220-901 Flashcards
Which of the following are components you might find inside a PC? (Select the three best answers.) A) CPU B) Motherboard C) Keyboard D) RAM E) Cable modem
A) CPU
B) Motherboard
D) RAM
Which device stores data over the long term? A) CPU B) RAM C) Hard driver D) Video Card
C) Hard Drive
The hard drive stores data over the long term. The hard drive stores the OS and data in a nonvolatile fashion, meaning the data won’t be erased when the computer is turned off. The CPU calculates data and sends it to RAM for temporary storage; the RAM (which is volatile) is cleared when the computer is turned off. The video card stores temporary video data within its onboard memory, but this, like RAM, is volatile and is cleared when the computer is turned off.
You would normally plug speakers into which type of port? A) FireWire B) DVI C) 1/8 inch TRS D) 1/4 inch TRS
C) 1/8 inch TRS
1/8″ TRS jacks (also known as mini-jacks) are the most common for speaker connections. Speakers normally plug into a sound card or motherboard that have these ports; they are also sometimes referred to as 3.5 mm jacks. FireWire (IEEE 1394) ports are often used by audio equipment, but not for connecting speakers directly. DVI (Digital Visual Interface) is a type of video port. The larger 1/4″ TRS connections are for instrument cables or full-size stereo connections.
To which type of expansion slot would you install an x16 card? A) PCI B) PCIe C) USB D) PCI-X
B) PCIe
PCI Express (PCIe) slots accept x1, x4, and x16 (pronounced “by sixteen”) cards. PCIe is by far the most common expansion slot for video cards (which are usually x16). PCI is an older expansion bus that can accept video cards but, unlike PCIe, they have no particular designation. USB stands for universal serial bus; it is a standard for connecting external equipment to a computer, not an expansion bus. PCI-X is a derivative of PCI, used mostly in servers, for example, with network adapters.
Which Process of the computer checks all your components during boot? A) CMOS B) POST C) BIOS D) EEPROM
B) POST
The POST (power-on self-test) is part of the Basic Input-Output System (BIOS) or Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI). It runs a self-check of the computer system during boot and stores many of the parameters of the components within the CMOS. EEPROM is a type of ROM chip on which the BIOS might reside. BIOS is known as firmware.
Tim installs a new CPU in a computer. After a few hours, the processor starts to overheat. Which of the following might be the cause?
A) The CPU is not locked down
B) The CPU is not properly seated
C) Thermal Compound was not applied
D) The CPU is not compatible with the motherboard
C) Thermal Compound was not applied
Without the thermal compound applied, the processor might overheat after a few hours. If the CPU is not locked down, or is not properly seated, the PC will simply fail to boot. If the CPU is not compatible with the motherboard, either it will not fit the socket or the PC will not boot.
Which of the following could cause the POST to fail? (Select the two best answers.) A) CPU B) Power Supply C) Optical Drive D) Memory E) Hard drive
A) CPU
D) Memory
D. The CPU and memory need to be installed properly for the POST to run (and to pass). The hard drive and optical drive may or may not be installed properly, but they are not necessary for the POST to complete. If the power supply is defective, the system simply will not boot and will not even get to the POST stage.
Which expansion bus uses lanes to transfer data? A) PCI B) DMI C) PCIe D) SATA
C) PCIe
PCIe (PCI Express) uses serial lanes to send and receive data. That means one bit at a time per lane. PCI is a parallel technology; parallel means eight bits at a time or multiples of eight. DMI (Direct Media Interface) is a serial technology that does use lanes, but it is not an expansion bus; rather, it connects the chipset to the CPU. SATA is the standard for connecting hard drives and optical drives and transmitting data to and from those devices.
Which of the following might you find as part of tablet computer? (Select the two best answers.) A) Flash Memory B) SATA hard drive C) Multi-touch touchscreen D) 24 inch display
A) Flash Memory
C) Multi-touch touchscreen
A tablet computer will almost always contain flash memory (16 GB, 32 GB, or similar), and a multi-touch touchscreen. However, SATA hard drives and 24-inch displays are more likely to be found on PCs, not tablet computers.
Which kind of socket incorporates "lands" to ensure connectivity to a CPU? A) PGA B) Chipset C) LGA D) Copper
C) LGA
LGA (land grid array) is the type of socket that uses “lands” to connect the socket to the CPU. PGA (pin grid array) sockets have pinholes that make for connectivity to the CPU’s copper pins. The chipset is either a single chip, or the combination of the northbridge and southbridge on the motherboard. LGA sockets are often a brass alloy or have gold contacts; although copper might be a possibility for some sockets, such sockets don’t fit the description of “lands” in the question. LGA is the best answer.
How should you hold RAM when installing it? A) By the edges B) By the front and back C) With tweezers D) With a punchdown tool
A) By the edges
Which device should you use to protect against power outages? A) Multimeter B) UPS C) FedEx D) Surge Protector
B) UPS
The UPS (uninterruptible power supply) is the only item listed that protects the computer from power outages like blackouts and brownouts. A multimeter is used to test AC outlets and individual wires inside the computer. FedEx is a shipping company, not a computer acronym. A surge protector (or surge suppressor) is used to protect computer equipment from surges and spikes in power, but cannot protect against power outages.
Which of the following uses a single 24-pin main motherboard power connector? A) ATX B) ATX 12v 1.3 C) ATX 12v 2.0 D) ATX 5v 2.0
C) ATX 12v 2.0
ATX 12V 2.0 (and higher) combined the 20-pin and 4-pin connectors used in ATX 12V 1.3 into one 24-pin connector. ATX is simply the name of the form factor; there are many types of ATX. There is no ATX 5V. Although ATX sends 12-volt and 5-volt signals, it is known as ATX 12v.
What is the maximum data transfer rate of SATA revision 3.0? A) 1.5 gb/s B) 150 mb/s C) 3.0 gb/s D) 6.0 gb/s
D) 6.0 gb/s
SATA revision 3.0 can transfer a maximum of 6.0 Gb/s (6 gigabits per second, note the lowercase b). This allows a peak throughput of 600 MB/s (600 megabytes per second, note the uppercase B). 1.5 Gb/s is the data transfer rate of SATA revision 1.0. Its maximum throughput is 150 MB/s. 3.0 Gb/s is the data transfer rate of SATA revision 2.0. It has a peak throughput of 300 MB/s.
Which type of adapter card accepts broadcasting programming? A) FireWire card B) Video Capture card C) Network interface card D) TV Tuner
D) TV Tuner
D. The TV tuner card accepts television broadcast programming. It will usually have cable-in and antenna-in F-connector ports. FireWire cards allow a computer to connect to FireWire devices such as hard drives and audio devices. Video capture cards are used to record video from a camera, VCR, or close-circuit television system. A network interface card is also known as a NIC or network adapter; it makes the connection to the Ethernet network for a PC.
Which of the following types of custom PCs requires an HDMI output? A) HTPC B) Gaming PC C) Virtualization workstation D) CAD/CAM workstation
A) HTPC
A. A home theater PC (HTPC) requires a High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) output on the video card so that it can connect properly to the HDMI port on a television. Sure, it is possible to connect via DVI with an adapter, or even by way of VGA, but the whole point of a true HTPC is that it has the best to offer when it comes to connections. Because most theater system TVs have one or more HDMI inputs, the HTPC should have at least one HDMI output. Gaming PCs usually have DVI or DisplayPort connections to connect to desktop monitors, though they might have HDMI as well. Virtualization workstations don’t rely on video cards as much as the other systems listed in the answers, so HDMI is not necessary. CAD/CAM workstations require a high-end video card, with DisplayPort or DVI being the most common.
How many pins are inside a SATA data connector? A) 15 B) 7 C) 24 D) 127
B) 7
B. The SATA data connector has seven pins. The SATA power connector has 15 pins. ATX 12V 2.0 and higher power connections have 24 pins. Among other things, 127 is the maximum amount of USB devices you can connect to the computer
What is the delay in the RAM response to a request from the memory controller called? A) Latency B) Standard deviation C) Fetch Interval D) Lag
A) Latency
Memory latency or CAS (column address strobe) latency happens when a memory controller tries to access data from a memory module. It is a slight delay (usually measured in nanoseconds) while the memory module responds to the memory controller. The memory controller (also known as the northbridge) has a specific speed at which it operates. If the CPU asks the chip for too much information at once, this might increase latency time while the memory controller works.
What is the minimum number of hard drives necessary to implement RAID 5? A) Two B) Five C) Three D) Four
C) Three
C. Because RAID 5 uses striping with parity, a third disk is needed. You can have more than three disks as well. Two disks are enough for plain RAID 0 striping and is the exact number you need for RAID 1 mirroring. Four disks are required by RAID 6 and RAID 10.
A user’s time and date keeps resetting to January 1, 2000. Which of the following is the most likely cause?
A) The BIOS needs to be updated
B) Windows needs to be updated
C) The Windows Date and Time Properties window needs to be modified
D) The Lithium battery needs to be replaced
D) The lithium battery needs to be replaced
If the time and date keep resetting to a date such as January 1, 2000, chances are that the lithium battery needs to be replaced. Updating the BIOS/UEFI allows the PC to “see” new devices and communicate with them better, but it will not fix the time issue. Updating Windows will not fix this problem, but it should be done often to keep the computer secure. Other date and time synchronization problems can be fixed in the clock settings within the Notification Area. Windows client computers should be configured to synchronize to a time server.
Which Type of adapter card is normally plugged into a PCIe x16 adapter slot? A) modem B) Video C) NIC D) Sound
B) Video
To prevent damage to a computer, the computer should be connected to which of the following? A) Power Strip B) Power inverter C) AC to DC converter D) UPS
D) UPS
A UPS (uninterruptible power supply) protects computer equipment against surges, spikes, sags, brownouts, and blackouts. Power strips, unlike surge protectors, do not protect against surges. Power inverter are effectively AC-to-DC converters; the power supply acts as a power inverter.
