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“Understanding Computers”

“Understanding Computers”. Intro to GIS Fall 2004. Tools of the Trade. Right tool for the Right job What’s inside the box? How do they do what they do? Aren’t all computers (PC’s) the same? Why won’t my programs do what they are supposed to do? What is a “Network”?.

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“Understanding Computers”

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  1. “Understanding Computers” Intro to GIS Fall 2004

  2. Tools of the Trade • Right tool for the Right job • What’s inside the box? • How do they do what they do? • Aren’t all computers (PC’s) the same? • Why won’t my programs do what they are supposed to do? • What is a “Network”?

  3. Tools of the Trade Cont’d. • Operating Systems • Drivers • Components • CPU’s (Processors) • CISC • RISC • FPGA • Hard Drives (configurations) • Motherboards (configurations) • BUS Speeds • RAM (Random Access Memory) • RAMBUS • DDR • SIMMS DIMMS DRAM SDRAM & EIEIO • Video Cards • AGP • PCI Express • Video RAM

  4. Operating Systems • Windows • MacOS • Unix • Linux • IBM OS2

  5. Operating Systems Cont’d. • Windows • DOS • 3.11 • 95 • 98 • Me • NT4 • XP • 2000

  6. Operating Systems Cont’d. • MacOS • Apple/ II / llE / Mac / G3 / G4 / Ipod • OS1 – OS9 • OSX (Jaguar) Ultimately will integrate with some flavor of Unix

  7. Operating Systems Cont’d • Unix • Berkeley • Solaris • X Windows • Gave rise to Linux

  8. Operating Systems • Linux • 1st Open source OS • Created by Linus Torvold • Developed by Users • Number 1 OS used by Servers as of 2002 • Free OS • Multiple flavors • SuSe • Red Hat • Mandrake • Others

  9. Drivers • Drivers are executable programs that contain the operating instructions for that particular component. • Drivers are usually updated to reflect either new OS’s or some innovation in the hardware. • Note * The newest driver is not always the best • Drivers will often have the extension .dll (dynamic link library), older drivers may have the extension .drv

  10. CPU’s • CISC • Complex Instruction Set Chip • Intel / AMD Processors / Silicon Graphics (SGI) • RISC • Reduced Instruction Set Chip • Motorola / Mac / Sun Microsystems / Silicon Graphics (SGI) • Transmeta Carusoe • FPGA • Fully Programmable Gated Array

  11. CPU’s • Speed • Clock cycles measured in Hertz • 1 Hz = 1 clock cycle • 1 kHz = 1000 clock cycles (Kilo) (thousand) • 1 MHz = 1,000,000 clock cycles (Mega) (million) • 1 GHz = 1,000,000,000 clock cycles (Giga) (billion) • 1 THz = 1,000,000,000,000 clock cycles (Terra) (trillion) • 1 PHz = 1,000,000,000,000,000 clock cycles (Pieta) (quadrillion) Fastest computer “today” built by NEC for Japan 37 TFLOPS (Terra FLOPS) (FLOPS=floating operations per second=cycle)

  12. CPU’s • Chipsets • Configuration of CPU • Will tell you what type of RAM/Motherboards the CPU is compatible with • Intel 845E vs. Intel 850PG • Athlon vs. Duron • Celeron vs. Pentium • P4 vs. Xeon • Opteron vs. FX 51/53

  13. Hard Drives • 4 Factors to consider • Classification • DMA / UDMA / ATA / SCSI • Size • Bit Vs. Byte • 8 bits = 1 byte • Binary = base2 • Working drives • Total Drive Space • Speed • Bus Speed (data transfer rate listed in MHz) • Spin Rate (listed in rpm’s) • Configuration (multiple HD’s) • RAID - Redundant Array of Independent (or Inexpensive) Disks • Various configurations

  14. Motherboards • Various Makes and Models • BIOS / ROM / PROM / EPROM • Must be compatible with CPU Type and RAM Type • Various Slots • ISA • PCI • AGP • AGM • USB 1, 2 • IEEE1394 Firewire • PS/2 • EIDE BUS Connections • RAM Pin configurations • CPU Slot configurations • Onboard Sound • Onboard Network Interface • RAID connectors

  15. RAM (Random Access Memory) • Simms (Single Inline Memory Modules) • Dimms (Dual Inline Memory Modules) • RDRAM (RAMBUS) • PC400 / PC800 / PC1036 • Only for Intel chipsets • Very Expensive (price has come down) • DDR (Double Data Rate) • DDR133 / DDR266 / DDR333 / DDR400 • Started as an inexpensive alternative to RAMBUS • Was exclusively AMD however, now there are specific Intel chipsets that will allow the use of DDR RAM

  16. Video Cards • AGP – 1X / 2X / 4X / 8X/PCI Express 16x • Video Memory (video RAM) • DDR • Onboard processors • Bandwidth / Throughput • 16bit / 32bit/ 64bit /128bit / 256bit • Compatibility with Intended software Use • Most Important Decision when building a Workstation Various Video Card Manufacturers Nvida / Radeon / 3dLabs / Cheap Cheesy Crap!

  17. Tools of the Trade Cont’d. • Slots • ISA • PCI / PCI32 / PCIX • AGP 4x / 8x • Cooling Systems • Power Supply • NIC Cards

  18. Tools of the Trade Cont’d. • Peripherals • Monitors • Size • Resolution • Printers/Plotters • Keyboards • Ergo? • Hotkeys • Mice • Trackballs • Castrated Mouse

  19. Tools of the Trade Cont’d • Care and Feeding of the Computer • Cleaning • Location • Maintenance

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