In-Depth Guide - Computer Hardware Learning Objectives By reading and completing the activities in this chapter, students should be able to: Discuss the main information systems hardware generations and platforms. Identify the major hardware components of information systems. Identify the various types of input and output technologies and their uses. Describe the main types of primary and secondary storage technologies and their characteristics. LEARNING ACTIVITY 1: A Chip for My PC? For this activity, you need to research the current developments in microprocessors (chips). First, try to identify which microprocessor (chip) is used in your personal computer. Then, go to a microprocessor manufacturer’s website and identify their most recent products. Examples include Intel (www.intel.com), Advance Micro Devices (www.amd.com) or Tilera (www.tilera.com). Write a short report on the most current commercially available chips, their performance, their cost (if available), and the expected future developments of that chip. In class, compare your findings with classmates. Be prepared to discuss the following: 1. What is the processing speed of the company’s fastest chips? What do these speeds mean? 2. Which company seems to offer the most advanced microprocessors today? 3. What does the future hold for these microprocessors? For that company? Computer Hardware Generations Hardware refers to the physical equipment that is involved in the input, processing, output, storage, and control activities of an information system. Hardware for information systems has evolved over the years. Today, we usually refer to the five main generations of hardware as those that used vacuum tubes, transistors, integrated circuits, microprocessors, and massively parallel processing. Table 1 summarizes the different generations. HW-1 Generation Approximate Technology Used Comments Dates First 1940-1956 Vacuum tubes Tubes were used to represent signals and magnetic drums were used for memory. These computers used a lot of space and required a lot of electricity. Computers that would take up a complete room then had less power than you have probably in your laptop. Second 1956-1963 Transistors These were much smaller and much more efficient. Third 1964-1971 Integrated Transistors were reduced in size circuits and many can be placed on a silicon chip, also known as semiconductor. This again reduced space and energy requirements, and made the systems more efficient. Fourth 1971-present Microprocessors At this point, thousands of integrated circuits can be placed onto each silicon chip. This allows smaller and more powerful computers, which led to the PC and some of the very small devices you use today. Fifth Present-? Superconductors It is unclear exactly what the fifth and parallel generation will be. There was an processing attempt to use massive parallel processing to get computing to another level, but it is unclear that it has succeeded. Others suggest that grid computing (defined below) has the potential to be the fifth generation. Table 1 - Computer Hardware Generations LEARNING ACTIVITY 2: What Do I Want For a PC? In this activity, you will “build” your own computer at the Dell website. Go to www.dell.com and use the home button. Select a laptop computer, and then hit the “customize” button. Identify HW-2 all of the options presented to you and which ones you decided to pay for. Bring your final configuration to class. In class, be prepared to discuss the following: 1. Which options were available to customize? 2. How did you decide whether to pay for certain options or not? 3. Which options would you change if this laptop was to be used for your business, which runs 24/7 (24 hours per day; 7 days per week)? Computer Hardware Platforms Individuals and organizations need different levels of computing, and as a result different computer hardware platforms exist. You are most likely familiar with personal computers, which are in the category of microcomputers. Small enough and inexpensive enough that today most individuals have access to one even if they do not own one. This would include laptops, notebooks, tablets, and desktop computers. Today, there are some newer very small mobile devices that have less computing capabilities, but great mobility, such as netbooks or iPads. In organizations, however, you are likely to find large computer hardware platforms such as mid- range computers and mainframe computers. Some specific organizations even have supercomputers. Midrange computers, also called mini-computers, are often used as servers (see Chapter 7). They offer much greater computing capacity than personal computers, and can therefore be accessed and used by several users simultaneously. When an organization needs substantial computing, for example to process billing transactions for a telecommunication company, then they tend to use mainframes, or large computers that can handle many thousands of users and/or transactions at the same time. While you may hear that the age of the mainframe is over, you would be surprised to find that most large corporations use mainframes extensively today. Supercomputers, on the other hand, are meant for organizations that need excessive processing capacities and speed. For example, models to predict weather require such levels of processing, as do analyses of genetic data. It is possible to achieve great processing power with smaller (like midrange) computers by loosely connecting them together with middleware. This is referred to as grid computing, where computing resources from different locations, organizations, or domains are loosely combined to achieve their goal. For personal computers, there is also an important categorization you might encounter in organizations: personal computers are often classified as thin clients or thick clients. This refers to the level of processing that is performed on the personal computer. In a thick client, the personal computer is involved with much more processing and storage activities whereas in a thin client the computer performs less processing and storage and instead uses the services of a server like a midrange computer to handle most processing. These thin clients are sometimes referred to as networked computers. Hardware Components The main categories of hardware include the central processing unit, storage technologies, input technologies, and output technologies. HW-3 LEARNING ACTIVITY 3: Is Moore’s Law Accurate? For this activity, you need to identify what Moore’s Law is and conduct research on it. Determine whether it has been accurate over the years or not. Be prepared to discuss these questions in class: 1. What is Moore’s Law? 2. Has it been accurate over the years? 3. What has made it possible to sustain Moore’s Law so far? 4. What is the future of Moore’s Law? Central Processing Unit The Central Processing Unit (CPU) of a computer is where the processing takes place, which is the handling of computations or instructions given to it by the system. In other words, it is really the brain of the computer. In the current generation of computers, this is called the microprocessor. The CPU itself is made up of several components. The control unit handles instructions and controls the flow of data to the various parts of the CPU. The Arithmetic-Logic Unit (ALU) performs the actual computations, while registers are used to store data and instructions temporarily. Figure 1 shows a simplified version of a CPU, while Figure 2 shows what a CPU actually looks like. Central Processing Unit (CPU) ALU (Arithmetic Logic Unit) Input Output Registers Control Unit Secondary Storage Figure 1 - Components of a CPU HW-4 Figure 2 - Picture of CPU (© Oleksiy Mark/iStockphoto) LEARNING ACTIVITY 4: Life in the 3D World. Most of the devices we are familiar with are two dimensional devices. However, the world of 3D is becoming mainstream today, with many television sets offering 3D screens. These used to require geeky glasses, but are getting close to the point where such glasses won’t be required. This is the new world of 3D. However, 3D is not limited to television. There are now many 3D displays, as well as 3D printers, 3D semi-conductors, and so on. Select one of these 3D technologies and perform research. Write a short essay about how the technology works, what are its main advantages and disadvantages, and what you find most surprising about the technology. Input and Output Devices There is a wide variety of input technologies to use with computers. You probably frequently use the keyboards and mice, or maybe consoles and joysticks for playing games. There are many other devices that provide input to the computer, such as touch screens, cameras, pointing sticks, stylus, digital pens, and even microphones for voice recognition. When you use a kiosk, you use touch screen technology. When you write on a tablet PC, you most likely use a stylus. There are also devices that provide input to information systems without human interactions, such as barcode scanners, magnetic ink readers, remote sensors, magnetic stripe readers, optical character recognition sensors, and even radio frequency identification tags we discussed in the book. There are also many output devices such as the monitors and printers you use frequently. Other output devices include voice devices like speakers and headphones, projectors, plotters, and other industrial devices managed by information systems. Today, we are seeing an increasing number of devices that use three-dimensional outputs, such as 3D displays and 3D printers. HW-5 Storage Technologies People often look at two factors in deciding which personal computer to buy: processing power and memory. Processing power depends on the CPU used, as described in the previous section. Memory actually refers to two types of storage technologies related to the computer: primary and secondary memory. Primary storage or main memory represents the amount of temporary memory available for storing information as the CPU is handling the applications and functions used on the computer.