A+ Hardware exam!!
 

Hello to everyone out there. This is the first time I use the post tread.
I have a question which I hope some of you would be willing to help. I am currently revising for the A+ Hardware exam and I am finding it really hard :scratch: to master the different CPU and socket they are used in. Also I am not sure to what extent CPU is covered in the exam.
Can anybody help?:cry:

I've never taken the test but "which cpu goes in which socket" shouldn't be that hard. No harder than which stick of ram goes in which type of slot. Just associate the different numbers with the different brands, 939 is AMD, and 775 is Intel.

Just read over it and remember it. If I remember correctly, most of the questions are about irq's and laser printers (circa 2001).

Your problem will lie with the operating system exam. It is completely windows based (unless they have changed it since 2001).

IMO, if you are having that much trouble remembering the socket/pin numbers, then you need to do some more studying. It is something every pc tech should just know.

I think thats something any self respecting computer guru or even user should know.

I'm a little unsure whether you are studying for an exam or scored an A+ on the exam. Either way, the study hall and the party are both in General. Congrats and/or good luck

Was reading somewhere there are now more than 600,000 A+ certified PC techs worldwide. Also read that the exam is currently undergoing a "major revision" with rumor mill saying by middle of this year will be in beta. 2003 revision, which I took, will grill you on processors and sockets, but remember it's a late 2003 revision, so nothing after, say, early 2004 should be on it. They do sometimes throw "beta" questions into the real thing but it's my understanding those q's don't count in your final score. ;)

Have to agree with J.W. that it's an awfully confusing name for a cert though. Somehow they managed to get a registered trademark on it too. I wonder if that means school teacher around the country can get sued now, hmmm... anyway. :)

http://www.4crito.com/comptia.jpg

I took my A+ exams in 2001. I didn't have any problem with the hardware exam. I cut it pretty close with the OS one though. CPU sockets are simple. Here are the common ones that they will most likely cover:

socket: CPU

370 P3, Celeron
A any 32 bit Athlon
7 AMD K6-2
423 P4, Celeron
478 P4, celeron
LGA 775 P4
754 Athlon 64
939 Athlon 64
940 Opteron

Some older pentiums use a slot 1
Some older AMD processors use a slot A

Don't forget about cache size when it comes to CPU performance. A slightly slower to moderately slower clock with a larger cache will outperform a faster CPU with a small cache in many cases. RAM speed is also an important factor. If your CPU can't find what it needs in its cache, it looks for it in the RAM and the CPU will have to "throttle down" to the speed of your memory. If memory falls short the CPU is forced to use hard disk space as RAM. This is called virtual memory.

The speed of the cache compared to RAM is like comparing the performance of a racecar to a pickup truck, with the cache being the racecar. Cache memory almost always (there are a few exceptions) runs at the speed of the CPU. Comparing RAM to a hard disk is like comparing that same pickup truck to a bicycle.

More than likely they will ask questions such as: Which configuration offers the best performance.............

Thank you everyone for the positive feedbacks. I am sure they will be of some help.:)

Brickstol

I took the test in 2004 and it didn't have much of anything about CPU sockets. Both of the tests were actually pretty easy. I don't know if they revised the test since then though.