Download SECTION 1

Zayna Khan
08/02/10
SECTION 1
Types and Components of Computer Systems
Candidates should be able to:
1. define hardware, giving examples;
2. define software, giving examples;
3. describe the difference between hardware and software;
4. identify the main components of a general-purpose computer: central
processing unit, main/internal memory (including ROM and RAM), input
devices, output devices and secondary/backing storage;
5. identify operating systems, including Graphic User Interface, command
line interface;
6. identify different types of computer including Personal Computer or
desktop, mainframe, laptop, palmtop and Personal Digital Assistant.
Define “hardware” and give 3 examples
Hardware: Is the physical parts of the computer system – the parts that you
can touch and see.
Example 1: Motherboard
Example 2: CPU
Example 3: Keyboard
Define “software” and give 3 examples
Hardware: Software is a collection of instructions that can be ‘run’ on a
computer. These instructions tell the computer what to do.
Software is not a physical thing
Example 1: Windows Vista
Example 2: Mac OS X
Example 3: Microsoft Word
Describe the difference between hardware and software
Computer hardware is the physical components that make up the computer
system. Hardware is useless without software to run on it.
Software is instructions that tell computer hardware what to do. Software is
useless unless there is hardware to run it on.
For a computer system to be useful it has to consist of both hardware and
software.
Zayna Khan
08/02/10
For each of the following, find a photo and briefly describe its purpose:
CPU
The CPU is the 'brain' of the computer.
It is the device that carries out software
instructions.
RAM
Random Access Memory (RAM) is the
part of the computer that temporarily
stores the instructions that the
computer is running, and the data it is
processing.
RAM is a volatile storage device.
ROM
Read-Only Memory (ROM) is used in
most computers to hold a small, special
piece of software: the 'boot up'
program.
This software runs when the computer
is switched on or 'boots up'. The
software checks the computer’s
hardware and then loads the operating
system.
ROM is non-volatile storage.
Define “Operating System”
A special type of software, called the operating system (OS), tells the computer
how to use all the different devices it can be connected to. e.g. printer, disk drive,
keyboard, etc.
(Extra devices such as these are celled peripherals)
Briefly describe these two types of Operating System interface and give
two examples of each:
Command-line
The user would see nothing but a black screen. They would have to type a
command to make anything happen.
(Difficult to use, only suitable for expert users)
MAC OS, X Window System
Graphical User Interface
A GUI is an interface built around visual (graphical) things.
A GUI is sometimes called a WIMP interface: Windows, Icons, Menus, Pointer
Windows Vista, Windows XP
Zayna Khan
08/02/10
For each of the following, find a photo and briefly describe:
Desktop PC
Is a personal computer (PC) in a form
intended for regular use at a single
location, as opposed to a mobile
laptop.
Laptop
A portable computer small enough to
use in your lap
Mainframe
A large, powerful computer able to
manage very many simultaneous tasks
and communicate with very many
connected terminals; used by large,
complex organizations (such as banks
and supermarkets)
Palmtop*†
A pocket-sized computing device,
typically having a display screen with
touch input or a miniature keyboard
PDA*†
A personal digital assistant (PDA) is a
handheld computer, also known as a
palmtop computer.
Minicomputer*
A computer smaller than a mainframe,
but larger than a microcomputer
Supercomputer
A mainframe computer that is one of
the most powerful available at a given
time
* These are practically out of date but it’s worth being able to identify them.
† There is no well-defined difference between a Palmtop and a PDA – both
have been superseded by smartphones (e.g. Blackberry)