Central Processing Unit
Definition of a Central Processing unit
Also known as the Central Processing Unit or processor, the CPU is essentially the “brains” of your computer. Without the CPU you wouldn’t be able to play games, type research papers, or surf the Internet. Your computer would basically be a very expensive paperweight.
Unless you want to lose all of the work you have done on your computer, you need to have a way to store it safely.
There are various types of storage devices; different devices are suitable for different tasks.
There are many different types of storage devices I will now list three of the most common ones listing all there advantages and disadvantages.
Floppy disc
Floppy disks are one of the oldest types of portable storage devices still in use, having been around since the 1980s. However, they are gradually becoming obsolete and some manufacturers are now starting to build their PCs without floppy disk drives.
A floppy disk can store up to 1.44 Mb of data which is equivalent to around 300 pages of A4 text. They used to be the ideal storage device for transferring small files from home to work/school or from one office computer to another. But nowadays, many files contain graphics or WordArt and are larger than the size of the floppy disk.
Floppy disks are a magnetic storage device.
All disks must be formatted before data can be written to the disk. Formatting divides the disk up into sections or sectors onto which data files are stored. In the past, the user would have to format their own disks, but now they are sold pre-formatted.
Advantages
• Portable - small and lightweight
• Inexpensive
• Useful for transferring small files between home and school
• Security tab to stop data from being written over
• Can be used many times
Disadvantages
• Not very strong - easy to damage
• Data can be erased if the disk comes into contact with a magnetic field
• Quite slow to access and retrieve data when compared to a hard disk
•...
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