System
Unit
The
system unit, or the cabinet houses most of the essential components of the
computer system such as the power supply, the motherboard, the CPU chip,
specialized chips, the system clock, RAM, ROM, expansion board and bus lines.
Central
Processing Unit (CPU)
The central processing unit performs the majority of
calculations and controls the operation of a computer. CPUs are rated by the
speed at which they can execute instructions. The speed of a CPU is measured in
Megahertz (MHz), and is also known as the clock speed. The higher the value of
the speed the faster the computer can run programs. The capacity of a Central
Processing Unit is expressed in terms of word size. A word is the maximum
number of bits that the CPU can manipulate or store at one time.
The
CPU consists of two parts: the control unit (CU) and the arithmetic/logic unit
(ALU)
Different
manufactures are making CPUs today. Some of these popular CPUs available today
are the Intel, AMD, Cyrix and Motorola.
Control
Unit (CU)
The
control unit controls and directs the operation of the entire computer system.
Although it does perform any actual processing on the data, the control unit
acts as a central nervous system for the other components of the computer. It
obtains instructions from the program stored in main memory, interprets the
instructions, and issues signals, which cause other units in the system to
execute them.
Arithmetic-Logic
Unit (ALU
The arithmetic-Logic unit
performs arithmetic operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication
and division on data. It also performs logical operations, which involve
comparison of data. In microcomputers, the entire CPU is typically fabricated
on a single chip.
Motherboad
The motherboard is the main
circuit board inside the computer. It can be considered as the main
communication center through which all the components of the computer transmit
data back and forth. All the main parts including the central processing unit
of the computer are typically plugged in to the mother board. The mother board
also provides sockets, called expansion slots, to plug in special electronic
circuitboards to enhance the functionality of the computer. These extra
circuitboards are called expansion cards, by using which you can customize a
computer to suit your needs. One other major function of the mother board is to
supply the necessary power to all its expansion cards.
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