Lesson 12 - Hardware Basics

Introduction

This unit is designed to give you the skills and knowledge to troubleshoot hardware and software issues that may arise within an organisation. Before we can do that, we need to understand some of the basics of Hardware and Software.

Definition of Hardware and Software - http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000039.htm


When you look at the description of any piece of computer hardware, you will see lots of information that is categorised under specifications. Software, including games, will also have minimum specifications of what equipment is required to successfully execute the program. Same goes for some peripheral devices.

So what does this all mean? What bits and pieces make up a computer?

Computers can generally be categorised into the following:

Desktop – not portable, usually set up on a desk or table with the view that it isn’t moved around much. Desktops come as a main box with separate screen and keyboard/mouse, or it can be one of the  “all-in-one” configurations (like the lovely new PCs in the "fishbowl")








Notebook / Laptop / Ultrabook – A notebook is a portable computer. They used to be called Laptops, but have become smaller and lighter and now fall into the category of notebook. They are an all in one machine complete with keyboard and mouse. At the high end, a notebook can be as powerful as a  desktop. Most computer manufacturers make notebooks, including the Apple Macbook. Microsoft's Surface crosses the boundaries of Laptop to Tablet. The Surface Laptop and Book ranges would come under laptops whereas the Surface Pro and Go would be classified as Tablets but the lines between can be quite smudgy!  




Tablet– A smaller, lighter, cheaper version of a notebook. Tablets and netbooks are usually lower powered, less memory and less storage than a laptop but may have a small internal hard drive or SSD. The advantage is that they have a longer battery life and are very portable. They generally use a “light” version of the operating system that will use less resources or use an operating system similar to that used by mobile phone - think iOS and Android. A tablet will usually have a touchscreen for its main input, but many have the option of keyboard to match. They are small, portable and easy to use, but generally not for high end processing. The iPad fits into this category as well as the range of Android type tablets such as Samsung Galaxy. 

Microsoft is also in this market with the Surface Pro that runs Windows and may also have an Intel processor.


I am using JB HiFi website for this example because it is very clear, easy to use, has lots of pictures, and has detailed specifications. There are other websites with similar information.

https://www.jbhifi.com.au/computers-tablets/



I started by selecting Desktop computers, iMac and Mac mini





Then you can use the options on the left hand side to filter the available options and scroll down until you find the one you want!

This one might come under the "money no object" choice.




This beast is definitely what I would consider at the high end of the pricing scale. The Microsoft Surface Studio 2!

The description Tab underneath the image will give you the basic blurb about the item. Click on the Details tab to get full specifications of the equipment.






There are other websites that you can use to get information about computer hardware and software. You can look at manufacturers websites or online stores, or you can look at retail electronic or computer stores.

Here are some other websites where you can view and purchase computer equipment


Harvey Norman https://www.harveynorman.com.au/
CentreCom https://www.centrecom.com.au/
DELL http://www.dell.com/en-au
Hewlett Packard http://www8.hp.com/au/en/home.html
Acer https://www.acer.com/ac/en/AU/content/home
Apple https://www.apple.com/au/mac/

Class Activity 1

Using the Internet, visit an online store and find 2 examples of each of the above computer categories - make sure that they are at different price brackets - one high end and one lower end.

Take note of the Make, Model and basic specifications of each. We will be using this information throughout today's session.

Let's have a look at what some of these things mean

Processor (CPU)

What is a Processor:

https://www.trustedreviews.com/news/what-is-a-cpu-2950255

OR

https://www.lifewire.com/what-is-a-cpu-2618150

The 2 main players in the PC processor market are Intel and AMD. I am not including mobile devices here (mobile phones and tablets), they will be included at the end of this section

Intel Processors:

https://www.intel.com.au/content/www/au/en/products/processors.html

Processor Numbers - Click here to find out about Intel Processor Numbers.

http://www.intel.com.au/content/www/au/en/processors/processor-numbers.html

Review

https://www.trustedreviews.com/best/best-intel-processor-3517396

AMD Processors:

https://www.amd.com/en/products/processors-desktop

All AMD CPUs - this will display a list of all AMD processors. Choose between Consumer and Business processors. Clicking on any of the Learn More buttons will give you the full specifications.

To get a comparison of all of the AMD processors, you can use this link: 
https://www.amd.com/en/products/specifications/processors

Comparison - AMD or Intel??

https://www.techradar.com/au/news/best-processors

https://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/article/615216/which-processor-best-intel-amd/

Mobile processors

Choices here are a lot more complicated than processors for PCs and laptops.

Information and rankings

https://techcult.com/list-of-smart-phone-and-tablet-mobile-processors/
https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/devices-systems/tablets.html

https://www.myfixguide.com/best-smartphone-processors-ranking/

https://www.techcenturion.com/smartphone-processors-ranking

Tablet Comparison

https://au.pcmag.com/tablets/12136/the-best-tablets

Class Activity 2

What processor is in each of your selected items from Activity 1

Motherboard or Mainboard

The Motherboard or Mainboard is the circuitboard that everything connects to. It will have a socket for your processor as well as space for RAM and various other connectors for hard drive, USB, optical drive etc. The Motherboard will be specific to a range of processors and so the motherboard decision is guided by your processor decision (or vice versa). It will also be designed for a certain type of RAM.







What does the Motherboard do? This article will tell you everything you ever wanted to know about the motherboard and lots of other things:

https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/what-is-a-motherboard/

https://www.lifewire.com/motherboards-system-boards-and-mainboards-2618154

What Motherboard does YOUR computer have?

Windows 10

There are a number of ways to find information about your motherboard without opening up your computer but the easiest way is to use the System Information app. You can access this by typing System Information into the search bar.



Mac

I don't have a Mac so can't verify this information, but these articles show how you can find out about the mainboard for your Apple Mac.



RAM - Does Size Matter?

The main question here is how much RAM (Random Access Memory) do you get. 8gb of RAM is generally the basic minimum, but a lot of computer equipment will come with 16gb or more. 

RAM is installed straight onto the Motherboard. The make and model of your motherboard will determine the type of RAM that it will use. 

My current desktop computer has 16gb of RAM. The following article explains the different types of RAM available.

Here is a list of the current RAM types that are in use:

  • Static RAM (SRAM)
  • Dynamic RAM (DRAM)
  • Synchronous Dynamic RAM (SDRAM)
  • Single Data Rate Synchronous Dynamic RAM (SDR SDRAM)
  • Double Data Rate Synchronous Dynamic RAM (DDR SDRAM, DDR2, DDR3, DDR4)
  • Graphics Double Data Rate Synchronous Dynamic RAM (GDDR SDRAM, GDDR2, GDDR3, GDDR4, GDDR5)
  • Flash Memory
Source: https://www.lifewire.com/types-of-ram-4150713

Read the above article to find out how each of the RAM types work.

Find information about your RAM in Windows 10 by using the Task Manager. If that doesn't give you all the information, then search the details of your mainboard (copy/paste from System information)

My computer supports DDR4 RAM based on the Motherboard.



You can also use the methods mentioned in the article below using the command prompt window

Class Activity 3

How much and which type of RAM does each of your selected computer items from Activity 1 come with? If the specifications don't include the details, use your favourite search engine to find out the details.

Hard Disks/Permanent storage


With the Hard disk, it is about size and speed. Most hard disks today are SATA (Serial Advanced Technology Attachment), which is the way it connects to the motherboard. A hard disk’s seek time, or how fast it can locate the information, is usually in milliseconds. In this case the lower the seek time the better and faster the drive is. Most hard disk today spin at 7200rpm, which is the rotation speed of the platters.

The amount of storage that a hard drive has is given in Gigabytes (GB) or Terabytes (TB). A Terabyte is rounded to 1000 Gigabytes, but computers talk binary or power of 2 and so 1024 is the standard (2^10) 2x2x2x2x2x2x2x2x2x2. Rounding to 1000 is definitely easier!

1024 bytes = 1 KB
1024 KB = 1 MB
1024 MB = 1 GB
1024 GB = 1 TB
1024 TB = 1 PB
KB = Kilobyte
MB = Megabyte
GB = Gigabyte
TB = Terabyte
PB = Petabyte

Many laptops and mobile devices come with solid state drives (SSDs). These have no moving parts, but are limited with the amount of storage - what I call "bang for your buck".

Here are the details of the storage within my desktop computer.





For more information about hard drives and computer storage, read the following article:

https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/what-is-a-hard-drive-your-guide-to-computer-storage/

Class Activity 4

What type of permanent storage or Hard disk is installed in your items from Activity 1. What is the capacity and speed of the Hard Disk(s) or permanent storage device.

Graphics Cards

The right Graphics card is an important decision if you need high-end graphics for gaming, Multimedia, 3D, Video and Digital Imaging. Many computers have graphics available straight from the Motherboard, but if you need more graphic processing grunt, you can add a graphics adapter.

AMD (ATI) Radeon and NVIDEA are the two main Graphics processors available. The number of GPUs, the speed, and the amount of memory on the graphics adapter are all things that need to be considered and compared with the specifications of the software you need to run.

Most graphics cards offer a selection of connector types that you can use to connect your monitor to your graphics card.

What does the graphics card do?
https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-a-graphics-card?r=AU&IR=T

List of the best graphics cards of 2021

My computer has a Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1660 Ti (NVIDIA compatible)

This is a Gigabyte branded graphics card that has the NVIDIA architecture. Graphics cards will generally be either NVIDIA or AMD (ATI) Radeon BUT come from many different manufacturers much like a computer will have an Intel or AMD processor but will come from a range of suppliers.




Class Activity 5

What graphics card does the computer equipment chosen in Activity 1 have installed?

Software Specifications

So you now know about motherboards, processors and RAM, and you know that the bigger the number, the faster it is, but which one do you purchase. This decision comes down to the types of software or games that you will be using as well as your budget. Big and fast costs bigger bucks.

For example, Here are the minimum hardware requirements for Microsoft Office:

https://products.office.com/en-au/office-system-requirements

System requirements for Office Suite 2019



ACTIVITY 6

What are the minimum requirements for Office 365 and Office 2019?

What are the minimum and recommended specifications for the current version of Adobe Photoshop CC and Premiere Pro CC?

What are the minimum and recommended specifications for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020

What are the minimum and recommended specifications for Forza Horizon 4?

What are the minimum and recommended specifications for Minecraft?

Would all of your selected computers run these programs?




Comments

  1. etipsguruji20 September 2020 at 11:21

    Thanks for great content Sir. Your content on difference between hardware and software are really rich. i will also share with my friends & once again thanks a lot.

    ReplyDelete

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