It is important to know that hardware requires software to run correctly. Without correct hardware, your software may not run efficiently or at all. It is important to consider both when making decisions buying a new software for your department or organization. In this picture here, you can see four fundamental components of computer hardware which includes processor also known as the CPU, memory, buses, input and output devices.
These components of the computer work together to complete the different instructions of the computer program to accomplish the goals of the user for example send and receive email, the blue profile, do the forecasting, all the calculation. This instruction can be simple like multiply or divided or can be super complicated like complex calculation that required for rocket equation. Now let's look at this component in more details. The central processing unit known as CPU is the core or brain of your computer containing all the security needed to process input, store data and output results. The CPU is constantly following the instructions of computer program that tell it which data to process and how to process it.
A multi-core processor has two or more independent processing units called cores. The main thing that you need to know here is more cores enable the processor to complete more work per unit of time. I want to give an example.
A processor with two cores is called a dual-core processor. The processors of our personal computers are available with two, four, six, and eight cores. The latest MacBook, the M1 Pro, officially has 10 CPU cores.
So now imagine the speed. The clock speed refers to the series of electronic pulses at a predetermined rate which is produced by each processor. Clock speed is measured in Gigahertz or GHZ, which is a unit of frequency that is equal to 1 billion cycles per second. Now let's look at the buses. The buses are a set of electronic circuits that route data and instructions to and from the various components within your computer.
The bus speed determines the speed of your computer performance. So, if the computer has a slow bus, the processor has to wait to receive instructions, which makes your computer run slower. And finally, through input and output devices, data and instructions can be provided to your computer.
It's also known as I.O. devices and refers to any hardware that allows us, or allows any operator to order the system to interface with the system. So, output and input devices, as you know the name applies, are capable of delivering data to and receiving data from computer. Think about your mouse, keyboard, screen.
Main memory is the component of a computer that provides the CPU with a working storage area for program instruction and data. So, the chief function of memory is to rapidly provide data and instruction to CPU. Memory storage is frequently measured in units of gigabytes or billions of bytes of data.
Please note that computer memory can take several forms. In this course, we briefly look at RAM and ROM. To understand these two types of memories, please watch the provided instructive video, there is a YouTube video in Canvas. you know RAM and ROM section.
When you go to that section there is a video under that section. Now let's look at the secondary storage. Have you heard of secondary storage or have you ever used any secondary storage? My answer is not anymore because I save everything on OneDrive, which is a Microsoft cloud storage solution that you can use for free or with a subscription to Microsoft 365. Secondary storage is a device that stores large amounts of data instruction and information, but more permanently than allowed with main memory. Compared with memory, secondary storage offers the advantages of non-vulnerability, greater capacity and greater economy.
So there are different types of secondary storage including magnetic tape or hard disk drive known as HDD, optical disk or our USB, the pen driver. I'm quite sure you use USB all the time, but better to stop it. Do you think that the magnetic tape are still popular?
If your answer is yes, where are they used today? Random Access Memory, often abbreviated as RAM, is a hardware element of a computer where programs, operating systems, and data currently being used are stored, so the processor can retrieve them quickly. RAM is like a memory bank for the computer.
The amount of multitasking you can do and the games you can play on the computer depend heavily on the amount of RAM and the power of the processor. There are two main types of RAM available on the market. SRAM, Static Random Access Memory, is a type of RAM that stores data using a six-transistor memory cell. SRAM is generally used as a cache memory for processors and is not replaceable by the end user. DRAM, Dynamic Random Access Memory, is a type of RAM that stores data using a pair of transistors and capacitors.
DRAM is cheaper than SRAM, but the operating speed is slow. ROM, on the other hand, is a type of memory where data has been pre-recorded. ROM contains the programming that helps a computer or smartphone boot up.
Commonly referred to as read-only memory, ROM retains its contents even after the computer is turned on. When it comes to smartphones, ROM is generally referred to as the internal storage capacity. There are three main types of ROM on the market. PROM.
Programmable read-only memory is a blank version of ROM that can be written or modified just once. Using PROM, a computer whiz can program at once with the help of a special tool called a programmer, where he burns a specific program into the memory that cannot be rewritten. EPROM.
Erasable programmable read-only memory, unlike PROM. allows for writing and rewriting several times. However, to erase the previously stored data, ultraviolet rays are required to burn through the previously stored data so it can be filled with another program. EEP ROMs wear out over time and generally have a lifetime of 1,000 erasures.
EEP ROM, Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory, is the most sophisticated type of ROM that not only allows rewriting of the program several thousand times, but it does this without needing dedicated equipment and conditioning like EEP ROM. Unlike the other two forms of ROM, the EEP ROM allows the programmer to write and rewrite programs onto it without needing special equipment or even needing to disassemble the ROM card from the main system. Data retention is the most noteworthy difference between these RAM and ROM varieties. ROM retains information even when the computer is shut down.
while RAM only holds data when the computer is up and running. Regarding capacity, a ROM chip usually stores a few megabytes of data, while a RAM chip can store much more, the capacity measured in gigabytes. For reference, 1 gigabyte equals 1024 megabytes. Today's high-end computers come with RAM of 16 or even 32 gig.
RAM also trumps ROM in terms of speed. It accesses data much faster than ROM, and boosts the processing speed of the computer. In a head-to-head comparison, RAM is several hundred times quicker than ROM. Finally, it's easier to write data in RAM than ROM, since the latter is a place for storing very limited, albeit immensely important and permanent information.
As outlined earlier, except in the case of EEP-ROM, it's generally very difficult to alter data in a ROM memory.