Classification Of Digital Computer
JUNE 07, 2018
The digital computers that are available now a days vary in their sizes and [Link] digital
computers are broadly classified into four categories based on their size and type.
Micro Computer
Mini Computer
Mainframe Computer
Super Computer
Micro Computer:
Micro Computer are small low cast and single user digital [Link] is a device with
microprocessor,Input unit ,storage unit and CPU(Central Processing Unit).
Microcomputer Computer formerly a commonly used term for Personal Computers particularly
any of class of any small digital [Link] CPU contained on a single integrated semi
conductor chip.
IBM PC based on Pentium microprocessor and Apple Macintosh are some Examples of
microcomputers. Microcomputers include desktop computers, notebook computers or
laptop,tablet compute, handheld computer,smartphones and notebook.
Types of Micro Computers:
A)Desktop Computer or Personal Computer(PC):-It is the most type of microcomputer.A
desktop computer is a personal computer designed for regular use at a single location on or near
a desk or table due to its size and power [Link] is not very expensive and is suited t the
needs of a single user at home,small business units,and organization.
Examples:Apple,Microsoft,Dell,and Lenovo ,Sony,HP,etc are some of the PC manufactures.
B)Notebook Computers or Laptop:-A laptop is a small, portable computer and have all the
features of a desktop computer. The advantage of the laptop is that it is small in size, so it can be
carried anywhere. Notebook computers use a variety of techniques, known as flat-panel
technologies, to produce a lightweight and non-bulky display screen. Laptops Computers are
costlier than the desktop computers.
C)Netbook:-These are smaller notebooks optimized for low weight and low cost, and are
designed for accessing web-based [Link] deliver the performance needed to
enjoy popular activities like streaming videos ort music,e-mailing,web surfing or instant
messaging.
D)Tablet:- A tablet is a wireless, portable personal computer with a touchscreen interface. The
tablet form factor is typically smaller than a notebook computer, but larger than a smartphone.
E)Handheld Computer or Personal Digital Assistant(PDA):-It is a small computer that can be
heald on the top of the [Link] is small in [Link] uses a pen or a stylus for input,instead of the
[Link] have a limited memory and are less [Link] can be connected to the internet
via wireless connnection.
F)Smart Phones:A smartphone is a mobile phone with highly advanced features. A typical smartphone
has a high-resolution touch screen display, WiFi connectivity, Web browsing capabilities, and the ability
to accept sophisticated applications. The majority of these devices run on any of these popular mobile
operating systems: Android, Symbian, iOS, BlackBerry OS and Windows Mobile.
Mini Computer:
These perform multi-tasking and allow terminals to be connected to their [Link] ability to connect
minicomputers to each other and mainframes has popularized them among larger [Link] use is
being challenged by the development in the microcomputer range and the practice of starting resources of
microcomputer under a [Link] are still recognized as being able to process large amounts
of data.
Types of minicomputer
The types of minicomputer are- tablet PC, Desktop minicomputers, cell phones, notebooks, high-
end mP3 players, etc.
Examples:- IBM's AS/400e
Mainframe Computer:
Main frame computers generally require special attention and are kept in a controlled
[Link] are multi-tasking and generally used in areas where large database are
maintained example as government agency or airline industry.
Examples:- IBM LinuxONE
Super Computer:
Super Computers operate very fast and have multiple processors. Ther are very few of
these machines in existence due to their cost.
This type of computer has been developed for scientific applications usually involving
complex arithmetic and mathematical operations. One such use is in weather forecasting.
A supercomputer is a type of computer that has the architecture, resources and
components to achieve massive computing power. Although advances like multi-core
processors and GPGPUs (general-purpose graphics processing units) have enabled
powerful machines for personal use (see: desktop supercomputer, GPU
supercomputer), by definition, a supercomputer is exceptional in terms of performance.
China has owned the fastest supercomputer in the world. “Fast” is defined by the number
of petaflops the computer system can perform. A petaflop is one thousand teraflops, or
one quadrillion floating point operations per second.
Year Supercomputer Peak speed Location
2016 Sunway TaihuLight 93.01 PFLOPS Wuxi, China
2013 NUDT Tianhe-2 33.86 PFLOPS Guangzhou, China
2012 Cray Titan 17.59 PFLOPS Oak Ridge, U.S.
2012 IBM Sequoia 17.17 PFLOPS Livermore, U.S.
2011 Fujitsu K computer 10.51 PFLOPS Kobe, Japan
