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49 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
system unit
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a case that contains electronic components of the computer used to process data
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motherboard
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the main circuit board of the system unit
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chip
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a small piece of semiconducting material on which integrated circuits are etched
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CPU/ Central Processing Unit
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intercepts and carries out the basic instructions that operate a computer
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Multi-Core Processor
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a chip with two or more seperate processor cores
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Control Unit
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the component of the processor that directs and coordinates most of the operations in the computer
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ALU/Arithmetic Logic Unit
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another component of the processor, performs arithmetic, comparison and other operations
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system clock
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crystal that processors rely on to control the timing of all computer operations
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clock speed
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the pace of the system clock
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binary system
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a number system that has just two unique digits, 1 and 0, called bits
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bit
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the smallest unit of data that a computer can process
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byte
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a unit created when 8 bits are combined
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memory
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consists of electronic components that store instructions waiting to be executed by the processor,data needed by those instructions and the results of processing data
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volatile memory
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temporary memory lost when power is turned off
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nonvolatile memory
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permanent memory
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RAM memory
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consists of memory chips that can be read and written to by the processor and other devices
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ROM memory
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memory chips storing permanent data and instructions
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memory module
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a small circuit board with RAM chips attached
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memory slot
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slot on the motherboard that holds memory modules
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cache
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a way to improve processing time
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L1 cache
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built directly in the processor chip
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L2 cache
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it is slightly slower than the L1 cache but has a much larger capacity
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ASCII/ American Standard Code Information Interchanging
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system to change binary code to alphabet
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ROM
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nonvolatile memory
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flash memory
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a type of nonvolatile memory that can be erased electronically and rewritten
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CMOS
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high speed processing and efficient on power chip that retains info even when power is off
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Access Time
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the amount of time it takes the processor to read data, instructions and information from memory
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nanosecond
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is one billionth of a second
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expansion slot
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a socket on the motherboard that can hold adapter cards
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adapter card
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a circuit board that enhances functions of a component of the system unit and provides connections to peripherals
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peripheral
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a device that connects to the system unit and is controlled by the processor in the computer
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video card
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converts computer output into a video signal that travels through a cable to the monitor
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sound card
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enhances the sound generating capabilities of a personal computer by allowing sound to be input through microphones and output through external speakers
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hub
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a device that plugs in a firewire or usb port on the system unit and contains multiple firewire/ usb ports in which you plug cables from
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graphic card
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converts computer output into a video signal that travels through a cable to the monitor
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memory card
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a removable flash memory device that you insert and remove from a slot in a personal computer, console, mobile device and card reader/ writer
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port
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the point at which a peripheral attached to or communicates with a system unit so that the peripheral can send data from the computer
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USB port
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can connect up to 127 different peripherals together with a single connector
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FireWire Port
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can connect multiple types of devices that require faster data transmission speed
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SCSI port
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allows you to attach SCSI peripherals
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port replicator
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an external drive that provides connections to peripherals through ports built into the device
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docking station
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an external drive that attaches to a mobile computer, contains a power connection and provides connections to peripherals
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bus
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each channel that allows the various devices both inside and attached to the system unit to communicate with each other
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system bus (front bus)
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part of the motherboard and connects the processor to main memory/ hard drive
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backside bus
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connects the processor to cache
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expansion bus
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allows the processor to communicate with peripherals
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bay
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an opening inside the system unit in which you can install additional equipment
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drive bay
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a rectangular opening that typically holds disk drives
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power supply
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the component of the system unit that converts the wall outlet AC power into DC power
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