Faculty of Information Technology & Multimedia

FACULTY OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY & MULTIMEDIA

COMMUNICATION

SEMESTER 3 / 2011

CBCA2103

COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE

CBCA2103 Computer Architecture

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Table of Content

1. Introduction 3

2. Objective 3

3. Content

3.1 The CPU 4

3.2 Storage subsystem 5

3.3 Motherboard and peripherals 5

3.4 System Memory 6

3.5 Sound Subsystem 6

3.6 Video subsystem 7

3.7 Operating system 8

4. Problem Identification and Suggestion 10

5. Advantage and Disadvantage 10

6. Summarization and Conclusion 11

7. Appendices 12

CBCA2103 Computer Architecture

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1. Introduction

Great advancement in the field of science and technology has resulted into the invention

of numerous devices, which have made our life easy and comfortable. Among the

devices, which are widely used in the present time, is computer. Indeed computer has

become basis need of modern people. There is a symbol of modernity. Computers are

useful in business, in education and home. Computer has made it easier for people to

communicate in addition to saving time and money. Nowadays, computer has been

transform to the next level where become a medium for entertainment purpose such as

playing video clips, hearing music, playing games and more. The technology of computer

has increased rapidly over the ICT market over the world, and almost every day we can

be exposing with new technology of this computer world. Selecting a suitable system of

computer is very important based on the purpose of the usage. Some people like high end

system to perform certain activities, such as playing games, do some image enhancement

and multimedia work. Maybe average budget systems which can perform moderate task

such as do office work. It depend on the user itself on how their want the system to be.

2. Objective

For this assignment I am choosing to build a gaming computer system which is

absolutely high-end product. Today’s PC games and computer intense applications need a

computing platform that delivers maximum multi-threaded CPU support and eye-popping

graphics support. First we have to know what the output demand from the system is. No

wonder we need a better result on high quality resolution, graphic acceleration, 3D (third

dimensional) output with outstanding graphic and sound quality, and also the durability

(temperature, power, life-time).To obtain all this requirement have figure up the greatest

machine ever had which is Area 51 ALX Desktop. This is the most powerful Alienware

Desktop ever built by the company named DELL. Even though this PC (Personal

Computer) has been built by this company, but the internal components are from various

well-known manufacturer such as Intel, NVDIA, Kingston and many more.

CBCA2103 Computer Architecture

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3. Content

3.1 The CPU

A CPU (Central Processing Unit) controls the functions of most electronic products. The

CPU accepts the input data, processes the information and sends it to the component that

is in charge of executing the action.CPU size refers to the unit's power to perform tasks

and the amount of memory space it contains. 16-bit and 32-bit have become the standard

CPU size and can be found in personal computers, laptops, cell phones and other

electronic devices that can perform a variety of tasks. 64-bit CPUs are becoming

increasingly popular in high-end personal computers and laptops.

Area 51 ALX Desktop comes with Intel® Core™ i7-980X Processor Extreme Edition

CPU. This CPU (Central Processing Unit) is powered by Intel Corporation. i7 is the

upgrade of Core 2 Duo processor. With the clock speed equals to 3.33GHz, it can

perform any activities within a short time. Clock speed like a stopwatch, clock speed

measures how fast a processor performs an activity – which activity depends upon how