Unit 11: Vocabulary

Please study the 15 vocabulary terms below. Then press the Mark Complete button to continue.
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BIOS (basic input output system)
normally a ROM program that controls the base functionality of the computer such as video, hard drives, optical drives, and keyboard
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The technician needed to upgrade the BIOS before installing a faster processor in the workstation.
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chipset
a collection of integrated circuits on the motherboard designed to perform certain tasks such as controlling components and system buses
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Speccing a low-end chipset is not a good way to save money when building a new PC.
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coprocessor
any computer processor or portion of the CPU which assists the main processor with a highly specialized task
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Many older microprocessors included a coprocessor to speed up floating-point calculations.
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graphics card
a component of a computer which is designed to convert a binary image stored in memory to a display medium
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The latest and greatest games normally require the latest and greatest graphics cards.
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GPU (Graphics Processing Unit)
a specialized coprocessor designed to handle graphical calculations such as 3D modeling and games
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Most computers come specced with a weak GPU embedded into the motherboard and designed for business applications and simple 2D games.
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microprocessor
an electronic device constructed from microscopic transistors on a single integrated circuit
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The microprocessor is often thought to be the central brain of a computer because it performs most of the calculations.
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motherboard
the main circuit board in a computer that carries the system buses, sockets for processors, memory modules, etc.
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The processor, RAM, and PCI cards plug directly into the motherboard.
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NIC (network interface card)
a wired or increasingly wireless PCI or USB device that connects a computer to a network
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Almost every computer that ships today has some sort of NIC, so it can attach to a network.
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PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect)
a standard 32-bit bus running at 132 MB/s
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The network card used a PCI bus connector which snapped into the motherboard.
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PCI Express (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express)
a newer bus type used mainly for graphic cards and running at speeds up to 16,000 MB/s
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The boy grinned ear-to-ear when he received a new PCI Express graphics card for Christmas.
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power supply
a separate unit or part of a circuit that supplies the correct amount of electrical current to a computer system
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Nick upgraded to a 600 watt power supply when he added a new graphics card and two more hard drives.
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SATA (Serial ATA)
a widely used bus for connecting hard disk drives and similar devices to the motherboard
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The SSD storage device came with a SATA connection running at 6 Gbit/s.
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sound card
a hardware component which allows a computer to play and record audio
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The musician installed a dedicated sound card to replace the cheap one that came with his computer.
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spec (specification)
a clear set of technical or quantitative requirements
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The lead technician became angry when his assistant bought equipment outside the specification.
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USB (Universal Serial Bus)
a fast and convenient computer technology allowing the connection of common peripherals, such as digital cameras, scanners, external hard drives, etc.
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USB technology is so fast and easy to use, it is hard to even remember what similar connection types existed before it.
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