Advance Computer Hardware

Semester 3: M.Sc. (Electronics), Dept. of Electronics, Saurashtra University, Rajkot

Credit: 04

Total Marks: 100 (70 External+30 Internal)

Total Hours requires: 60 Hrs.

Overview of Course:

Information Technology has witnessed unbounded growth and in fact, this technology has its wheels as the computer hardware. IT skills provide a common language between industry and education so that building bridges between these two groups can be more efficient. There is a huge demand of Hardware Technicians in all around the world. The main purpose of this core course is to help students of electronics, learn how to maintain, upgrade, and repair the PC system.

Objectives:

After completion of this course students will learn;

1. Basic features of modern processors and their architectures.

2. Understanding of Physical as well as Logical memory systems

3. Overview of different architectures of Motherboards and I/O buses.

4. Detailed knowledge of data storage devices in context of magnetic and optical

5. Identification of Problems and Troubleshoot the system

Also, understand the embedded system concept and visualization of how embedded system works.

UNIT 1 Microprocessor and Memory

PC components: Introduction

Microprocessor History, PC Processor Evolution,16-bit to 64-bit Architecture Evolution

Processor Specifications: Data I/O Bus, Address Bus, Internal Registers, Processor Modes

Processor Features: System Management Mode (SMM), Superscalar Execution, MMX Technology, Dynamic Execution, Dual Independent Bus Architecture, Hyper Threading Technology, Multicore Technology

Overview of Processor Socket and slot types, Math Coprocessor, Overview of current processors, Processor cooling and overclocking overview

Memory Basics: ROM, DRAM, Cache Memory: SRAM

RAM Types and Performance: Fast page Mode DRAM, Extended Data Out RAM(EDO), SDRAM, DDR SDRAM, DDR2 SDRAM, DDR3 SDRAM, RDRAM

Memory modules, SIMMs, DIMMs and RIMMs (Physical Memory),Memory Banks, RAM upgrades, The system Logical Memory Layout.

UNIT 2 Motherboard and I/O Buses

Motherboard Form Factors: obsolete form factors, ATX and other modern form factors

What is the chipset, Roles of Chipset in motherboard, Traditional North/South Bridge Architecture, Hub Architecture, Features and block diagram of current chipset, Super I/O chip, Overview of System Resources: Interrupts, DMA channels, I/O port addresses

System Bus Types, Functions and Features, The Processor Bus (FSB), Calculating Processor Bus Speeds

Overview of different  I/O Buses: The ISA Bus, The Micro channel Bus, The EISA bus, Local Buses ( VESA, PCI, PCI Express, AGP)

Motherboard selection criteria (knowing what to look for)

UNIT 3  Magnetic Storage Principle and Hard Disk Drive

Magnetic storage, History of Magnetic storage, How Magnetic Field are used to store data

Read/Write Head Designs: Ferrite, Metal-in-Gap, Thin Film, Magneto-Resistive Heads, Giant-Magneto Resistive Heads

Data Encoding Schemes: FM encoding, MFM encoding, RLL encoding, Encoding scheme comparisons, Partial-Response, Maximum-Likehood Decoders, Areal Density

Hard Disk Storage: Definition of a Hard Disk, Hard Drive Advancement, Form Factors overview

Hard Disk Drive Operation: The ultimate HDD analogy, Tracks and Sectors, Disk Formatting

Overview of Basic Hard Disk Drive Components: Hard Disk Platters, Recording Media, R/W Heads, Head Actuator Mechanisms, Air Filters, Spindle Motors, Logic Boards, Cables and connectors, Configuration Items.

 UNIT 4  Optical Storage : CD and DVD

Optical Technology: Introduction

CD-Based Optical Technology: CDs A brief History, CD construction and Technology, Mass-Producting CDs, Drive Mechanical Operation, Overview of writable CDs

DVD: DVD history, DVD construction and Technology, DVD capacity (sides and layers)

Introduction of Blu-ray disc and HD-DVD, Overview of optical disc file systems

Optical Drive Performance Specifications: CD data transfer rate, CD drive speed, DVD drive speed, access time, Buffer/Cache, DMA, Interface, Loading Mechanism and other drive features.

Recommended-Book:

1.       “Upgrading and Repairing PCs” by Scott Mueller Publisher: QUE (Pearson Education) 19th Edition (December 2009).

Reference-Books:

1.         “Troubleshooting, Maintaining and Reparing PCs” by Stephen J. Bigelow,

TMH

2          .“PC Upgrade and Maintenance Guide”, Minasi, BPB publication.

3.         “PC Hardware” by Michael Meyers, Scott Jernigan. TMH Edition.

4.         “Hardware Bible” by W. L. Rosch, Techmedia Publication.