Introduction to Computer Systems and Platform Technology

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Running Head: INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER SYSTEMS AND PLATFORM TECHNOLOGY
INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER SYSTEMS AND PLATFORM
TECHNOLOGY
Table of Contents
Table of Contents.............................................................................................................................2
1. Question 1 — System Architecture...................................................................................4
1.1 Labeled component in the given main circuit board........................................................4
1.2 Difference between PCIEX4, PCIEX8, and PCIEX1............................................................4
1.3 Explanation the role of each of four pins for CPU_FAN and SYS_FAN3...........................5
1.4 Price of motherboard..............................................................................................................6

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INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER SYSTEMS AND PLATFORM TECHNOLOGY
1.5 Type of modules for purchase................................................................................................6
Crucial 16GB DDR4-2666 UDIMM is compatible with GA-Z170X-Ultra Gaming..................6
2. Question 2 — Process Architecture...................................................................................6
Model A: Dual-core 32-bit CPU: HTC Sensation XE...........................................................6
Model C: Quad-core 64-bit CPU: Apple iPhone 7 Plus.......................................................6
Model D: Octa-core 64-bit CPU: Samsung Galaxy A8........................................................6
2.1 32-bit and 64-bit processor................................................................................................7
2.2 Difference in 32-bit and 64-bit make about processor, RAM, and Apps..............................8
2.3 Number of cores improves the mobiles performance..........................................................8
3. Question 3 — Building a Recommended Platform Machine......................................................9
3.1 Fill out the tables....................................................................................................................9
Ballistix by Crucial 16GB Kit (8GBx2) RGB DDR4 3000 MT/s (PC4-24000) CL16 DR x8 Un-
buffered DIMM 288p......................................................................................................................9
Hitachi HGST Travelstar 0J38065 2.5' 500GB SATA 6GB/s 5400RPM.......................................9
Sapphire Radeon RX 570 4G Pulse Gaming Graphics Card.........................................................10
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 Mini ITX Overclocked 4GB Video Card........................................10
Figure 5: Graphics: Sapphire Radeon RX 570 4G Pulse Gaming Graphics Card.........................14
Figure 6: Display: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 Mini ITX Overclocked 4GB Video Card..........15
QNAP TS-EC2480U-E3-4GE-R2 24 Bay Rackmount NAS........................................................16
HP 719052-B21 DL380 Gen9 E5-2609V3 Kit.............................................................................16
HP 16GB (1x16GB) Dual Rank x8 DDR4-2666 CAS-19-19-19 Registered Smart Memory Kit 16
VisionTek Radeon 4350 512MB DDR2 (DVI-I, HDMI, VGA) Graphics Card - 900270...........17
Gigabyte GeForce GT 710 PCIe x 8 1GB DDR5 DVI HDMI D-SUB Video Card.....................17
Figure 7: Motherboard: QNAP TS-EC2480U-E3-4GE-R2 24 Bay Rackmount NAS..................18
Figure 8: CPU: HP 719052-B21 DL380 Gen9 E5-2609V3 Kit....................................................19
Figure 9: Memory: HP 16GB (1x16GB) Dual Rank x8 DDR4-2666 CAS-19-19-19 Registered
Smart Memory Kit.........................................................................................................................20
Figure 10: Storage: Seagate Barracuda ST3000DM007 3.5" 3TB HDD......................................21

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INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER SYSTEMS AND PLATFORM TECHNOLOGY
Figure 11: Graphics: VisionTek Radeon 4350 512MB DDR2 (DVI-I, HDMI, VGA) Graphics
Card - 900270................................................................................................................................22
Figure 12: Display: Gigabyte GeForce GT 710 PCIe x 8 1GB DDR5 DVI HDMI D-SUB Video
Card................................................................................................................................................23
3.2 Compare and contrast each part with that of the other build...............................................23
3.3 Key technical specifications for each part...........................................................................25
3.4 Benchmark for each CPU, Memory, Storage, and Graphics...............................................28
4. Question 4 — Advanced question.............................................................................................30
4.1 What is Bitcoin mining? What does Bitcoin hash rate mean and how is it measured?.......30
4.2 Describe and compare the main Bitcoin mining hardware types.........................................30
4.3 Minimum system requirements for Bitcoin mining.............................................................31
4.4 Bitcoin mining pool.............................................................................................................31
References......................................................................................................................................32

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INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER SYSTEMS AND PLATFORM TECHNOLOGY
1. Question 1 — System Architecture
1.1 Labeled component in the given main circuit board
A - Audio Header
B - CPU Socket
C - CD-IN
D - PCI Express
E - CMOS Battery
F - PCI-E x16 Slots
G - SATA connector
H - FDD Connector
I - 24-pin ATX Power Connector
J - DDR4 memory slot
1.2 Difference between PCIEX4, PCIEX8, and PCIEX1
PCIe x4
PCIe x4 cable adapter is a free stand of adapter board that can help in transferring the PCIe from
x4 cable connector a x4 Gen 1 link slot This can be operated at the maximum speed of 10 Gb/s
with x16 connector. This versatile board can be installed in a small space. This supports x4, x16
and x8 add-in card. The ATX power connected to the board provides 75 watts of power to card
edge connector of add-in board. As mentioned by Shen and Lipasti (2013), it can be operated at
the temperature of 0° to 50°C ambient and short-term operating temperature is between -5°C to
55°C ambient. The operating humidity temperature needs to be 10-90% at 40°C and storage
humidity temperature needs to be 0% to 95% at 40°C.
PCIe x8
The PCIe x8 is the solution that can help in adding multiple PCIe peripherals to the system. This
is a five slot extender provides feature for four high-velocity cooling fans that need 1200W
power supply. The external PCIe connector has a cable connection to PCIe X8 host controller
and 5-slot PCI Express backplane that can provide an expansion port for the compatible user

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INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER SYSTEMS AND PLATFORM TECHNOLOGY
installed PCIe cars. As mentioned by Clements et al. (2015), the PCIe is the extender that is
needed for host servers PCI express bus that is outside the server and provides an additional slot
for the application.
PCIe x1
PCIe x1 requires 40 V of voltage for operation. The current supply needs to be 1.5A per contact.
The contact resistance needs to be of maximum 20 milliohms. Dielectric withstanding voltage is
required to be 500V and insulation resistance needs to be of 100 Megohms. As mentioned by
Kõivomägi et al. (2015), Contact insertion force needs to be 0.60N for each circuit and insertion
force for PCB is required to be 44.50N. Mating force is 11.17N and un-mating force is 6.7N per
circuit. PCIe can meet durability at the rate of 1500 cycles. Operating temperature of PCIe x1 is
between -20 to 85°C.
1.3 Explanation the role of each of four pins for CPU_FAN and SYS_FAN3
Pin 1: Ground
Ground refers to the real earth potential that is needed for general surrounding. This is needed for
the signal and power that is coming outside of the circuit. Ground is needed for zapping the
dangerous potential to ground. Earth ground can have a matter for radio system that can have
types of antennas that can be used for earthen and is the part of overall motherboard.
Pin 2: 12V
12V power supply is commonly used. 12V uses combinations of transistors, diodes, and
transformers. 12VDC power supply refers to power supply of SMPS. As mentioned by Morrison
and Afek (2013), the switch based power supply has regulated 12VDC of output voltage that has
a high frequency of switching techniques that can be employed to pulse width modulation and
feedback.
Pin 3: FAN_TACH
The tachometer connected to fan is needed to calculate the speed of fan. The speed of fan can be
seen in BIOS. The RPM rating for fan has a typical value at full rated voltage and under specific
air pressure conditions. The actual speed of fan can vary because of an aging and fan speed
control circuit.

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INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER SYSTEMS AND PLATFORM TECHNOLOGY
Pin 4: FAN_CONTROL
Fan control can help in measuring humidity and temperature. The information can be calculated
for heat index that can be captured for temperature other than the actual temperature. The fan
control software can identify the operating speed and direction that can control the fan. When the
temperatures rises from the desired temperature range then fan starts running in forwarding
direction and create a cooling effect.
1.4 Price of motherboard
The best price for motherboard is on Amazon (Amazon.com, 2018)
Price: $219.99
Shipping Cost: $2.19
Tax: $19.99
Duties: $58.76
1.5 Type of modules for purchase
Crucial 16GB DDR4-2666 UDIMM is compatible with GA-Z170X-Ultra Gaming.
DIMM Type: Un-buffered
Total Capacity: 16GB
Speed: 2666 MT/s
Voltage: 1.2 V
X8 based
2. Question 2 — Process Architecture
Models of mobile
Model A: Dual-core 32-bit CPU: HTC Sensation XE
Model B: Dual-core 64-bit CPU: Asus Zenfone 5

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INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER SYSTEMS AND PLATFORM TECHNOLOGY
Model C: Quad-core 64-bit CPU:
Model D: Octa-core 64-bit CPU:
2.1 32-bit and 64-bit processor
32-bit processor
32-bit processor has a CPU architecture that can transfer 32 bits of data per clock cycle. This
amount of information is processed by CPU every time to perform an operation. 32-bit processor
is the primary processor that has a registered bit width of 32 bits and bus has a capacity of
transmitting 32 bits. 32 bit of processor usually uses x86 instruction set. As mentioned by
Basanta-Val et al. (2015), CISC machine can help in maximizing the size of instruction that can
be 32 bits long. The 32-bit processor includes a 32-bit register that can store 4,294,967,296
values. The data bus has 32 numbers of pathways that are available and are parallel to data for
traveling. 32-bit processor refers to the way how the data can be handled and represents the
memory address that can be used for representing the 32 bit. 32 bits processor refers to the state
that data can be read, processed and stored. As mentioned by Liu and Vinter (2015), this means
that 1’s and 0’s is used for representation of data. Some bits of the system can be used for
process and more data can be handled (Ieee.org, 2018).
64-bit processor
64-bit processor is the microprocessor that has a word size of 64 bits. 64-bit processor is required
by computer-aided design, database management system, and higher performance server and for
scientific application. 64-bit processor provides a higher performance as compared to 32-bit
processor and can handle twice as many bits of information compared to 32-bit processor. As
mentioned by Ye and Xu (2014), the 62-bit processor is backward compatible with operating
system and applications. 64 bits is the number that refers to the process and transmission of data
in parallel way. This refers to the number of bits that can be used for single elements in a data
format. This refers to the word size that can be used for defining a certain class of the computer
architecture, memory, bus, and CPU. As mentioned by Dallman and Nanson (2013), the 64-bit
processor donates 64 bits integer and memory address that are most of 64 bits. In

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INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER SYSTEMS AND PLATFORM TECHNOLOGY
microprocessor, the 64 bits of data indicates the width of register. 64 bit microprocessor can able
to process the memory addresses and represent 64 bits of data.
2.2 Difference in 32-bit and 64-bit make about processor, RAM, and Apps
32-bit processor
32-bit processor consists of 32 bits. The architecture of 32-bit processor is based on address, data
bus, and register. As mentioned by Park et al. (2013), it is compatible with 32-bit operating
system and requires 32 bit CPUs. 32-bit processor consists of system that is limited to 3.2
Gigabytes of RAM. 32 bit processor has 32 bit mode on x86 that can flush the cache during
context switching because of overlapping of 4G address space. 32-bit processor can deal with
sheer amount of data that can be thrown.
64-bit processor
64-bit processor consists of 64 numbers of bits. The architecture of 64-bit processor is based on
address, registers and data buses that are 64 bits wide. The software uses 64 bits mean code for
64 bit of virtual memory address. 64-bit processor can allow up to 17 GB of RAM. The x64
architecture has more register that can help in easy optimization and counteract to the fact of
pointer that can be large and use the structure of pointers resulting in high memory traffic. As
mentioned by Homulle et al. (2017), the application performance is optimized by 15-30% as
compared to 32-bit processor. 64-bit processor has a bigger address space that can be addressed
and have benefits.
2.3 Number of cores improves the mobiles performance
Quad-core processor can be used for improving the performance of mobile devices. Quad-core
chips can offer a faster and better performance with a better battery backup. As mentioned by
Baruah and Guo (2013), the device with quad-core processor has a sharper screen resolution that
can stream HD videos smoother. Application and photos can be loaded faster with a heavy
graphic for multiplayer gaming. Quad-core processor can help in delivering a longer battery life