RAM (random access memory)
- Used to store program instructions and data temporarily
- Unique addresses and data can be stored in any location
- Can quickly retrieve information
- Will not remain if power goes off (volatile)
ROM (read-only memory) - Information stored permanently on a chip
- Contains startup instructions and other permanent data
CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) - Special low-energy kind of RAM Flash memory
- Used for phones, pagers, portable computers, handheld computers, and PDAs
Buses, Ports, and Peripherals - Information travels between components on the motherboard through groups of wires called system buses, or just buses.
Buses - Typically have 32 or 64 wires
- Connect to storage devices in bay
- Connect to expansion slots
- Connect to external buses and ports
Slots and ports
- Make it easy to add external devices, called peripherals.
- New laser etching technology called extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL) could reduce chip size and increase performance radically.
- Superconductors that transmit electricity without heat could increase computer speed a hundredfold.
- The optical computer transmits information in light waves rather than electrical pulses.
- A computer manipulates patterns of bits—binary digits of information.
- The CPU follows software instructions, reduced to strings of bits, to perform the calculations and logical manipulations that transform input data into output.
- Not all CPUs are compatible with each other.
The CPU uses:
- RAM (random access memory) as a temporary storage area—a scratch pad—for instructions and data
- ROM (read-only memory), which contains unchangeable information that serves as reference material for the CPU as it executes program instructions
-The CPU and main memory are housed in silicon chips on the motherboard.
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