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CompTIA Security+ 3.1
TechKnowSurge Catalog Interactives System on a Chip or Separate Parts?
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System on a Chip or Separate Parts?

Squeeze the computer onto one chip, or keep it as a board of parts? Sort each device design. Land five in a row.

⚑ Complete this interactive to capture a CTF flag worth 5 points.

About this interactive

A typical computer is built from separate components on a motherboard: a CPU, a GPU, the BIOS, RAM and storage. Embedded systems need many of the same components, because they are small computers. But devices keep getting smaller and more specialized, so the computer side has to shrink. A system on a chip (SoC) does that by putting the main parts of a computer onto one integrated circuit, a single chip that looks much like a CPU. Which parts go on the chip varies. Small microcontroller SoCs carry their memory and storage on the chip. In phones and similar devices, the main memory and storage are often separate chips stacked on or beside the SoC, still far smaller than a motherboard. To sort a card, ask whether the device needs the computer squeezed into a tiny space, or has room for full-size parts that can be added to or replaced one at a time.

What you'll learn

Aligned to

CompTIA Security+
3.1 Compare and contrast security implications of different architecture models.

Key terms

Integrated Circuit
IC
A miniaturized electronic circuit containing transistors, resistors, and other components fabricated onto a single semiconductor chip, enabling the compact, high-speed logic that powers modern CPUs, memory modules, and nearly every digital device.
Embedded System
A computer system built and optimized for a specific device or function, typically smaller than a general-purpose computer.
Motherboard
The main printed circuit board of a computer that physically connects and enables communication between the CPU, RAM, storage devices, expansion cards, and other peripherals through buses and chipsets.

Topics

Interactive Streak Sort

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