WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.200 --> 00:00:02.759 Right now, you are sitting in front of a piece 2 00:00:02.919 --> 00:00:08.880 of silicon rock that humanity has somehow tricked into thinking. 3 00:00:09.080 --> 00:00:11.839 Yeah, which is a wild concept when you really stop 4 00:00:11.919 --> 00:00:12.640 to think about. 5 00:00:12.439 --> 00:00:14.640 It, it really is. Well, we do this by shooting 6 00:00:14.640 --> 00:00:17.440 microscopic bolts of lightning through it, like billions of times 7 00:00:17.480 --> 00:00:19.480 a second. We call it a computer. We trust it 8 00:00:19.480 --> 00:00:22.239 with our bank accounts, our secrets, you know, our entire livelihoods. 9 00:00:22.320 --> 00:00:23.079 Uh huh. 10 00:00:23.120 --> 00:00:25.480 And yet if you were to actually pop the hood 11 00:00:25.519 --> 00:00:28.480 on that sleek aluminum wedge sitting on your lap, or 12 00:00:29.160 --> 00:00:32.840 that humming black box under your desk, it looks like 13 00:00:32.880 --> 00:00:34.840 a microscopic alien city in there. 14 00:00:34.920 --> 00:00:37.399 Oh. It is deeply intimidating for most people. I mean, 15 00:00:37.439 --> 00:00:40.119 you open that case and you are instantly confronted with 16 00:00:40.520 --> 00:00:43.719 just a tangle of wires, sprawling green boards, spinning fans, 17 00:00:43.840 --> 00:00:48.640 and this dizzying alphabet soup of acronyms that seem specifically 18 00:00:48.679 --> 00:00:49.119 designed to. 19 00:00:49.159 --> 00:00:51.359 Keep you out, which is exactly why we are here. 20 00:00:51.880 --> 00:00:53.719 So welcome to today's deep dive. And if you are 21 00:00:53.759 --> 00:00:56.560 listening to this right now, consider yourself the crucial third 22 00:00:56.560 --> 00:00:58.359 person sitting right here at the table with us. 23 00:00:58.399 --> 00:00:59.719 Absolutely glad you're here. 24 00:00:59.759 --> 00:01:04.000 With us. Our mission today is to demystify that black box. 25 00:01:04.280 --> 00:01:07.719 We are pulling our insights from the Comtia Fundamentals Plus 26 00:01:07.719 --> 00:01:11.719 Study Guide, specifically the second edition by Quentin Doctor. And look, 27 00:01:12.280 --> 00:01:14.480 we are not here to just read a textbook to you. 28 00:01:14.519 --> 00:01:15.400 No, definitely not. 29 00:01:15.560 --> 00:01:19.599 We are going to decode the actual mechanics of computer hardware, 30 00:01:19.920 --> 00:01:24.599 so you know, motherboards, CPUs, ram PCIe, slots. We want 31 00:01:24.599 --> 00:01:27.519 you to understand the why and how behind the machine. 32 00:01:27.879 --> 00:01:29.879 The goal is that by the end of this conversation 33 00:01:30.200 --> 00:01:32.840 you can read a spec sheet, buy a computer, or 34 00:01:32.879 --> 00:01:35.359 even fix one without relying on blind faith. 35 00:01:35.760 --> 00:01:39.400 That is a very empowering shift. I think, moving from 36 00:01:39.480 --> 00:01:41.640 a while a passive consumer who just kind of hopes 37 00:01:41.640 --> 00:01:44.799 the machine turns on to an informed operator who actually 38 00:01:44.840 --> 00:01:46.560 understands the anatomy of the device. 39 00:01:46.680 --> 00:01:49.560 Okay, let's unpack this because what completely blows my mind 40 00:01:49.599 --> 00:01:52.319 about this guide is how it takes incredibly complex microscopic 41 00:01:52.359 --> 00:01:57.120 engineering and translates it into these highly organized, understandable, modular blocks. Right, 42 00:01:57.319 --> 00:02:00.239 a computer isn't magic. It is just a very strictly 43 00:02:00.480 --> 00:02:05.079 zoned city in Every city needs a physical foundation to build. 44 00:02:04.840 --> 00:02:09.039 On, and that foundation is the nervous system of the 45 00:02:09.199 --> 00:02:13.039 entire machine, which is the motherboard. Historically it's a large 46 00:02:13.039 --> 00:02:16.000 green board, though today you know manufacturers dye them black, 47 00:02:16.039 --> 00:02:19.919 red or blue just for aesthetics. But functionally it is 48 00:02:19.960 --> 00:02:21.840 a printed circuit board or PCB. 49 00:02:22.360 --> 00:02:24.319 So what does that actually mean when you hold one? 50 00:02:24.400 --> 00:02:26.599 Well, if you hold a motherboard in your hands and 51 00:02:26.639 --> 00:02:29.960 flip it over, you don't just see plastic. You see 52 00:02:30.000 --> 00:02:35.479 this massive, intricate web of conductive copper pathways laminated directly 53 00:02:35.479 --> 00:02:36.800 into the fiberglass itself. 54 00:02:37.039 --> 00:02:37.360 Wow. 55 00:02:37.520 --> 00:02:40.400 Yeah, And every single component in your computer, no matter 56 00:02:40.439 --> 00:02:42.400 how small, connects to this board. 57 00:02:42.439 --> 00:02:44.280 But they don't all look the same, right, Like, you 58 00:02:44.319 --> 00:02:46.680 can't just buy a motherboard and expect it to fit 59 00:02:46.800 --> 00:02:50.199 into whatever case you happen to have lying around. The 60 00:02:50.240 --> 00:02:54.719 book talks about form factors, right, which dictate the physical 61 00:02:54.759 --> 00:02:56.199 design and the size of that board. 62 00:02:56.439 --> 00:02:59.639 Yes, exactly, And the history of these form factors shows 63 00:02:59.680 --> 00:03:03.159 a real surprising stubbornness in the tech industry. Well. In 64 00:03:03.240 --> 00:03:07.080 nineteen eighty five, IBM released the babyat form factor and 65 00:03:07.120 --> 00:03:10.400 it dominated the market for a decade. Then in nineteen 66 00:03:10.479 --> 00:03:14.639 ninety six, Intel introduced the ATX standard, alongside a slightly 67 00:03:14.680 --> 00:03:19.319 smaller version called MicroATX, and staggeringly, those nineteen ninety six 68 00:03:19.360 --> 00:03:23.319 ATX standards are still the dominant architecture for desktop computers today. 69 00:03:23.400 --> 00:03:26.400 Wait, really, something from nineteen ninety six is still dictating 70 00:03:26.439 --> 00:03:28.960 how we build modern high end machines today. 71 00:03:29.159 --> 00:03:31.479 It is. I mean, the industry agreed on a standard 72 00:03:31.520 --> 00:03:33.919 size and mounting hole pattern and they just stuck to 73 00:03:34.000 --> 00:03:37.520 it because it allowed for this massive ecosystem of interchangeable parts. 74 00:03:37.599 --> 00:03:38.360 Oh that makes sense. 75 00:03:38.439 --> 00:03:42.039 Yeah. However, as our technology has become more efficient, we've 76 00:03:42.080 --> 00:03:44.520 seen the rise of the ITX family of form factors. 77 00:03:44.520 --> 00:03:46.120 Why it's the smaller ones exactly. 78 00:03:46.159 --> 00:03:49.960 These are specifically designed for small form factor SFF computers. 79 00:03:50.159 --> 00:03:53.360 They're these tiny boards that use low wattage power supplies 80 00:03:53.400 --> 00:03:56.439 to deliberately keep heat down in really cramped spaces. 81 00:03:56.520 --> 00:03:58.319 That makes total sense. I like to think of the 82 00:03:58.360 --> 00:04:01.479 motherboard as the physical city grid, and the form factor, 83 00:04:01.520 --> 00:04:04.840 whether it's a sprawling ATX or a tiny ITX, is 84 00:04:04.919 --> 00:04:07.039 just the physical size of the island your city is 85 00:04:07.080 --> 00:04:07.439 viewed on. 86 00:04:07.680 --> 00:04:08.639 I like that analogy. 87 00:04:08.919 --> 00:04:12.479 It dictates how many buildings or components you can actually fit. 88 00:04:13.120 --> 00:04:16.759 And what is brilliant about desktop computers is a concept 89 00:04:16.759 --> 00:04:21.199 that book highlights called a FRU, a field replaceable unit. 90 00:04:21.519 --> 00:04:23.439 Yes, the modularity exactly. 91 00:04:23.560 --> 00:04:28.000 Desktops are modular. They're essentially really expensive lego blocks. You 92 00:04:28.040 --> 00:04:29.920 could pull one building down and snap a new one 93 00:04:30.000 --> 00:04:30.480 right into. 94 00:04:30.360 --> 00:04:32.600 The grid, Which is an important distinction to make because 95 00:04:32.639 --> 00:04:36.399 you lose that lego block modularity the moment you move 96 00:04:36.519 --> 00:04:39.360 to a laptop or a smartphone. Because of the size 97 00:04:39.439 --> 00:04:43.759 right to achieve the incredibly thin profiles of a modern phone, 98 00:04:43.920 --> 00:04:47.120 manufacturers just can't use bulky plug in slots. They are 99 00:04:47.160 --> 00:04:50.800 forced to solder the components permanently directly onto the board, 100 00:04:51.319 --> 00:04:53.480 so you trade repairability for portability. 101 00:04:53.600 --> 00:04:56.800 But that raises a massive logistical question for me. If 102 00:04:56.839 --> 00:05:00.040 the motherboard is this physical city grid and I I 103 00:05:00.040 --> 00:05:03.319 have all these modular components plugged into it, how does 104 00:05:03.319 --> 00:05:06.240 a keystroke actually get routed to my screen? Like? Who 105 00:05:06.319 --> 00:05:09.439 is directing the traffic moving between all these distinct parts. 106 00:05:09.600 --> 00:05:12.160 If we connect this to the bigger picture, the entity 107 00:05:12.199 --> 00:05:15.600 directing that traffic is called the chipset. The chipset is 108 00:05:15.680 --> 00:05:20.000 essentially the traffic cop integrated directly into the motherboard. Okay, 109 00:05:20.079 --> 00:05:23.439 it dictates exactly how data flows between the processor and 110 00:05:23.480 --> 00:05:27.399 all the connected peripherals, and historically the Chipset divided the 111 00:05:27.480 --> 00:05:31.040 labor into two major hubs, the north Bridge and the 112 00:05:31.079 --> 00:05:31.879 south Bridge. 113 00:05:32.120 --> 00:05:34.959 Okay, so what is the division of labor there? Why 114 00:05:35.040 --> 00:05:35.720 two bridges? 115 00:05:36.240 --> 00:05:39.240 It really comes down to speed requirements. The north Bridge 116 00:05:39.279 --> 00:05:43.759 is the hub of blistering high speed communication. It coordinates 117 00:05:43.879 --> 00:05:47.360 data between the processor, the primary memory, and the video. 118 00:05:47.199 --> 00:05:48.959 Because those need to be fast. 119 00:05:48.720 --> 00:05:52.279 Extremely fast. It uses a super fast pathway called the 120 00:05:52.319 --> 00:05:56.519 front side bus because those specific components are incredibly hungry 121 00:05:56.560 --> 00:05:59.639 for data. If they don't get information instantly, the entire 122 00:05:59.720 --> 00:06:00.680 comput stalls. 123 00:06:00.759 --> 00:06:02.639 Right. Okay, So if the north Bridge is handling the 124 00:06:02.720 --> 00:06:05.759 RAM and the video, who is talking to my mouse, 125 00:06:05.839 --> 00:06:09.199 my keyboard, or like my USB drive Because my mouse 126 00:06:09.319 --> 00:06:11.800 definitely doesn't need millions of calculations a second to know 127 00:06:11.839 --> 00:06:12.519 it moved left. 128 00:06:12.560 --> 00:06:15.079 That is exactly where the southbridge comes in. Yeah. The 129 00:06:15.120 --> 00:06:20.839 Southbridge handles all the slower, everyday peripheral traffic. So USB ports, 130 00:06:21.199 --> 00:06:24.720 audio connections, hard drives, and all of this data whether 131 00:06:24.759 --> 00:06:28.519 it is screaming fast Northbridge data or slower Southbridge data, 132 00:06:29.040 --> 00:06:32.560 It travels across the motherboard on pathways called buses. 133 00:06:32.920 --> 00:06:33.399 Buses. 134 00:06:33.519 --> 00:06:37.160 Yes, a bus is simply a collection of microscopic signal 135 00:06:37.199 --> 00:06:39.759 pathways that devices use to communicate. 136 00:06:39.920 --> 00:06:43.079 Now here's where it gets really interesting, because the book 137 00:06:43.240 --> 00:06:47.000 dives into how these buses actually move the data, specifically 138 00:06:47.040 --> 00:06:50.319 comparing serial buses to parallel buses. And I have to 139 00:06:50.360 --> 00:06:53.399 admit my intuition was completely backwards on how this actually works. 140 00:06:53.480 --> 00:06:55.519 Really, walk me through your thought process when you read it. 141 00:06:55.600 --> 00:06:57.920 Well, okay, so the text explains that a parallel bus 142 00:06:58.160 --> 00:07:00.800 transmits multiple bits of data at the exact same time 143 00:07:00.839 --> 00:07:05.040 across multiple parallel channels. I instantly imagined an eight lane highway. Sure, 144 00:07:05.199 --> 00:07:08.120 then it describes a serial bus, which communicates just one 145 00:07:08.120 --> 00:07:10.920 bit of data at a time sequentially. So I pictured 146 00:07:10.959 --> 00:07:14.839 a single lane dirt road. Naturally, anyone listening right now 147 00:07:14.839 --> 00:07:17.439 would assume the eight lane highway is massively faster than 148 00:07:17.480 --> 00:07:18.240 the single lane rime. 149 00:07:18.319 --> 00:07:20.199 It seems obvious, right, But the. 150 00:07:20.120 --> 00:07:23.000 Book points out that serial technologies like USB and seta 151 00:07:23.319 --> 00:07:27.639 completely defeated parallel technologies. How does a single lane beat 152 00:07:27.680 --> 00:07:28.720 an eight lane highway? 153 00:07:28.839 --> 00:07:31.920 Well, your intuition makes perfect sense visually, but it completely 154 00:07:31.920 --> 00:07:35.920 breaks down when you introduce the physics of computer synchronization. Synchronization, Yes, 155 00:07:36.319 --> 00:07:39.879 in the late eighties, parallel technology was indeed the standard, 156 00:07:40.040 --> 00:07:43.120 especially for things like printers. But let's use your eight 157 00:07:43.199 --> 00:07:47.000 lane highway analogy. Imagine driving eight cars down those eight lanes, 158 00:07:47.399 --> 00:07:50.199 but the strict rule is that all eight cars must 159 00:07:50.279 --> 00:07:53.240 arrive at the finish line at the exact same millisecond. 160 00:07:53.360 --> 00:07:56.439 Oh wow, that sounds impossible. I mean, one car drifts, 161 00:07:56.480 --> 00:07:57.879 one hits a bump precisely. 162 00:07:58.240 --> 00:08:02.240 The constant, intense knee to carefully monitor and synchronize the 163 00:08:02.319 --> 00:08:07.040 data across all those parallel lanes creates a massive computational bottleneck. 164 00:08:07.279 --> 00:08:11.079 It actually slows the entire transmission down wild So by 165 00:08:11.160 --> 00:08:14.399 nineteen ninety six, engineers realized that if they abandon the 166 00:08:14.399 --> 00:08:17.639 eight lane highway and build a single frictionless bullet train, 167 00:08:17.680 --> 00:08:21.040 which is a serial connection, they could push data down 168 00:08:21.120 --> 00:08:24.800 that one lane so incredibly fast that it completely outpaced 169 00:08:24.839 --> 00:08:26.519 the bulky multi lane setup. 170 00:08:26.639 --> 00:08:30.079 No synchronization drag, just pure speed exactly. And because it 171 00:08:30.160 --> 00:08:32.879 is just one lane of traffic, it allows for features 172 00:08:32.960 --> 00:08:36.480 like hot plugging right, meaning you can jam a USB 173 00:08:36.720 --> 00:08:39.600 flash drive into the port or rip it out while 174 00:08:39.639 --> 00:08:42.519 the computer's completely turned on without crashing the machine. 175 00:08:42.679 --> 00:08:46.519 Yes, that's a huge benefit. Negotiating a new connection on 176 00:08:46.559 --> 00:08:48.919 a single lane on the flies much simpler than trying 177 00:08:48.919 --> 00:08:51.919 to instantly synchronize eight lanes of parallel traffic while the 178 00:08:51.960 --> 00:08:53.039 machine is already running. 179 00:08:53.279 --> 00:08:55.799 Wow. Okay, so we have the physical grid and we 180 00:08:55.879 --> 00:08:58.960 have these serial bullet trains carrying data at blinding speeds. 181 00:08:59.279 --> 00:09:01.399 But where is all this traffic ultimately rushing to? 182 00:09:01.720 --> 00:09:04.879 It is rushing to the brain and its workspace. The 183 00:09:04.879 --> 00:09:07.639 text refers to this as the holy trinity of computing, 184 00:09:07.759 --> 00:09:10.720 which is the motherboard, the processor, so the CPU, and 185 00:09:10.799 --> 00:09:11.320 the memory. 186 00:09:11.840 --> 00:09:15.320 Okay, let's focus on the CPU first. The brain. These chips, 187 00:09:15.399 --> 00:09:19.080 which are mostly manufactured by Intel or AMD, drop into 188 00:09:19.320 --> 00:09:22.759 very specific sockets on the motherboard, and the evolution of 189 00:09:22.799 --> 00:09:25.320 these sockets answers a lot of questions. The book talks 190 00:09:25.320 --> 00:09:27.600 about PGA versus LGA sockets. 191 00:09:27.799 --> 00:09:31.799 Right, So, PGA stands for ping grid array. In a 192 00:09:31.840 --> 00:09:35.720 PGA setup, the processor itself is covered in hundreds of 193 00:09:35.759 --> 00:09:40.000 fragile microscopic pins, and you carefully drop those pins into 194 00:09:40.080 --> 00:09:43.720 holes in the motherboard socket. That's how stressful it is, 195 00:09:43.840 --> 00:09:46.639 because if you bend one, you're in trouble. Now. LGA 196 00:09:46.720 --> 00:09:49.840 stands for land grid array, which flips the design entirely. 197 00:09:50.080 --> 00:09:53.759 The processor is totally flat, covered in tiny gold contact pads, 198 00:09:53.919 --> 00:09:56.679 and the delicate pins are actually down inside the socket 199 00:09:56.799 --> 00:09:57.600 on the motherboard. 200 00:09:57.960 --> 00:10:00.279 But why make that shift to LGA. I mean, seems 201 00:10:00.279 --> 00:10:02.080 like you're just moving the pins from one part to another. 202 00:10:02.200 --> 00:10:05.000 You are, but you were shifting the financial risk. Think 203 00:10:05.039 --> 00:10:07.519 about it. If you accidentally bend a tiny pin while 204 00:10:07.559 --> 00:10:10.080 building a computer, the part is ruined. Would you rather 205 00:10:10.200 --> 00:10:13.360 ruin a five hundred dollars CETU or a fifty dollars motherboard? 206 00:10:14.120 --> 00:10:17.080 You move the fragile parts to the cheapest component. That 207 00:10:17.200 --> 00:10:19.480 is brilliant, It really is, but no matter which socket 208 00:10:19.559 --> 00:10:23.799 you use. The book is incredibly clear about one terrifying 209 00:10:23.840 --> 00:10:26.080 reality of CPUs, and that is the heat. 210 00:10:26.279 --> 00:10:30.159 Oh absolutely, a modern CTU is basically a microscopic city 211 00:10:30.559 --> 00:10:34.679 where billions of electrical gates are violently opening and closing 212 00:10:34.799 --> 00:10:37.720 billions of times every single second, which is just hard 213 00:10:37.720 --> 00:10:41.320 to fathom, right, and all that electrical friction generates an 214 00:10:41.360 --> 00:10:44.440 immense amount of heat. If you were to turn on 215 00:10:44.559 --> 00:10:48.759 a modern desktop CPU without a heat sink, those aluminum 216 00:10:48.799 --> 00:10:51.919 cooling fins and a fan attached to it, it would 217 00:10:51.960 --> 00:10:54.759 generate enough heat to literally cook itself to death in 218 00:10:54.759 --> 00:10:55.600 a matter of seconds. 219 00:10:55.639 --> 00:10:57.279 Seconds. That is terrifying. 220 00:10:57.440 --> 00:11:00.600 It is a critical physical limitation, which is actually why 221 00:11:00.600 --> 00:11:04.120 the book brings up ARM processors. You rarely see an 222 00:11:04.320 --> 00:11:07.720 ARM processor inside a massive desktop tower, but they run 223 00:11:07.840 --> 00:11:11.240 roughly ninety percent of all small mobile devices like the 224 00:11:11.279 --> 00:11:12.720 smartphone you're probably holding right. 225 00:11:12.600 --> 00:11:14.080 Now, because they handle heat better. 226 00:11:14.320 --> 00:11:18.200 Yes, their architecture is fundamentally different. It is designed to 227 00:11:18.279 --> 00:11:23.000 process instructions efficiently while producing significantly less heat. That is 228 00:11:23.039 --> 00:11:26.000 why your phone doesn't need a noisy exhaust band spinning 229 00:11:26.000 --> 00:11:27.000 while it's in your pocket. 230 00:11:27.279 --> 00:11:30.720 Okay, So the CPU is the brain doing the math. 231 00:11:31.320 --> 00:11:34.960 Then there is the RAM random access memory. This slots 232 00:11:34.960 --> 00:11:38.440 into the motherboard in long, slender slots, and the book 233 00:11:38.480 --> 00:11:41.159 notes that on a desktop the memory comes on sticks 234 00:11:41.200 --> 00:11:44.559 called dims, right, But because laptops are desperate to save 235 00:11:44.679 --> 00:11:48.480 vertical space, they use smaller versions called so dims, which 236 00:11:48.519 --> 00:11:50.919 actually lie down flat parallel to the motherboard. 237 00:11:50.960 --> 00:11:53.279 Functionally though, they do the exact same thing, right. 238 00:11:53.679 --> 00:11:55.799 And the way I like to explain the relationship between 239 00:11:55.799 --> 00:11:58.240 the CPU and the RAM to you guys listening is 240 00:11:58.279 --> 00:12:01.840 with a workspace analogy. Hear, So, the CPU is the worker. 241 00:12:02.440 --> 00:12:05.000 It is the one doing all the actual thinking, calculating, 242 00:12:05.000 --> 00:12:08.200 and typing. But the RAM is the worker's physical desk. 243 00:12:09.039 --> 00:12:12.039 The bigger the desk, meaning the more RAM you have installed, 244 00:12:12.240 --> 00:12:15.519 the more documents, spreadsheets and webtabs you can have open 245 00:12:15.559 --> 00:12:17.440 at once, right in front of you, ready to be 246 00:12:17.519 --> 00:12:18.440 worked on instantly. 247 00:12:18.559 --> 00:12:20.720 That's a great way to visualize it. And what happens 248 00:12:20.759 --> 00:12:22.639 when that desk is completely full but you want to 249 00:12:22.679 --> 00:12:24.919 open another application right The. 250 00:12:24.879 --> 00:12:28.519 Computer doesn't just crash. The worker is forced to get up, 251 00:12:28.679 --> 00:12:31.240 walk cross the room to the filing cabinet, pull out 252 00:12:31.240 --> 00:12:33.799 a new file and swap it with something on the desk. 253 00:12:33.960 --> 00:12:36.240 And that filing cabinet is That filing. 254 00:12:35.960 --> 00:12:39.480 Cabinet is your hard drive. It holds everything permanently, but 255 00:12:39.639 --> 00:12:42.720 the physical act of walking over to it, searching it, 256 00:12:42.759 --> 00:12:46.480 and pulling data from it is incredibly slow compared to 257 00:12:46.559 --> 00:12:49.720 just grabbing something already on the desk. This is exactly 258 00:12:49.799 --> 00:12:53.159 why a computer with too little RAM feels sluggish. 259 00:12:53.240 --> 00:12:56.120 That is a perfect mechanical analogy. The CPU can only 260 00:12:56.200 --> 00:12:59.200 work on data that is currently sitting on the RAMS desk. 261 00:12:59.080 --> 00:13:01.919 Which actually creates a massive aha moment for something we 262 00:13:01.960 --> 00:13:04.919 all do every day. When your computer starts clitching or 263 00:13:04.960 --> 00:13:07.240 an app freezes, what is the first thing tech support 264 00:13:07.279 --> 00:13:09.080 tells you to do? Restart the machine. 265 00:13:09.200 --> 00:13:10.840 Have you tried turning it off and on again? 266 00:13:11.080 --> 00:13:14.360 Exactly? Why does that work? Because RAM is volatile. When 267 00:13:14.360 --> 00:13:16.879 you cut the power, the desk is wiped completely clean. 268 00:13:17.440 --> 00:13:21.159 All that tangled code, memory leaks, and overflowing paperwork is 269 00:13:21.240 --> 00:13:24.440 just thrown in the trash. When the computer boots back up, 270 00:13:24.759 --> 00:13:27.480 the worker sits down at a perfectly clean desk and 271 00:13:27.559 --> 00:13:28.600 starts fresh. 272 00:13:28.679 --> 00:13:32.480 Exactly, you are literally flushing the workspace of errors. 273 00:13:32.639 --> 00:13:35.159 But what if I want to upgrade my workers tools? 274 00:13:35.399 --> 00:13:38.080 Say I want my worker to do high end video 275 00:13:38.159 --> 00:13:42.159 editing or connect to a specialized network. The basic desk 276 00:13:42.240 --> 00:13:44.360 setup just isn't enough for that. 277 00:13:44.399 --> 00:13:47.919 You need expansion slots. Motherboards have a dedicated section of 278 00:13:47.960 --> 00:13:52.120 the grid specifically for expanding the computer's capabilities, and just 279 00:13:52.200 --> 00:13:55.559 like everything else, these slots have evolved to handle more traffic. 280 00:13:55.840 --> 00:13:58.559 Yeah, the text walks us through the ghosts of expansion past. 281 00:13:58.960 --> 00:14:01.799 First there were the old white PCI slots. Then came 282 00:14:01.840 --> 00:14:05.320 the brown AGP slots, which were invented purely because early 283 00:14:05.320 --> 00:14:08.399 three D video cards needed a faster direct connection to 284 00:14:08.440 --> 00:14:11.879 the memory than the standard PCI bus could physically provide. 285 00:14:11.919 --> 00:14:14.639 And you know, the math behind those early white PCI 286 00:14:14.720 --> 00:14:17.200 slots is actually quite funny. The text notes that the 287 00:14:17.200 --> 00:14:20.120 bus speed was thirty three megahertz and the data channel 288 00:14:20.440 --> 00:14:21.399 was four bytes wide. 289 00:14:21.679 --> 00:14:24.720 Wait thirty three times four, that's one hundred and thirty two. 290 00:14:25.279 --> 00:14:27.600 But I remember old boxes advertising one hundred and thirty 291 00:14:27.600 --> 00:14:29.919 three megabytes per second. Where did the extra megabyte come from? 292 00:14:30.039 --> 00:14:31.200 It comes from the marketing apartment. 293 00:14:31.279 --> 00:14:31.360 No. 294 00:14:31.440 --> 00:14:33.840 Wait, yeah, one thirty three simply looked better on the 295 00:14:33.879 --> 00:14:37.200 packaging than one thirty two, so the industry universally decided 296 00:14:37.200 --> 00:14:39.879 to just round it up. It is a hilarious bit 297 00:14:39.919 --> 00:14:43.000 of creative marketing math enshrined in tech history. Wow. 298 00:14:43.279 --> 00:14:45.519 Well, whether it's one thirty two or one thirty three, 299 00:14:45.600 --> 00:14:48.639 it is completely irrelevant today because both of those old 300 00:14:48.679 --> 00:14:51.559 slots were replaced by the modern undisputed king, which is 301 00:14:51.600 --> 00:14:53.159 PCIe or PCI Express. 302 00:14:53.320 --> 00:14:56.159 Right, and PCI slots come in different physical sizes, usually 303 00:14:56.240 --> 00:14:59.240 designated as by one, by four or by sixteen, which 304 00:14:59.279 --> 00:15:01.519 tells you how many data lanes the slot has. The 305 00:15:01.519 --> 00:15:04.679 by sixteen slot is the longest and handles the most data. Okay, 306 00:15:04.759 --> 00:15:06.480 and to give me an idea of how far we 307 00:15:06.559 --> 00:15:08.919 have come from that one hundred and thirty three megabytes 308 00:15:08.919 --> 00:15:12.159 per second, the PCIe four point zero standard can move 309 00:15:12.240 --> 00:15:15.320 data at an astonishing thirty one point five gigabytes per 310 00:15:15.360 --> 00:15:16.120 second gigabytes. 311 00:15:16.120 --> 00:15:18.039 So let's put that in perspective for the listener. Thirty 312 00:15:18.080 --> 00:15:20.320 one point five gigabytes per second means you could transfer 313 00:15:20.360 --> 00:15:24.159 an entire uncompressed four K movie in less than two seconds. 314 00:15:24.519 --> 00:15:26.519 That is the kind of fire hose of data that 315 00:15:26.639 --> 00:15:29.679 modern gamers and virtual reality systems demand. It is incredible, 316 00:15:29.720 --> 00:15:32.480 it really is, and our storage cables evolve the exact 317 00:15:32.519 --> 00:15:36.240 same way. The book contrasts the old massive ID or 318 00:15:36.320 --> 00:15:38.720 PETA ribbon cables that used to clog up the inside 319 00:15:38.720 --> 00:15:42.039 of the case and block the airflow with modern data connectors, 320 00:15:42.320 --> 00:15:46.080 which are just sleek, fast little cables connecting our solid 321 00:15:46.080 --> 00:15:46.720 state drives. 322 00:15:46.840 --> 00:15:50.159 What's fascinating here is the underlying philosophy behind all these 323 00:15:50.200 --> 00:15:54.519 slots and connectors. It is a battle of modularity versus obsolescence. 324 00:15:54.759 --> 00:15:57.480 Yeah, why do we even bother with expansion cards at all? 325 00:15:57.919 --> 00:16:01.080 Like if a manufacturer knows I'm by saying a gaming PC, 326 00:16:01.639 --> 00:16:04.759 why don't they just solder the absolute best video circuitry 327 00:16:04.759 --> 00:16:07.360 directly into the motherboard and save me the hassle of 328 00:16:07.399 --> 00:16:10.120 buying a massive card and snapping it into a PCI. 329 00:16:09.919 --> 00:16:13.679 Slot, Because the absolute best today is ancient history. In 330 00:16:13.720 --> 00:16:17.799 two years, if a manufacturer solders the video circuitry permanently 331 00:16:17.840 --> 00:16:20.600 into the motherboard, what happens when a new virtual reality 332 00:16:20.639 --> 00:16:23.279 headset launches that requires double the graphic power? 333 00:16:23.320 --> 00:16:25.840 I guess the computer can't run it. The whole board 334 00:16:25.879 --> 00:16:26.799 is suddenly useless. 335 00:16:27.039 --> 00:16:31.519 Precisely, if everything was built in and permanent, one single 336 00:16:31.600 --> 00:16:35.799 outdated requirement, or even one single fried capacitor would mean 337 00:16:35.879 --> 00:16:39.720 throwing the entire computer in the trash. Expansion slots give 338 00:16:39.759 --> 00:16:40.919 the machine a life span. 339 00:16:40.879 --> 00:16:41.720 To just swap it out. 340 00:16:41.840 --> 00:16:44.399 Yeah, you simply pop out the old video card, drop 341 00:16:44.440 --> 00:16:47.399 a new one into the PCI slot, and your city 342 00:16:47.399 --> 00:16:49.039 grid has been successfully upgraded. 343 00:16:49.159 --> 00:16:50.960 Okay, so we have the physical grid, we have the 344 00:16:51.039 --> 00:16:54.120 chipset directing traffic on high speed cerial buses. We have 345 00:16:54.159 --> 00:16:56.879 the CPU doing the thinking, the RAM acting as a 346 00:16:56.960 --> 00:17:00.440 volatile desk, and the hard drives permanently storing the files. 347 00:17:00.600 --> 00:17:04.279 Right but right now, it's all just dead silicon when 348 00:17:04.359 --> 00:17:06.839 it's sitting there turned off. It is a box of 349 00:17:06.880 --> 00:17:09.720 inert metal and plastic. When you reach out and press 350 00:17:09.759 --> 00:17:12.480 the power button on the front panel, how does this 351 00:17:12.599 --> 00:17:14.799 dead box of parts actually wake up? And remember that 352 00:17:14.839 --> 00:17:16.279 it is a computer that is the. 353 00:17:16.240 --> 00:17:19.440 Spark of life, and it is controlled by firmware. Firmware 354 00:17:19.519 --> 00:17:22.319 is specialized software that is hard coded directly into a 355 00:17:22.319 --> 00:17:25.440 piece of hardware on your motherboard. This spark comes from 356 00:17:25.440 --> 00:17:28.599 a little chip called the BIOS, the Basic Input output system. 357 00:17:28.839 --> 00:17:31.519 So before Windows or macOS even begins to load from 358 00:17:31.559 --> 00:17:34.119 the hard drives, the BIOS is the one actually running 359 00:17:34.119 --> 00:17:34.480 the show. 360 00:17:34.640 --> 00:17:37.759 Yes, the moment you hit the power button, the BIOS 361 00:17:37.839 --> 00:17:41.359 immediately initializes and runs a strict routine called the POST, 362 00:17:41.880 --> 00:17:45.359 the power on self test. The motherboard is basically checking 363 00:17:45.359 --> 00:17:48.319 itself what's it chicken for? It verifies that the CPU 364 00:17:48.400 --> 00:17:51.559 is responding, It checks that your RAM is present and functional. 365 00:17:51.880 --> 00:17:54.359 It hunts for the hard drive to find the operating system, 366 00:17:54.759 --> 00:17:56.160 and it listens. 367 00:17:55.799 --> 00:17:58.119 For trouble and what if there is trouble? Like, what 368 00:17:58.160 --> 00:18:00.559 if the RAM is broken? There's no green yet to 369 00:18:00.559 --> 00:18:01.720 show an error message. 370 00:18:01.839 --> 00:18:05.160 If a critical hardware component is broken, the POST will 371 00:18:05.200 --> 00:18:10.200 generate specific beep codes literally audio beeps from a tiny 372 00:18:10.240 --> 00:18:13.599 speaker on the board to tell you exactly what is failing. 373 00:18:13.839 --> 00:18:16.839 Wow. And even though this BIOS is hard coded firmware, 374 00:18:16.920 --> 00:18:19.119 you can actually update it right. The book talks about 375 00:18:19.119 --> 00:18:22.480 flashing the BIOS If you buy a brand new, cutting 376 00:18:22.559 --> 00:18:25.200 edge processor that was invented a year after your motherboard 377 00:18:25.200 --> 00:18:27.920 it was manufactured, The motherboard won't know how to talk 378 00:18:27.960 --> 00:18:30.440 to it, so you can download a software update and 379 00:18:30.640 --> 00:18:34.839 flash the BIOS chip, essentially rewriting its core instructions so 380 00:18:34.880 --> 00:18:37.359 it can recognize the new hardware. It is teaching an 381 00:18:37.359 --> 00:18:38.359 old board new tricks. 382 00:18:38.680 --> 00:18:42.319 But the BIOS chip has a partner. The BIOS holds 383 00:18:42.359 --> 00:18:45.000 the boot program, but it needs a place to store 384 00:18:45.079 --> 00:18:48.160 all of your specific custom settings like the system time, 385 00:18:48.240 --> 00:18:52.759 your boot sequence, and your hardware configurations. Those customized settings 386 00:18:52.799 --> 00:18:55.599 are stored in a different ship called the CMO. 387 00:18:56.119 --> 00:18:59.640 But the CNO's chip is volatile memory, right just like 388 00:18:59.680 --> 00:19:03.319 the RAM, Meaning if the computer loses power, the CMOS 389 00:19:03.720 --> 00:19:07.000 gets amnesia. Yeah, it completely forgets everything. That's the challenge 390 00:19:07.000 --> 00:19:10.039 which blew my mind because think about this mechanically. If 391 00:19:10.079 --> 00:19:12.799 you unplug a desktop computer from the wall, put it 392 00:19:12.799 --> 00:19:14.400 in a closet for a month, pull it out and 393 00:19:14.440 --> 00:19:17.160 plug it back in. The clock in the bottom corner 394 00:19:17.200 --> 00:19:19.519 of your screen still knows exactly what time it is. 395 00:19:20.440 --> 00:19:23.559 How is that physically possible if the computer had zero 396 00:19:23.599 --> 00:19:25.400 electrical power for an entire month. 397 00:19:25.480 --> 00:19:27.240 Look closely at the motherboard. What do you see? 398 00:19:27.359 --> 00:19:31.319 The CMOS battery Right there on the board. There's a 399 00:19:31.480 --> 00:19:35.680 tiny literal watch battery, a CR twenty thirty two. It 400 00:19:35.720 --> 00:19:39.519 acts as a tiny dedicated life support system, quietly whispering 401 00:19:39.519 --> 00:19:42.480