Hardware

In this section of the portfolio all hardware components, central processing unit, machine language
will all be covered.

COMPONENTS

Motherboard
A motherboard, or otherwise sometimes known as the mainboard and logic board, is a printed circuit
board (PCB) found in PC’S and other devices. It holds all the electronic components of the system, this
would include the central processing unit (CPU), RAM, and provides the required connections for the
peripheral devices. The motherboard also has room to expand and can attach additional components
to it. This includes sound cards, video cards, network cards, hard drives, or other storage. Mainboard
means just the single board, and no room for expansion.
Graphical processing unit (GPU)
Graphics processing unit or (GPU) is an electronic circuit which manipulates and alters memory to
accelerate the creation of 2D and 3D images. GPU’S can be integrated, which means they are already
built onto the motherboard or CPU. GPU can be dedicated as well, this means they are a separate
piece of hardware known as a video card. By having a separate processor, the GPU allows the
computers CPU resources to be used for other important tasks. GPU’S are used in mobile phones,
personal computers, workstations and game consoles.

Random access memory (RAM)

Random access memory, or RAM is a form of data storage. A random- access devices allows stored
data to be accessed in a completely random order. Other forms of data storage such as a Hard drive
disk (HDD) will read and write data in a predetermined order, this is because of the design limitations.
Therefore, hard drives may run slower, because it is searching for the data in a physical location. On
most computers now a day, random access memory is based in the integrated circuits. DRAM is not
random access, this is due to the data being read in bursts. Other types including SRAM, ROM, OTP
are random access. Ram is a volatile memory, this means if the power is removed, the stored
information will be lost. ROM is the opposite of RAM in this sense, and if the power were to turn off,
the ROM would still remember the stored data.
Power supply
The power supply unit is the piece of hardware that’s used to convert the power provided from the
outlet into usable power for many parts in the computer case. It converts the alternating current (AC)
into a form of power that the components need to run effectively. The power supply unit also
regulates overheating by controlling the voltage, which could change automatically depending on the
power supply. The power supply unit is mounted inside the back of the case. There’s also a fan opening
at the back of the power supply, that sends air out of the back of the computer case.

CPU heat sink

When a CPU is processing it gets very hot, therefore a heat sink is required. The heat sink draws heat
energy away from the CPU. This is achieved by dissipating the heat through its fins into the air. The
fan draws the warm air away from the heatsink, allowing more heat exchange to occur. The heatsink
is attached to the CPU, to increase the efficiency, heat conductive paste is used. This paste allows for
a greater heat conduction away from the CPU.

Hard drive (HDD)

A hard disk drive (HDD) is a data storage device, used for storing and retrieving digital data
information. This is achieved in the form of rapidly rotating disks (platters) coated with magnetic
material. HDD retains all data when the power has been turned off. The data is read in a random
manner, which means individual blocks of data can be stored or retrieved in any order, as opposed to
it being in sequence. An HDD uses rapidly rotating disks (platters) with magnetic heads, on a actuator
arm, to read and write data to the surfaces.
Optical Disk / CD / DVD Drive
In computing, an optical disc drive (ODD) is a disk drive that uses laser light or electromagnetic waves
within or near the visible light spectrum as part of the process of reading or writing data to or from
optical discs. Some drives can only read from discs, but recent drives are commonly both readers and
recorders, also called burners or writers. Compact discs, DVDs, and Blu-ray discs are common types of
optical media which can be read and recorded by such drives. Optical drive is the generic name; drives
are usually described as "CD" "DVD", or "Blu-ray", followed by "drive", "writer", etc.

Optical disc drives are an integral part of stand-alone consumer appliances such as CD players, DVD
players and DVD recorders. They are also very commonly used in computers to read software and
consumer media distributed on disc, and to record discs for archival and data exchange purposes.
Floppy disk drives, with capacity of 1.44 MB, have been made obsolete: optical media are cheap and
have vastly higher capacity to handle the large files used since the days of floppy discs, and the clear
majority of computers and much consumer entertainment hardware have optical writers. USB flash
drives, high-capacity, small, and inexpensive, are suitable where read/write capability is required.

Disc recording is restricted to storing files playable on consumer appliances (films, music, etc.),
relatively small volumes of data (e.g., a standard DVD holds 4.7 gigabytes) for local use, and data for
distribution, but only on a small-scale; mass-producing large numbers of identical discs is cheaper and
faster than individual recording.

Optical discs are used to back up relatively small volumes of data, but backing up of entire hard drives,
typically containing many hundreds of gigabytes, is less practical than with the smaller capacities
available previously.