Data Flow & CPU Basics
The three-step process through which data flows through a computer.
What is Input, Processing, and Output?
The main circuit board that enables all internal components in a computer to communicate.
What is the Motherboard (or System Board)?
Cooling systems that rely on electrically powered mechanical parts, such as fans.
What is Active Cooling?
This blue, 15-pin analog connector with three rows of five pins is the oldest display interface still found on older monitors.
What is VGA (Video Graphics Array)?
The temporary system memory that loses all of its stored data as soon as the computer is powered off.
What is RAM?
Thin, fragile wafers of silicon and tiny transistors packaged in a robust shell that handle most math operations.
What is a Central Processing Unit (or CPU / Microprocessor)?
Units used to measure CPU speed in the 1980s and 1990s, representing millions of cycles per second.
What is Megahertz (MHz)?
This internal component converts AC power from a wall outlet into DC power and distributes it to the motherboard and other PC parts.
What is a Power Supply Unit (PSU)?
The current standard interface for televisions and computer monitors that carries both high-definition video and audio signals over a single cable.
What is HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface)?
The delivery of computing services—including servers, storage, databases, networking, and software—over the Internet instead of running them on local hardware.
What is the Cloud (or Cloud Computing)?
The chip manufacturer that holds the largest market share in desktop and laptop CPUs.
What is Intel?
Small amounts of super-fast memory embedded directly inside the CPU chip to reduce fetch times from main RAM.
What is Cache (or CPU Cache)?
A block of metal affixed to a chip that draws heat away without using moving parts or electricity.
What is a Passive Heat Sink?
This modern, reversible USB connector type can be plugged in upside down or right side up without damaging the port.
What is USB Type-C?
Unlike a LAN that covers a single building, this type of telecommunication network connects computers across large geographic distances, cities, or continents.
What is a WAN (Wide Area Network)?
Other than Intel, this company is the major competitor manufacturing CPUs for desktop and laptop computers.
What is AMD (or Advanced Micro Devices)?
The standard unit of measurement used to measure modern CPU speeds in billions of cycles per second.
What is Gigahertz (GHz)?
Advanced cooling setup that uses sealed tubing, and a pump to carry heat away from chips to a radiator.
What is Liquid Cooling?
An 8-pin rectangular plastic connector with a top release tab used to connect computers to a wired Ethernet network.
What is an RJ-45 connector?
Long, thin circuit boards used to install system memory sticks into a desktop motherboard.
What are DIMMs (Dual Inline Memory Modules)?
The design company that creates the vast majority of CPUs used in mobile devices like smartphones and tablets.
What is ARM Holdings?
The measurement equal to one cycle per second under perfect conditions.
What is 1 Hertz (Hz)?
The substance placed between a CPU chip and a heat sink to maximize thermal transfer.
What is Thermal Paste?
This near-square USB connector type is commonly found on the device end of full-size peripherals like desktop printers and scanners.
What is USB Type-B?
The legacy, built-in motherboard setup firmware that initializes hardware during startup before handing control over to the operating system.
What is BIOS (Basic Input/Output System)?