computer science

PC System Design Guide

PC System Design Guide is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand PC System Design Guide rather than just read about it. In short: The PC System Design Guide (also known as the PC-97, PC-98, PC-99, or PC 2001 specification) is a series of hardware design requirements and recommendations for IBM PC compatible personal computers, compiled by Microsoft and Intel Corporation during 1997–2001. They were aimed at helping manufacturers provide hardware that made the best use of the capabilities of the Microsoft Windows operating system, and to simplif…

Key takeaways

PC System Design Guide belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect PC System Design Guide to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of PC System Design Guide from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The PC System Design Guide (also known as the PC-97, PC-98, PC-99, or PC 2001 specification) is a series of hardware design requirements and recommendations for IBM PC compatible personal computers, compiled by Microsoft and Intel Corporation during 1997–2001. They were aimed at helping manufacturers provide hardware that made the best use of the capabilities of the Microsoft Windows operating system, and to simplify setup and use of such computers. Every part of a standard computer and the most common kinds of peripheral devices are defined with specific requirements. Systems and devices that meet the specification should be automatically recognized and configured by the operating system.

Versions Four versions of the PC System Design Guide were released. In PC-97, a distinction was made between the requirements of a Basic PC, a Workstation PC and an Entertainment PC. In PC-98, the Mobile PC was added as a category. In PC 2001, the Entertainment PC was dropped.

PC-97 Required:

120 MHz Pentium, MIPS R4x00, Digital Alpha 21064 (EV4) or IBM PowerPC architecture (latter three only under Windows NT) 16 MB RAM Initial version.

Introduced color code for PS/2 keyboard (purple) and PS/2 mouse (green) connectors

PC-98

Aimed at systems to be used with Windows 98 or Windows 2000. Required:

200 MHz Pentium processor with MMX technology (or equivalent performance) 256 KB L2 cache 32 MB RAM (recommended: 64 MB of 66 MHz DRAM) ACPI 1.0 (including power button behavior) Fast BIOS power-up (limited RAM test, no floppy test, minimal startup display, etc.) BIOS Y2K compliance PXE preboot environment It was published as ISBN 1-57231-716-7.

PC-99 Required:

300 MHz CPU 64 MB RAM USB Comprehensive color-coding scheme for ports and connectors (see below) Strongly discouraged:

Non plug-and-play hardware ISA slots It was published as ISBN 0-7356-0518-1.

PC 2001 Required:

667 MHz CPU 64 MB RAM Final version. First to require IO-APICs to be enabled on all desktop systems. Places a greatly increased emphasis on legacy-reduced and legacy-free systems. Some "legacy" items such as ISA expansion slots and device dependence on MS-DOS are forbidden entirely, while others are merely strongly discouraged. PC 2001 removes compatibility for the A20 line: "If A20M# generation logic is still present in the system, this logic must be terminated such that software writes to I/O port 92, bit 1, do not result in A20M# being asserted to the processor."

Color-coding scheme for connectors and ports

Perhaps the most end-user visible and lasting impact of PC 99 was that it introduced a color code for the various standard types of plugs and connectors used on PCs. As many of the connectors look very similar, particularly to a novice PC user, this made it far easier for people to connect peripherals to the correct ports on a PC. This color code was gradually adopted by almost all PC and motherboard manufacturers. Some of the color codes have also been widely adopted by peripheral manufacturers.

Icons Another long lasting inpact of the PC System Design Guide is that it recommended a set of icons that were created by Microsoft. These icons first appeared in the Hardware Design Guide for Microsoft Windows 95. While the use of these icons were not required, they became de facto standard. This icon set was later extended by Hewlett-Packard and others.

See also ATX Legacy-free PC Multimedia PC Sound card IBM PC–compatible PoweredUSB (proprietary high-power USB extension using other color-coded ports)

References

External links Legacy PC Design Guides – Microsoft Download Center PDF versions:

PC-97 System Design Guide PC-98 System Design Guide PC-99 System Design Guide PC 2001 System Design Guide

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with PC System Design Guide

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what PC System Design Guide claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to PC System Design Guide before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about PC System Design Guide ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of PC System Design Guide

In research: PC System Design Guide appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses PC System Design Guide in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: PC System Design Guide is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Color codes, Computer standards, IBM PC compatibles, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for PC System Design Guide outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study PC System Design Guide in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what PC System Design Guide means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain PC System Design Guide out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is PC System Design Guide in simple terms?

Why does PC System Design Guide matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study PC System Design Guide?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on PC System Design Guide.