JH

Orientation: Week 1 Notes: Course Orientation & Motherboards, CPUs, Memory

Instructor & Course Context

  • Instructor: Josh Via (goes by Josh/Joshua/Professor Via); brings 7.5 years of practical IT experience, encompassing freelance work and courthouse IT. He recently achieved his A+ certification (December), transitioning from a Help-Desk/PC Technician role to a Systems Administrator at Riverside Superior Court. He is currently pursuing Security+ certification and holds a B.S. in Computer Information Systems. Josh is a family man, married for 10 years with 2 children, a dog, and resides on a 1-acre property.

  • Institution: California Institute of Applied Technology (CIAT), recognized for its focused and practical IT education.

  • Course: CIS-101A-21 — CompTIA A+ Core 1 (Hardware-focused), designed to cover essential hardware components and concepts. The course runs for the July Term (Start: Jul 15; End: Aug 16).

  • Schedule: Classes are held Mondays and Tuesdays, from 6 PM – 9:30 PM PST. The course comprises 45 lecture hours and 30 lab hours spread over 5 weeks. Each class session is structured into 50-minute learning blocks followed by 10-minute breaks (at the :50 mark of each hour).

  • Delivery: Live instruction via Microsoft Teams, with all sessions also recorded and accessible through Teams (General > Files > Recordings) for asynchronous review. Canvas serves as the Learning Management System (LMS) for all assignment submissions, grades, and course materials.

Communication Channels

  • Primary Contact: Email and phone, with an expected response window of 24–48 hours, acknowledging Josh works full-time during the day.

  • Direct Course Support: Canvas comments for assignment-specific queries, Teams chat for general questions and peer interaction, and individual 1-on-1 tutoring sessions available by request for personalized assistance.

  • Urgent Technical/Log-in Issues: For immediate technical support or login problems, contact help@ciat.edu.

  • Personal/Academic Obstacles: For support regarding personal challenges or academic difficulties impacting performance, reach out to the Student Success Adviser.

  • Feedback/Escalations: For general feedback or to escalate any concerns, email feedback@ciat.edu.

Required Materials & Hardware

  • Textbook: The essential course material is the CompTIA A+ Complete Study Guide (published by Wiley). A pre-formatted APA citation for the textbook is provided in the syllabus to aid in academic referencing.

  • CIAT PC Kit: Students will receive a comprehensive desktop system kit, which includes various tools (e.g., screwdrivers, pliers), an ESD (Electrostatic Discharge) strap for safe component handling, thermal paste for CPU installations, and a flash drive. This kit is anticipated to arrive in Week 1. Access to other course content is contingent upon completing the mandatory PC-Kit Disclaimer quiz, ensuring understanding of its proper use and safety.

  • Minimum Personal System: To effectively participate in the course, particularly labs, students require a personal computer with at least an Intel i3 or AMD A12 processor, 8 ext{ GiB RAM}, a Windows operating system, and a functional internet browser. These specifications ensure compatibility with virtual labs and course software.

Assessments & Weighting

  • Discussions: 15 ext{%} of the final grade. Active participation and insightful contributions are crucial. APA formatting for citations and references is strictly enforced starting from Week 2.

  • Assignments: 30 ext{%}. These reinforce theoretical concepts through practical application.

  • Hands-On Exercises: 35 ext{%}. These are practical, lab-based activities often walked through during live class sessions. Recordings are available for review, allowing students to follow along or revisit steps as needed to master hardware skills.

  • Exams/Assessments: 20 ext{%}. This includes a comprehensive Final Exam and a Practical-Application assessment, often integrated with LinkedIn modules, both scheduled for Week 5.

  • Grading Scale: Letter grades are assigned based on a standard scale: A = 90-100 ext{%}, B = 80-89 ext{%}, C = 70-79 ext{%}, D = 60-69 ext{%}, and below 60 ext{%} is failing.

Attendance Policy (3 checkpoints/wk: Tue–Thu–Sat)

  • Qualifying Activity: To be marked present for each checkpoint, students must complete at least one of the following by 11:59 PM PST on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday:

    • Submit or reply to an interactive discussion post on Canvas.

    • Submit an exercise, assignment, or project.

    • Take a quiz or exam.

    • Complete an approved make-up activity for a missed submission.

  • Non-Qualifying Activity: Simply logging into Canvas, watching a recorded lecture without completing a graded activity, or only reading course materials do not count as attendance for checkpoint purposes. Active engagement through graded submissions is required.

Late Submission Policy

  • Standard Deduction: A deduction of 0.5 ext{%} will be applied per calendar day an assignment is late, up to a maximum cap of 3.5 ext{%} after 4 weeks (equivalent to 7 days late). This policy encourages timely submission while allowing some flexibility.

  • Extended Lateness: For submissions that are more than 4 weeks late, the maximum possible score achievable will be capped at 70 ext{%}, regardless of the quality of the work. This encourages completion while penalizing significant delays.

  • Resubmissions: This late policy also applies to resubmissions if they are performed after the original due date, underscoring the importance of meeting deadlines even for revised work.

Academic Integrity & Professional Conduct

  • Academic Integrity: CIAT enforces a zero-tolerance policy for plagiarism. All submissions requiring research or external sources must adhere strictly to APA formatting guidelines, and Turnitin is utilized to check for originality. Students are expected to produce their own work and properly cite any external resources.

  • Professional Conduct: Expectations include respectful and inclusive language in all communications and interactions. CIAT actively monitors all digital platforms (Teams, Canvas) to ensure a positive and professional learning environment. Constructive and helpful collaboration among students is encouraged, while any form of bullying, harassment, or profanity is strictly prohibited and will result in disciplinary action.

Generative AI Usage Guidelines

  • Permitted Use: Generative AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT) are permitted as a study aid for activities such as generating flashcards, obtaining explanations of complex concepts, creating outlines for assignments, or getting draft feedback. This aims to leverage AI for enhanced learning.

  • Citation Requirement: All output generated by AI models that is used in submissions must be properly cited according to APA guidelines (e.g., ChatGPT, 2025, version x.x). This ensures transparency and academic honesty.

  • Verification & Understanding: AI tools should support and not replace personal understanding and critical thinking. Students are ultimately responsible for verifying the accuracy of any AI-generated content and ensuring they fully comprehend the material. The goal is to enhance learning, not to automate it to the point of disengagement.

Weekly Technical Road-Map

  1. Week 1 – CPUs, Motherboards, Memory: Introduction to the fundamental components of a computer system, focusing on their roles, types, and interactions.

  2. Week 2 – Peripherals, Ports, PSUs, Storage; PC teardown/rebuild: Explores external devices, various connection interfaces, power supply units, and different storage technologies. Concludes with a practical session involving disassembling and reassembling a PC.

  3. Week 3 – Networking fundamentals: Covers the basics of computer networks, including topologies, protocols, and essential networking hardware.

  4. Week 4 – Advanced Networking, Virtualization, Cloud, Mobile: Delves deeper into networking concepts, introduces virtualization technologies, explores cloud computing principles, and examines mobile device hardware and operating systems.

  5. Week 5 – Network & Hardware Troubleshooting + Final & LinkedIn Project: Focuses on diagnosing and resolving common network and hardware issues. The course culminates with the final exam and a practical project utilizing LinkedIn, tying learned skills to professional application.

Core Technical Content (Week 1)
1 Motherboard Fundamentals

  • Role: The motherboard serves as the central nervous system of a computer, providing the foundational platform for all major components to connect and communicate. It hosts the CPU, memory (RAM), expansion slots for additional cards, and various power delivery and data transfer circuitry, orchestrating data flow and power distribution throughout the system.

  • Form-Factors (size × size): These standard dimensions ensure compatibility with computer cases and power supplies.

    • ATX (Advanced Technology eXtended): The most common and versatile standard desktop form factor, typically measuring 12\, ext{in} \times 9.6\, ext{in}. It offers ample space for expansion slots, memory banks, and various ports, making it suitable for a wide range of builds from office PCs to high-performance gaming rigs.

    • Micro-ATX: A smaller version of ATX, measuring 9.6\, ext{in} \times 9.6\, ext{in}. It offers fewer expansion slots but is more compact, ideal for smaller cases or budget-conscious builds where extensive expandability is not required. (Tip: “micro” has more letters than “mini” helps remember its relative size.)

    • Mini-ITX: A compact form factor at 6.7\, ext{in} \times 6.7\, ext{in}. It's popular for small form factor (SFF) builds, home theater PCs (HTPCs), and embedded systems due to its minimal footprint, often having only one PCIe slot.

    • Nano-ITX: Even smaller at 4.7\, ext{in} \times 4.7\, ext{in}. These boards are highly integrated and designed for specialized embedded applications and compact industrial PCs where space is extremely limited.

    • Pico-ITX: Measuring 3.9\, ext{in} \times 2.8\, ext{in}, this is one of the smallest standard form factors, primarily used in highly specialized embedded or portable devices requiring minimal power consumption and size.

    • Mobile-ITX: The smallest form factor, though not standardized in size, it describes highly integrated boards often custom-designed for handheld devices and smartphones where components are directly soldered to achieve ultra-compact designs.

  • Multi-socket / Server boards: Designed for high-performance computing, these motherboards can accommodate two or more CPUs (e.g., dual-socket or quad-socket configurations). They feature an abundance of DIMM (Dual Inline Memory Module) slots to support massive amounts of RAM and numerous PCIe slots for multiple GPUs, network cards, and storage controllers, catering to server, workstation, and high-end enterprise needs.

  • Laptop boards: Unlike desktop motherboards, laptop boards are custom-shaped to fit specific chassis designs and are highly integrated. The CPU and GPU are frequently soldered directly onto the board (BGA - Ball Grid Array), making upgrades extremely difficult or impossible for end-users, requiring specialized knowledge and equipment for repair or replacement.

2 Bus Architecture & Chipsets

  • Bus: A bus acts as a high-speed electrical pathway or data highway within the computer, facilitating communication between components. Its performance is determined by its width (how many bits can be transferred simultaneously) and speed (how many transfers per second), directly impacting overall system performance.

  • Traditional 2-chip Chipset (Northbridge & Southbridge): In older architectures, the motherboard chipset was typically divided into two main components:

    • Northbridge: Also known as the Memory Controller Hub (MCH), it handled high-speed traffic directly connected to the CPU. This included communications with the RAM (memory controller) and the primary GPU (PCIe). Its proximity to the CPU was critical for minimizing latency in high-demand operations.

    • Southbridge: Also known as the I/O Controller Hub (ICH), it managed lower-speed input/output (I/O) functions. This included slower peripherals like USB ports, SATA storage drives, integrated LAN, and audio controllers. It connected to the Northbridge, which then communicated with the CPU.

  • Modern Integration (PCH): Modern CPUs have largely integrated the Northbridge functionalities, such as the memory controller and PCIe lanes, directly into the CPU die itself (e.g., Intel's Sandy Bridge onwards, AMD's Zen architecture). This significantly reduces latency. As a result, contemporary motherboards typically feature a single-chip solution called the PCH (Platform Controller Hub), which primarily performs the functions previously handled by the Southbridge, consolidating peripheral connectivity.

3 Expansion Interfaces

  • PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect): A legacy parallel bus interface that was widely used for expansion cards like network cards, sound cards, and modems. While still found on very old systems, its parallel design limited speeds and introduced signal integrity issues, making it largely obsolete for modern high-bandwidth devices.

  • PCIe (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express): The current standard for high-bandwidth expansion. Unlike PCI, PCIe uses a serial, point-to-point connection, where each device has its own dedicated communication lane. Available in various lane configurations (\times1, \times4, \times8, \times16), where the number indicates the lane count proportional to bandwidth (e.g., a x16 slot provides the most bandwidth, typically for graphics cards). Each lane is a pair of differential signals for transmitting and receiving data simultaneously.

    • Backward Compatibility: A PCIe card inserted into a larger physical slot will still operate at its native lane count or the maximum supported by the slot/chipset, whichever is lower (e.g., an x8 graphics card inserted into an x16 slot will run at x8 speed, assuming the slot is wired for at least x8).

  • AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port): An obsolete, dedicated slot for graphics cards, providing a direct, high-speed connection between the GPU and RAM. It was a precursor to PCIe for graphics, but its limitations (single slot, designed ONLY for graphics) led to its replacement by the more versatile PCIe.

  • Riser cards: These are adapter boards used to change the orientation of expansion cards (e.g., allowing a GPU to be mounted vertically) or to add additional slots in cases with limited space. They are particularly common in small form factor (SFF) cases or custom PC builds for aesthetic or space-saving reasons.

4 Memory Subsystem

  • DIMM slots (Dual Inline Memory Module): These are the physical slots on the motherboard where RAM sticks are installed (e.g., DDR3, DDR4, DDR5). The motherboard manual is crucial for optimal memory population, as specific slots (e.g., A2 & B2 first) are often designated for better performance in multi-channel configurations.

  • Channels: Modern motherboards support different memory channel configurations:

    • Single-channel: Uses one memory controller pathway to access RAM.

    • Dual-channel: Utilizes two independent 64-bit data channels, effectively doubling the theoretical memory bandwidth when two identically sized and speed-matched RAM sticks are installed in paired slots. This significantly boosts performance for many applications.

    • Quad-channel: Employs four independent channels, further increasing memory bandwidth. For example, a “quad-channel” board populated with 4 sticks (each assigned to a channel) fully utilizes this architecture, often found on high-end desktop or server platforms.

  • Cache (on-CPU): A small, very fast memory built directly into the CPU, designed to store frequently accessed data and instructions to avoid slower main memory (RAM) access. It operates as a multi-level hierarchy:

    • L1 Cache: The fastest and smallest (kilobytes range), physically located closest to the CPU cores. It stores data that the CPU is currently working on, significantly reducing access time.

    • L2 Cache: Larger than L1 (hundreds of kilobytes to megabytes) and slightly slower. It acts as a secondary buffer, holding data that is likely to be needed soon but isn't in L1 yet.

    • L3 Cache: The largest cache (several megabytes, sometimes shared across multiple CPU cores). It is slower than L1 and L2 but still much faster than RAM. It acts as a last-resort