CompTIA Practice Test Hardware 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A desktop PC beeps three times on startup and does not display anything. According to common BIOS POST codes, what does three beeps typically indicate?
- GPU failure
- RAM error (Correct answer)
- CPU overheating
- Boot drive not found
Correct answer: RAM error
Three beeps on most BIOS implementations (AMI, Award) signals a RAM failure or incompatibility, requiring reseating or replacement of memory modules.
Question 2: Which storage interface standard uses a differential signal pair for each lane and supports hot-plugging in its SAS implementation?
- SATA III
- SAS (Serial Attached SCSI) (Correct answer)
- M.2 NVMe
- IDE (PATA)
Correct answer: SAS (Serial Attached SCSI)
SAS (Serial Attached SCSI) uses differential signaling for noise immunity, supports hot-plugging, and is designed for enterprise storage environments.
Question 3: A technician needs to upgrade RAM in a laptop that uses SO-DIMM slots. What distinguishes SO-DIMM from standard DIMM modules?
- SO-DIMMs operate at higher voltages than DIMMs
- SO-DIMMs are physically smaller, designed for compact devices (Correct answer)
- SO-DIMMs use a different DDR generation exclusively
- SO-DIMMs require a special adapter to work in desktops
Correct answer: SO-DIMMs are physically smaller, designed for compact devices
SO-DIMM (Small Outline DIMM) modules are roughly half the length of standard DIMMs, allowing them to fit in laptops, mini-PCs, and some embedded systems.
Question 4: What does a 80 PLUS Gold certification on a power supply indicate?
- The PSU uses gold-plated connectors for reliability
- The PSU is at least 87% efficient at 20%, 92% at 50%, and 87% at 100% load (Correct answer)
- The PSU can deliver 80 watts of additional headroom above its rated wattage
- The PSU has passed 80 hours of burn-in testing
Correct answer: The PSU is at least 87% efficient at 20%, 92% at 50%, and 87% at 100% load
80 PLUS Gold certification means the PSU achieves a minimum efficiency of 87%/92%/87% at 20%/50%/100% load on a 115V AC line.
Question 5: A technician is adding a PCIe x16 GPU to a system but only a PCIe x8 physical slot with x8 electrical lanes is available. What is the result?
- The GPU will not function at all due to lane mismatch
- The GPU will function but at reduced bandwidth compared to x16 (Correct answer)
- The GPU will automatically negotiate to x16 performance
- The motherboard will be permanently damaged
Correct answer: The GPU will function but at reduced bandwidth compared to x16
PCIe is backward compatible; a x16 card in an x8 slot will operate at x8 bandwidth, which may slightly limit performance but allows the GPU to function.
Question 6: Which cooling solution is BEST suited for extreme overclocking scenarios where air cooling is insufficient?
- Additional case fans
- Larger heatsink with copper heatpipes
- All-in-one liquid cooler (AIO)
- Custom open-loop liquid cooling system (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Custom open-loop liquid cooling system
Custom open-loop liquid cooling offers the highest thermal capacity and flexibility, allowing larger radiators and specialized coolants needed for extreme overclocking.
Question 7: When disposing of a CRT monitor, which hazardous material makes special handling mandatory?
- Mercury in the fluorescent backlight
- Lead in the cathode ray tube glass (Correct answer)
- Cadmium in the chassis plastic
- Arsenic in the phosphor coating
Correct answer: Lead in the cathode ray tube glass
CRT monitors contain significant amounts of lead in the funnel glass of the cathode ray tube, requiring proper e-waste disposal rather than standard trash.
CompTIA Practice Test Hardware 4
A desktop PC beeps three times on startup and does not display anything.
According to common BIOS POST codes, what does three beeps typically indicate?