Term
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Definition
| A computer case that sits upright and can be as high as two feet and has room for several drives. |
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Term
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Definition
| A computer case that lies flat and sometimes serves double-duty as a monitor stand. |
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Term
| What is a VGA (Video Graphics Array) port? |
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Definition
| Also known as DB-15 port, is a 15-pin female port that transmits analog video. All older monitors use these ports. |
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Term
| What is a DVI (Digital Video Interface) port? |
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Definition
| Transmits digital or analog video. Three types. |
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Term
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Definition
| A 4-pin or 7-pin round video port sometimes used to connect to a television. The 4-pin type is more common. |
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Term
| What is an HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface)port? |
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Definition
| Transmits digital video and audio (not analog transmissions) and is often used to connect to home theater equipment. |
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Term
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Definition
| Transmits digital video and audio (not analog transmissions) and is slowly replacing VGA and DVI ports on personal computers. |
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Term
| What is a Thunderbolt port? |
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Definition
| Transmits both video and data on the same port and cable. The port is shaped the same as the DisplayPort and is compatible with Displayport devices. |
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Term
| What is an Ethernet port? |
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Definition
| Also known as a network port or an RJ-45 port, is used by a network cable to connect to the wired network. |
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Term
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Definition
| A system usually has a set of three or more of these round ports. Audio In, Audio Out and Microphone. Lime green is the speaker out port. |
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Term
| What is an S/PDIF (Sony-Philips Digital Interface) port? |
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Definition
| Connects to an external home theater audio system, providing digital audio output and the best signal quality. |
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Term
| What is a USB (Universal Serial Bus) port? |
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Definition
| A multipurpose I/O port used by many different devices, including printers, mice, keyboards, scanners, external hard drives, and flash drives. Hi-Speed is version 2.0 and Superspeed is version 3.0. 3.0 is faster than 2.0. |
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Term
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Definition
| AKA IEEE1394 port, and is used for high-speed multimedia devices such as digital camcorders. Competed with USB for a time. |
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Term
| What is an External SATA port? |
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Definition
| Used by an external hard drive using the eSATA interface. eSATA is faster than FireWire. |
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Term
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Definition
| aka mini-DIN, is a round 6-pin port used by a keyboard or mouse. The ports loko alike but are not interchangable. Purple is for Keyboard and green is for the mouse. |
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Term
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Definition
| An older port, sometimes called a DB9 port, is a 9-pin male port used on older computers. It has been mostly replaced by USB ports. |
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Term
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Definition
| a 25-pin female port used by older printers. This older port is being replaced by USB ports. |
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Term
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Definition
| aka RJ-11 port, is used to connect dial-up phone lines to a modem inside a computer. Looks like a RJ-45 port but not as wide. |
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Term
| What is a motherboard (aka main board or system board)? |
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Definition
| The largest and most important circuit board in a computer. It contains the socket to hold the CPU, RAM, and other internal components. |
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Term
| What is a CPU (Central Processing Unit)? |
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Definition
| Does most of the processing of data and instructions for the entire system. |
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Term
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Definition
| Consists of metal fins that draw heat away from a component. CPUs have the largest heat sinks which also have a fan mounted to cool off the metal fins and thus cool down the heat sink. |
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Term
| What is an Expansion Card? |
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Definition
| A circuit board that provides more or additional ports than those provided by the motherboard. |
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Term
| What are DIMM (Dual Inline Memory Module) slots? |
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Definition
| Slots on a motherboard to hold memory modules (RAM). |
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Term
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Definition
| Random access memory, temporary storage for data and instructions as they are being processed by the CPU. |
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Term
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Definition
| RAM chips embedded on video cards which dedicate random access memory to video processing. |
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Term
| What is a Hard Drive (HDD)? |
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Definition
| Permanent storage used to hold data and programs. Older PATA hard drives are being replaced by newer SATA hard drives. |
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Term
| What is a Power Supply (PSU)? |
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Definition
| Is a box installed in a corner of the computer case that receives and converts AC current from the wall outlet to DC current so the computer components can use it. Most power supplies have a dual-voltage selector switch on the back of the power supply where you can use the input 115 V used in the United States or 220 V used in other countries. |
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Term
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Definition
| A sizing standard used for building, buying, and installing computer components to be assured that the components will all fit together. |
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Term
| What are the two most common form factors used by desktop and tower computer cases, and power supplies? |
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
| Advanced Technology Extended is the most commonly used form factor today. It is an open, nonproprietary industry specification originally developed by Intel in 1995 and has undergone several revisions since then. |
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Term
| On an ATX Power Supply, what is a 20-pin P1 connector used for? |
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Definition
| Connects directly into the motherboard and provides +3.3 volts, +5 volts, +12 volts, -12 volts, and an optional -5 volts. This 20-pin connector used to be sufficient enough to power the motherboard and installed expansion cards in the PCI slots. |
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Term
| On an ATX Power Supply, what are the 4-pin and 8-pin auxiliary connectors used for? |
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Definition
| When processors began to require more power, the ATX version 2.1 specs added a 4-pin motherboard auxillary connector near the processor socket to provide an additional 12 V of power. This type of power supply is referred to as an ATX12V power supply. Later motherboards replaced the 4-pin connector with an 8-pin connector to provide the CPU with more amps. |
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Term
| On an ATX Power Supply, what is the 24-pin or 20+4 pin P1 connector used for? |
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Definition
| Later, when faster PCI Express (PCIe) slots were added to motherboards, more power was required and a new ATX spec (ATX version 2.2) allowed for this connector. The extra 4 pins provide +12 volts, +5 volts, and +3.3 volts. Motherboards that use these connectors are known as Enhanced ATX boards. |
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Term
| On an ATX Power Supply, what are the 6-pin and 8-pin PCIe connectors used for? |
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Definition
| Video cards draw the most power in a system, and ATX version 2.2 provides power cables to connect directly to a video card to provide it additional power than normally comes through a PCIe slot on the motherboard. |
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Term
| What is the microATX (MATX) form factor? |
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Definition
| A major variation of ATX and addresses some technologies that have emerged since the original developement of ATX. MicroATX reduces the total cost of a system by reducing the number of expansion slots on the motherboard, reducing the power supply size required for the motherboard, allowing for a smaller case size. Will still fit in most cases that follow the ATX 2.1 or higher standard. |
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Term
| On an ATX Power Supply, what is a molex connector used for? |
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Definition
| 4-pin connector which is used for IDE (PATA) optical drives and HDDs |
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Term
| On an ATX Power Supply, what is a SATA connector used for? |
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Definition
| 15-pin connector used for SATA optical drives and HDDs. |
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Term
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Definition
| Serial ATA drive can be either an optical (removable disc) drive or a permanent storage hard disk drive. Serial ATA is the current standard for computers today. |
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Term
| What is an IDE (PATA) Drive? |
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Definition
| An IDE (Parallel ATA) drive can be either an optical (removable disc) drive or a permanent storage hard disk drive. IDE is an older standard than what is used today. |
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Term
| Explain what a volt (voltage) is and how it relates to computers. |
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Definition
| A measure of electrical force measured in volts. The symbol for volts is V. A power supply steps down voltage from the 115 V house current to 3.3, 5, and 12 volts that a computer can use. |
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Term
Explain what an amp (ampere) is and how it relates to computers.
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Definition
| An amp is a measure of electrical current. The symbol for amps is A. An LCD monitor requires about 5 A to operate. A small laser printer uses about 2 A. A DVD-ROM drive uses about 1 A. |
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Term
Explain what a Ohm is and how it relates to computers.
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Definition
| An ohm is a measure of resistence to electricity. Current can flow in typical computer cables and wires with a resistance of near zero ohms. |
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Term
Explain what a Joule (pronounced "jewel") is and how it relates to computers.
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Definition
| A measure of work energy. One joule is the work required to push an electrical current of one amp through a resistance of one ohm. A surge protector is rated in joules- the higher the better. The rating determines how much work it can expend before it can no longer protect the circuit from a power surge. |
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Term
Explain what a watt is and how it relates to computers.
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Definition
| A measure of electrical power. One watt is one joule per second and measures the total electrical power needed to operate a device. Watts can be calculated by multiplying volts by amps. The symbol for watts is W. An LCD computer monitor is rated at about 14 W. A DVD burner uses about 25 W when burning a DVD. |
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Term
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Definition
Alternating current goes back and forth, or oscillates, rather than traveling in only one direction. House current in the US is AC and oscillates 60 times in one second (60 hertz). AC volatage is constantly alternating from positive to negative, which causes the electricity to flow first in one direction and then the other. Voltage alternates from
+115 V to -115 V. |
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Term
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Definition
| DC travels in only one direction and is the type of current that most electronic devices require, including computers. |
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Term
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Definition
| A device that converts AC to DC |
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Term
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Definition
| A device that converts DC to AC |
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Term
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Definition
| A device that changes the ratio of voltage to current. |
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Term
| What type of fire extinguisher should be used for an electrical fire? |
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Definition
| Class C, which uses noconductive chemicals. |
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Term
True or False?
The power supply used in computers is both an inverter and a transformer? |
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Definition
False
The power supply used in computers is both a rectifier and a transformer |
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Term
| On a wall outlet, what do the three holes represent and how do you identify them? |
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Definition
| The three holes are for AC power hot, neutral, and ground. The skinny vertical slot is hot, the wide vertical slot is neutral, and the D shaped slot is ground. |
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Term
| What is a receptacle tester? |
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Definition
| A tester that plugs directly into the wall receptacle that is used to verify the hot, neutral, and ground are wired correctly. Usually there are LED lights to show these results. |
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Term
| What is ESD and why must you protect computer equipment from it? |
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Definition
| electrostatic discharge is an electrical charge at rest. This can build up un-noticed on a person simply by walking and moving. When two objects with dissimilar electrical charges touch, electricity passes between them until the dissimilar charges become equal. If you feel the discharge you released at least 1,500 volts. If you can hear the discharge you released at least 6,000 volts. It only takes 10 volts to damage an electronic component! You may not ever hear or feel it! |
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Term
| What is a ground bracelet? |
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Definition
| A strap around your wrist that has an alligator clip which connects to the computer case or other grounding surface to prevent ESD. |
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Term
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Definition
| A specially designed mat that dissipates ESD and is commonly used by bench technicians who repair or assemble computers. |
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Term
| What is an antistatic bag? |
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Definition
| A bag that acts as a type of Faraday cage to protect against an electromagnetic field. Commonly used to store computer components. |
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Term
| What is a POST diagnostic card? |
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Definition
| Assists in discovering and reporting computer errors when the computer first turns on before the Operating System starts. |
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Term
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Definition
| Basic input/output system. Firmware that can control much of a computer's input/output functions, such as communication with the keyboard and monitor. |
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Term
| What is a power supply tester? |
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Definition
| Tester used to measure the output of each connector coming from the power supply. |
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Term
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Definition
| general purpose tool used to measure several characteristics of electricity in a variety of devices. |
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Term
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Definition
| Plug used to test a port in a computer or other devices to make sure the port is working and might also test the throughput or speed of the port. |
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Term
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Definition
| material safety data sheet, explains how to properly handle substances such as chemical solvents and how to dispose of them. Physical data, toxicity, health effects, first aid, storage, shipping, disposal, and spill procedures. |
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Term
| Which is faster, a High-Speed USB port or a SuperSpeed USB port? |
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Definition
Superspeed is fastest
USB 1.1 (Original) 12 Mbps or 1.5 Mbps
USB 2.0 (High-Speed) 480 Mbps
USB 3.0 (SuperSpeed) 5 Gbps |
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Term
| What type of output does an S/PDIF port provide? |
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Definition
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Term
| List five types of video ports. |
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Definition
DVI
VGA
HDMI
S-Video
DisplayPort |
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Term
| What should be the setting for a dual-voltage selector switch on a power supply when using the computer in the United States? |
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Definition
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Term
Hot wires in home wiring are normally colored _____
Ground wires are normally colored _____
Neutral wires are normally colored _____ |
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Definition
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Term
| Why is a power supply dangerous even after the power is disconnected? |
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Definition
| Power supplies have large capacitors in them. These capacitors store electricity in them even when mains power is shut off. If you were to touch the connections on the bottom of the capacitors, you could receive a potentially lethal shock. For this reason, you should never disassemble a power supply unless you have received training in how to properly discharge the capacitors. |
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Term
| What three purposes are accomplished by the motherboard BIOS? |
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Definition
| The BIOS is used to manage simple devices (system BIOS), the BIOS is used to start the computer (startup BIOS), and the BIOS is used to change settings on the motherboard (CMOS setup). |
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