Virtual Computer Tour

Introduction: Once the cover is off, the jumble of circuit boards, cables, and components inside the computer might seem intimidating. Although they might look complicated at first, the basic components of a computer system are fairly simple to put together.

Find out what the basic parts inside the computer are, what they do, and how they connect.

This activity contains 13 questions.

	Using __________ is one way to connect your computer with other computers.   the cache a NIC a motherboard a system bus

	The power supply does not supply power for a(n) __________.   printer hard drive expansion card motherboard

	Which device has the largest storage space in a computer?   ROM CD/DVD drive hard drive RAM

	The main circuit board in the computer is called the __________.   NIC motherboard bus CPU

	The part of the computer used for arithmetic operations is the __________.   motherboard CPU RAM bus

	The contents of __________ are erased when the computer is turned off.   RAM a CD/DVD drive ROM a hard drive

	Instructions needed when starting the computer are stored in __________.   ROM the cache RAM the motherboard

	A nonvolatile storage device __________.   is similar to RAM loses data when the computer's power is turned off maintains data even when the computer's power is turned off is not temperature-sensitive

	Which of the following expansion cards might have its own memory and processor?   video card network interface card USB port expansion card sound card

	Which of the following ports is NOT found on a sound card?   audio input joystick control line input microphone output

	Video Capture Card Task: The video card in your computer sends an image to your monitor. A video capture card does far more than this. Assignment: Using the listed resources, answer the following questions. What does a video capture card do? What devices can be connected to your computer using a video capture card? What types of inputs and outputs can be used to make the connection? What does the bundled software usually allow you to do? Find an internal video capture card that you would purchase. What are the brand and model, and what is the cost? Why did you select this specific card? Find an external video capture card that you would purchase. What are the brand and model, and what is the cost? Why did you select this specific card? Resources Use http://dvr.about.com/od/capturetvwithacomputer/bb/bybcc.htm to begin your research. Find internal video capture cards at http://dvr.about.com/od/capturetvwithacomputer/tp/toppick1.htm Use any search engine using "external video capture card."   To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.

	Got Game? Task: If you are into gaming or graphics-intensive applications, your video card might not be sufficient for your needs. Assignment: Using the listed resources, answer the following questions. For the purpose of gaming, which two developers of 3D graphics card chipsets dominate the market? Which two interfaces do gaming video cards use, and which is faster? 3-D games will run smoother if a video card has a(n): Find a gaming video card that you would purchase. What are the brand and model, and what is the cost? How much onboard memory does the card have? Why did you select this specific card? Resources Use http://internetgames.about.com/od/hardware/bb/bybvideocard.htm to begin your research. Find information about gaming video cards at http://internetgames.about.com/od/hardware/tp/tpvideocards.htm. Use any search engine with the keywords "gaming video cards."   To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.

	Fastest Microprocessor Task: For several years the processing power of a microprocessor was measured by its clock speed and the number of transistors on the CPU. Recently a new factor was added-the use of multiple processors. Assignment: Visit www.raptureready.com/time/rap31d.html to learn about the evolution of Intel CPUs and fill in the following table. Criteria Month/Year Processor Name Clock Speed Number of Transistors First processor         First processor with clock speed of 1 MHz or more         First processor with 1 million or more transistors         First processor with 2 million or more transistors         First processor with clock speed of 1 GHz or more         First multiprocessor (more than one core)           To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.

Copyright © 1995 - 2012 Pearson Education . All rights reserved. Pearson Prentice Hall is an imprint of Pearson . Legal Notice | Privacy Policy | Permissions