IT151-Introduction to Information and
Communication Technology
Components of Computer System
Objectives
5.1 The Hardware Sub-System
Inside the Computer
The CPU/ and Memory
The Input/output Sub-System
Types of Input/output Devices and Media
5.2 The Software Sub-System:
5.2.1 Systems Software
5.2.2 Applications Software
5.3 Memory management
Computer System
Computer System has four (4) parts
Hardware
Software
Data
User
The Hardware Sub-System
Mechanical devices in the computer
Anything that can be touched
The computer equipment
Includes keyboard,mouse,printers, monitors, disk drives etc
The Hardware Sub-System…..cont
CPU RAM Radiator and Cooling Fans
Motherboard
Removable Media
Sound Card Hard Disk
Graphics Card
Power Supply
The Hardware Sub-System-Central Processing Unit(CPU)
Brains of the computer
Carries out instructions from the program
Manipulate the data
Most computers have several processors
Parts of CPU
Arithmetic/Logic Unit (ALU): processes data arithmetically (addition, subtraction,
multiplication, division) or logically (greater than, less than, equal to)
Control Unit: works with the operating system to move data between auxiliary storage and
main memory; and between main memory and the ALU
Main Memory: contains both program instructions and the data that is required.
Memory Management: The Hardware Sub-System-Main
Memory
Random Access Memory (RAM): allows data and instructions to
be accessed randomly from any memory location (address).
Primary storage.
Volatile - lost when power is turned off
Read Only Memory (ROM): usually contains programs that help
the computer system operate:
can only be read: cannot be written to or altered by the user (usually)
ROM is not volatile
Memory Management: The Hardware Sub-System-Main
Memory
Data and instructions are stored as BITS (binary digits). Everything from our world is
translated into a computer recognizable format called binary (zeros or ones)
The combination of binary digits represents our letters or numbers. One character
represented is equal to a byte.
Memory capacity is measured in bytes. Today’s most common measurement is megabytes
Kilo = 1,000 (KB) Thousand
Mega = 1,000,000 (MB) Million
Giga = 1,000,000,000 (GB) Billion
Bytes are composed using either the ASCII coding system (7 bits = character) or EBCDIC (8
bits = character)
Memory Management:The Hardware Sub-System-Storage
Storage: Required because main memory is limited, expensive and volatile.
Sequential Access Storage Devices (SASD): data is stored in sequential order. Retrieval is
also sequential.
Storage media is magnetic tape.
Supports batch processing environment
Excellent form of backup
Direct Access Storage Devices (DASD): data can be stored and retrieved randomly.
Storage capacity is referred to as density. How tightly packed data is on the disk.
DASD is required for transaction processing.
Memory capacity is measured in bytes. Today’s most common measurement is kilobytes,
megabytes and gigabits
The Input/output Sub-System
Input devices accept data and instructions and convert them to a form
that the computer can understand.
Digital computer cameras
Terminals
Scanning devices
Optical data readers
Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR)
The Input/output Sub-System
Output devices present data and information in a form people can
understand
Display monitors
Liquid Crystal Displays (LCDs)
Printers and plotters
Speakers.
The Software Sub-System
Software is the instructions for the hardware. It is the programmes
which make the computer do the work.
Tells the computer what to do
Two Types
System software
Application software
The Software Sub-System-System Software
Most important software
Operating system
Windows XP
Network operating system (OS)
Windows Server 2003
Utility
AntiVirus
The Software Sub-System-Application Software
The class of computer instructions that direct a computer system
to perform specific processing activities and provide functionality
for users. (Programmes that solve specific problems of our
interest)
Accomplishes a specific task
Most common type of software
MS Word
Covers most common uses of computers
Computer System-Data and Users
Data
Pieces of information
Computer organize and present data
Users
People operating the computer
Most important part
Tell the computer what to do
Review Questions
Identifying the hardware parts of the computer
Identifying the basic components of the hardware parts the computer
system i.e. Motherboard, Central Processing Unit (CPU), Graphical
Processing Unit (GPU), Random Access Memory (RAM) and Storage
Mention two types of Software you know
Explain why System Software is important to be installed before any
other software is installed in a computer.
