ICT Computer Hardware and Peripherals 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which type of printer uses a laser beam and toner powder to produce output?
- Inkjet printer
- Thermal printer
- Laser printer (Correct answer)
- Dot-matrix printer
Correct answer: Laser printer
A laser printer uses a laser to create an electrostatic image on a drum, which attracts toner powder that is then fused to paper with heat.
Question 2: What is the function of a UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) connected to a desktop computer?
- Speed up data access
- Provide temporary battery power during outages and regulate voltage (Correct answer)
- Cool the CPU during peak loads
- Expand USB ports
Correct answer: Provide temporary battery power during outages and regulate voltage
A UPS contains a battery that instantly powers the system during a power outage, giving users time to save work and shut down safely.
Question 3: In the context of RAM, what does 'dual-channel' mode mean?
- RAM operates at twice its rated voltage
- Two memory modules work together doubling the bandwidth to the CPU (Correct answer)
- Two separate operating systems share RAM
- The RAM module has two storage layers
Correct answer: Two memory modules work together doubling the bandwidth to the CPU
Dual-channel mode pairs two identical RAM sticks across two memory channels, effectively doubling the memory bus width and increasing overall bandwidth.
Question 4: Which hardware component directly controls the speed of data transfer between the hard drive and the CPU?
- GPU
- Storage controller / disk controller (Correct answer)
- Network interface card
- Sound card
Correct answer: Storage controller / disk controller
The storage controller (often built into the chipset or CPU) manages the interface protocol (SATA, NVMe) and controls how data flows between storage and system memory.
Question 5: What is the purpose of BIOS/UEFI firmware stored on a motherboard's flash chip?
- Store the operating system kernel
- Initialize hardware and boot the system before the OS loads (Correct answer)
- Control GPU rendering pipeline
- Manage Wi-Fi connections
Correct answer: Initialize hardware and boot the system before the OS loads
BIOS/UEFI is the first code executed at power-on; it performs POST (Power-On Self-Test), configures hardware, and hands control to the bootloader.
Question 6: A scanner's resolution is measured in DPI. What does a higher DPI value mean for scanned images?
- Faster scan speed
- Greater image detail captured per inch (Correct answer)
- Smaller file size
- Wider color gamut
Correct answer: Greater image detail captured per inch
Higher DPI in a scanner means more samples are taken per inch of the original document, producing a more detailed digital image at the cost of larger file size.
Question 7: What distinguishes a 'hybrid drive' (SSHD) from a standard HDD?
- It uses two spinning platters instead of one
- It combines a magnetic disk with a small NAND flash cache for frequently accessed data (Correct answer)
- It connects via both SATA and USB simultaneously
- It contains redundant read/write heads
Correct answer: It combines a magnetic disk with a small NAND flash cache for frequently accessed data
An SSHD pairs a traditional magnetic hard drive with a small SSD cache (typically 8–32 GB) that stores frequently accessed data for faster retrieval.
ICT Computer Hardware and Peripherals 5
Which type of printer uses a laser beam and toner powder to produce output?