Michael Orchard

16/09/13

Websites used for research: http://www.ehow.com/

http://www.techterms.com/

Functions and definitions of computer components

Motherboard: The foundations of a computer, so everything must be connected to it. It offers the connections that allows all the computer components to communicate with each other.

Graphics Card: An expansion card which allows a computer to produce videos, graphics and images quicker. It communicates with the motherboard and the monitor where it takes information from the CPU and sends it to the monitor where it produces images and graphics

Power supply: A vital part of the computer which converts electrical power from a socket (AC) to a better type and voltage (DC). It communicates with several components, such as the motherboard, hard drive and optical drive to pass on electrical power to allow the components to work.

Network Card: An extension card which allows a pc to connect and communicate with servers and other computers. It is connected to the motherboard and after it connects to Wi-Fi or Ethernet, it communicates with the Wi-Fi or Ethernet source to establish an internet or network connection.

Sound Card: An expansion card which allows a computer to produce audio that can be heard from headphones or speakers. It communicates with the motherboard to send information to the speakers to produce sound.

CPU: Component which controls most parts of the computer. It processes information and communicates with the necessary components in the computer by sending the information to them, allowing them to do what they do.

Optical Drive: A component of a computer which uses lasers to read or write data onto optical discs such as CDs, DVDs and Blu-Ray Discs. A common way of distributing computer software. It communicates with the CPU, which reads or writes data onto the optical disc in the optical drive.

Hard Drive: A component which permanently stores data and programs. It communicates with the motherboard to save information on the computer and to allow the user to access information saved on it.

BIOS: (Basic Input/Output System) A chip, connected to the motherboard, which contains the setup and instructions on how to setup the computer and show how it operates. It communicates with the monitor to show instillation instructions when a program is being installed on a computer.

Cache: A form of high speed memory which accesses data quickly. It works with RAM and communicates with the CPU to allow access to memory and information in the computer systems cache.

Ports: A connection point on the computer, used to connect with a wide range of devices. For example, USB ports connect with USB items, such as memory sticks, keyboards and mice, serial ports can be used to connect to modems and parallel ports can connect to printers. Ports Video Card: An extension card, similar communicate with the CPU which takes in to a graphics card, but allows faster information from external items which are rendering and better detail of videos. connected to ports, then the CPU communicates It communicates with the monitor to with other components to allow communication display the videos on the monitor between a computer part and the port. For screen. example, when copying data to a USB stick, the CPU communicates with the hard drive, then the hard drive sends the copied data to the CPU then the CPU saves it on the USB stick.

RAM (Random Access Memory): Stores data from each of a computers running programs to make using programs faster and smoother. It communicates with the CPU and motherboard to process information quickly.

SATA: (Serial Advanced Technology Attachment) A component used to connect adapters to mass storage devices like the hard drive. It communicates with the motherboard and components like the hard drive and optical drive to create a connection between them and the motherboard.

Fan: Used to keep the computer cool, specifically the CPU. The fan communicates with the CPU by turning and pulling in more cool air when the CPU reaches high temperatures. If it gets too hot, the computer can lock itself whilst the fan continues to try to cool down the CPU.

Computer Chips: Small chips which is connected to the motherboard. They have a range of purposes, like memory, calculation or control. Information on chips is communicated in binary, and communicates with the motherboard and a specific computer component to carry out its task such as to store and display memory.

IDE: (Integrated Drive Electronics) A cable used to connect devices like optical drives and hard drives to the motherboard. It is considered to be a replacement of SATA. Similarly to SATA it communicates with the motherboard and components it is attached to.

Controller: An component that controls the transfer of data in a computer. Controllers are required to communicate with parts of the computer such as the optical drive and monitor to control data that is being read or written onto a disc or data being displayed on the monitor.

HCI (Human Computer Interface): Human Computer Interface refers to the methods that people use to interact with computers. HCI involves interface devices and graphical user interfaces. Interface Device: An interface device is a piece of hardware which allows interaction between a person and a computer. Forms of interface device include keyboard and mouse for computers, touchscreens for mobile devices and controllers for consoles such as the Xbox 360 as shown in figure 1 Ergonomic Design: Ergonomic Design is the science of designing a product which has maximum efficiency and productivity. This involves how a product is shaped, what it is made, how much is weighs, etc. If a product isn’t ergonomically designed it may cause stress, fatigue or even inuury on the user. Computers and games consoles need to follow ergonomic design, otherwise they might not work well. An example of good ergonomic design is the keyboard. It has a good ergonomic design as it fits its purpose well because of its shape and how it works. Button Configurations: Button Configurations refers to the layout of buttons on a device and what they are programmed to do. In some games it is possible to change the button configuration to make it easier for the player to play the game. An example of a bad button configuration is if the player needs to press a specific button combination, but cannot because they cannot reach one of the buttons. User Centred Design: User Centred Design is the process of designing a product with the target audiences wants, needs and limitations being considered in every stage of development. This is important in game development as if the players wants and needs are considered, the game will likely be substantially better. Also if the limitations are considered it should make the game more fair, as there would be no complex button configurations or impossible parts of the game that no one can get past Portability: Portability is a term used to describe how many devices a game or piece of software can be used on. If a game can be played on a wide range of devices, for example Fifa, it is more portable than a version exclusive such as Halo on the Xbox. If a game is very portable, it will have a larger target audience and will likely sell better than games that are released on only one platform.

Figure 1: The Xbox 360 controller, an example of an interface device

CPU: The CPU is a vital piece of computer hardware which processes information which is sent to it and then sends it to other computer hardware components so that the computer can carry out a task. These actions include loading an application, typing text and pressing a button to execute an action in a game. CPUs are often rated in their clock speed and how much cache memory they have. Clock Speed is the amount of information in GHz that a CPU can process per second. Cache Memory is memory used by the CPU which reduces the amount of time it takes to access memory by storing information for frequently used memory locations. Examples of CPUs Intel: Intel CPUs are one of the most popular types of CPU. They have been used in Apple, Dell, HP, Sony and Samsung devices. Typically, Intel CPUs have smaller clock speeds than other types of CPU, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing because it means that Intel CPUs use less power and are more efficient at processing information. The Intel i5-2500k, as shown in figure 2 is arguably one if Intel’s best CPUs for its price and performance. It has a clock speed of 3.3 GHz and 6 MB of cache memory. Is costs around £170. AMD: AMD CPUs are the second most popular type of CPU, after Intel. AMD CPUs are usually cheaper than Intel CPUs with roughly the same performance, however, AMD processors are targeted more at gamers whereas Intel focuses more on general computer use. One of their better CPUs, the AMD Phenom II X4 980 has a clock speed of 3.7 GHz and 2 MB of Cache Memory. This CPU is much cheaper than the Intel one at around £90

Figure 2: The Intel i5-2500k central processing unit

Compared to Intel, the AMD processor has a higher clock speed to help improve processing of information for games, but a lower amount of cache memory, meaning Intel has more space for information in Cache Memory and loading frequently used information faster. Address/Data bus: An Address/Data bus is a piece of computer hardware which acts as a circuit to connect one piece of hardware on the motherboard to another. The more data a bus can handle, the faster it can transfer information. These are often used with CPUs to help process information faster. One example of a bus being used with the CPU is the AGB bus which connects the CPU to the memory and a video card, which helps improve the speed of which animations are processed and displayed on screen.

Figure 3: The AMD Phenom II X4 980 central processing unit

GPU (Graphical Processor Unit): GPUs are similar to CPUs in the fact that they both process information, but GPUs are more focused on tasks relating to the graphics of games such as creating lighting and shading effects and rendering 3D environments for games, which would put strain on a usual CPU. Similarly to CPUS they are rated in their clock speeds and cache memory. Examples of GPUs AMD: AMD also make GPUs which appeal to gamers who need a good processor for the graphics of games they play at a budget price. Similarly to their CPUS, AMD GPUs are well priced for their specifications. The AMD Radeon HD 7850 as shown in figure 4, is a GPU made by AMD in 2012 which has a clock speed of 860 MHz and 1024 MiBs of Cache memory. It costs around £140 Nvidia: Nvidia is another type of GPU which usually has better performance than AMD GPUs, but for a more expensive price. The Nvidia GeForce GTX 780, as shown in figure 5 is one of their most recent GPUs which has a clock speed of 875 MHz and 3072 MiBs of cache memory. However it costs around £370 To conclude, the Nvidia GPU is much better than the AMD one , however it is more expensive. Arguably there is not much difference in the clock speeds of these two GPUs, so the AMD GPU might be better as it is only 15 MHz worse but over £200 cheaper.

Figure 4: The AMD Radeon HD 7850 GPU

Pixel: Small squares of colour that make up images or graphic user interfaces on computer displays. Polygon: A shape in a 3D environment which is made up of at least 3 lines which represents how tall, wide and deep the obuect is . Polygons can be used to make up obuects in 3D games NURBS (Non-Uniform Rational B-Spline): A representation of a 3D shape, which can be a standard shape, such as a cone, or a free-form shape such as a car. Used in CAD/CAM applications and Computer Graphics programs.

Figure 5: The Nvidia GeForce GTX 780 GPU

Memory: Memory refers to the amount of space a computer has for saving information. Examples of places where memory can be saved include hard drive, cache memory and RAM. RAM (Random Access Memory): RAM is a type of memory in the computer which stores data from each of a computers running programs to make using programs faster and smoother. It communicates with the CPU and motherboard to process information quickly. This data can be accessed randomly and stays as long as the computer is turned on. There are many different types of RAM. A basic RAM card is shown in Figure 6. DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory): DRAM is a type of RAM which stores each piece of data in separate capacitors , which required less physical space than saving data statically. However, DRAM requires more power than other RAM types as the capacitors need to be refreshed frequently to keep their electrical charge. SRAM (Static Random Access Memory): SRAM is another type of RAM which stores data constantly as long as there is power is supplied to the chip using a static method. This means that SRAM is much faster and requires less power than DRAM, however SRAM cannot hold as much data as DRAM. RDRAM (Rambus Dynamic Random Access Memory): RDRAM is a type of DRAM which is made by Rambus. It is the fastest type of computer memory, however some motherboards cannot utilize it to its full potential. It is typically used for holding cache memory from the CPU and video memory from graphics/video cards

Figure 6: A RAM card

Display: Display refers to how graphics for a game or electronic device are displayed for the user. Examples of displays include monitors, prouectors and in-built screens. In-built Display: An in-built display is a form of display which is built in to the device. Examples of devices that use this include the iPhone and Nintendo DS because they are mobile devices and need a screen of some sort to show the devices graphics whilst on the go. External Display: External Display is a form of display which is not part of the device that it is displaying graphics for. Examples of devices that use external display include monitors, televisions and prouectors which can be connected to PCs and home games consoles, which don’t have a display method as part of the device. LCD (Liquid Crystal Display): LCD is a type of display which uses two sheets of polarising material, with liquid crystal solution between them, which produces pixels when electricity powers the monitor. Advantages of LCD include that it is lighter and takes up less space than other display methods such as CRT (Cathode Ray Tube). Also they give off low radiation and support high screen resolutions. However LCD display is expensive, fragile and has worse colour accuracy than other display types. LCD display is used in a wide range of devices such as computer monitors, calculators and televisions. Colour/Monochrome Display: Colour display simply refers to any display method which is capable of using a wide range of colours. Monochrome display refers to a display method which can only use 1 colour, but many different shades of that colour. An example of monochrome display is shown in figure 7.

Figure 7: LCD display used to show baseball scorings

Sound Cards: Sound Cards are pieces of computer hardware which allows a computer to produce audio that can be heard from headphones or speakers which are connected to a computer. It communicates with the motherboard to send information to the speakers to produce sound. An example of a sound card is the Asustek Xonar Essence STK as shown in figure 8 Audio Processors: Audio Processors are used to alter audio signals to improve the quality of the sound. Features that can be changed include the volume, tone and pitch of sounds that are made by a computer. These can come in the form of computer software or hardware devices. Channels: When referring to audio, a channel is a stream of audio information. Audio with more channels can be used better for speaker layouts such as surround sound as different channels can be designated to certain speakers to make the audio sound more immersive. Monophonic Sound/Stereophonic Sound: Monophonic sound (also called mono sound) uses a single channel of audio for sound output. Monophonic sound is the most basic form of sound output as it usually uses uust one speaker. Stereophonic sound (also called stereo sound) sends sound across two channels for sound output, unlike monophonic, which only uses one channel. The Figure 8: The Asustek Xonar Essence STK , sounds from stereophonic sound are recorded on two different sources, and then are mixed, so an example of a sound card some sounds come out to the right and left of the output device, such as a speaker. Stereophonic sound is considered the better of the two because it has the ability to combine sounds to make other sounds, whereas monophonic is uust one sound. Surround Sound: Surround sound is a term which describes a type of audio output which sounds like it “surrounds the listener” It usually uses three or more speakers, which are placed in front, behind and to the sides of the listener, to create a surrounding area of sound. This method of audio output is used in cinemas and home theatre systems. There are many different ways to setup surround sound, but they all share the aim of surrounding the listener with audio for an immersive experience. For example, 5.1 surround sound is the most common type, with five speakers and a low frequency subwoofer channel to create a surround sound experience. There are also 6.1 and 7.1 setups as well as others, which use 6 or 7 speakers and one low frequency subwoofer. Media Communications Processor: A Media Communications Processor is a chipset made by Nvidia, as shown in figure 9 which is used in PCs and game consoles such as the original Xbox from 2001. The aim of this chipset is to enhance sound quality and allow stereophonic and surround sound on electrical devices.

Figure 9: The Media Communications Processor by Nvidia

Game Storage Medium: Game Storage Mediums are ways that games are stored. This includes Optical discs, flash memory and CDs Forms of Game Storage Mediums: Flash Memory (Figure 10): Used for storing and transferring data from PCs and digital devices. Examples for uses of Flash Memory include Digital cameras, USB flash drives and MP3 Players. Uses an electronic device to write and erase data in large blocks instead of individual bytes. In order to use flash memory, the computer needs a specific port that can read the device which uses flash memory, for example a USB port is needed to read a USB flash drive. Maximum storage capacity varies on what sort of flash memory you save the game to, but a USB Flash drive can have up to 16 MBs. They are easy to carry around as they are portable and can be used on many different devices. However, they are prone to breaking and other storage mediums have more space available Figure 10: A USB Flash Drive DVD (Figure 11): A type of optical disc, which can hold between 4.7 GB and 17 GB of data, which are used to store information. DVD stands for Digital Versatile Disc, because it can hold a range of data, from full length movies and computer programs. In order to read DVDs a DVD-ROM drive is required, which can also read CDs too. In order to watch DVD movies and play DVD video games, a capable graphics card is required. Single layered DVDs can hold up to 8.74 GBs, whereas a double layered DVD can hold double that amount. Advantages of DVDs include that they are mass produced and fairly cheap. Also they have a large storage capacity. But can easily be damaged by scratching or breaking and they are slower at loading data than flash memory. Figure 11: A USB Flash Drive Optical Disc: An optical disc is a disc which holds digital information and is read and has data written on it using a laser in an optical disc drive. The most common types are CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray discs. CDs require a CD drive to read and write data to them. DVDs require a DVD drive to write data to them, which also reads CDs and Blu-rays require a Blu-ray drive, which can read CDs and DVDs too, so Blu-ray drives are the superior way to read and write data onto optical discs. Optical Discs have many different storage capacities depending on the device they are designed for. They are easy to store and handle and they are fairly cheap. However, data saved to optical discs is permanent and cannot be deleted and the speed at which data can be accessed from optical discs is slower than other game storage mediums.

Universal Media Disc (Figure 12): A type of disc, developed by Sony, which holds data for PlayStation Portable games and movies to be played on a PSP handheld console. It is shaped differently to usual CDs. It is a small disc inside of a plastic case. However it is unlikely that Sony will release a UMD player, since the PSP already exists and people who don’t own a PSP would buy their movies on DVDs and Blu-ray discs. Universal Media Discs have a maximum storage capacity of 1.8 GBs. This disc format can hold games, movies and music, however they can only be used for the PSP. Magnetic Tape Storage (Figure 13): This form of storage uses a magnetic tape disc, which is a disc shaped roll of plastic film, which is found in cassettes and cartridges. The maximum storage capacity on a piece of magnetic tape is 29.5 GB. Magnetic Tape is great for archiving data and has a high storage capacity. However most modern day types of storage are replacing magnetic tape because the tape was easy to damage and it sometimes absorbed moisture into the binder of the tape, leaving it unusable. Tape recorders and video tape recorders are used to write and read data from magnetic tape. Piracy: It is possible to use some of these types of storage to create pirated copies of games. It is possible to create homebrew game data on PSP Flash memory cards, to get free illegitimate copies of PSP games. Also, DVD and optical disc piracy exists where fake copies of games are put on discs, similarly to DVD piracy with movies. Furthermore, it is possible to make illegitimate movies and games on Universal Media Discs, making the PSP a device on which pirated products could be used on. However, the Magnetic tape is the least susceptible to piracy, because it was difficult to manipulate recordings without damaging the tape. Furthermore, nowadays CDs are a much more common storage format, with the modern generation owning DVD players, computers and games consoles instead of older tape recorders.

Figure 13: A Magnetic Tape Cassette Figure 12: A Universal Media Disc being inserted into a PSP

Interface Devices: Interface devices are hardware devices which are used to interact with electrical devices. Examples of interface devices include Keyboards and mice, console controllers and touchscreens for mobile devices. Types of Interface Device Paddle (Figure 14): A type of game controller with a round wheel and one or more buttons. The wheel is often used for movement and the buttons are used to execute actions and commands. The Atari 2600 is an example of a console Figure 14: Paddle controllers for that used paddles and figure 14 shows the paddles for the Atari 2600. the Atari 2600 Joystick (Figure 15): A game controlled that uses a large stick which pivots on one space. The direction it is tilted in is used to move in menus, games, etc. The stick can also have buttons and triggers on it, which are used to execute actions and commands, as well as some buttons on the base of the controller. An example of a use of uoysticks is for controlling an arcade cabinet. Figure 15 shows an example of an arcade uoystick. Keyboard: Keyboards are often used as the interface device for PCs. Keyboards are boards covered in buttons which are represented by each letter of the alphabet and numbers 0-9 and other buttons for specific keyboard commands. Joypad (figure 16): An interface device which is used to control actions in games for games consoles. Typically they feature a wide range of buttons, 2 analog sticks and 2 triggers. The PlayStation 3 is an example of a console that uses a uoypad as Figure 15: Arcade Joystick shown in figure 16 Mouse: The mouse is used with the keyboard in PC gaming, which is often used to select options. By moving the mouse, the player moves a cursor on the screen. The player can select an option by clicking the left button on the mouse. Wheel: A racing wheel controller is often used for driving games, to give an immersive and realistic experience. These can be used on PC, Console and even Arcade games. By turning the steering wheel, the player can control their car in the game similarly to a car in real life. F1 2010 for PS3 is an example of a game that uses a steering wheel.

Figure 16: PS3 Joypad

Pedals: These work with a steering wheel and are used to control acceleration and braking in racing games by pushing on the pedals with your feet like a real car. Need for Speed Underground for PC is an example of a game that can use pedals Eye Toy (Figure 17): Eye Toy refers to a camera like device which tracks the players physical movements to execute actions in the game . These are very popular in fitness games and immersive sports games. Kinect for Xbox 360 is an example of an eye toy as shown in figure 17.

Figure 17: Kinect for Xbox 360

Ports: Ports are the sockets on electrical devices where cables can be plugged into to connect the device with external devices such as interface devices, printers, memory sticks, etc. Wired and Wireless controllers: Wired Controllers are interface devices for games consoles that require a wire to be connected to a port on the games device to work. Wireless controllers can connect to a console wirelessly and do not require a port to connect. They emit radio waves, which are picked up by the console and then the information is sent to the CPU to control the game. Analogue Wireless Signals: Analogue and digital are 2 different methods of transferring data through electrical signals. Analogue is the linear transmission of a wireless signal in the form that it was originally made. Analogue signals are usually used for transmitting sound through features such as radio. Out of the 2, analogue is simpler and much cheaper, but the sound can be distorted or given unwanted noise over the sound being transmitted. An example of a use for analogue wireless signals is for transmitting radio signals from a wireless security camera, as shown in figure 18, and for transmitting music radio signals. Digital Wireless Signals: Digital electrical signals are converted into binary before transmission and are more commonly used in gaming and computing. Digital signals have better sound quality and you can easily add effects over them without affecting the sound quality. However, they are more expensive than analogue signals. Examples of uses for digital wireless signals include allowing a wireless games console controller and a games console to communicate to allow a gamer to control a game, as shown in figure 19 and accessing wireless hard drives from a computer

Figure 18: A wireless security camera which uses analogue wireless signals

Figure 19: A wireless Xbox 360 Controller which uses digital wireless signals

Connectivity: Connectivity is used to describe a device or programs to link with other programs, devices or internet/Wi-Fi sources. Stand Alone: This is where a piece of hardware is not connected to anything else and runs by itself Controller Ports: Ports which are used to connect games console controllers to a games console or PC. Usually they are USB ports. Examples of consoles that use this include the Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3 and PS4. Local Area Network (LAN): A wireless computer network which inter connects computers in a limited area. Examples of such areas include homes, schools or workplaces using network media. Examples of uses for Local Area Networks include managing disk drives, printers and network traffic. Wide Area Network (WAN): A network type that covers a broad area using a private or public network. For example, Businesses and the government utilize WANs to perform tasks such as relaying data among employees, clients, buyers and suppliers from various geographical locations. Internet: A global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard internet protocol to serve several billion users worldwide from their own electrical devices. The internet consists of millions of networks which are all different. The internet can be used for a wide range of purposes such as shopping, listening to music and playing games with friends. Broadband: A type of data transmission which is used to carry several channels of information at once to an electrical device. Examples of this include an internet connection to a laptop or a television signal to cable TV. Broadband can be transmitted using wireless signals and fibre optic cables.

Figure 20: The logo for Wi-Fi

Wireless General Package Radio Service (GPRS): A cellular networking service which supports communication such as texting, emailing and SMS on mobile devices. This was the standard wireless messaging network before 3G and 4G became very popular. Wireless Application Protocol (WAP): The protocol for transferring documents over a computer network to wireless devices. WAP supports features on mobile devices such as emails, stock market prices and allowing the device to access certain websites by browsing the world wide web. Wi-Fi: A wireless network technology which uses radio waves to provide high speed internet connections to a range of electrical devices such as games consoles, computers and mobile devices. Examples of uses of Wi-Fi include connecting devices such as laptops and mobile devices to the internet and allowing computers and games consoles such as the PSP and Nintendo DS to communicate with another computer, PSP or Nintendo DS. Figure 20 shows the logo that represents a nearby Wi-Fi connection is available. Bluetooth: A wireless network type which is used to connect wireless devices over short distances without wires. Examples od connections with Bluetooth include connecting phones to satnavs and phones and wireless speakers.

Power Supply: A piece of hardware which transfers electrical power from a mains electricity supply to an electrical device. Examples of devices that use power supplies include computers and games consoles. Internal Battery: Internal Batteries are used most in wireless devices such as the iPhone and Nintendo DS. Internal batteries are charged by a mains electricity source and they hold this electricity which is used to power these wireless devices on the go. When the battery gets low on electricity, it needs to be recharged at a mains electricity source again. Figure 21 shows an iPhone which uses an internal battery External Source: An external source is a power supply which is outside of the device it powers . This includes power packs for games consoles like the Xbox 360 and PS3. These directly transfer electrical power to the device to power it so when the electricity is cut off, the device will lose power. Figure 22 shows an external power pack for the Xbox 360.

Figure 21: The iPhone, which uses an internal battery

Figure 22: An external power pack for an Xbox 360