Transcript
Exemplar for internal assessment resource Technology for Achievement Standard 91080 1.50
Exemplar for Internal Assessment Resource Technology Level 1
This exemplar supports assessment against:
Achievement Standard 91080
Demonstrate understanding of the common components of basic digital infrastructures
Student and grade boundary specific exemplar The material has been gathered from student material specific to an A or B assessment resource.
Date version published by Ministry of Education
December 2012 To support internal assessment from 2013
The following evidence consists of excerpts from students’ submissions for AS 91080. The examples are not complete in their own right but exemplify evidence for each grade boundary. At Merit the student’s submitted evidence also met all the requirements for Achieved; the evidence shown here just exemplifies the step up to Merit. At Excellence the student’s evidence also met all the requirements for Achieved and Merit grades, the evidence shown here just exemplifies the step up to Excellence. It should also be noted that all students covered, in their evidence, the requirements of Explanatory Note 3 of the standard.
© Crown 2011
Exemplar for internal assessment resource Technology for Achievement Standard 91080 1.50
Grade Boundary: Low Excellence 1.
To achieve with Excellence the students must demonstrate comprehensive understanding of the common components of basic digital infrastructures. This involves discussing the characteristics and limitations of the connections that carry data between components and the key characteristics used to specify each kind of component. The characteristics and limitations are discussed; bullets or table format could enhance the readability of this evidence (page 1). Key characteristics of components (not just the connections) are discussed with tradeoffs, efficiencies, costs and context of use covered in a minimal way in the example (page 1). Whilst use of the card for gaming has been highlighted, more detail could have been given to compare other contexts of use and therefore provide a more comprehensive discussion of components, trade-offs, efficiencies and costs. Had the student personalised their response a clearer understanding could have been demonstrated.
© Crown 2011
Student 1 page 1: Low Excellence
Hardware components Modem or Router Characteristics and limitations of connections The Modem or Router is the box that sits between and connects your computer and the phone jack. On a typical Modem or Router you will have a phone port, one or more LAN ports (Ethernet or USB), and a power connection, although a Wi‐Fi aerial is now also common. The phone and power connections are a default standard, the LAN ports and Wi‐Fi aerial have more options though. A modem will have at least one LAN connection to join it to the computer, although some models will have a USB and an Ethernet connection. A router will have more; anywhere from 4 to 8 is common, and business versions can have up to 16 or 32 ports. Speeds over these connections are standardised with home use having 10 or 100 Mbps connections and business up to 1000 Mbps or Gigabit connections. The cables going to these ports could be USB or Ethernet, with Ethernet being the more common. USB 1.0 and 2.0 cables have a maximum length of 5m, USB 3.0 is 3m. Ethernet Cat5 and 6 cables have approximately 100m to work with. The Wi‐Fi aerial has a range of approximately 30 ‐ 60m indoors depending on what sort of walls and obstacles it needs to travel through and what standard it uses 802.11g or 802.11n. The g standard’s maximum speed is about 54 Mbps and n is 600 Mbps although interference with/between cordless phones and microwaves do effect this.
Discussed Key characteristics used to specify components, trade‐offs, efficiencies, costs, context of use Extension cards Extension cards come in many types so I will focus on Graphics cards. It can be on‐board (part of a motherboard) or its own separate card. The trade‐off between on board and extension is that on board although smaller and cheaper (as a % of the motherboard) has to take resources like memory away from other components to run. A Graphics card is able to have all its own resources, but is larger and more expensive. On board also means that if you need better graphics for the latest game you have to upgrade the whole motherboard (or install a new graphics card), whereas a graphics card can be unplugged and updated with a new one without needing to replace the motherboard.
Exemplar for internal assessment resource Technology for Achievement Standard 91080 1.50
Grade Boundary: High Merit 2.
To achieve with Merit students are required to demonstrate in-depth understanding of the common components of basic digital infrastructures. This involves explaining how the purpose of components determines the connections between components and the typical flow of data along them. Key characteristics of components and how they limit their interoperability must be explained. The importance of procedures and protocols when installing or replacing a component or program must be explained. Purpose and connections explained. Data flow is shown as flow charts (pages 1 and 2), text alone would also be acceptable. Limits to interoperability have clarity as well as the content required (page 3). Procedures and protocols explain why steps should be followed (page 3). To move to Excellence the student would need to discuss how purpose determines connections. The evidence has some of the characteristics and limitations (pros and cons) required at excellence, e.g. tradeoffs and efficiencies, however, cost and context of use is also required.
© Crown 2011
Student 2 page 1: High Merit
Hardware components Extension cards Description, How purpose determines connections Extension cards extend the capacity of the motherboard by allowing a circuit board or ‘card’ to connect to it via a ‘slot’ or connection. PCIe, AGP and PCI are the common types of connections you will find on a motherboard with PCIe the fastest and PCI the slowest. The purpose of the extension card (graphics card, network card, USB expansion) gives the data and power requirements that are needed and so the connection (PCIe, AGP, PCI) will have been chosen to best support these.
PCIe 250 Mbit/s –16 GB/s
Graphics card
Motherboard AGP 266 Mbit/s – 2 GB/s
PCI 133 – 533 Mbit/s
USB expansion
… Memory Description, How purpose determines connections Computer memory or RAM comes in ‘sticks’ that consist of a central board or stick with several memory chips all attached to it. RAM is faster for the computer to access than a hard disk drive, but smaller data‐wise and volatile (unsaved when there is no power). So each new version (or generation) of RAM is trying to improve on the last version to speed the data transfer rate and size of data transferred. The RAM has a notch to stop an unsupported type of RAM being plugged into the motherboard so a motherboard built to run DDR3 at its optimum is not going to find DDR2 or 4 being plugged in and unable to understand how to use it. DDR2 400–1066 MT/s Motherboard Stick of RAM DDR3 800–2133 MT/s (DIMM) DDR4 2133–4266 MT/s
… CRT and LCD Monitors Description, How purpose determines connections Monitors show the user information from the computer and the programs running on it. CRT monitors have a cathode ray tube in them making them very thick. LCD monitors are much less thick and use less power. Monitors receive the information to show the user via a connection to the computers graphics card. Depending on what you will be using your monitor for and if it has inbuilt speakers or a microphone there will be one or more of these connections. Larger monitors need a higher resolution to look their best and that means more pixels of data needing to be shown at a time, leading to improvements in the connections. VGA is at the lowest end of the scale as it is an analog connector. DVI is a digital connector and has display and power management advantages over VGA. HDMI is a digital connector that can take an audio signal as well as its video signal. It is also able to take data in both directions unlike the other two connections allowing the monitor to act as a hub to transfer data between media devices and the computer. VGA – 585Mbit/s Monitor Video card DVI ‐ 3.96Gbit/s Motherboard HDMI – 10.2Gbit/s … Speakers (at least one additional output device) Description, How purpose determines connections A Speaker output sounds to the user. They can be built into the case, monitor or as a separate peripheral. They commonly use a 3.5mm audio jack into a soundcard, however, USB has become more common because a lot of the basic features of a soundcard can be emulated via software. Audio quality over a 3.5mm jack vs a USB connection (for audio, not data) is similar enough that the lack of a 3.5mm jack or powering the speakers over USB are what determine which connection to have. Monitor 3.5mm Jack 32–640 Kbit/s Sound card speakers Speakers Motherboard USB ‐ 32 kbps–6 Mbps Headphones Data rates found using 5.1 and 7.1 surround sound as a guide
… As the following are software there are no further connections to talk about …
Explained Key characteristics that limit interoperability Extension cards Extension cards interoperability is all about the connection. PCIe x16, PCI x1, AGP, etc all have a certain speed, power and size (inside the case) trade‐offs. PCIe x16 is used for Graphics cards and can transfer data at up to 16 Gbit/s, a PCI might be used for extra USB ports its max being only 533 Mbit/s. PCIe does have a larger footprint on the motherboard though so there is usually only one or two PCIe connections on a motherboard with room for others (PCI, AGP) fitting in around other hardware components on the lower left of the board. Printer Printers are peripherals and so it is the connections that limit interoperability. A printer connects to a computer through a USB connection, although an Ethernet or Wi‐Fi connection is common in business situations. USB is a common connection on a computer and the only issue with it is the distance you can have your printer from your computer. Ethernet can let the printer be further away, plugged into the computer or the network that the computer is part of. Wi‐Fi allows you to have the printer anywhere within signal of the of the access point and signed in as an allowed device but is slower than either of the other two connection types. All software
All software is designed with a particular architecture (32 bit / 64 bit) in mind. The code is compiled to run with that hardware instruction set. The CPU is looking for an Operating system e.g. Windows 86 (32 bit) or Windows 64 (64 bit) that runs the instructions it understands. The Operating system is expecting programs running on it to do the same.
Installation or replacement The following are the procedures and protocols you should take to install or replace components or software. It is important to follow these steps as they not only help you to successfully install or replace components but protect yourself and other components from damage. Any step marked with an * has the potential to damage other components or harm yourself if not followed. Hard disk drive o Unplug computer from power sources* o Open the case
Either wear an anti‐static strap or keep touching the case for the following steps* To replace Unplug all the cables between the Hard disk drive and any other components If necessary you may need to remove other components to make room to pull the Hard disk drive out (e.g. other Hard disk drives) Unscrew any screws holding the Hard disk drive in place Remove it Put the new Hard disk drive in place o To install Put the new Hard disk drive in place o Screw it in o Connect all cables back again o Close case o Plug in and turn on power CD/DVD drive o Unplug computer from power sources* o Open the case o Either wear an anti static strap or keep touching the case for the following steps* o To replace Unplug all the cables between the CD/DVD drive and any other components If necessary you may need to remove other components to make room to pull the CD/DVD drive out (e.g. Hard disk drive) Unscrew any screws holding the CD/DVD drive in place Remove it Put the new CD/DVD drive in place o To install Put the new PSU in place o Screw it in o Connect all cables back again o Close case o Plug in and turn on power Flash drive o Flash drives/USB sticks are essentially plug n play so installation and replacement are the same o Make sure your Flash drives connector matches up to the plug you are trying to connect it to (if it doesn’t fit rotate 180 and try again) * o If the computer is not already turned on turn it on now o If an appropriate driver for the Flash drive is not already available the computer will download it from the drive now o You will now find the drive available in your ‘My computer’ system folder o NB: when removing your drive if you are worried about losing unsaved files you should use the ‘safely remove hardware’ icon in the system tray. It will tell you if any programs are still using files on the Flash drive Device drivers o o
o o o o
Many common device drivers come as part of your operating system and do not need to be installed. However, some new hardware will need you to download a new driver for it from the internet or off a CD that came with the device. Follow any setup instructions to install the device driver Restart your computer with the device plugged in
Exemplar for internal assessment resource Technology for Achievement Standard 91080 1.50
Grade Boundary: Low Merit 3.
To achieve with Merit students are required to demonstrate in-depth understanding of the common components of basic digital infrastructures. This involves explaining how the purpose of components determines the connections between components and the typical flow of data along them. Key characteristics of components and how they limit their interoperability must be explained. The importance of procedures and protocols when installing or replacing a component or program must be explained. The student discusses how the purpose determines the connections (page 1). Typical dataflow is still in a flow chart (page 2) and now showing some speeds/sizes. Limits to interoperability now explain how they are limited (page 3). Procedures and protocols explain why the steps in general should be followed (page 3). To strengthen this Merit the student could provide more detail in their explanations of typical data flow and limits to operability.
© Crown 2011
Student 3 page 1: Low Merit
Hardware components Extension cards Description, How purpose determines connections Extension cards extend the capacity of the motherboard by allowing a circuit board or ‘card’ to connect to it via a ‘slot’ or connection. PCIe, AGP and PCI are the common types of connections you will find on a motherboard with PCIe the fastest and PCI the slowest. PCIe x16 is used for Graphics cards. A PCI might be used for extra USB ports. … Memory Description, How purpose determines connections Computer memory or RAM comes in ‘sticks’ that consist of a central board or stick with several memory chips all attached to it. RAM is faster for the computer to access than a hard disk drive, but smaller and volatile. Each new version (or generation) of RAM is trying to improve on the last version to improve the data transfer rate and size of data transferred so that less reads to the hard drive are needed and so the speed of the computer is not slowed. … CRT and LCD Monitors Description, How purpose determines connections Monitors show the user information from the computer and the programs running on it. CRT monitors have a cathode ray tube in them making them very thick. LCD monitors are much less thick and use less power. Monitors receive the information to show the user via a connection to the computers graphics card. Depending on what you will be using your monitor for and if it has inbuilt speakers or a microphone there will be one or more of these connections. VGA is at the lowest end of the scale as it is an analog connector. DVI is a digital connector and has display and power management advantages over VGA. HDMI is a digital connector that can take an audio signal as well as its video signal. It is also able to take data in both directions unlike the other two connections. … Speakers (at least one additional output device) Description, How purpose determines connections The speakers output sounds to the user, they can be built into the case, monitor or as a separate peripheral. But they must plug into a sound card, connections are either a 3.5mm audio jack or a USB connection. Audio quality over a 3.5mm jack vs a USB connection is similar enough that the main reason to have one sort over the other is that USB lets you power speakers as well. … As the following are software (or the computer case) there are no further connections to talk about the purpose of
Typical connections and data flow
Connection between the components on the left‐hand side and those on the right with the typical connections the flow and sizes of data shown in arrows DDR2 400–1066 MT/s Motherboard DDR3 800–2133 MT/s
Stick of RAM (DIMM)
DDR4 2133–4266 MT/s
VGA – 585Mbit/s Monitor
Video card Motherboard
DVI ‐ 3.96Gbit/s
HDMI – 10.2Gbit/s
Sound card Motherboard
3.5mm Jack 32–640 Kbit/s
Monitor speakers Speakers
USB ‐ 32 kbps–6 Mbps Headphones
Data rates found using 5.1 and 7.1 surround sound as a guide
Explained Key characteristics that limit interoperability Extension cards Extension cards interoperability is all about the connection. PCIe x16, PCI x1, AGP, etc all have a certain speed, power and size (inside the case) trade‐offs. PCIe x16 is used for Graphics cards, a PCI might be used for extra USB ports. Because PCIe is a larger faster connection and USB doesn’t need that sort of grunt whereas a graphics card does. Printer Printers are peripherals and so it is the connections that limit interoperability. A printer connects to a computer through a USB connection, although an Ethernet or Wi‐Fi connection is common in business situations. USB is a common connection on a computer and the only issue with it is the distance you can have your printer from your computer. Ethernet can let the printer be further away, but you need to have a spare Ethernet port. Wi‐Fi allows you to have the printer anywhere within signal of the computer/Wi‐Fi transmitter but is slower than either of the other two connection types. Malware/Virus checker
As with any software a virus checker program will be designed to run on a particular operating system and architecture (32 bit / 64 bit) often this is worked out by a setup file that downloads the appropriate files based on information given to it by your computer. Or it is listed on the CD or website that a certain version of the program is for Windows 86 (32 bit) or Windows 64 (64 bit). Different operating systems and architectures have different ways of transferring, storing and retrieving information and a program that doesn’t match these will not work. Kind of like trying to use a metric wrench on an imperial nut.
Installation or replacement The following are the procedures and protocols you should take to install or replace components or software. It is important to follow these steps as they not only help you to successfully install or replace components but protect yourself and other components from damage Hard disk drive o Unplug computer from power sources
Open the case Either wear an anti‐static strap or keep touching the case for the following steps To replace Unplug all the cables between the Hard disk drive and any other components If necessary you may need to remove other components to make room to pull the Hard disk drive out (e.g. other Hard disk drives) Unscrew any screws holding the Hard disk drive in place Remove it Put the new Hard disk drive in place o To install Put the new Hard disk drive in place o Screw it in o Connect all cables back again o Close case o Plug in and turn on power CD/DVD drive o Unplug computer from power sources o Open the case o Either wear an anti static strap or keep touching the case for the following steps o To replace Unplug all the cables between the CD/DVD drive and any other components If necessary you may need to remove other components to make room to pull the CD/DVD drive out (e.g. Hard disk drive) Unscrew any screws holding the CD/DVD drive in place Remove it Put the new CD/DVD drive in place o To install Put the new PSU in place o Screw it in o Connect all cables back again o Close case o Plug in and turn on power Flash drive o Flash drives/USB sticks are essentially plug n play so installation and replacement are the same o Make sure your Flash drives connector matches up to the plug you are trying to connect it to (if it doesn’t fit rotate 180 and try again) o If the computer is not already turned on turn it on now o If an appropriate driver for the Flash drive is not already available the computer will download it from the drive now o You will now find the drive available in your ‘My computer’ system folder o NB: when removing your drive if you are worried about losing unsaved files you should use the ‘safely remove hardware’ icon in the system tray. It will tell you if any programs are still using files on the Flash drive Device drivers o o o
o o o o
Many common device drivers come as part of your operating system and do not need to be installed. However, some new hardware will need you to download a new driver for it from the internet or off a CD that came with the device. Follow any setup instructions to install the device driver Restart your computer with the device plugged in
Exemplar for internal assessment resource Technology for Achievement Standard 91080 1.50
Grade Boundary: High Achieved 4.
To Achieve students are required to demonstrate understanding of the common components of basic digital infrastructures The student has used standard terms in the description and purpose but has not explained about how the purpose determines the connections in enough detail to move to Merit (see Memory or Speakers, page 1). The connections and dataflow are shown as a flow chart with the direction of data and connection type shown (page 2). Limits to interoperability are covered and different connections (and versions of connection) are described. However the explanations of how the connections limit the interoperability, required at Merit, are missing (page 2). Procedures and protocols (page 3) are well written and have clarity between removal/replacement and a fresh installation, but don’t explain why steps should be followed, as required at Merit.
© Crown 2011
Student 4 page 1: High Achieved
Hardware components Case Description and Purpose A case is the box that contains all the hardware components and holds these securely inside it protected from physical and static damage. It can be metal, plastic or a combination of the two and comes in several shapes and sizes … Motherboard Description and Purpose A motherboard is the board sitting at the back or base of the case and is like your nervous system in that information to and from all the components passes through it and the connections it provides. Some of the components can be built into it and although unable to be repaired or upgraded are often able to access information quicker. The connections a motherboard has built into it dictate which sorts of components and what type or version of that component can connect, if the motherboard has a plug for a certain sort of CPU you cannot plug a different sort in, all the components must match up. … Memory Description and Purpose Computer memory or RAM comes in ‘sticks’ that consist of lots of memory chips all attached to a central board or stick. RAM is faster for the computer to access than a hard disk drive, but smaller and volatile. … CRT and LCD Monitors Description and Purpose Monitors are a way to provide feedback to the user on what is happening inside the software programs running on the computer. CRT monitors have a cathode ray tube in them making them very thick. LCD monitors are much less thick and use less power. … Speakers (at least one additional output device) Description and Purpose Speakers allow the computer hardware and software to output sounds to the user. They can be built into the case, monitor or as a separate peripheral plugging into a sound card. Often there is a volume control on them and some sort of headphone jack … Operating system Description and Purpose
Although an operating system is just software and is kept on the hard disk drive it is able to look at the hardware that makes up the computer and tell it how to work together it also manages other software programs that run on top of it, the operating system. … Malware/virus checkers. Description and Purpose Anti‐virus and malware programs are important to have as if you connect to the internet or allow files to go onto your computer there could be malicious code in them that allows others to take control of your computer or damage your files. Anti‐virus and malware programs use a list of restricted programs, sites and changes to stop or alert the user to any changes that my harm their computer.
Typical connections and data flow Connection between the components on the left‐hand side and those on the right with the typical connections and the flow of data shown as arrows DDR2 Motherboard Stick of RAM DDR3 (DIMM) DDR4
VGA Monitor
Video card Motherboard
DVI
HDMI
Sound card
3.5mm Jack
Monitor speakers Speakers
Motherboard USB
Headphones
Key characteristics that limit interoperability Memory RAM can be different types like DDR2 or DDR3 with newer versions having a size or speed improvement on the older. Each version has a different set of pins and spaces connecting it to the motherboard so your motherboard needs to have the right socket for the type of RAM to be installed. Speakers Speakers connect to the motherboard or soundcard via either a 3.5mm jack or in some cases a USB connection. The 3.5mm jack is the industry standard for sound but is unable to power the speakers as a USB connection is able to.
Installation or replacement
Case o
To replace you will need to remove all the components housed inside the case and unplug all peripherals and then re‐install them in the new case as per their instructions o Installing a new case is the same as above but without the need to remove any existing components Power supply o Unplug computer from power sources o Open the case o Either wear an anti static strap or keep touching the case for the following steps o To replace Unplug all the connection ns between the PSU and any other components If necessary you may need to remove other components to make room to pull the PSU out (e.g. motherboard, DVD drive) Unscrew any screws holding the PSU in place Remove it Put the new PSU in place o To install Put the new PSU in place o Screw it in o Connect all components that require power making sure to give them the correct voltage o Close case
o CPU o o o o
Plug in and turn on power
Unplug computer from power sources Open the case Either wear an anti static strap or keep touching the case for the following steps To replace Unplug and disconnect the heatsink/fan above the CPU Open the leaver/clip that is holding the CPU in place Carefully remove the CPU taking care not to bend or break the pins on the underside of it Take the replacement CPU out of its case and make sure it is around the right way – there is often a dot or corner missing to help with this Carefully put the CPU in place, again be careful not to bend or break the pins on the underside of it o To install Open the leaver/clip that will hold the CPU in place Take the replacement CPU out of its case and make sure it is around the right way – there is often a dot or corner missing to help with this Carefully put the CPU in place, be careful not to bend or break the pins on the underside of it o Move the leaver/clip back into the locked position o Apply some conductive paste to the top of the CPU, this is to help it direct heat to the heatsink and fan o Plug in and connect the heatsink and fan above the CPU again o Close case o Plug in and turn on power CRT and LCD Monitors o Monitors are essentially plug n play so installation and replacement are the same o Unplug computer from power sources o Make sure your monitors connector matches up to the plug you are trying to connect it to o Connect the power to your monitor o Connect the speakers if your monitor has built in speakers o Plug the computer back in and turn on power Disk utilities o These utilities are installed as part of the operating system and if there was an issue with one you would need to reinstall or repair the operating system
Exemplar for internal assessment resource Technology for Achievement Standard 91080 1.50
Grade Boundary: Low Achieved 5.
To Achieve students are required to demonstrate understanding of the common components of basic digital infrastructures The student has described and identified the purpose of the components, but has not used standard terms in their descriptions (page 1). The connections and data flow are mentioned. Limits to interoperability are brief and cover only differences between different connections (page 2). Procedures and protocols are written well but lack clarity between removal/replacement and a fresh installation (page 2). To strengthen the Achieved level the use of standard terms could be used in the descriptions. The connections and dataflow would benefit from more detail. The limits to interoperability could cover the differences between different versions of the same connection.
© Crown 2011
Student 5 page 1: Low Achieved
Hardware components Case Description and Purpose A case is the box that contains all the hardware components and keeps them safe and organised. It can be metal, plastic or a combination of the two and comes in several shapes and sizes … Motherboard Description and Purpose A motherboard is the board sitting at the back of your case when you open it. All of the other hardware components plug into it or are built into it. All these components talk to each other through the connections the motherboard provides. All components must match up with a connection on the motherboard, if the motherboard has a plug for a certain sort of CPU you cannot plug a different sort in, all the components must match up. … Memory Description and Purpose A stick of memory is about 10cm long and covered in chips. It is one of the types of memory a computer uses, it is faster than the hard disk drive but slower than any memory built into the CPU itself … CRT and LCD Monitors Description and Purpose Monitors are used to display what is happening in the computer and provide feedback to the user. CRT monitors have a cathode ray tube in them making them very thick. LCD monitors are much less thick and use less power. … Speakers (at least one additional output device) Description and Purpose Speakers output sound as directed by the computer, they usually have a volume control on them and some sort of headphone jack … Operating system Description and Purpose The operating system is the software that manages all the other programs and gives them a platform to run on. Different operating systems do some things differently but all provide this platform. …
Malware/virus checkers Description and Purpose Anti‐virus and malware programs are important to have as if you connect to the internet or allow files to go onto your computer there could be malicious code in them that allows others to take control of your computer or just damage your files. Anti‐virus and malware programs try to catch and stop such programs.
Typical connections and data flow
Memory socket o Two way flow between the RAM and motherboard, data can be read from anywhere in the memory but can only be read from a single stick of RAM is series VGA connector o One way between videocard (or motherboard if onboard video) to monitor, serial DVI connector o One way between videocard (or motherboard if onboard video) to monitor, serial HDMI connector o One way between videocard (or motherboard if onboard video) to monitor, parallel data flow 3.5mm audio jack o One way between motherboard to speakers, serial data flow
Key characteristics that limit interoperability Memory RAM can be different types like DDR2 or DDR3 higher numbers mean it is better/newer. The type will need to be the same type the motherboard accepts otherwise it will not work or will work slower than expected. Speakers can have a 3.5mm jack and a power cable or just a USB cable as it is able to send data and power at the same time.
Installation or replacement
Case o
Installing or replacing a case requires you to remove all components as per their instructions and then re‐install them in the new case Power supply o Unplug computer from power sources o Open the case o Either wear an anti static strap or keep touching the case for the following steps
o o o o o o o
o o CPU o o o o o o
Unplug all the connections between the PSU and any other components If necessary you may need to remove other components to make room to pull the PSU out Unscrew any screws holding the PSU in place Remove it Put the replacement one in place Screw it in place Connect all components that require power making sure to give them the correct voltage Close case Plug in and turn on power
Unplug computer from power sources Open the case Either wear an anti static strap or keep touching the case for the following steps Unplug and disconnect the heatsink/fan above the CPU Open the leaver/clip that is holding the CPU in place Carefully remove the CPU taking care not to bend or break the pins on the underside of it o Take the replacement CPU out of its case and make sure it is around the right way – there is often a dot or corner missing to help with this o Carefully put the CPU in place, again be careful not to bend or break the pins on the underside of it o Move the leaver/clip back into the locked position o Apply some conductive paste to the top of the CPU, this is to help it direct heat to the heatsink and fan o Plug in and connect the heatsink and fan above the CPU again o Close case o Plug in and turn on power CRT and LCD Monitors o Monitors are essentially plug n play o Unplug computer from power sources o Make sure your monitors connector matches up to the plug you are trying to connect it to o Connect the power to your monitor o Connect the speakers if your monitor has built in speakers o Plug the computer back in and turn on power Disk utilities o These utilities are installed as part of the operating system and if there was an issue with one you would need to reinstall or repair the operating system
Exemplar for internal assessment resource Technology for Achievement Standard 91080 1.50
Grade Boundary: High Not Achieved 6.
To Achieve students are required to demonstrate understanding of the common components of basic digital infrastructures The student has described and identified purposes of some of the components but not all. Some are very brief (page 1). The connections and data flow although mentioned do not describe the components they are connecting (page 2). Limits to interoperability are brief and only cover a single type of connection, no mention of other types or versions of the same connection (page 2). Procedures and protocols are a little vague and are not well presented; there is lack of clarity between removal/replacement and a fresh installation (page 2.)
© Crown 2011
Student 6 page 1: High Not Achieved
Hardware components Power supply Description and Purpose A power supply supplies power to the computer in the correct voltage. … On‐board components Description and Purpose On board components are part of the motherboard and are things like sound and video. By being part of the motherboard you have more room for other components to slot into the motherboard. … Storage devices Description and Purpose CDs, DVDs, Flash drives, and Hard disk drives are all storage devices, this means they can hold data inside themselves that the computer can read later. CDs and DVDs need a laser to read them but Flash drives and Hard disk drives only need electricity. … Modem/Router Description and Purpose A modem or router is used to connect to the internet. It is the box between the computer and the phone jack point. … Webcam (at least one additional input device) Description and Purpose A webcam is like a camera that sits on top of the computer. It is used to take pictures or video of you to put on the internet. … Device drivers Description and Purpose Device drivers are the software that runs your components and is used because your operating system may not know how to run the components itself … Malware/virus checkers. Description and Purpose Anti‐virus and malware programs stop bad programs being used on your computer. They need to update themselves and scan the computer every now and then.
Typical connections and data flow
USB o Data flows both ways on a USB connection CPU Socket o Data flows both ways on a CPU Socket PCIe o Data flows both ways on a PCIe slot
Key characteristics that limit interoperability CPU
CPU chips can have more or less pins to connect to the motherboard and can have multiple cores in a single chip. More pins and cores are better than less.
Webcam Most webcams use a USB cable to connect to the computer and different types of USB cable are slower than others.
Installation or replacement
Memory o Once you open the computer you will need to find the memory and pull it out to replace it. There are clips you will want to open to do this and you will need to make sure any new memory is going in the right way around. Operating system o Put the CD/DVD into the computer and follow the instructions on the screen
