Getting To The Nuts And Bolts of Hardware
By
Jun 6, 2006, 13:12
The physical part of a computer is called the computer hardware as differentiated from a software which is the computer programs and data that run within the hardware. The hardware is rarely changed compared with the software and data which are soft meaning that they are promptly created, changed or deleted on the computer. A special software that is hardly ever changed and is kept on hardware devices like read-only memory(ROM) where it is not quickly modified(Thus the term firm).
Most computer hardware is not visible to normal users because they are implanted as enclosed systems in cars, microwave ovens, ECG machines, CD players and other household items.
Personal computer hardware
A common personal computer contains a case or chassis in desktop or tower sizes and the parts enumerated below :
Motherboard or system board consisting of slots for expansion cards and holding parts which includes :
o Central processing unit (CPU)
o Random Access Memory (RAM) for execution of the program and short term storage of data, so that no time will be wasted in accessing the hard drive to locate something. The higher the RAM the faster the PC.
Power supply a case that encloses the transformer, voltage control and the fan
Storage controllers which are responsible for controlling hard disk, floppy disk, CD-ROM and other drives; the controllers are directly placed on the motherboard or on expansion cards.
Video display controller creates the output for the display of the computer
Computer bus controllers connects the computer to outside tangible devices like printers or scanners
Some type of removable media writer:
o CD the most used type of removable media which may be cheap yet fragile
o Floppy disk
o Zip drive
o USB Flash Drive
o
o Tape drive used for backing-up and long-term storage
Internal storage stores data within the computer for future use
o Hard disk used for medium-term data storage
o Disk array controller
Sound card converts signals from the system board into analog voltage levels, consisting of terminals to attach speakers
Networking allows connection to the Internet and other computers
o Modem used for dial-up connections
o Network card used for DSL/Cable internet and other computers
Other connecting devices
Likewise, hardware can also consist of external parts of a computer system. The following are either typical or very ordinary
Input or Input devices
Pointing devices
Gaming devices like joystick or gamepad
Image, Video input devices such as scanner or webcam
Audio input devices like the microphone
Output or Output devices like printers, monitors
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