Hardware: System Unit

System Unit (Case)

Black Zalman GT1000 Gaming Casing

The system unit is a case that contains the electronic components ( Processor, motherboard and expansion cards) and most storage units in a computer.

System unit Components

• Motherboard
• Processor
• Memory Modules
• Expansion Cards
• Sound
• Modem
• Video
• Network Interface Cards

Motherboard

a motherboard is the central printed circuit board (PCB) in many modern computers and holds many of the crucial components of the system, providing connectors for other peripherals. 


Central Processing Unit (CPU)

Intel Core(TM) i7 Processor

• Memory + Processor = CPU.
• Sometimes the processor itself is also referred to as CPU.
• It converts data into information
• It is the Control Center

Architecture of CPU

The Architecture of a CPU

Control Unit (CU)

The hardware that is in charge  and directs the computer system to execute stored program instructions and communicates with other parts of the hardware.
Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU)
Performs arithmetical operations such as addition,subtraction, multiplication division and also logical and relational comparison operations like AND, OR, NOT,=,<,>.
Registers
Registers are special purpose, high speed temporary storage located inside the CPU.


Main Memory

• RAM (Random Access Memory)
• ROM (Read Only Memory)

RAM (Random Access Memory)

It holds the program instructions and the data that is being used by the processor, most types of RAM are volatile and could not resist the data in them when power is cut off.There are two types of RAM

• DRAM (Dynamic  Random Access Memory )
• SRAM (Static  Random Access Memory )

ROM (Read Only Memory)

It holds the program instructions and settings required to set up the computer and is not volatile and sustains the data even when the power is cut off.There are 4 main types of ROM

• ROM Chip (Firmware)
• PROM (Programmable Read Only Memory)
• EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory)
• EEPROM (Eelctronically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory)

RAM

ROM Chip