CHAPTER 1 — Introduction to Computer Systems

A computer is a complex system consisting of both hardware and software components. This chapter discusses these components.

Chapter Topics:

• Hardware and Software
• Components of a Computer System
• Networks
• World-Wide Web
  

  Hardware Components

  The terms input and output say if data flow into or out of the computer. The picture shows the major hardware components of a computer system. The arrows show the direction of data flow.

  
• A bus is a group of wires on the main circuit board of the computer. It is a pathway for data flowing between components. Most devices are connected to the bus through a controller which coordinates the activities of the device with the bus.
• The processor is sometimes called the Central Processing Unit or CPU. A particular computer will have a particular type of processor, such as a Pentium or a SPARC.

X58i

Groundbreaking, Earth Shattering, Mind-BlowingFirst, the XFX X58i Motherboard launches the XFX/Intel® enthusiast chipset motherboard. As part of its ongoing efforts to ensure that its customers receive the best product options available, XFX has integrated state-of-the-art Intel® technology. This motherboard is the first to support the Intel Core i7 processor using the Intel Nehalem architechture. Additionally, the XFX X58i is the first motherboard to support either NVIDIA 3-Way SLI or ATI CrossFireX, which allows two or more discrete graphics cards to work together to improve system performance and creating a substantial visual gaming experience. Also featuring Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology, Intel® Turbo Boost Technology, Intel® Quick Path Interconnect (QPI), making the XFX X58i Motherboard truly unique and amazingly agile.
KEY FEATURES
> Up to 6.4 GT/s QPI
> Supports Intel LGA 1366 processors
> PCI Express 2.0 slots
> Supports 3-Way SLI and Crossfire
> Supports up to 12 GB of DDR3-1333 Memory

nForce® 790i Ultra

The 790i Ultra SLI motherboard ensures a premium gaming experience, with world record-setting memory speeds and ESA component control. Currently the only platform to support DDR3-2GHZ, this motherboard delivers top performance for 1600MHz FSB Intel CPUs with extreme CPU overclocking, as well as unmatched DirectX® 10 gaming with 2-way, 3-way and Quad SLI technology.

KEY FEATURES

Supports DDR3 Memory

8 Channel Integrated Audio

Supports up to 3-Way SLI Bridge

SLI Memory with EPP 2.0

Up to 1600 FSB HMz Intel CPUs

ESA Certified

Don’t Settle for “Good Enough” Graphics

Get 16-cores of DirectX® 10 graphics and parallel processing horsepower with NVIDIA® GeForce® 9 Series motherboard GPUs. From viewing digital photos, to transcoding videos, to playing the most-popular DirectX 10 games, GeForce motherboard GPUs deliver the performance today’s visual computing applications demand. NVIDIA® GeForce® motherboard GPUs (mGPUs) make experiencing the GeForce difference more affordable than ever. Designed for both AMD and Intel platforms, GeForce motherboard GPUs support the latest graphics technologies including DirectX® 10, CUDA™, PhysX™, PureVideo® HD and Hybrid SLI®.

Brother HL-5250DN Review

by Paul Jasper

Feb 10, 2006 - Brother has another winner on its hands with the HL-5250DN. Its low price tag and compact footprint make it a good fit for the tight budgets and crowded workspaces of many small offices. Yet this attractive monochrome laser also produces top output quality at outstanding speed, can print on both sides of the paper, and hooks up easily to your network.

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Canon i960 Photo Printer Review

by Dan Littman

Jun 22, 2004 - Though it lacks some extras that are becoming common on photo printers--such as a control panel, an integrated LCD, and media slots--Canon's i960 has some attractive features. These include a PictBridge port on its front panel and two ports--one USB 1.1 and one USB 2.0--for sharing the printer without a network. A less useful extra is the auxiliary paper feed for 4-by-6-inch paper. This snapshot feed locks onto the main paper slot, and you move sheets down into the paper path by turning a dial. Unfortunately, the dial on our test unit jammed repeatedly and didn't pull the small sheets up and away from the paper path. On the plus side, the main paper tray and the output tray are made from tough plastic, and they close up snugly when empty.

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Dell Laser Printer 3100cn Review

by Paul Jasper

Apr 5, 2006 - The Dell Laser Printer 3100cn has all the advantages of the similar Dell 3000cn (which topped our color laser printer chart for months), including a reasonable price, strong performance, and good image quality. But the newer model has a couple of advantages. First, it comes with a 250-sheet paper drawer as standard equipment, making it even more of a bargain at $499. Adding that same paper capacity to the $399 3000cn cost $180.

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What You Should Know about the TH58PZ800 58-inch Plasma

Good Fit For Cavernous-Sized Rooms

HDTVs with a diagonal screen size of 55 inches or larger, such as this model, are LCDs, plasmas, or DLPs, usually with a resolution of 1920 by 1080 (1080p). The optimum viewing distance for HDTV screens like these is generally considered to be about 9 to 10 feet, so this model is appropriately sized for very large, cavernous rooms.

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HP LC3260N Review

by Narasu Rebbapragada

Jan 31, 2007 - HP's LC3260N costs $900 (as of 12/8/06) and has an average number of connections and features. However, our test unit performed the worst among currently tested 32-inch LCD TVs, and other sub-$1000 sets had better, more distinguishing characteristics.

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Vizio L32HDTV Review

by Laura Blackwell

Apr 18, 2006 - The Vizio L32HDTV has more going for it than a very logical name. This 32-inch LCD TV delivers good image quality in an easy-to-understand package, and it's priced at a very low $1000 (on 3/24/06).

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MobiBlu DAH-1500i Review

by Agam Shah

May 19, 2006 - The novelty of the MobiBlu DAH-1500i is its shape and size. Also known as the "Cube," this MP3 player is so tiny you could pop it in your mouth; each side measures just 0.9-inch, and it weighs only 0.7 ounce. It will attract glances, but, more important, it performed well in PC World's new audio-quality tests, and it doesn't skimp on features: It receives FM radio, can record with its built-in microphone, and serves as a portable USB storage device.

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Cowon O2 Review

by Ginny Mies

Jan 5 - Cowon is known for its high-quality portable video players; and the company's newest model, the O2, doesn't disappoint. With its gorgeous touch screen and crystal-clear sound, the flash-based Cowon O2 ($220 for 8GB; $250 for 16GB; $300 for 32GB) is sure to please customers looking for a fairly inexpensive PVP. But several gripes we've had with previous models--such as lack of ID3 tagging and no support for DRM-protected files--apply to the O2 as well.

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Microsoft Zune Review

by Eric Dahl

Nov 21, 2006 - What will it take to beat Apple's iPod at its own game? Microsoft is betting that its $250 Zune--a 30GB, Wi-Fi-equipped music and video player--can go toe-to-toe with the digital music giant.

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Sony VAIO Micro PC VGN-UX390N Review

by Dennis O'Reilly

May 17, 2007 - In designing its VAIO Micro PC VGN-UX390N, Sony has condensed a standard notebook computer into a device only a little larger than--and about twice the weight of--a BlackBerry. And it did a good job, with two critical exceptions: The 4.5-inch display is too small for easy viewing even at arm's length, and a finger on the keyboard is a typo waiting to happen. If you plug in an external monitor, a keyboard, and a mouse, however, you'll see the better half of the UX390N's split personality: An ultramobile PC that's right at home on your desktop.

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User Reviews for Asus R2H

Reviewed by: scrybe

Feb 7, 8:00 am

Duration of ownership:

Strengths: Portability. Upgradable...

Weaknesses: None.

Overall Evaluation: I must say, I too have been lusting for this hot little item since I saw it online in 2006. At the time the price was way too steep to justify the buy. But when I saw $479 list price on Compuvest for a refurbished model, I couldn't resist. Mine arrived with all the original packaging, including the slipcase/cover, cables, and software, including the XP Tablet OS restore disk (a definite must and rare). First off, I have to say the wow factor of the design is awesome! I purchased this puppy as a portale media device. I own a massive eBook library, movies, and music, and the idea of having a portable PC powerful enough to play everything from ratDVDs (Google it! ratDvd is awesome) to Mp3s was appealing. First thing I did was check the forums about the 2gb RAM upgrade.

Acer TravelMate 8100 Review

by Carla Thornton

Jun 25, 2005 - Wider screen. Sleeker case. Easier upgrades. The Acer TravelMate 8100 offers several advantages over its predecessor, last year's impressive TravelMate 8000, which the company is still selling. The 8100 weighs about the same--6.4 pounds including an integrated DVD burner--yet boasts an impressively large 15.4-inch wide-aspect screen for working on documents side by side more easily. (The native 1680-by-1050-pixel resolution renders screen elements slightly small but crisp and perfectly readable.)

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Canon PowerShot SD1100 IS Digital Camera Review

by Danny Palmerlee, PC World

Apr 15, 2008 - Like its Digital Elph predecessors, Canon's new PowerShot SD1100 IS looks and feels great. Its price tag of about $249 puts squarely in the realm of midrange point-and-shoots, but its robust features--including Canon's fast DIGIC III processor, a maximum aperture of f2.8, and outstanding image quality--allow it to compete with cameras that cost significantly more.

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Canon PowerShot A590 IS Point-and-Shoot Camera Review

by Alexa Wriggins

Aug 19, 2008 - My digital camera expertise begins and ends with this fact: I cannot resist the urge to photograph a couple of fuzzballs named Chuckie and Violet. I'm a classic novice point-and-shooter, and the crème de la crème of my snapshots find their way onto Flickr or Facebook.

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Nikon Coolpix S6 Review

by Tracey Capen

Jul 26, 2006 - Nikon's Coolpix S6 presents an attractive package, in more ways than just its appearance. The price tag ($350 as of 6/15/06) is seductive for a pocket-size, 6.0-megapixel, Wi-Fi-equipped camera. And you have to love the roomy, 3-inch LCD: Its razor-sharp resolution and near-180-degree viewing angle make sharing photos in-camera a joy. (The only knock on the display is that it could be brighter, since in high sunlight its images can appear faint--a common problem with digital cameras.)

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Amax Max 3100+ Review

by Richard Baguley

Jun 22, 2005 - Most PC cases have the hard drives at the front and the power supply at the back, but the $1549 Amax Max 3100+, which uses an Antec Overture case, is a little different: Its power supply is located at the front and the hard drives are at the rear. The case is designed to look more like a hi-fi component than a PC--it sits flat on a surface, and you could put an LCD monitor on it--and to minimize noise so it'll fit in with a home media system (two quiet, low-speed fans blow hot air out the rear).

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CyberPower Infinity Pro Review

by Richard Jantz

Oct 19, 2007 - Priced at $4999 (as of September 12, 2007), including two 22-inch wide-screen LCDs, the Infinity Pro is a bit expensive compared with other workhorse PCs we've seen of late; but considering everything that comes in the package we tested, it's definitely a worthwhile investment for anyone seeking a powerful desktop machine.

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HP Pavilion d4650y Review

by Kirk Steers

Oct 19, 2006 - Like most models in HP's Pavilion line, the Pavilion d4650y costs a bit more than most comparably equipped systems, but its excellent performance, user-friendly design, and storage options make it a good value for buyers who want an well-designed PC that should remain useful well into the future.

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Motorola Q Global PDA Phone Review

by Yardena Arar

Jan 24, 2008 - Hot on the heels of its multimedia-friendly Q 9m, Motorola now delivers a Q smart phone with Windows Mobile 6 intended for business travelers. The new Motorola Q 9h (more informally called the Q Global) is the first Q to support international roaming via a quad-band GSM radio.

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RIM BlackBerry Curve 8320 Review

by Liane Cassavoy

Oct 25, 2007 - First came the trim, consumer-friendly BlackBerry Curve 8300. Then came the Wi-Fi-enabled BlackBerry 8820. Now there's the BlackBerry Curve 8320, an impressive PDA phone that combines the best of the previous two models and has an added bonus: While the 8820 supports Wi-Fi for data only, the 8320 lets you make voice calls over wireless 802.11b/g networks too.

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Aliph Jawbone Bluetooth Headset Review

by Aoife M. McEvoy, PC World

Dec 23, 2008 - When it comes to Bluetooth headsets, what's your definition of "sleek"? If you say it means "minimalist, understated, and textured," then the second-generation Aliph Jawbone fits the bill. But if you say it means "shiny, smooth, and dainty," well, cross the Jawbone off your list.