IT Essentials PC Hardware

and Software 4.1

Instructional Resource
Chapter 1: Introduction to the
Personal Computer

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 Chapter 1: Objectives
 Chapter Objectives
Explain IT industry certifications.
Describe a computer system.
Identify the names, purposes, and characteristics of cases and power supplies.
Identify the names, purposes, and characteristics of internal components.
Identify the names, purposes, and characteristics of ports and cables.
Identify the names, purposes, and characteristics of input devices.
Identify the names, purposes, and characteristics of output devices.
Explain system resources and their purposes.

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 Chapter 1: Critical Concepts
 What is this chapter about and why is it important?
 Professional certification proves to employers that the certificate holder has gained a level of
knowledge and experience that is confirmed by a respected third party. For example, the
successful completion of CompTIA’s A+ exams or EUCIP’s IT Administrator exams demonstrates
that the certificate holder has sufficient basic knowledge to work effectively in many different IT
positions.
 A personal computer is designed to run software programs that help people work, play, and
learn. This chapter discusses the hardware that is required to build a desktop computer. It
covers the hardware components that are found in most personal computers. It explains the
unique purpose of each component and how these components work together.
 This chapter is important because it provides the foundational information that is required to
build, upgrade, and repair personal computers. Successful completion of this course will be
excellent preparation for the CompTIA A+ Certification exam, the EUCIP IT Administrator
Certification for Modules 1 and 2, and for on-the-job performance.

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 Chapter 1: Activities
 What activities are associated with this chapter?
1.1.2 Worksheet: Job Opportunities
1.4.7 Worksheet: Research Computer Components
Chapter 1 Quiz

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 Chapter 1: New Terms
 What terms are introduced in this chapter?

adapter card 1.4.5

Advanced Technology Extended (ATX) 1.4.1

Alternating Current (AC) 1.3

auxiliary (AUX) power connector 1.3.2

Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) 1.4.1

Berg power connector 1.3.2

biometric device 1.6

Blu-ray Disc (BD) drive 1.4.6

Blu-ray Disc read-only media (BD-ROM) 1.4.6

Blu-ray Disc-recordable (BD-R) 1.4.6

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 Chapter 1: New Terms (continued)
 What terms are introduced in this chapter?

Blu-ray Disc-rewritable (BD-RE) 1.4.6

bus 1.4.1

cache 1.4.4

capacitor 1.3.2

Central Processing Unit (CPU) 1.4.1

Central Processing Unit (CPU) throttling 1.4.2

chipset 1.4.1

Compact Disc - read only memory (CD-ROM) 1.4.6

Compact Disc (CD) drive 1.4.6

Compact Disc-recordable (CD-R) 1.4.6

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 Chapter 1: New Terms (continued)
 What terms are introduced in this chapter?

Compact Disc-rewritable (CD-RW) 1.4.6

Complex Instruction Set Computer (CISC) 1.4.2

computer 1.2

computer system 1.2

connector 1.3.2

current (I) 1.3.2

Digital Versatile Disc (DVD) drive 1.4.6

Digital Versatile Disc +/- recordable (DVD+/-R) 1.4.6

Digital Versatile Disc +/- rewritable (DVD+/-RW) 1.4.6

Digital Versatile Disc random-access memory (DVD-RAM) 1.4.6

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 Chapter 1: New Terms (continued)
 What terms are introduced in this chapter?

Digital Versatile Disc read-only memory (DVD-ROM) 1.4.6

Digital Visual Interface (DVI) 1.5

direct current (DC) 1.3

Direct Memory Access (DMA) 1.8

dual core CPU 1.4.2

dual inline memory module (DIMM) 1.4.4

Dynamic RAM (DRAM) 1.4.4

Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM) 1.4.4

Enhanced Integrated Drive Electronics (EIDE) 1.4.6

Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM) 1.4.4

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 Chapter 1: New Terms (continued)
 What terms are introduced in this chapter?

expansion slot 1.4.1

Field-Replaceable Unit (FRU) 13.2

firewall 16.1

FireWire 1.5

floppy disk drive (FDD) 1.4.6

form factor 1.3.1

Front Side Bus (FSB) 1.4.2

gigahertz (GHz) 1.4.2

Hard Disk Drive (HDD) 1.4.6

hardware 1.2

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 Chapter 1: New Terms (continued)
 What terms are introduced in this chapter?

heat sink and fan assembly 1.4.1

input/output (I/O) address 1.8

interrupt request (IRQ) 1.8

keyboard 1.6

keyboard port 1.5

Keyboard, Video, Mouse (KVM) switch 1.6

LCD monitor 1.7

Light-Emitting Diode (LED) 1.4.7

line-in connector 1.5

megahertz (MHz) 1.4.2

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 Chapter 1: New Terms (continued)
 What terms are introduced in this chapter?

modem adapter 1.4.5

modulator/demodulator (modem) 1.4.5

Molex power connector 1.3.2

monitor 1.7

motherboard 1.4.1

mouse port 1.5

multimedia extensions (MMX) 1.4.2

Network Interface Card (NIC) 1.4.5

northbridge 1.4.1

Parallel ATA (PATA) data cable 1.5

Presentation_ID © 2008 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 11
 Chapter 1: New Terms (continued)
 What terms are introduced in this chapter?

Random Access Memory (RAM) 1.4.4

Read Only Memory (ROM) 1.4.4

Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC) 1.4.2

Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) 1.4.6

resistance ( r ) 1.3.2

Small Computer Systems Interface (SCSI) cable 1.5

Small Outline DIMM (SODIMM) 1.4.4

socket 1.4.1

sound card 1.4.5

southbridge 1.4.1

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 Chapter 1: New Terms (continued)
 What terms are introduced in this chapter?

speaker 1.7

static RAM (SRAM) 1.4.4

S-video port 1.5

Synchronous Dynamic RAM (SDRAM) 1.4.4

Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) 1.3.2

Universal Serial Bus (USB) port 1.4.1

video adapter 1.4.5

Video Graphics Array (VGA) 1.5

voltage (V) 1.3.2

wireless NIC 1.4.5

Zero Insertion Force (ZIF) socket 1.4.2

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 Chapter 1: Changes
 What has changed from the previous version (4.0) of ITEPC?
1.3.2 Describe power supplies
•Voltage, wattage, and capacity
•Voltage selector switch

1.4.2 Identify the names, purposes, and characteristics of CPUs

•Dual core
•Triple core
•Quad core

1.4.3 Identify the names, purposes, and characteristics of cooling systems

•Water cooling

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 Chapter 1: Changes (continued)
 What has changed from the previous version (4.0) of ITEPC?
1.4.4 Identify the names, purposes, and characteristics of ROM and RAM
•SODIMM
•DDR3
•Single Channel vs. Dual Channel
•Speed: PC-100, PC-133, PC-2700, PC-3200, PC2-5300, PC3-12800

1.4.5 Identify the names, purposes, and characteristics of adapter cards

•Sound adapter
•Capture card
•TV Tuner

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 Chapter 1: Changes (continued)
 What has changed from the previous version (4.0) of ITEPC?
1.4.6 Identify the names, purposes, and characteristics of storage drives
•FDD Install
•HDD Install
•HDD: Solid State vs. Magnetic
•Blu-ray
•eSATA
•RAID Level Comparison

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 Chapter 1: Changes (continued)
 What has changed from the previous version (4.0) of ITEPC?
1.5 Identify the names, purposes, and characteristics of ports and cables
•RJ-45

1.6 Identify the names, purposes, and characteristics of input devices

•KVM Switch
•Fingerprint Scanner

1.7 Identify the names, purposes, and characteristics of output devices

•Degauss
•Display Resolutions
•Contrast Ratio
•Native Resolution
•Multiple monitors

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 Chapter 1: Classroom Management
 The instructor should ensure that students acquire as many hands-on
experiences as possible. If possible, have different types of computers and
computer parts available for students to view during class. Legacy or non-
functioning parts can be handled during class discussions.
 Bring pictures and articles that deal with basic IT concepts and computers. Use
these articles to facilitate class discussions.
 A tour through a data center or a physical inspection of computer parts that are
brought to class is recommended.
 Assemble a computer in front of the students; it should not take more than 40
minutes to complete. Give a short explanation of the role and functionality of
each component prior to installation.

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 Chapter 1: Classroom Management
(continued)
 Write the following terms on the board during discussion: power supply,
motherboard, CPU, ROM, RAM, adapter, hard drive, CD/DVD, serial port, USB
port, IEEE 1394 (FireWire) port, parallel port, Ethernet port, PS/2 mouse or
keyboard port, audio port, video port (VGA and DVI should be shown), and
internal modem port. This emphasizes the importance of the term.
 Demonstrate the basic concepts related to electronics with a lemon, a penny,
and a nail. There are several experiments that can be done in class to help the
students understand simple circuits, stored energy, and magnetism. Do an
Internet search on the following terms: basic electronics lemon.
 Taking simple voltage readings from the motherboard battery or from an unused
Molex power supply connector makes the term voltage more applicable to the
chapter.
 Bring in a couple of diagrams of chipsets to show how they affect the
motherboard design. Have the students research the chipset for the
motherboard that is used in the classroom computers. Some example chipsets
are: Intel G31, Intel G45, AMD 780G.

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 Chapter 1: Teaching Analogies
 When teaching the difference between hard drive and RAM memory, compare an
office space and a computer. The working person is like a CPU, the desk area is
similar to RAM memory, a file cabinet is similar to the hard drive, and files stored on
the hard drive compare with printed documents stored in the file cabinet.
• The larger the desk area, the greater the number of documents that can be opened on it at
the same time. If the desk is not large enough, the person (the CPU) must close a file and
properly store it inside the file cabinet before searching and opening a new one. This process
takes time.
The different types of memory that a computer uses, in order of fastest to slowest,
are as follows:
• memory inside CPU - L1 cache
• memory in the processor housing - L2 cache
• memory on the motherboard – RAM
• hard drive space that is used as memory – virtual memory
 An analogy is similar to getting a drink of water: (1) Having a glass of water sitting
on your desk is similar to having L1 cache. (2) Having to go refill the glass from a
faucet is similar to having L2 cache. (3) Having to get bottled water from a drink
machine is similar to having RAM. (4) Having to go to a store and buy bottled water
is similar to having hard drive storage that is used as RAM.

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 Chapter 1: Suggested Class Discussions

 Explain how to register and prepare for certification exams.

• CompTIA A+ certification
• Other Cisco certifications (CCNA, CCNP, CCIE, etc.)
• EUCIP certification
 Computer speed relates to all components; upgrading one component is
sometimes like putting a small bandage on a large wound.

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 Chapter 1: Best Practices
 Obtain computers and components from these possible sources for class:
• Technicians at school
• Computer repair stores
• Donations from students, parents, alumni, and advisory committee
members
• Goodwill
• E-mail faculty and staff requesting any extra computers and components

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 Chapter 1: Best Practices (continued)
 Organize computers and components for class:
• Use separate bins for good parts and bad parts.
• Use separate bins or paper boxes for categories of parts: motherboards,
PATA drives, video cards, floppy drives, CD/DVD drives, cables.
• Use rolling carts for computer storage and security. This allows flexibility
for storage and ease of use in the classroom.
• Place a unique number on a computer and corresponding storage bin.
When disassembling the computer, place the components in the storage
bin with the matching computer number to keep parts organized for that
computer. Students and instructors can quickly identify which
components belong to which computer.

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 Chapter 1: Outside Reading

CompTIA Certification Website

http://www.comptia.org/certifications
Cisco Networking Academy Website
NetAcad ITE Forum

Microsoft XP Website
Microsoft Vista Website
Microsoft Compatibility Checker

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