CHAPTER 3

COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE/ COMPUTER HARDWARE

Computer architecture refers to the design and construction of a computer system.

Computer System Components

A computer set has the following major elements:-
 Input devices
 Output devices
 The processors (CPU)
 The storage devices
The organization of computer Hardware is based on the Von-Newman Architecture, which
is based on the concept of binary representation of numbers in the computer. This
organization, also known as the computer theoretical organization, describes how the
different types of computer hardware interact with each other, in the processing of data, so
that the desired results can be achieved. The figure below illustrates the architecture:

SECONDARY MEMORY
OR
AUXILLIARY STORAGE

OUTPUT
INPUT MAIN DEVICES
DEVICES MEMORY

CONTROL Key:
UNITUNIT
Data Flow
ARITHMETIC /
LOGIC UNIT Command
Flow

Peripheral devices
These are equipment that are used with the computer but are not integral part of it. They
include printers, keyboards, monitors, mice, disk drives.
 Monitor

Systems Unit

Keyboard

Mouse

Input Devices
Input refers to the process of entering programs, commands, user responses and data into
main memory. The most common input devices are:

a) Keyboard:
Users input data to a computer by pressing the keys on the keyboard. As the user enters the
data on the Keyboard it displays on the screen. It has several keys such as:-
 The function keys labeled with letters F1 - F12. Which perform different tasks
depending on the software program you are using.
 The arrow keys/cursor control keys used to move the cursor.
 The Data Keys used to enter the letters, numbers and symbols.
 Special purpose keys e.g. Backspace, Del. Shift, Alt., Ctrl, Enter ,Esc., Pause etc.
Function Keys

Numeric Keypad

Backspace Key
Cursor-Control
Keys

b) Mouse
This is a small lightweight device that easily fits in the palm of your hand. Software programs
designed to use mouse display a mouse pointer on the screen. The pointer may be an arrow,
small rectangle, an I-beam or even a hand with a pointed finger.

To move the pointer, you gently slide the mouse around the mouse pad. Mouse has a
language of its own.
E.g.
Point - to move a pointer to a desired spot.
Click - press and release the left hand button.
Double click - press and release button twice as quickly as possible.
Drag - press and hold the right mouse button while moving the pointer to another
Location.
Drop - release the mouse button after dragging.

c) Trackball
It is a pointing device that is used as an alternative to a mouse. You roll the ball to position
the pointer on the screen. Unlike the mouse, a trackball doesn’t move on the desk and
therefore requires less space.

d) Scanners
Scanners convert texts, characters or images into a form that can be processed by the
computer.

Other input devices include

e) Touch screens
f) Graphic input
g) Optical character reader (OCR)
h) Optical mark reader (OMR)
i) Magnetic ink character recognition (MICR)

The System Unit

The system unit also known as a base unit, is the main body of a desktop computer of the
computer system.

The front part has the following buttons:-

 Reset button – used to restart the system without disconnecting the Power supply.
 Power indicator – indicates that the system has been powered.
 Power switch – Used to switch on the PC.
 Hard disk/floppy disk/CD indicators – are LEDs that come on when respective disk is
being read or written.

Inside the System Unit

In a typical microcomputer, the system unit contains the power supply, storage devices and
the main circuit board with the computer’s main processor and memory.
The Power Supply
This component converts the AC electricity from the outlet to the DC electricity for PC uses.
A fan keeps the power supply and other components in the system unit from overheating.

The Main board/Motherboard.

This is the main circuit board that houses the integrated circuits in the system unit. It
contains the microprocessor, the RAM, expansion cards and is connected to peripheral
devices that collect input and produce output.

Memory
Memory is electronic circuitry that holds the data and program instruction. It is sometimes
called primary storage. There are four major types of memory, namely random access
memory (RAM), virtual memory, CMOS memory and read-only memory (ROM).

Random Access Memory (RAM)

This is an area in the computer system unit that temporarily holds data before and after it is
processed. For example, when you enter a document, the characters you type usually are not
processed right away. They are held in RAM until you tell the software to carry out process
such as printing.

In RAM, the microscopic electronic parts called capacitor hold the electronic signals for the
binary codes that represent the data. RAM is volatile i.e. if the computer is turned off or the
power goes out, all the data stored in RAM instantly and permanently disappears.

Functions of the RAM

The contents of RAM are necessary for the computer to process any data. The CPU receives
instructions from RAM, uses the data in RAM for processing and keeps the results of
processing temporarily in RAM until they are needed again or stored on disk.

RAM stores user data, operating system instructions and program instructions temporarily.
Every time you turn on your computer, it copies a set of operating system instructions from
disk into RAM. These instructions, which help control basic computer functions, remain in
RAM until you turn the computer off.
RAM also holds program instructions. When you use a word processing program, the
computer copies the instructions that turn your computer into a word processor from disk into
RAM.

RAM capacity
The storage capacity of RAM is measured in megabytes (MB) or Gigabytes (GB). Most
recent micro-computers have between 128 MB – 2 GB of RAM. The amount of RAM your
computer needs depends on the software you use.
Virtual Memory
The computer sometimes uses space on the computers hard disk as an extension of RAM. A
computer’s ability to use disk storage to simulate RAM is called virtual memory.

Virtual memory allows computers without enough real memory to run large programs,
manipulate large data files and run more than one program at a time. One disadvantage of a
virtual memory is reduced performance.
Read Only Memory (ROM)
This is a set of chips containing instructions that help a computer prepare for processing
tasks. These instructions also called firmware are permanent, and the only way to change
them is to remove the ROM chips from the main board and replace them with another set.

When you turn on your computer, the CPU receives electrical power and is ready to begin
executing instructions. But because the computer was turned on, RAM is empty with no
instructions for CPU to process. This is when ROM finds its use.

When you turn on your computer, the CPU performs a series of steps by following
instructions stored in ROM. This series of steps is called the boot process.

 Programmable read-only memory (PROM) - acts the same as ROM when it is part of the
computer. I.e. it can only be read but its contents cannot be altered. However the data or
programs are not stored in the memory when they are manufactured. Instead it can be
loaded with special programs during installation.

 Erasable Prom (EPROM) - their data can be erased using special ultraviolet light device
that destroys the bit settings within the memory.

The Central Processing Unit (CPU)

This is the circuitry in a computer that executes instructions to process data. CPU is the heart
of the computer system. It retrieves instructions and data from RAM, processes them and
places the result back into RAM so they can be displayed or stored.

CPU Architecture
The CPU consists of one or more integrated circuits. In microcomputer the CPU is a single
integrated circuit called a micro-processor.

The CPU has two main parts; the arithmetic logic unit (ALU) and the control unit (CU).

The ALU performs arithmetic operations such as addition, subtraction, division and
multiplication. It also performs logical operations such as comparing two numbers. It uses
registers to hold the data that is being processed. In ALU, the results of an arithmetic or
logical operation is held temporarily in the accumulator.

The CU (Control Unit) - directs and coordinates processing and places it in a special
instruction register. The CU then interprets the instruction to find out what needs to be done.
According to its interpretation, the control unit sends signals to the data bus to fetch data
from RAM, and to the ALU to perform a process.

Output Devices
Output is the data that has been processed into useful form/information that can be used by a
person or a machine.
Most outputs are in form of reports or graphics. The most used output devices are:-

1. Printers
Printers can be classified by how they transfer characters from the printer to the paper.

Impact Printers
Transfer images into paper by some type of printing mechanism striking paper, ribbon, and
character together.

Non-Impact Printers
Printing occurs w/o having a mechanism striking against a sheet of paper.
Speed
Another way of classifying printers is by speed:-

 Low speed- print one character at a time.

 Medium and high-speed printers - called line printers, can print multiple characters on
a line at the same time.

 Very high-speed printers - can print excess of 3,000 lines per minute, often called page
printers.

Types of Printers

1) Dot Matrix Printers

Create letters and graphics by striking an inked ribbon with a column of small wires called
pins. By activating some wires in the column, but not activating others, the printer creates
patterns for letters and numbers.
Advantages
 Low operating costs
 Low price
 Can print multi-part forms – Make carbon copies
 Durable
Limitations
 Noisy
 Low to medium quality output
 Slow
2) Ink-jet Printers
Produce characters and graphics by spraying ink onto paper. The print-head is a matrix of
fire spray nozzles, patterns are created by activating selected nozzles.
Advantages
 Moderate price
 Inexpensive to operate
 High quality color printouts/high quality output.
  Quiet
 Durable
Disadvantages
 Slow
 Cannot print multi-part forms – cannot make carbon copies
 Poor quality colour compared to laser printers
3) Laser Printers
Use the same technology as the duplicating machines.
Advantages
 Quiet
 High quality output
 Fast
 High quality color
 Durable

Limitations
 Expensive color
 Cannot print multi-part forms
 More expensive to operate

Others
4) Daisy wheel printers
5) Thermal printers
6) Chain printers
7) Band printers

2. The Monitor (The Screen)

Also called cathode ray tube (CRT) or video display terminal (VDT). It lets you see the
information you are exchanging with the computer. They can be either monochrome or
color. Monochrome display only two colors, either black and white or green and black. The
size is measured diagonally (like TV) in inches e.g. 14”. Inside the monitor is a video
display adapter, which is an expansion card that translates the signal, processed by the CPU
into a format that the monitor can display.

3. Plotters
Used to produce high-quality line drawing, such as building plans, charts or circuit diagrams.
The two types are (a) pen plotters - create image on a sheet of paper by moving the paper
under the tip of pen (b) electrostatic plotters.
4. Computer Output Microfilm
COM is an output technique that records output from a computer as microscopic images on
roll or sheet film.

5. Voice Output
Consist of spoken words that are conveyed to the user from the computer. The data that
produces voice output is usually created in one of two ways:-
 a) A person can talk into a device that will encode the words in digital pattern. The
digital data is then stored on a disk. It can later be translated back from digital data
into voice.

b) Voice Synthesizer:- can transform words stored in main memory into speech.

Auxiliary/Secondary Storage

Stores programs and data when they are not being processed. They are non-volatile ie. data
and programs are retained when the power is turned off.

1) Hard Disk:
This is where most of the computer data is stored especially the programs and personal files.
It consists of one or more rigid metal platters coated with a metal oxide material that allows
data to be magnetically recorded on the surface of the platter.

2) Floppy Disks/Diskettes/Floppies/Disks
Consists of a circular piece of a thin Mylar plastic (actual disk) which is coated with oxide
material. The circular piece is enclosed in a flexible square plastic jacket.

This type of storage is convenient, reliable and relatively low in cost. The storage capacity
ranges between 360 K to 2.88 MB. They come in several sizes: Most common being 3½
inch.

3) Magnetic Disk
This is used for medium and large computers. They are similar to the devices used in PC’s
but have larger capacities.