Fundamental of Computer System - II

Unit - I Structure of modern computer

Unit - I Structure of modern computer paper -2 by Prof.Miss.bavale A.T

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Unit - I Structure of modern computer paper -2 by Prof.Miss.bavale A.T
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Unit - I Structure of modern computer paper -2 by Prof.Miss.bavale A.T
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 Motherboard: Definition:
A motherboard is one of the most essential parts of a computer system. It holds together many of the crucial
components of a computer, including the central processing unit (CPU), memory and connectors for input and
output devices. The base of a motherboard consists of a very firm sheet of non-conductive material, typically
some sort of rigid plastic. Thin layers of copper or aluminum foil, referred to as traces, are printed onto this
sheet. These traces are very narrow and form the circuits between the various components. In addition to
circuits, a motherboard contains a number of sockets and slots to connect the other components.

 Parts of a Motherboard
If you were to open up your computer and take out the motherboard, you would probably get pretty confused
about all the different parts. Depending on the make and model of your computer, it might look something like
this.

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 Photograph of a typical motherboard of a desktop computer

To understand how computers work, you don't need to know every single part of the motherboard. However, it
is good to know some of the more important parts and how the motherboard connects the various parts of a
computer system together. Here are some of the typical parts:

 A CPU socket - the actual CPU is directly soldered onto the socket. Since high speed CPUs generate a
lot of heat, there are heat sinks and mounting points for fans right next to the CPU socket.
 A power connector to distribute power to the CPU and other components.
 Slots for the system's main memory, typically in the form of DRAM chips.
 A chip forms an interface between the CPU, the main memory and other components. On many types
of motherboards, this is referred to as the Northbridge. This chip also contains a large heat sink.
 A second chip controls the input and output (I/O) functions. It is not connected directly to the CPU but
to the Northbridge. This I/O controller is referred to as the Southbridge. The Northbridge and
Southbridge combined are referred to as the chipset.
 Several connectors, which provide the physical interface between input and output devices and the
motherboard. The Southbridge handles these connections.
 Slots for one or more hard drives to store files. The most common types of connections are Integrated
Drive Electronics (IDE) and Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA).

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  A read-only memory (ROM) chip, which contains the firmware, or startup instructions for the
computer system. This is also called the BIOS.
 A slot for a video or graphics card. There are a number of different types of slots, including the
Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) and Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe).
 Additional slots to connect hardware in the form of Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) slots.

Photograph of a typical motherboard with the most important parts labeled

There are certainly a lot of acronyms to get used to! Don't worry too much about trying to remember all the
parts and their acronyms. The key is to remember that the motherboard contains the central processing
unit, the memory, and all the connectors to the rest of the hardware of the computer system. The board
is the 'mother' of all components - that's where it gets its name.

SMPS
SMPS: Switched-Mode Power Supply/ Switching Mode Power Supply
SMPS stands for Switched-Mode Power Supply. It is an electronic power supply that uses a
switching regulator to convert electrical power efficiently. It is also known as Switching
Mode Power Supply. It is power supply unit (PSU) generally used in computers to convert
the voltage into the computer acceptable range.

This device has the power handling electronic components that converts electrical power
efficiently. Switched Mode Power Supply uses a great power conversion technique to reduce
overall power loss.

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 How does SMPS work
The SMPS device uses switching regulators that switches the load current on and off to
regulate and stabilize the output voltage. The average of the voltage between the off and on
produces the appropriate power for a device. Unlike the linear power supply, the pass
transistor of SMPS switches between low dissipation, full-on and full-off mode, and spends
very less time in the high-dissipation transitions, which minimizes wasted energy.

 Expansion Slot
Definition -
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.
Depending on the form factor of the case and motherboard, a computer system
generally can have anywhere from one to seven expansion slots. With a backplane
system, up to 19 expansion cards can be installed.

Expansion cards can provide various functions including:

 Sound
 Modems
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  Network
 Interface adapters
 TV and radio tuning
 Video processing
 Host adapting such as redundant array of independent disks or small computer
system interface
 Solid-state drive
 Power-on self-test
 Advanced multirate codec
 Basic input/output system (BIOS)
 Expansion read-only memory (ROM)
 Security devices
 RAM memory

Older expansion cards also included memory expansion cards, clock/calendar cards,
hard disk cards, compatibility cards for hardware emulation, and disk controller cards.
The Altair 8800 was the first slot-type expansion card bus added to a microcomputer. It
was developed in 1974-1975 by IBM Corp.
The expansion slot opening is generally located on the back of a PC and provides an
electrical connection to the motherboard for an expansion card. Screws are then used
to attach the card to the slot for added security.
 Serial Ports
Serial Ports provide an interface to connect serial lines to prepare a serial
communication. Serial ports are typically used in modem, mouse, security cameras etc.
A Serial port uses DB-9 connector, a 9 pin D-Shaped Connector which connects to the
transmission line. A serial port provides a serial communication using one line and thus
have no dependency on other wire's speed and its length can be extended as per the
need.

 Parallel Ports
Parallel ports provide an interface to connect multiple lines to prepare a parallel
communication to send large data at a time. Parallel ports are used in connecting
printers, hard-drives, CD-drives etc. All lines speed should be same to avoid error and
cross-talk issues. To avoid such issues, the wires are kept small in length. A parallel
port uses D-25 connector, a 25 pin D-Shaped connector which connects to the
transmission wires.

• A parallel port is an external interface commonly found on PCs from the early
1980s to early 2000s. It was used to connect peripheral devices such
as printers and external storage devices. It was eventually superseded by USB,
which provides a smaller connection and significantly faster data transfer rates.
• The parallel port is a hallmark of old computer technology — large in size and
slow in speed. A standard parallel port connector has two rows of 25 total pins
surrounded by a metal casing. It is roughly an inch in width and has two screw-in
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 connectors to keep the cable in place. Parallel port cables used for printing often
have an even larger 36-pin "Centronics 36" connector that connects to the
printer. The original parallel port standard was unidirectional and could transmit
data at a maximum speed of 150 kbps.
• As printers became more advanced, it was necessary to increase the connection
speed and also provide bidirectional communication. Instead of the PC sending a
"print" command and hoping the print job was successful, the bidirectional
capability allowed printers to send messages back to the PC, such as "ready,"
"printing," and "complete." Faster transmission speeds enabled the parallel port
to be used for other purposes, such as external storage devices like the
Iomega Zip drive.

Following are the important differences between Serial Ports and Parallel Ports.

Sr. Key Serial Ports Parallel Ports

No.

Purpose Serial Port is used for serial data Parallel Port is used for
1
transmission. parallel data transmission.

Transmission Speed Transmission speed of a serial port Transmission speed of a

2 is slow as compared to a parallel parallel port is quiet high as
port. compared to a serial port.

3 Redundancy Bottom-Up model is better suited as Top-down model has high

it ensures minimum data ratio of redundancy as the

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Sr. Key Serial Ports Parallel Ports
No.

redundancy and focus is on re- size of project increases.

usability.

No. Of Wires Wire connections to serial port are No. of wires that are
quiet less as compared to parallel connected to parallel port are
4
port. quiet high as compared to
serial port.

Capability A serial port is able to transmit a A parallel port is able to

5 single stream of data at a time. transmit multiple data
streams at a time.

Data Sending Mechanism A serial port sends data bit by bit A parallel port sends data by
6 after sending a bit at a time. sending multiple bits in
parallel fashion.

Port Type A serial port uses Male ports. A parallel port uses Female
7
ports.

Applications Modems, security cameras, device Printers, Hard Drives, CD

8
controllers use serial ports. drives use parallel ports.

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