a) Describe three types of computers according to their structure speed and architecture. b) Briefly explain the purpose of each of the following elements of a...

      

a) Describe three types of computers according to their structure speed and architecture.
b) Briefly explain the purpose of each of the following elements of a computer system:
i) The system bus.
ii) The motherboard.
iii) The video card.

  

Answers


Kavungya
a) Computer types
i) Supercomputers.
Supercomputers using custom CPUs traditionally gained their speed over conventional
computers through the use of innovative designs that allow them to perform many tasks in
parallel, as well as complex detail engineering.
They tend to be specialized for certain types of computation, usually numerical calculations, and
perform poorly at more general computing tasks. Their memory hierarchy is very carefully
designed to ensure the processor is kept fed with data and instructions at all times - in fact, much
of the performance difference between slower computers and supercomputers is due to the
memory hierarchy. Their 110 systems tend to be designed to support high bandwidth, with
latency less of an issue, because supercomputers are not used for transaction processing
The largest and most powerful. Used to process large amounts of data very quickly. Useful for
metrological or astronomical applications. Examples include Cray and Fujitsu
ii) Mainframe computers.
Large computers in terms of price, power and size. Require a carefully controlled environment
and specialist staff to operate them used for centralized processing for large commercial
organizations. Manufacturers include International Business Machine (IBM).
iii) Minicomputers.
Their size, speed and capabilities lie somewhere between mainframes and microcomputers. Used
as departmental computers in large organizations or as the main computer in medium-sized
organizations
Manufacturers of mini computers include IBM and International Computer Limited (ICL).

b) Purpose of the computer system elements
(i) System bus
Is a single computer bus that connects the major components of a computer system. The
technique was developed to reduce costs and improve modularity. It combines the functions of a
data bus to carry information, an address bus to determine where it should be sent, and a control
bus to determine its operation
(ii) Motherboard
Is the central printed circuit board (PCB) in many modern computers and holds many of the
crucial components of the system, providing connectors for other peripherals. The motherboard
is sometimes known as the main, board, system board, or, on Apple computers, the logic board.
(iii) Video card
Is an expansion card which generates output images to a display. Most video cards offer various
functions such as accelerated rendering of 3D scenes and 2D graphics, MPEG-2/MPEG-4
decoding, TV output, or the ability to connect multiple monitors (multi-monitor).
Kavungya answered the question on May 13, 2019 at 11:14


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