103b-ai PC Lab
Contents
Computer Demolition Lab
Sam Scharr
2/7/2011
Model: Dell Optiplex GX620
The Team
Right: Sam Scharr Left: Leonore Brodski
With computer tower put back together again
Taking Apart the Computer
In order to take apart the computer first we had to open up the tower by taking off the side panel.
The open computer tower
Surprisingly the computer was very easy to take apart. When I think of a computer I think of lots and lots of tiny wires all connected, which is the case, but since they are all connected to different chips and boards, the inside of the tower is very neat. The most difficult part of disassembling the computer was locating all the screws and pieces that needed to be pushed or shifted in order to remove whichever part we were working with.
Leonore unscrewing the power supply
The computer mostly disassembled
The Parts of the Computer
Motherboard
Sam holding the motherboard.
The computer's hard drive is located at the bottom, front of the computer tower. This computer had 250 GB of memory.
This is where the processor sits on the motherboard. When all together there is are cooling fins above the processor to keep it cool.
The processor is an Intel Pentium 4
This processor runs at 3.40 GHz
There are 2 RAM cards made by Samsung
Each RAM card has 512 MB of memory
Graphics Card
The CD/DVD drive is located at the top, front of the tower
The power supply is located at the top, rear of the tower and has 305 watts it can output.
Leonore holds the power supply.
Other Interesting Stuff
- All the little wires on the motherboard and daughter boards are what connect the circuits.
- On the motherboard is a little crystal, encased in metal, that tells the processor its speed. The crystal is located near the USB ports at the back of the motherboard.
- There is a small battery on the motherboard. This battery is there to keep the motherboard alive so the computer can start up again.
