Every day the majority of us interact with computers in one way or another. Be it the computer we use at work or home, the computers in some of the newer cars, or even our cellphones, which are just small computers, we rely on computers for a lot of things. But not many people know how a computer actually works. What’s inside of a computer that makes everything it does possible? Three of the most important pieces of hardware in the computer are the hard drive, the Random Access Memory (RAM), and the Central Processing Unit (CPU). First let’s look at the hard drive, this is where data is stored. When you run a program it first gets loaded from your hard drive into the RAM and then into the CPU (Torres). There are two general types of hard drives, the most common type use spinning magnetic disks for data storage and the other type is a SSD (Solid State Drive) that uses semiconductors for the same purpose (Rampur). Inside of a standard desktop hard drive you will find one to four of the magnetic disks or as some call them platters. These platters are each 3.5 inches in diameter, different sizes are used depending on the device, such as the laptop version which is 2.5 inches, and in mobile devices some platter can be as little as 1 inch. The platters are coated in a magnetically sensitive material and stacked millimeters apart on a spindle. Also inside the drive is a motor that spins the spindle and platters at speeds of: 4,200, 5,400, 7,200, 10,000, and 15,000 RPM (Revolutions per Minute). The speed at which the platters spin is the primary factor in how fast the data can be read. Data is read or written on the disk in a series of bits, either a “0” or “1”. The bits are represented by the orientation of particles in the magneticall... ... middle of paper ... ...hat’s inside my personal computers and hopefully you will too. Works Cited Huang, Angelina. What Is A CPU and What Does It Do? . 29 March 2010. Web. 4 December 2013. InetDaemon. CPU - Central Processing Unit. 26 October 2013. Web. 1 December 2013. Jacobi, Jon L. How It Works: Hard Drives. 13 September 2006. Web. 28 November 2013. Lee, Hutchinson. Solid-state revolution: in-depth on how SSDs really work. 5 June 2012. Web. 30 November 2012. Rampur, Stephen. Hard Drive Types. 5 January 2012. Web. 28 November 2013. Shimpi, Anand Lal. The Haswell Review: Intel Core i7-4770K & i5-4670K Tested. 1 June 2013. Web. 4 December 2013. Torres, Gabriel. How a CPU Works. 26 September 2005. Web. 1 December 2013. Tyson, Jeff and Dave Coustan. How RAM Works. 25 August 2000. Web. 30 November 2013. Woligroski, Don. How Many CPU Cores Do You Need? 29 April 2009. Web. 5 December 2013.
Education Lesson Plans, Tech Tips, Computer Hardware & Software Reviews, News and More at Bright Hub. Web. 03 Dec. 2011.
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Throughout its history, Intel has centered its strategy on the tenets of technological leadership and innovation (Burgelman, 1994). Intel established its reputation for taking calculated risks early on in 1969 by pioneering the metal-oxide semiconductor (MOS) processing technology. This new process technology enabled Intel to increase the number of circuits while simultaneously being able to reduce the cost-per-bit by tenfold. In 1970, Intel once again led the way with the introduction of the world’s first DRAM. While other companies had designed functioning DRAMs, they had failed to develop a process technology that would allow manufacturing of the devices to be commercially viable. By 1972, unit sales for the 1103, Intel’s original DRAM, had accounted for over 90% of the company’s $23.4 million revenue (Cogan & Burgelman, 2004).
“Which is better, AMD or Intel?” is a question that is constantly debated among people involved with computers. There are many reasons to choose one side over another, as both do have their advantages and disadvantages. Intel and AMD are the most prevalent processor production companies, which in turn creates competition between the two. This question is a by-product of that competition. Only by knowing each company and what their product has to offer, can a person make a decision as to what to buy to suit their needs.
Choosing which motherboard to use is important. It also is closely related to what processor is chosen. Because of cost saving factors, the AMD Athlon processor is the best choice. Therefore we can only provide a motherboard compatible with the AMD AthlonXP 1900. For our client, we decided on the motherboard Aopen K77-333. This motherboard is an excellent choice for our client because:
Atteberry, J. (n.d.). How stuff works:How scanning Electron Microscopes Work. Retrieved from how stuff works: http://science.howstuffworks.com/scanning-electron-microscope2.htm
Its Fourth-generation quad-core Intel Core i7 processor is remarkable for good performance and visuals. It enables the user to feel and see in high definition and 3D; and gives room for multitasking and media. The thrilling speeds are modeled for smooth and seamless games, photos and movies. The chip has a transistor count of 1.4 billion and a die size that is 177 square millimeters. Additionally, it has an incorporated processor graphics, and a dual-channel DDR3 support of up to 1600MHz (Williams & Sawyer, 2010).
Microprocessors and Angelic Self-possession: The microprocessors of today's computers are integrated circuits which contain the CPU on a single chip. The latest developments, with variable clock speeds now often exceeding 200 MHz, include Intell's Pentium chip, the IBM/Apple/Motorola PowerPC chip, as well as chips from Cyrix and AMD. The CPU chip is the heart of the computer; only memory and input-output devices have to be added. A small fan might be added on top of the fastest chips to cool them down, but in the chip itself there are no moving parts, no complex gaps between the movement being imparted and that which imparts the movement.
Moor’s Law: The number of transistors incorporated in a chip will approximately double every 24 months. (Moore, 1965)
Watson, S. (2013). How Cryonics Works. In Science How Stuff Works. Retrieved December 29, 2013, from http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/genetic/cryonics2.htm
Because there are high rotation rates, when? the hard disk drive is working. Traditionally, people often use aluminum. because it is a light material. But today, most platters are made from material like glass or ceramic composite.
Intel Corporation. (n.d.). Dual-Core Intel® Xeon® Processors LV and ULV for embeded computing. Retrieved May 23, 2010, from Intel Corporation Web site: http://download.intel.com/design/intarch/prodbref/31578602.pdf
Dockery, Gabriel. “How Are Microprocessors Made.” eHow. eHow Inc., n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2011. .
Modern computers based on integrated circuits are millions to billions of times more capable than the early machines, and occupy a fraction of the space. Simple computers are small enough to fit into mobile devices, and mobile computers can be powered by small batteries. Personal computers in their various forms are icons of the Information Age and are what most people think of as “computers.” However, the embedded computers found in many devices from MP3 players to fighter aircraft and from toys to industrial robots are the most numerous.
A computer is a combination of several parts. These parts are Random Access Memory (RAM), a Central Processing