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- Optical media into two groups:
> CDs and DVDs
> CDs store around 700 MB and come in three varieties:
- CD-ROM (read only memory: you can’t change the data on them)
- CD-R (recordable:you can change the data once)
- CD-RW (rewritable: you can change thedata on them over and over)
> DVDs store much more data—around 4 GB
- Store programs and data that are not currently being used by the CPU
- Hard drive stores much more data than a typical PC’s RAM — up to hundreds of gigabytes
- Store programs and data that are not currently being used by the CPU
- Two(2) types:
> The older parallel ATA (PATA)
> Modern serial ATA (SATA)
- PATA drives use a ribbon cable very similar to the one used by floppy drives, whereas SATA drives use a very narrow cable
- Few PCs use Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) drives
> SCSI drives are generally faster and more expensive, so they usually show up only in high-end PCs such as network servers or graphics workstations
- Enables you to access removable floppy disks (diskettes)
- The floppy drive used in PCs today is called a 3.5” floppy drive
- Provides the necessary electrical power to make the PC operate
- The power supply takes standard (in the United States) 110-volt AC power and converts it into 12-volt, 5-volt, and 3.3-volt DC power
It’s like the chassis of an automobile. In a car, everything connects to the chassis either directly or indirectly. In a PC, everything connects to the motherboard either directly or indirectly
- Random Access Memory (RAM) stores programs and data currently being used by the CPU
Central Processing Unit (CPU), also called the microprocessor
- Performs all the calculations that take place inside a PC
- Require a cooling fan and heat sink assembly to avoid overheating
- Two(2) most common makes of CPUs used in PCs are AMD and Intel
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