BIOS (Basic Input/Output System)
(MIDTERM) REVIEWER |FIS101
• Checks hardware functionality during boot
up.
MODULE 6 (PART 1) • Provides instructions to start the operating
Motherboard system.
• Ensures all critical components are
• The main circuit board that houses the CPU, functioning before passing control to the
memory, and other essential components OS.
of the computer.
• Alternatively referred to as the mb, CMOS Battery
mainboard, mobo, mobd, backplane board, • Provides power to the CMOS chip, which
base board, planar board, system board, stores BIOS settings such as system time
or logic board on Apple computers. and hardware configurations.
4 Pin CPU Fan Pin-out • Usually a coin cell battery found on the
motherboard.
• These are usually used by CPU fans with • Ensures that settings are retained even
higher power consumption. when the computer is powered off.
o Black Wire (Pin 1 - Ground):
Provides a base for the electricity. Inductor
o Yellow Wire (Pin 2 - Power): • Stores energy in a magnetic field when
Supplies power to the fan. electrical current flows through it, helps in
o Green Wire (Pin 3 – filtering power supply and managing
Signal/Monitor): Reports the fan's voltage fluctuations.
speed. • Maintains a stable power supply to sensitive
o Blue Wire (Pin 4 - Controller): components.
Controls the fan speed.
North Bridge
12V 4-pin CPU Power Connector
• Manages communication between the CPU,
• This device senses the CPU voltage RAM, and graphics controller.
requirements and calibrates itself to
• Critical for high-speed data transfer between
provide the proper voltage to run the CPU. the CPU, RAM, and GPU.
o Pin 1 and Pin 2 (Yellow wires -
12V): Provide power. South Bridge
o Pin 3 and Pin 4 (Black wires - • Manages I/O functions, such as USB, audio,
Ground): Complete the electrical serial, the system BIOS, the ISA bus, and
circuit. the IDE channels.
Front Panel Connectors • Handles slower, lower-speed peripheral
interfaces.
• It is where the connectors of hard disk drive
activity lights, case speaker, reset button, Super I/O Controller
power on/off button, computer power on
• Controls legacy I/O devices, such as the
light, and key lock, are connected to make keyboard, mouse, serial and parallel ports,
them function smoothly. and sometimes floppy disk drives.
• HDD LED (IDE LED) — The LED activity • Ensures compatibility with older peripherals.
light for the hard disk drive. This is the LED
that flashes as information is being written Integrated Circuit (IC)
and read from the hard drive. • Performs a wide range of tasks from power
• POWER LED (PLED) — The LED power management to signal processing and
light, which indicates when the computer is data handling.
on, off, or in standby. • Essential for the motherboard's complex
• POWER SW (PWRSW) — controls the operations.
power button that allows you to turn on
and off the computer. Jumpers
• RESET SW — handles the reset button to • Used to set hardware configurations such as
restart the Computer. CPU clock speed and clear CMOS
settings. • Legacy slot for older peripherals.
FWH Chip (Firmware Hub)
Game Port
• Stores firmware necessary for hardware • Connects game controllers and joysticks. •
initialization. Provides connectivity for gaming peripherals.
• Essential for booting and basic hardware
functionality. PCI Express x1 Slot
PLCC (Plastic Leaded Chip Carrier) • Connects smaller, high-speed expansion
cards like network adapters.
• A type of IC packaging used for FWH chips. • • Provides high-speed connectivity for
Protects and facilitates easy replacement of peripherals.
the firmware chip.
PCI Express x16 Slot
Capacitor
• Connects high-performance graphics cards.
• Stores and releases electrical energy, filters
• Essential for high-end graphics and gaming
voltage, and smooths power supply. •
performance.
Maintains voltage stability and reduces noise.
MODULE 6 (PART 3)
MODULE 6 (PART 2)
CPU Socket – Ensures the CPU is securely
USB Header
connected to the motherboard, facilitating
• Connects USB ports on the front of the case communication with other components.
to the motherboard.
CPU Fan – Prevents CPU overheating by actively
• Provides additional USB connectivity for the cooling it.
system.
Heat Sink – Passively dissipates heat from the
IDE Slot CPU to prevent overheating.
• Connects older hard drives and optical Parallel Port – Legacy port primarily used for
drives. printers, now mostly obsolete.
• Allows connection of legacy storage devices.
PS/2 Connector – Connects older keyboards and
Floppy Disk Slot mice, now largely replaced by USB.
• Connects a floppy disk drive. Serial Port – Legacy port for serial devices like
• Enables the use of legacy floppy disks. modems, now largely obsolete.
Memory Slot (RAM Slot) LAN Port – Provides a wired network connection
• Holds the memory modules (RAM). • Crucial for internet and local network access.
for system memory and performance. USB Port – Connects a wide range of peripherals,
PCI Slot supporting data transfer and power supply.
• Allows the addition of expansion cards like Audio Port – Connects audio devices for sound
network cards, sound cards, and modems. • input and output.
Provides expandability and additional VGA Port – Connects monitors for analog video
functionality to the system. output, still used for older display devices.
AGP Slot (Accelerated Graphics Port) CPU, Memory, and I/O Devices Interaction
• Connects a graphics card. • The CPU retrieves an instruction from
• Enhances graphics performance, especially memory (RAM) and interprets the
in older systems. instruction.
AMR Slot (Audio Modem Riser) • The CPU performs the instruction, which
may involve reading from or writing to
• Connects audio and modem cards. • Used for memory.
adding audio and modem functionality.
• I/O Devices provide data to the CPU and
ISA Slot (Industry Standard Architecture)
display the processed output to the user.
• Connects older expansion cards. MODULE 7 (PART 1)
Central Processing Unit (CPU) 1. Clock Speed
• It is the most important component inside • The speed at which a CPU executes
the computer case. instructions, typically measured in
• It is responsible for all processing tasks. • It gigahertz (GHz).
reads and writes data and instructions to and • Higher frequency of it means that the CPU
from storage devices and performs can execute more instructions per second,
calculations and data processing. leading to faster performance for many
tasks.
• The data received by input devices is also
read by this component, and output from 2. Bus Speed
this component is written to output devices. • The speed at which data is transferred
Three Basic Components of CPU between the CPU and other components. •
Higher frequency of it means that it reduce
• Control Unit bottlenecks and improve overall system
o It serves as the brain of the CPU, performance.
managing the execution of
3. Cores
instructions.
o It oversees the fetching of • It is the number of independent processing
instructions from memory, decodes units within a CPU.
them, and coordinates the • Multi-core – It can perform multiple tasks
necessary actions within the CPU simultaneously, improving performance for
to carry out these instructions. multi-threaded applications and
o In essence, it ensures that all multitasking.
operations within the CPU are 4. Threads
conducted in the correct sequence
• The number of independent sequences of
and according to the program's instructions a CPU can handle.
instructions. • Hyper-threading technology – It allows a
• Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU): single core to manage multiple threads,
o It is responsible for performing improving efficiency and performance in
arithmetic and logical operations on parallel processing.
data.
5. Cache Memory
o It handles tasks such as
comparisons and calculations in the • A small amount of very fast memory located
CPU. on or close to the CPU, used to store
• Memory Unit: frequently accessed data and instructions.
o It stores data and instructions 6. Thermal Design Power (TDP)
temporarily or permanently for the
• CPUs with lower feature of it are more
CPU to access when needed. energy-efficient and generate less heat,
o It acts as a vital resource for storing making them suitable for portable devices
and retrieving data during the and reducing cooling requirements.
execution of programs.
7. Integrated Graphics Processing Unit (GPU)
Registers – They hold data and addresses that
the ALU is being actively processed or • It provide sufficient graphics performance for
manipulated by the CPU. everyday tasks and light gaming, reducing
the need for a separate graphics card.
Memory Cache
8. Overclocking Capability
• It is a small amount of memory that provides
faster access to data and instructions than • The ability to run the CPU at a higher speed
than its base clock speed.
other types of RAM.
• It can improve performance for demanding
• It holds data and instructions waiting to be
applications, though it may require better
processed by the ALU.
cooling solutions and can reduce the
Characteristics of CPU
CPU’s lifespan.
9. Power Consumption 5. OVERCLOCKING CPUs – A processor
built to be overclocked, allowing users to
• The amount of electrical power the CPU
push the processor beyond its standard
uses.
specifications.
• Lower value of it leads to better energy
6. INTEGRATED GRAPHICS CPUs – A
efficiency, which is critical for battery
processor that has a built-in graphics,
powered devices and reducing electricity
suitable for users who do not require a
costs.
separate graphics card for tasks
10. Security Features
• Built-in technologies designed to enhance
Memory – It is mostly associated with
system security, such as Intel's SGX or
semiconductor memory such as integrated circuits
AMD's SME.
made up of silicon-based transistors.
• These features help protect against various
types of cyber threats, ensuring safer Primary Memory
computing environments. • ROM (Read-Only Memory)
o It is non-volatile memory, meaning
it retains its data even when the
MODULE 7 (PART 2)
power is turned off.
CPU Suffixes o It is primarily used to store firmware,
which is the software that is
• C: Desktop processor with high-end
graphics permanently programmed into the
hardware.
• F: High-performance processor used with
discrete graphics cards (ex. Gaming) • RAM (Random Access Memory)
o It is volatile memory, which means
• G: graphics include Vega video processing •
it requires power to maintain the
H: High-performance graphics
stored information.
• K: Unlocked for overclocking
o It is used as the computer's working
• M: Mobile
memory to store data and
• Q: Quad-core
instructions that the CPU needs in
• R: Desktop processor, BGA1364 (mobile)
real-time while performing tasks.
package, high-end graphics
• S: Performance-optimized lifestyle Secondary Memory
• T: Power-optimized for best desktop • Hard Disk Drive (HDD)
computing o A traditional storage device that
• U: Ultra-low power for laptop efficiency • X: uses spinning magnetic disks to
Extreme unlocked for high desktop read and write data.
performance • 2. Solid State Drive (SSD)
• Y: Extreme low power o A newer type of storage device that
uses flash memory to store data,
with no moving parts. Ideal for
Types of Processors operating systems, applications,
1. DESKTOP CPUs – These are the and frequently accessed files due to
mainstream and high performance high speed and reliability.
processors. • 3. Digital Versatile Disc (DVD)
2. WORKSTATION CPUs – These are the o An optical disc storage format that
processors for professional use, designed can hold larger amounts of data
for tasks that require significant computing than a CD (Compact Disc).
power. • 4. Floppy Disk
3. SERVER CPUs – A processor that is o An older magnetic storage medium
optimized for server environments, used in enclosed in a square or rectangular
data centers and enterprise applications. plastic shell.
4. LOW-POWER CPUs – These are the o Historically used for transferring
processors for energy efficiency, designed small files and bootstrapping
for systems where power consumption is systems; largely obsolete today.
critical.