• Assembling an effective, efficient computer system

requires an understanding of its relationship to the

information system and the organization. The computer
system objectives are subordinate to, but supportive of,
the information system and the needs of the
organization

• Describe how to select and organize computer system

components to support information system (IS)
objectives and business organization needs

Principles of Information Systems, Seventh Edition 2

 • When selecting computer devices, you also must consider
the current and future needs of the information system and
the organization. Your choice of a particular computer
system device should always allow for later improvements

• Describe the power, speed, and capacity of central processing

and memory devices
• Describe the access methods, capacity, and portability of
secondary storage devices
• Discuss the speed, functionality, and importance of input and
output devices
• Identify popular classes of computer systems and discuss the role
of each
Principles of Information Systems, Seventh Edition 3
 Computer Systems: Integrating the
Power of Technology
• Computer system
• Special subsystem of an organization’s overall information
system
• Integrated assembly of devices used to input, process, store,
and output data and information
• Hardware
• Any machinery—most of which use digital circuits—that
assists in the input, processing, storage, and output
activities of an information system

Principles of Information Systems, Seventh Edition 4

 Hardware Components

• Central processing unit (CPU)

• Input devices

• Output devices

Principles of Information Systems, Seventh Edition 5

 Hardware Components (continued)

• Communications devices

• Primary storage devices

• Secondary storage devices

Principles of Information Systems, Seventh Edition 6

 Figure 3.1: Computer System
Components

Principles of Information Systems, Seventh Edition 7

 Hardware Components in Action

• Step 1: Fetch instruction

• Step 2: Decode instruction

• Step 3: Execute instruction

• Step 4: Store results

Principles of Information Systems, Seventh Edition 8

 Figure 3.2: Execution of an Instruction

Principles of Information Systems, Seventh Edition 9

 Processing and Memory Devices:
Power, Speed, and Capacity

• System unit: houses the components responsible for

processing—the CPU and memory

• All other computer system devices are linked either

directly or indirectly into the system unit housing

Principles of Information Systems, Seventh Edition 10

 Processing Characteristics and
Functions
• Machine cycle time is measured in:

• Microseconds (1 millionth of a second)

• Nanoseconds (1 billionth of a second)

• Picoseconds (1 trillionth of a second)

• MIPS (Millions of Instructions Per Second)

Principles of Information Systems, Seventh Edition 11

 Processing Characteristics and
Functions (continued)

• Clock speed: electronic pulses that affect machine cycle

time

• Hertz (Hz): one cycle (pulse) per second

• Megahertz (MHz): millions of cycles per second

• Microcode: elementary circuits and logical operations a

processor performs when executing instructions

Principles of Information Systems, Seventh Edition 12

 Figure 3.3: Clock Speed and the
Execution of Microcode Instructions

Principles of Information Systems, Seventh Edition 13

 Wordlength and Bus Line Width

• Bit: a binary digit (0 or 1)

• Wordlength: number of bits the CPU can process at any

one time

• Bus line: physical wiring that connects the computer

system components

Principles of Information Systems, Seventh Edition 14

 Physical Characteristics of the CPU

• CPU: collection of digital circuits

• Electrical current flows through silicon
• Moore’s Law: transistor densities on a chip double every
18 months
• Superconductivity: property of certain metals that allows
current to flow with minimal electrical resistance
• Optical processors: computer chips that use light waves
instead of electrical current to represent bits

Principles of Information Systems, Seventh Edition 15

 Figure 3.4: Moore’s Law

Principles of Information Systems, Seventh Edition 16

 Complex and Reduced Instruction Set
Computing

• Complex instruction set computing (CISC): chip

design that places as many microcode instructions into the
central processor as possible

• Reduced instruction set computing (RISC): chip

design that involves reducing the number of microcode
instructions built into a chip to an essential set of
common microcode instructions

Principles of Information Systems, Seventh Edition 17

Memory Characteristics and Functions:
Storage Capacity

Principles of Information Systems, Seventh Edition 18

 Types of Memory

• Random access memory (RAM): temporary and volatile

• Types of RAM

• EDO (Extended Data Out)

• DRAM (Dynamic RAM)

• SDRAM (Synchronous DRAM)

Principles of Information Systems, Seventh Edition 19

 Types of Memory (continued)

• ROM (read-only memory): usually nonvolatile

• Types of ROM

• PROM (programmable read-only memory)

• EPROM (erasable programmable read-only memory)

• Cache memory

• High-speed memory that a processor can access more

rapidly than main memory

Principles of Information Systems, Seventh Edition 20

Figure 3.5: Basic Types of Memory Chips

Principles of Information Systems, Seventh Edition 21

 Figure 3.6: Cache Memory

Principles of Information Systems, Seventh Edition 22

 Multiprocessing

• Multiprocessing: the simultaneous execution of two

or more instructions at the same time

• Massively parallel processing

• Speeds processing by linking hundreds or thousands of

processors to operate at the same time, or in parallel

• Can coordinate large amounts of data and access them

with greater speed

Principles of Information Systems, Seventh Edition 23

Figure 3.7: Massively Parallel Processing

Principles of Information Systems, Seventh Edition 24

 Secondary Storage

• Secondary storage: offers advantages of nonvolatility,

greater capacity, and greater economy

• Access methods, storage capacities, and portability

required are determined by the information system’s
objectives

Principles of Information Systems, Seventh Edition 25

Table 3.1: Cost Comparison for Various
Forms of Data Storage

Principles of Information Systems, Seventh Edition 26

 Access Methods

• Sequential access: retrieval method in which data must

be retrieved in order; devices used are called sequential
access storage devices (SASDs)

• Direct access: retrieval method in which data can be

retrieved in any order; devices used are called direct
access storage devices (DASDs)

Principles of Information Systems, Seventh Edition 27

 Secondary Storage Devices

• Magnetic tapes

• Magnetic disks

• Virtual tape

• Optical discs

Principles of Information Systems, Seventh Edition 28

 Secondary Storage Devices
(continued)

• Digital versatile disk (DVD)

• Magneto-optical (MO) disks

• Memory cards

• Flash memory

• Expandable storage

Principles of Information Systems, Seventh Edition 29

 Enterprise Storage Options

• Attached storage

• Network-attached storage (NAS)

• Storage area network (SAN)

Principles of Information Systems, Seventh Edition 30

 Figure 3.12: Storage Area Network

Principles of Information Systems, Seventh Edition 31

 Input and Output Devices: The
Gateway to Computer Systems

• Through input and output devices, people provide data

and instructions to computer and receive results from it

• Selection of input and output devices depends on

organizational goals and information systems objectives

Principles of Information Systems, Seventh Edition 32

 Characteristics and Functionality

• Data: can be human- or machine-readable

• Data entry: process of converting human-readable data

into machine-readable form

• Data input: involves transferring machine-readable data

into the system

• Source data automation: involves capturing and editing

data where the data is initially created and in a form that
can be directly input to a computer

Principles of Information Systems, Seventh Edition 33

 Input Devices

• Personal computer input devices

• Keyboard

• Mouse

• Voice-recognition devices

• Digital computer cameras

• Terminals

Principles of Information Systems, Seventh Edition 34

 Input Devices (continued)

• Scanning devices

• Optical data readers

• Magnetic ink character recognition (MICR) devices

• Point-of-sale (POS) devices

• Automated teller machine (ATM) devices

Principles of Information Systems, Seventh Edition 35

 Input Devices (continued)

• Pen input devices

• Light pens

• Touch-sensitive screens

• Bar-code scanners

• Radio-frequency identification (RFID)

Principles of Information Systems, Seventh Edition 36

 Output Devices

• Display monitors

• Liquid crystal displays (LCDs)

• Active-matrix

• Passive-matrix

Principles of Information Systems, Seventh Edition 37

 Output Devices (continued)

• Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs)

• Printers and plotters

• Computer output microfilm (COM) devices

• Music devices

Principles of Information Systems, Seventh Edition 38

 Computer System Types, Selecting,
and Upgrading
• Computers can be classified as either special purpose or
general purpose

• Special-purpose computers: used for limited

applications by military and scientific research groups

• General-purpose computers: used for a wide variety of

applications

Principles of Information Systems, Seventh Edition 39

 Computer System Types

• Handheld computers

• Portable computers

• Thin client

• Desktop computers

Principles of Information Systems, Seventh Edition 40

 Computer System Types (continued)

• Workstations

• Servers

• Mainframe computers

• Supercomputers

Principles of Information Systems, Seventh Edition 41

 Selecting and Upgrading Computer
Systems
• Hard drive considerations

• Main memory considerations

• Printer considerations

• DVD burners

Principles of Information Systems, Seventh Edition 42

 Summary

• Hardware: machinery that assists in the input,

processing, storage, and output activities of an
information system
• Hardware components include central processing unit
(CPU), input and output devices, communications
devices, primary storage devices, and secondary
storage devices
• Random access memory (RAM): temporary and volatile
• Read-only memory (ROM): usually nonvolatile

Principles of Information Systems, Seventh Edition 43

 Summary (continued)

• Multiprocessing: simultaneous execution of two or more

instructions at the same time
• Sequential access: records must be retrieved in order
• Direct access: records can be retrieved in any order
• Examples of secondary storage devices: magnetic tapes
and disks, optical disks, and DVDs
• Enterprise storage options: attached storage, network-
attached storage (NAS), and storage area network (SAN)

Principles of Information Systems, Seventh Edition 44

 Summary (continued)

• Examples of input devices: keyboards, mice, voice-

recognition devices, terminals, scanning devices, and
touch-sensitive screens
• Examples of output devices: display monitors, liquid
crystal displays (LCDs), printers, and plotters
• Computers can be classified as either special purpose or
general purpose
• Computer system types: handheld computers, portable
computers, desktop computers, workstations, servers, etc.

Principles of Information Systems, Seventh Edition 45