  • Cooling systems are designed to keep your system cool.

  • There are three primary aspects: 

  1. Air cooling: is quite literally a fan.

  2. Liquid cooling: does actually circulate liquid throughout your system to keep it cool.

  3. Thermal Paste: is typically applied directly to a component such as the CPU, simply to help ensure connectivity between the two components so that heat can be dissipated more effectively by ensuring better contact.







Expansion Cards



  • Expansion cards include components such as the graphics processing unit (GPU) or commonly known as the video card, a network interface card (NIC) so that you can network, and a sound card. Therefore, all these are optional but most likely these capabilities are built into the system anyway. In other words, these are default components that perform these tasks, but if you go the dedicated route which is the expansion cards they are typically better performing and can offer better quality. For instance, you can’t have a computer that doesn't have a GPU as it is a necessary component, but if you’re doing something like 3D animations or graphic design, it’s quite likely that the inherent or default GPU would not be adequate. So you could upgrade by installing your own GPU or video card. You can also have multiple GPUs so that you can have several displays, NIC, sound cards.

  • An integrated component is built into the motherboard or CPU and shares system resources (like RAM and power).

  1. It is not a separate physical card.

  2. Uses the computer’s main memory instead of its own.

  3. Designed for general, everyday tasks.

Examples:

  1. Integrated GPU (built into CPU for basic graphics)

  2. Integrated NIC (built into motherboard for internet)

  3. Integrated sound card (built into motherboard for audio)

  • A dedicated component is a separate physical device installed into the computer, with its own resources and processing power.

  1. It usually comes as an add-on card (e.g., PCIe).

  2. Has its own memory and specialized hardware.

  3. Built for higher performance and specific tasks.

Examples:

  1. Dedicated GPU (for gaming, rendering)

  2. Dedicated NIC (for advanced networking)

  3. Dedicated sound card (for high-quality audio)

Peripherals

  • Peripherals include monitor, keyboards, mice, printers, and external storage devices such as external hard drives.

  • Input/output devices for user interaction and functionality. An input device is anything that allows you to interact with the system such as keyboards and mice allow us to pass instructions into the system but for example printers or a monitor produces output because it provides us with information. These were the common and/or standard peripherals but there are many other types of peripherals such as webcams, scanners, stylus pens and pads. So it’s anything external that connects to the system.