External storage (also called auxillary storage) is
any storage other than main memory. In modern times this is mostly hard
drives and removeable media (such as floppy disks, Zip disks, optical
media, etc.). With the advent of USB and FireWire hard drives, the line
between permanent hard drives and removeable media is blurred. Other
kinds of external storage include tape drives, drum drives, paper tape,
and punched cards. Random access or indexed access devices (such as hard
drives, removeable media, and drum drives) provide an extension of
memory (although usually accessed through logical file systems).
Sequential access devices (such as tape drives, paper tape
punch/readers, or dumb terminals) provide for off-line storage of large
amounts of information (or back ups of data) and are often called I/O
devices (for input/output).
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
What is RAM
RAM Stands for "Random Access Memory," and is pronounced like the male sheep. RAM is made up of small memory chips that form a memory module. These modules are installed in the RAM slots on the motherboard of your computer.
Every time you open a program, it gets loaded from the hard drive into the RAM. This is because reading data from the RAM is much faster than reading data from the hard drive. Running programs from the RAM of the computer allows them to function without any lag time. The more RAM your computer has, the more data can be loaded from the hard drive into the RAM, which can effectively speed up your computer. In fact, adding RAM can be more beneficial to your computer's performance than upgrading the CPU.
To check how much RAM a Windows computer has, open the "System" Control Panel. This can be done by right-clicking "My Computer" and selecting "Properties..." To view how much RAM is installed in a Macintosh computer, select "About This Mac" from the Apple Menu.
Every time you open a program, it gets loaded from the hard drive into the RAM. This is because reading data from the RAM is much faster than reading data from the hard drive. Running programs from the RAM of the computer allows them to function without any lag time. The more RAM your computer has, the more data can be loaded from the hard drive into the RAM, which can effectively speed up your computer. In fact, adding RAM can be more beneficial to your computer's performance than upgrading the CPU.
To check how much RAM a Windows computer has, open the "System" Control Panel. This can be done by right-clicking "My Computer" and selecting "Properties..." To view how much RAM is installed in a Macintosh computer, select "About This Mac" from the Apple Menu.
CPU
CPU stands for "Central Processing Unit." This is the pretty much the brain
of your computer. It processes everything from basic instructions to
complex functions. Any time something needs to be computed, it gets
sent to the CPU. Every day, it's compute this, compute that -- you'd
think the CPU would need a break after awhile. But no -- it just keeps
on processing. The CPU can also be referred to simply as the
"processor."
Processor
The processor is the part of the computer that actually does the computations. This is sometimes called an MPU (for main processor unit) or CPU (for central processing unit or central processor unit).
A processor typically contains an arithmetic/logic unit (ALU),
control unit (including processor flags, flag register, or status
register), internal buses, and sometimes special function units (the
most common special function unit being a floating point unit for
floating point arithmetic).
Some computers have more than one processor. This is called multi-processing.
The major kinds of digital processors are: CISC, RISC, DSP, and hybrid.
CISC stands for Complex Instruction Set
Computer. Mainframe computers and minicomputers were CISC processors,
with manufacturers competing to offer the most useful instruction sets.
Many of the first two generations of microprocessors were also CISC.
RISC stands for Reduced Instruction Set
Computer. RISC came about as a result of academic research that showed
that a small well designed instruction set running compiled programs at
high speed could perform more computing work than a CISC running the
same programs (although very expensive hand optimized assembly language
favored CISC).
DSP stands for Digital Signal Processing. DSP
is used primarily in dedicated devices, such as MODEMs, digital
cameras, graphics cards, and other specialty devices.
Hybrid processors combine elements of two or three of the major classes of processors.
For more detailed information on these classes of processors, see processors.
What are computer used for
Computers are used for a wide variety of purposes.
Data processing is commercial and financial
work. This includes such things as billing, shipping and receiving,
inventory control, and similar business related functions, as well as
the “electronic office”.
Scientific processing is using a computer to
support science. This can be as simple as gathering and analyzing raw
data and as complex as modelling natural phenomenon (weather and climate
models, thermodynamics, nuclear engineering, etc.).
Multimedia includes content creation
(composing music, performing music, recording music, editing film and
video, special effects, animation, illustration, laying out print
materials, etc.) and multimedia playback (games, DVDs, instructional
materials, etc.).
Basic of Computer Hardware
A computer is a programmable machine (or more precisely, a programmable sequential state machine). There are two basic kinds of computers: analog and digital.
Analog computers are analog devices. That is,
they have continuous states rather than discrete numbered states. An
analog computer can represent fractional or irrational values exactly,
with no round-off. Analog computers are almost never used outside of
experimental settings.
A digital computer is a programmable clocked
sequential state machine. A digital computer uses discrete states. A
binary digital computer uses two discrete states, such as
positive/negative, high/low, on/off, used to represent the binary digits
zero and one.
The French word ordinateur, meaning that which puts things in order, is a good description of the most common functionality of computers.
Monday, August 19, 2013
Online Learning School Launched
Happy to say that from now on i'll serve you all!! :)
From our blog you can learn all about computer hardware.
There is no need to opt for costly courses to lean all this stuff, I'm here to serve you! :)
I'll make you familiar with the latest technology & trends in the world of computing.
I'll make you a boss m so that you can assemble your computer of your own & troubleshoot any kind of hardware problems.
From our blog you can learn all about computer hardware.
There is no need to opt for costly courses to lean all this stuff, I'm here to serve you! :)
I'll make you familiar with the latest technology & trends in the world of computing.
I'll make you a boss m so that you can assemble your computer of your own & troubleshoot any kind of hardware problems.
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