Unit-1

Computer Systems and Organization

Basic Computer Organization

Introduction to Computer System

A computer is an electronic device that takes instructions and data from a user as input, processes them,
and produces some meaningful output as a result. Computers are a combination of hardware and
software. Computer systems work on the IPO (Input-Process-Output) Model. They process information
stored as binary digits (0s and 1s) and perform complex tasks with incredible speed and accuracy.

● Hardware are physical components which can be seen and touched (tangible). Examples of
hardware include CPU, mouse, keyboard, monitor, motherboard, cables, CPU case, power supply
unit, RAM, graphics card, sound card etc.
● Various hardware components are interconnected together using a pathway called 'Bus', that
facilitates the transfer of data.
● Software is a set of instructions, its documentation and data, which are stored digitally on the
computer. Examples are Microsoft Windows, Linux, Paint, Word, PowerPoint, Photoshop, VLC
Media Player, VS Code, Python. The software is intangible, i.e cannot be touched.
● A computer system receives instructions from the user (usually a human) using Input Devices.
● The Operating System (OS) is a crucial piece of software that allows users to interact with the
computer hardware and other software easily.
● Computers process data through a series of instructions stored in their memory. The CPU fetches
these instructions, decodes them, and then executes them.
● Computers can talk to other computers through networking. The Internet is one such network.

Advantages of Computers
● Multi-tasking - can perform multiple tasks simultaneously
● Speed - computes data rapidly
● Productivity - automates and streamlines work process to increase productivity
● Accuracy - tasks are performed with high accuracy
● Connectivity - access to vast amount of data and global communication networks
● Education- enhances learning through stores resources
● Storage - can store large amounts of data for a long time
● Reliability - can perform its functions adequately in a controlled environment with high precision

Disadvantages of Computers
● High initial costs of purchase, maintenance

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● Long use may lead to health issues
● Security Risks - vulnerable to hacking, loss and theft of information
● Environmental Impact due to high carbon emissions
● Software issues - problems may arise due to buggy software

Computer Block Diagram

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Input Devices
● The hardware devices that send input data from the user to the CPU are known as Input Devices.
● They are responsible for capturing, and transferring data from the outside world into the computer
system.
● Some of the popular Input Devices are Keyboard, Mouse, Joystick, Scanner, Microphone,
Touchpad, Biometric Sensors, Graphic Tablet, Bar/QR Code Readers, Webcam, Magnetic Ink
Character Reader (MICR) and Optical Character Reader (OCR) devices etc.

Output Devices
1. The hardware devices that are responsible for displaying output from the computer are known
as Output Devices.
2. Some of the popular Output Devices are Display Monitor, Projector, Speaker, Printer, Plotter,
Headphones etc

Central Processing Unit

1. The Central Processing Unit (CPU) is the brain of the computer.
2. It is responsible for processing the instructions received, and generating the results.
3. The CPU contains three major components, namely an Arithmetic and Logic Unit (ALU), a
Control Unit (CU) and a set of Registers.
4. The ALU performs arithmetic operations such as addition, subtraction, division, multiplication,
exponentiation etc. It is also responsible for performing logical operations that result in either True
or False.
5. The Control Unit (CU) is responsible for proper operation of the system. It controls the different
operations of the computer by generating control signals.
6. The set of Registers are local/temporary storage for the CPU.

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 7. Registers can be accessed in a single CPU instruction and thus are extremely fast storage.
8. Registers are limited in number and thus data has to be transferred from the main/cache memory to
the registers for processing of data.

Working of the CPU (Additional Reading)

1. The CPU works on the concept of Information Processing Cycle (also known as Instruction
Cycle).
2. Based on a clock signal, the CPU fetches instructions from the main memory.
3. To access the main memory, the CPU transmits signals from the System Bus.
4. The system bus is similar to a road network that connects various peripheral devices to the CPU.
It is made up of Control Bus, Address Bus and the Data Bus. The Control Bus transmits
controlling signals, the addresses are transmitted through the address bus, and the data is put
onto the data bus.
5. The CPU then decodes the instruction into a sequence of operations.
6. It reads the effective address from the memory to fetch the data.
7. Then it performs the operation and stores the result back into the memory.

Memory
1. The location where the computer stores data, instructions, and programs is called the Memory.
2. Computer memory is organized into memory cells, each of which stores a fixed amount of data,
typically represented in binary as 0s and 1s.
3. The Memory of a computer is divided into Primary, Cache and Secondary Memory.

Primary Memory
1. The primary memory is directly accessible by the CPU.
2. It is a high speed memory which can closely match the operational speed of the CPU.

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 3. Due to the high speed, the cost of primary memory is high and the storage capacity of primary
memory is lower in comparison to the secondary memory.
4. There are two kinds of primary memory, namely RAM and ROM.

Random Access Memory (RAM)

1. RAM, also known as the main memory, is a volatile memory, i.e the contents of the memory are
lost as soon as the power to the system is switched off.
2. It is the main memory with which the CPU can interact directly.
3. It stores the instructions and data which are to be processed by the CPU shortly.
4. The data on the memory is stored in a fixed size block address.
5. The addresses on the RAM can be accessed in a random order, hence the name, Random Access.
6. RAM is majorly categorized into SRAM and DRAM.
7. DRAM stands for Dynamic RAM. Its contents have to be refreshed constantly. It is cheaper than
SRAM.
8. SRAM stands for Static RAM. It does not require constant refreshing of the contents and hence is
generally more expensive than DRAM.

Read Only Memory (ROM)

1. ROM is a non-volatile memory.
2. The purpose of ROM is to store the software instructions required for starting up the computer.
3. The startup process is also called bootstrap or booting the computer.
4. It loads a software called Basic Input Output System (BIOS).
5. It is mainly of three types
a. PROM - Programmable ROM
b. EPROM - Erasable Programmable ROM
c. EEPROM - Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM

Cache Memory
1. Cache memory is an intermediate memory between the CPU and the primary memory.
2. The need for cache memory arises from the difference in operational speed of the CPU and the
primary memory.

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 3. Often, the CPU is faster than the RAM/ main memory, and thus has to wait for the next instruction
to be loaded from the memory.
4. To reduce this waiting time, and increase the throughput of the CPU, a cache memory (buffer) is
placed between the CPU and primary memory.
5. The cache holds frequently used instructions and data and makes them readily available to the CPU.

Secondary Memory
1. Secondary memory is also known as permanent memory.
2. It is non-volatile in nature, i.e the data does not get lost even after power is turned off from the
computer.
3. Examples of Secondary memory are Hard Disk Drive, Solid State Drive, USB Flash Drive.
4. The CPU does not interact with the Secondary Memory directly.

Units of Memory
1. The smallest unit of memory is called a binary digit, or a bit.
2. The bit can assume only two values, 0 and 1.
3. A sequence of 4-bits is called a Nibble.
4. A Word is a fixed length sequence of bits which the processor can handle at a time.

Sr. No Unit Remarks

1 Bit (b) Can be 0 or 1

2 Nibble 1 nibble = 4 bits

3 Word Group of bits on which the CPU can work as a single unit. Can be
8 bits, 16 bits, 32 bits or 64 bits depending on CPU Architecture.

4 Byte (B) 1 B = 8 bits

5 KiloByte(KB) 1 KB = 1024 B

6 MegaByte(MB) 1 MB = 1024 KB

7 GigaByte(GB) 1 GB = 1024 MB

8 TeraByte(TB) 1 TB = 1024 GB

9 PetaByte(PB) 1 PB = 1024 TB