Different types of computer on the basis of its size

1. Types of Computer on the basis of Size
 Super Computer
 Mainframe Computer
 Mini Computer
 Micro Computer

2. Super Computer
 super computer is physically the largest computer on size.
 fastest, most expensive and most powerful computer
 can process huge amount of data, and the fastest super
computer can perform more than one trillion calculations
per second
 can have thousands of processors
 especially made to process the complex and time consuming
calculation
 has extremely large storage capacity than other computers
 has multiples CPUs hence it supports fully parallel
processing

3. Super computer can be used for the
following applications.
 It can be used to forecast the weather and global
climate.
 It is used in military research and defense system.
 It is used in Automobile, Aircraft and Spacecraft
designing.
 It is used for encoding and decoding the sensitive
information.
 It is used in seismograph, plasma and nuclear research.
 It is used for the study of DNA and gene engineering.

4. examples of super computers are
 CRAY XT5 Jugar, IBM Roadrunner, IBM Blue
Gene/L, NEC Earth Simulator, IBM ASCI
White, IBM Deep Blue etc.

5. Mainframe Computer
 It is also large computer which covers very large area
 a general purpose computer which has been designed
for large scale data processing
 very expensive and high speed computer system
 supports large numbers of computer terminal with
separate input and output unit in each terminal so
that about 100 or more persons can work in this
computer at a time.

6. Contd…
 Time sharing technique is used to access the same computer
at the same time by multiple users.
 So mainframe computers are used in large organizations such
as insurance company and banks, where many people
frequently need to use the same data.
 In a traditional mainframe computer, each user accesses the
mainframe’s resources through a device called a terminal.
 There are two types of terminal: a dumb terminal does not
process or store data; it has simply an I/O devices and an
intelligent terminal can perform some processing operations,
but it usually does not have any storage.

7. Contd…
examples of main frame computers are
IMB1401, IBM7090, ICL2950/10 etc.

8. Mini Computer
 The computer which is smaller than Super and Mainframe
computer and larger than Micro Computer.
 It is the medium-sized computer general purpose computer
 The capabilities of a minicomputer are somewhere between
those of mainframe and personal computers.
 It’s CPU can be connected up to 50 terminals.
 about 50 persons can work in this computer at a time.
 It is used in medium size organization and corporation like
bank, insurance company, reservation center etc.
 The examples of mini computers are Prime series, AS/400,
AP-3 etc.

9. Micro Computer
 smallest general purpose computer on the basis of size
 is called micro computer because it has microprocessor for
central processing unit(CPU)
 Micro processor is a small silicon chip which is made by
integrating millions of components.
 It is also called PC because it can be used only by a single
person at a time.
 It is easy to handle so it is used in different application
areas such as schools, college, home, cyber etc.
 It is the most popular computer at present in the world.

10. Contd…
 Micro computers are of various types.
Desktop computer
Laptop computer
Notebook computer
Palmtop computer
Tablet Computer
Pocket PC
Wearable computer
The example of microcomputer are IBMPC,
Apple/Macintosh etc.