Use LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys to navigate between flashcards;
Use UP and DOWN arrow keys to flip the card;
H to show hint;
A reads text to speech;
48 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
system unit
|
a case that contains electronic components of a computer used to process data.
|
|
motherboard
|
the main circutboard of the system unit.
|
|
chip
|
a small piece of semiconducting material, usually silicon, on which integrated circuts are etched.
|
|
CPU
|
central processing unit. interperates and carries out the basic instructions that operate a computer.
|
|
multi-core processor
|
a chip with two or more seperate cores.
|
|
control unit
|
a component of a processor that directs and coordinates most of the operations in the computer.
|
|
ALU
|
arithmetic logic unit. a component of the processor that performs arithmetic, comparison, and other operations.
|
|
system clock
|
clock in the computer that displays that time of day.
|
|
clock speed
|
the pace of the system clock measured in the number of ticks per second.
|
|
binary system
|
a number system that has just two unique digits: 1 and 0, called bits.
|
|
bit
|
the smallest unit of data the computer can process.
|
|
byte
|
an on/off series of electrical states. basic storage unit in memory. 8 bits
|
|
memory
|
consists of electrionic components that store instruction, and the results of processing the data.
|
|
volatile memory
|
looses its content when power is turned off.
|
|
nonvolatile memory
|
does not loose its memory when the power is turned off.
|
|
RAM memory
|
random access memory. consists of memory chips that can be read from and written to by the processor and other devices.
|
|
ROM memory
|
read only memory. memory chips storing permenant data and instructioins.
|
|
memory module
|
a small circut board.
|
|
memory slots
|
holds memory modules on the motherboard.
|
|
cache
|
improve the processing time of computers.
|
|
L1 cache
|
built directly in the processor chip and has a very small capacity of 8-128 KB.
|
|
L2 cache
|
slower than L1 chache but has a larger capacity of 64KB-16 MB.
|
|
flash memory
|
a type of nonvolatile memory that can be erased electronically and rewritten.
|
|
CMOS
|
complimentary mental-oxide semiconductor. provides high speeds and consumes little power.
|
|
Access time
|
the amount of time it takes the processor to read data, instructions, and information from memory.
|
|
nanosecond
|
one billionth of a second.
|
|
expansion slot
|
a socket on the motherboard that can hold an adapter card.
|
|
adapter card
|
a circut board that enhances functions of a component of the system unit or provides connnections to peripherals.
|
|
peripheral
|
a device that connects to the system unit card and is controlled by the processor in the computer.
|
|
video card
|
converts computer output into a video signal that travels through a cable to the monitor which displays an image on the screen.
|
|
sound card
|
enhances the sound generating capabilities of a personal computer by allowing the sound to be input through a mic and output through speakers and headphones.
|
|
hub
|
a device that attaches to a single port and created mulitiple ports.
|
|
graphics card
|
converts computer output into a video signal that travels through a cable to the monitor which displays an image on the screen.
|
|
memory card
|
a removable flash memory device that you insert and remove from a slot in a PC, game consul, mobile device, or card reader/writer.
|
|
port
|
the point at which a peripheral attaches to or communicates with a system unit so that the peripheral can send data to or recieve info from the computer
|
|
USB port
|
universal servial bus port. can connect up to 127 different peripherals together with a single connector.
|
|
firewire port
|
allows you to connect 63 different devices together.
|
|
SCSI port
|
a special high speed port that allows you to attach SCSI peripherals such as disk drives and printers.
|
|
port replicator
|
an external device that provides connection to peripherals through ports built into the device.
|
|
docking station
|
an external device that attaches to a mobile device or computer that contains a power connection and provides connections to peripherals.
|
|
bus
|
a channel that allows the various devices both inside and attached to the syster unit to communicate with eachother.
|
|
system bus
|
part of the motherboard and connects the processor to the main memory.
|
|
front side bus
|
part of the motherboard and connects the processor to the main memory.
|
|
backside bus
|
connects the processor to the cache.
|
|
expansion bus
|
allows the processor to communicate with peripheral.
|
|
bay
|
an opening inside the system unit in which you can install aditional equipment.
|
|
drive bay
|
a rectangular opening that typicaly holds disk drives.
|
|
power supply
|
the component of the system unit that converts the wall outlet AC power to DC power.
|