Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 1.7
A Compaq desktop computer.
this heat is vital, because chips and other components tend to mal
function (or even melt) when subjected to excessive heat. The space
that separates the parts of the computer helps the computer stay
cool by promoting air flow.
Within the figure, the CPU card of Figure 1.6 appears toward
the bottom middle. The card looks somewhat different than before,
however, because a fan is mounted directly over the Pentium to pro
mote air flow and heat dissipation. Another fan can be seen mount
ed on the side of the cabinet, below the Pentium card in the figure.
At the top left of the figure, the cabinet has room for several disk
or CD drives. These mount facing outward, with electrical connec
tions on the inside. Wire ribbons connect to some of these I/O devices.
This machine also has several expansion slots on the lower right
of the figure, and wires behind the card form a bus to connect these
slots. A separate card is plugged into the first slot, and the other
slots are empty.
Finally, the lower left of the figure shows a transformer/power
supply that provides power appropriately to the various other
components.
