220-1201: Domain 3 - Hardware

Question 1

What are the common types of LCD panels?

Answer 1

IPS (best color/viewing), TN (fastest response), VA (best contrast)

Question 2

How does OLED differ from LCD?

Answer 2

OLED has no backlight—better contrast, thinner displays

Question 3

What’s Mini-LED?

Answer 3

Smaller LEDs for improved backlighting—better brightness/contrast control

Question 4

What’s an inverter used for in displays?

Answer 4

Converts DC to AC for older LCD backlights

Question 5

What is a digitizer?

Answer 5

Converts touch input into digital signals—used in touchscreens

Question 6

Key display attributes?

Answer 6

Pixel density, refresh rate, resolution, color gamut

Question 7

What’s the difference between STP and UTP cables?

Answer 7

STP has shielding for EMI; UTP is cheaper and unshielded

Question 8

What are the T568A and T568B standards?

Answer 8

Wiring standards for Ethernet cable pinouts

Question 9

Difference between single-mode and multimode fiber?

Answer 9

Single-mode: long distance, laser light; Multimode: short distance, LED

Question 10

Plenum-rated cable?

Answer 10

Fire-resistant—used in ventilation spaces

Question 11

Examples of peripheral cables?

Answer 11

USB 2.0/3.0, Thunderbolt, Serial

Question 12

Examples of video cables?

Answer 12

HDMI, DisplayPort, VGA, DVI, USB-C

Question 13

Examples of hard drive cables?

Answer 13

SATA, eSATA

Question 14

Connector types to know?

Answer 14

RJ11 (phones), RJ45 (Ethernet), F-type (coax), ST/SC/LC (fiber), DB9 (serial), USB variants, Lightning, Molex, punchdown block

Question 15

SODIMM vs. DIMM?

Answer 15

SODIMM = laptops, DIMM = desktops

Question 16

What is ECC RAM?

Answer 16

Error-correcting—used in servers for stability

Question 17

RAM channel configurations?

Answer 17

Single, dual, triple, quad-channel for performance

Question 18

DDR generations?

Answer 18

DDR → DDR2 → DDR3 → DDR4 → DDR5 (faster and more efficient each time)

Question 19

Spindle speeds of HDDs?

Answer 19

Common: 5400, 7200, 10,000 RPM

Question 20

HDD form factors?

Answer 20

2.5” (laptops), 3.5” (desktops)

Question 21

SSD interfaces?

Answer 21

SATA, NVMe, PCIe, SAS

Question 22

SSD form factors?

Answer 22

M.2, mSATA

Question 23

What is RAID 0?

Answer 23

Striping for performance (no redundancy)

Question 24

RAID 1?

Answer 24

Mirroring (redundancy)

Question 25

RAID 5?

Answer 25

Striping with parity (balanced performance + redundancy)

Question 26

RAID 6 and RAID 10?

Answer 26

6 = dual parity; 10 = stripe of mirrors

Question 27

Types of removable storage?

Answer 27

USB drives, SD/memory cards, optical drives (CD/DVD/Blu-ray)

Question 28

Motherboard sizes?

Answer 28

ATX, microATX, ITX

Question 29

Common motherboard connectors?

Answer 29

PCI, PCIe, SATA, M.2, headers, power connectors

Question 30

What are CPU socket types?

Answer 30

AMD (AM4, TR4), Intel (LGA 1200, LGA 1700, etc.)

Question 31

BIOS/UEFI settings to know?

Answer 31

Boot order, USB permissions, TPM, Secure Boot, fan control

Question 32

What is TPM?

Answer 32

Trusted Platform Module—stores encryption keys

Question 33

CPU architectures?

Answer 33

x86 (32-bit), x64 (64-bit), ARM (mobile/efficient)

Question 34

What are add-on cards?

Answer 34

Sound card, video card, NIC, capture card

Question 35

Cooling methods?

Answer 35

Fans, heat sinks, thermal paste/pads, liquid cooling

Question 36

Voltage input options?

Answer 36

110–120V (US), 220–240V (international)

Question 37

Common power output voltages?

Answer 37

3.3V, 5V, 12V

Question 38

What is a modular power supply?

Answer 38

Detachable cables—improves airflow

Question 39

What’s a 20+4 pin connector for?

Answer 39

Main power for motherboards

Question 40

Redundant power supply?

Answer 40

Backup PSU—used in servers

Question 41

Printer types and maintenance tasks?

Answer 41

Laser: Replace toner, maintenance kit, clean/calibrate Inkjet: Replace cartridges, clean heads, clear jams Thermal: Replace paper, clean heat element Impact: Replace ribbon and printhead

Question 42

Common printer connection types?

Answer 42

USB, Ethernet, wireless

Question 43

Printer settings to configure?

Answer 43

Duplex, orientation, tray settings, quality

Question 44

Printer security features?

Answer 44

User authentication, audit logs, secure print

Question 45

Network scan services?

Answer 45

Email, SMB, cloud storage

Question 46

What's ADF vs. flatbed scanner?

Answer 46

ADF auto-feeds pages; flatbed requires manual placement