Hardware Lesson Plan

  1. Objectives
  2. Materials / Resources Required
  3. Upgrading
  4. Procedure
  5. Evaluation
  6. Startup Sequence
  7. Peripherals
  8. Procedure
  9. Evaluation
  10. Investigate Purchase
  11. Extensions
  12. Evaluation
  13. Internal Hardware
  14. Install Hardware
  15. Identify Problems

Objectives

Competencies

Materials / Resources Required

Upgrading

Engage

Your computer is starting to run sluggishly, and it's time to upgrade it. Do you know where to begin? Do you know whether you need more memory, or a fast operating system?

Teaching

Unfortunately, computers only have a useful lifetime of 4-5 years. Once you hit the 5 year mark, it may be time to upgrade your computer to be able to run the latest software and applications. There are several different methods to upgrading your computer, with the easiest being adding additional RAM.

Operating System

If you are upgrading your operating system from Windows XP to Windows Vista, for example, then a RAM upgrade is essential. A new graphics card is also recommended in order to run the special effects utilized by Vista.

Memory (RAM)

Upgrading the main memory is the cheapest and easiest upgrade you can get. Main memory, which comes in memory sticks, are available in many different capacities, speeds, and sizes. The biggest advantage from a memory upgrade is being able to run several programs simultaneously without slowing down overall system performance. If you are into playing games on your computer, load times will be reduced and draw distances may be increased without hampering down too many system resources. Today, a typical memory upgrade will usually cost $50 to $100, and can run upwards of $500 to $1000 for the latest breaking technology.

Hard Disk Drive

Hard Drives can be upgraded for two main reasons. First, for their reading speed, which overall increases system performance due to faster access times. Second and most important, is the extra storage. As newer hard drives come along, reading speeds increase and storage capacity will increase. Hard drives are reletively inexpensive, and may cost around $50 for a hard drive with sufficient space for basic home computing.

CPU

The CPU or Central Processing Unit is basically the brain of the computer. It handles all the computations that are processed by your computer. Upgrading the CPU reduces the time required for applications to run. It is not recommended you upgrade your CPU unless you work on CPU intensive programs/games and have already upgraded your computer other compononents to the best of your ability. Otherwise you wont notice much difference compared to memory/VGA card upgrades. A traditional CPU upgrade may cost between $150 to $500, and can cost up to $1500 for the latest and greatest technology.

Procedure

Your current setup includes a 2.0 GHz processor and 128mb of integrated video memory. Your computer also only has two slots for RAM, and both are occupied by 256mb sticks. Read through the following scenarios, then explain your answer.

Extensions

  • For students that complete this lesson before others, complete the following extension. (students finishing this activity early and failing to complete the following extensions will have points deducted from their score.)
  • Evaluation

    ComponentPoints
    General Understanding of Lesson    /4
    Completion of Activities    /4
    Completion of Extensions    /2
    Total    /10

    Startup Sequence

    How does your computer go from a dead, powerless machine to showing your beautiful operating system? Something has got to happen in between and a lot of things do.

    NOT DONE!!

    Peripherals

    Engage

    Can you think of how many electronics you own that have a USB connection? Today, you may find USB ports everywhere, ranging from cell phones to game consoles.. Do you know what USB stands for? Do you know what USB connections are capable of?

    Teaching

    There have been many ways to connect peripherels. In the eighties to early nineties, SCSI, or Small Computer System Interface [Image] was the most common used connection for external computer peripherels. But SCSI had its limitations, and was in need of a faster standard during the mid-nineties.

    In 1998, USB 1.1 was released as the new industry standard for peripherels. USB, or Universal Serial Bus [Image], initially featured a speed of 1.5 to 12 Mbit/s, and had a space-efficient plug (compared to SCSI). USB also featured a much improved durability over SCSI. As SCSI connectors were composed of an array of delecate pins, USB pins are protected by a solid metal casing. USB devices can also carry an electrical current, which is useful for charging portable devices and transfering data, all with the same cable, at the same time.

    Today, two standards exist: USB 2.0 and FireWire (IEEE-1394). Both offer vastly improved speed over USB 1.0.

    Procedure

    1. Disconnect everything from your desktop computer.
    2. Take a picture of the back of your desktop. Make sure all the ports and connections are visible in the photo. [Example]
    3. Using your favorite image editing program, place a bright red square around every different type of connection. Leave the image editing program open. [Example]
    4. Review the following numbered list of common periphals:
      1. Flash Storage Device
      2. External Hard Drive
      3. iPod
      4. Mouse
      5. Keyboard
      6. Printer
      7. Wireless network adapter
      8. Cable/DSL Modem
      9. 56k dial-up Modem
      10. Router
      11. Ethernet Switch
      12. CRT monitor from 1996
      13. High resolution flat panel/HDTV LCD monitor
    5. Think about what ports the above list of perephirals will utilize. Then, going back to the image editing program, place a number within each red square, corresponding to the correct peripheral numbered above.
    6. Copy and paste the peripheral list above to show below the image on your website. [Example]
    7. For students that complete this lesson before others, pick one of the following extensions to complete (students finishing this activity early and failing to complete one of the following extensions will have points deducted from their score.)

    Evaluation

    ComponentPoints
    Completion of Activities    /3
    Correctly identified each port on back of computer.    /3
    Correctly matched each peripheral to the port identified on back of computer.    /4
    Total    /10

    Investigate Purchase

    Engage

    How many people do you think throw out their computers daily in favor of buying a completely new system? A lot of those people could probably have saved money just by upgrading a component or two. Others, however, would have gotten more out of their computer by just trashing it and buying a new one.

    Procedure

    Let's say that your computer, while healthy and well maintained, is quickly aging and is unable to meet the minimum requirements to run new applications. You are now faced with two choices:

    A. Buy a new computer
    B. Upgrade your existing computer

    Whether you choose option A or B, you still need to have a general idea of what components you need. If you are into playing games, then acquireing a powerful graphics card is a smart descision. On the other hand, if you have a limited budget and want to upgrade your current computer to run more applications at once, you can buy and install more RAM.

    Look up your motherboard to see what it's compatibilities are, or if you can't find that check with your computers documentation either online or in a provided book. You don't want to buy a new part just to have your computer reject it, especially if the new parts fit.

    Upgrading RAM is very simple, and doubling a two year olds computer's RAM can be fairly cheap and should have a noticeable increase in performance, and is (or at least was) the first limiting factor in running a program, and if you get infected, the more RAM you got the less effect it will have.

    If you're upgrading to a new OS, make sure that you have enough RAM for it to run. You should also make sure that you have enough extra so you can effectively multitask. Multitasking is factored in when the OS's requirements are made, but running on minimum requirements is never ideal.

    Check to see the size and speed (such as DDR400 or PC 3200, which are the same) of the ram currently in your computer (usually on a sticker going across the stick.) When buying a new stick you should match the speed of the RAM currently in your system, since your computer will run both sticks at the speed of the lowest, and higher speeds might not be supported.

    If you can't find any documentation on supported amounts of memory, here are some rules of thumb: If you have an empty slot try to match the size of your current RAM sticks. If you don't have an empty slot, try to double the current size of your stick (Although I can't guarantee that it will work, see if you can find your motherboards supported sizes online.) RAM just clicks into place so you shouldn't have any problem installing it, and it doesn't need any new software configuration or drivers.

    Operating systems generally are not very graphical and try to take up as little processing power as possible, so if you have to upgrade either of these in order to run a new OS, then it's time to get a new computer. Also if you need a new processor or graphics card to run a program you need, then it's also time to get a new computer. If you can run the program, just poorly, then it's time to upgrade. If the program involves displaying 3d shapes then you should get a new video card, if the program involves encoding video or making big computations then you should get a new processor. Upgrading the the component that isn't the limiting factor will result in much less bang for your buck.

    Read the following scenarios thouroughly. State whether you should either buy a new computer or upgrade it. If you are upgrading the computer, state as well what new components should be updated and why. If you are buying a completely new system, state what components are necessary for your new system to run the desired applications.

    1. Your current computer was purchased in 2001. It has 256mb of ram, 32mb GPU, and Pentium 4 1.6 ghz. You would like to be able to run Adobe Photoshop CS2.

    2. Your current computer was purchased last year. It has 512mb of ram, 128mb integrated GPU, and Dual Core processor. You would like faster rendering in Ulead Cool 3D.

    3. Your current computer was purchased in 2005. It has 512mb of ram, 64mb GPU, and 2.4 GHz processor. You want to be able to run Windows Vista, and currently have XP installed.

    Extensions

    Looking at the following three system configurations, decide which configuration will provide the best all-around performance.


    Evaluation

    ObjectivesScore
    Answer questions correctly and to the best of his/her abiltiy      /7
    Completed extension (if necessary)      /3
    Total      /10

    Internal Hardware

    Engage

    Have you ever open up your computer case to look inside? Do you have any idea what the function of each grouping of circuits and wires do? In this lesson, you will learn how to easily identify one chip from another, and what the function of each chip is.

    1. Unplug your computer. Unplug all devices connected to your computer.
    2. Remove/open the side panel form your computer case. All computers are designed differently, but usually there will be tabs which you must press in to expose the inside of your computer.
    3. Using your digital camera, take a photograph of the inside of your computer. [Example]
    4. Transfer the pictures to your computer.
    5. Using your favorite image editing program, outline and number each of the following parts in red. [Example]
    6. Create a website using your maddog account and upload your new image.
    7. On the webpage, below the image, make a numbered list of the components listed above, with each component corresponding to the correct number described in the image. Then, briefly describe what each listed component does. [Example]
    8. For students that complete this lesson before others, pick one of the following extensions to complete (students finishing this activity early and failing to complete one of the following extensions will have points deducted from their score.)

    Evaluation

    ComponentPoints
    Completion of Activities    /4
    Correctly identified each hardware component    /3
    Show you understand the function of each of the major hardware compoents    /3
    Total    /10

    Install Hardware

    Engage

    Have you had any experience installing computer hardware? If you haven't, you may think it could be as confusing as brain surgery. But don't worry, installing computer components is a reletively simple task. Most upgrades only require you to insert devices into slots.

    Before even opening your case, make sure you have a grounding wrist strap attached. This reletively cheap device helps prevent you from discharging static electricity, and possibly ruining your internal computer components. a $10 strap is worth much more than a brand new, $1000 computer.

    Replacing RAM
    Push both sides of the locking mechanism at the same time to release the RAM module. Slide it straight up.
    Place the new module in the slot. Press straight down, then secure the locking mechanisms. You may have
    to install ram in pairs.

    Replacing Hard Drive
    Disconnect IDE and power cable. Unscrew it from it's housing if necessary, or Slide the HD out by holding on
    to the protruding tabs. Slide the new HD in its place, then reconnect the IDE and power cable.

    Replacing optical drive
    Disconnect the IDE and power cable, and the audio cable if necessary. Unscrew it from it's housing if necessary, or Slide the drive out by holding on
    to the protruding tabs. Slide the new drive in its place, then reconnect the IDE and power cable.

    Replacing Graphics Card
    Remove the locking PCI slot mechanism. If the Graphics card is AGP, you must hold a tab while pulling straight up.
    Slide the new card in its place, then restore the locking PCI slot mechanism.

    Extensions

    State which hardware installation would be best suited for a person who has never opened their computer case before. Explain your reasoning.

    Evaluation

    ObjectivesScore
    Completed procedure without difficulty      /7
    Completed extension (if necessary)      /3
    Total      /10

    Identify Problems

    Engage

    Knowing how to identify computer problems is as important as a mechanic's ability to identify car problems. How often have your experienced problems with your own personal computer? How many times have you had to call tech support? You can save both time and money by doing all the computer repairs by yourself. But before you can start repairing your computer, you must know what hardware is causing the problem.

    Using the word bank below, provide the cause of the problems below in the following situations.

    1. _____ The computer gets the Blue Screen of Death frequently, overall performance is sluggish.
    2. _____ The computer starts up, but then says it cannot find an Operating System.
    3. _____ The computer suddenly cannot connect to the internet or network.
    4. _____ The computer boots up normally, but the screen resolution and color depth are much lower than normal.
    5. _____ The computer lags a lot more than usual when using a 3-D editing program.
    6. _____ The computer is unable to start up at all.
    7. _____ The computer starts up, but the fan is not running at all.
    8. _____ The computer crashes when more than 3 windows of Internet Explorer are running at the same time.
    9. _____ My high speed modem is running like usual, but my download speeds have been significantly slower all day.
    10. _____ When I turn on my computer, all my files are gone and it acts as if I turned on my computer for the first time.

    Extensions

    A. Describe why it is important to keep a computer well ventilated.

    or

    B. Explain how to identify a faulty stick of RAM.

    Evaluation

    ObjectivesScore
    Answer questions correctly and to the best of his/her abiltiy      /7
    Completed extension (if necessary)      /3
    Total      /10