COMPUTERS

Updated April 2021

Software

There is software running all of the device, but in differnt places. Here is a description, starting from the lowest level.

Component Embedded Firmware

This is the code that runs on the different components inside the system, such as, i think, wifi cards, etc.

Hardware Basic Input Output System (BIOS)

This is the firmware running on the main board of the computer and runs initialization processes for other components like the memory controller, system management controller, USB, and/or GPU.

Boot Loader

Once the BIOS is done the bootloader is up next. Once all the devices are up and running the bootloader is the first piece of software that runs. Its job is to then kick off the kernel.

GRUB is a free bootloader for linux.

Kernel

The kernel, such as the linux kernel is a program at the core of a computer operating system that has complete control over everything. It initializes the operating system and continues to act as an interface between hardware and software.

Operating System

This is the layer between the kernel and the different software applications. For example, Ubuntu, Debian, PureOS, ElementaryOS, (and windows and macos), etc. are all operating systems.

Central Processing Unit (CPU)

Here are some CPUs on selected machines

BraH	Model	Cores	Threads	Lith	Base	Max	Cache	TDP	Graphics	Used	Year
Intel Core	i7-1165G7	4	8	10 nm	2.8GHz	4.7GHz	12MB	12/28W	Iris Xe	Framework	Q1'22
Intel Core	i7-10510U	4	8	14 nm	1.8 GHz	4.9 GHz	8MB	15W	UHD	Purism Mini	Q3'19
Intel Celeron	J3355	2	2	14 nm	2.0 GHz	2.5 GHz	2MB	10W	HD 500	DS218+	Q3'16
Intel Core	i7-7600U	2	4	14 nm	2.8 GHz	3.9 GHz	4MB	15W	HD 620	X1 Carbon g5	Q1'17
Intel Core	i5-6300U	2	4	14 nm	2.4 GHz	3.0 GHz	3MB	15W	HD 520	Yoga g1	Q3'15
Intel Core	i5-1035G4	4	8	10 nm	1.1 GHz	3.7 GHz	6MB	15W	Iris Plus	Air A2179	Q3'19
Intel Xeon	W-2135	6	12	14 nm	3.7 GHz	4.5 GHz	8.25MB	140W	None	Lenovo P520	Q3'17
Intel Core	i5-8265U	4	8	14 nm	1.6 GHz	3.9 GHz	4MB	7.5W	HD 620	XPS 13	Q3'19

Cores

A Core is capable of working on one discrete task while others do something else.

Hyper-Threading

When the CPU splits each physical Core into virtual Cores called threads. Most of Intel’s dual-core CPUs use hyper-threading to provide four threads while its quad-core CPUs provide eight threads.

Lithography

Size of the technology used in fabrication, measured in nanometers (nm). The smaller the number the more transistors (and computing power) per unit area. Smaller transistors also require less electricity,so performance can be improved so long as packing doesn’t get so dense that thermal losses become a major problem.

Reportedly there isn’t a unified way to measure of this, so be wary comparing lithography specs between suppliers

Clock Speed

The speed at which the CPU can execute commands, measured in GHz. There are other factors that affect perceived speed; CPU with a higher clock speed from five years ago might be outperformed by a new CPU with a lower clock speed, as the newer architecture deals with instructions more efficiently.But within the same generation of CPUs, a processor with a higher clock speed will generally outperform a processor with a lower clock speed across many applications.

Turbo Boost

Temporarily raises the clock speed from its base frequency to a higher one in order to complete a task more quickly. Most Core i5 and i7 CPUs have this feature, but Core i3 models do not. The default frequency is listed as “processor base frequency” while the highest frequency is listed as “max turbo frequency.”

Cache

A small amount of RAM that lives directly on the CPU die, the cache stores frequently used information to speed up repetitive tasks. Most CPUs have between 1 and 4MB of cache.

Thermal Design Power (TDP)

Average power, in watts, the processor dissipates when operating at Base Frequency with all cores active under an Intel-defined, high-complexity workload. Refer to Datasheet for thermal solution requirements.

Intel Management Engine

Intel Active Management Technology (AMT), aka vpro, is hardware and firmware technology for remote out-of-band management of personal computers. It allows someone else to monitor, maintain, update, upgrade, and repair a computer. Out-of-band (OOB) or hardware-based management is different from software-based (or in-band) management and software management agents.

Graphics Card

In the table above you can see that CPUs meant for laptops come with dedicated CPU circuitry. Desktop ones seem to favor separate graphics cards. Intel’s HD is the older stuff, Iris is newer.

Brand	Model	Mem	Mem Int	CUDA Cores	Max power	Where
NVIDIA	QUADRO P1000	4GB GDDR5	128-bit	640	47W	Lenovo P520

Base Frequency

The graphics render clock frequency in MHz.

Max Frequency

The maximum opportunistic graphics render clock frequency that can be supported.

Max Memory

The maximum amount of memory accessible to processor graphics. Processor graphics operates on the same physical memory as the CPU (subject to OS, driver, and other system limitations).

Random Access Memory (RAM)

A high-speed, low-latency, volatile memory that functions as the short-term memory space for computers.

Double Data Rate Synchronous Dynamic Random-Access Memory (DDR SDRAM) is the most common types of RAM. These days DDR3 and DDR4 are the options.

Standard	Voltage	Speed	Modules	Buffer	Bus	Internal Rate	Transfer Rate	Bandwidth	Year
DDR3	1.5V	800-1866 MHz	240-pin DIMM	8n	400-1066 MHz	100-266 MHz	0.80-2.13 GT/s	6.4-17.0 GBps	2007
DDR4	1.2V	800-2133 MHz	288-pin DIMM	8n	1066-2133 MHz	100-266 MHz	2.13-4.26 GT/s	12.8-25.6 GBps	2012
DDR5	1.1V	xxxxxxxxxxxxx	xxxxxxxxxxxx	xx	xxxxxxxxxxxxx	xxxxxxxxxxx	2.13-4.26 GT/s	X.XX-32.0 GBps	2020

Storage

HDD vs SSD

SATA SSD vs M.2 SSD

Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) mainly uses Advanced Host Controller Interface (AHCI)protocol. The Throughput (Transfer Rate) value of SATA 6Gbps is 6 Gb/s and its theoretical data transfer speed is 600MB/s.
M.2 (a.k.a Next Generation Form Factor, i.e. NGFF)

Chris Loughnane