Computer Hardware
From Computing Knowledgebase
Computer Hardware are the parts that a computer consists of. The basic computer parts are :
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[edit] Motherboard (or Mainboard)
The main board that connects all computer parts and manages how data is transferred between them. Motherboards are based on different chips and are suitable for different cpu sockets, that is how the cpu is plugged in the motherboard.
[edit] Central Processing Unit (CPU)
This is the "brain" of a computer in which almost all calculations are done. CPUs are usually made of Silicon (though recently, Intel has begun to use Hafnium) and consist of millions of transistors. Usually, the faster the CPU the larger number of transistors it has. The CPU is typically very multipurpose and have a variety of instruction sets to run various types of tasks.
[edit] Graphics Card (or graphics processing unit)
Video cards are responsible for rendering images on the computer monitor. A video card also acts like a dedicated graphics processor which calculates the complicated graphics calculations demanded by computer games and graphics software. Not all computers have discrete video cards. Some computers have onboard video integrated on the motherboard, but these systems are not meant for serious gaming or running heavy graphics applications. Recently, GPUs have been made as GPGPUs (general purpose graphics processing units) through native construction (like AMD's FireStream) or patched to do so (NVIDIA's CUDA). Since GPUs are typically far more powerful then a CPU, a GPGPU is capable of a much higher level of performance in such applications.
[edit] Sound Card
Sound cards process the sound output that is supposed to come out of computer speakers. Many computers, however do not have discrete sound cards; they have onboard sound integrated on the motherboard. Some audiophiles prefer discrete sound cards because they produce higher quality sound with less distortion.
[edit] HDD (Hard Disk Drive)
This is where data is stored even after the computer is powered off. Hard disks, however are very slow compared to RAM, but they provide large capacities that can store enormous amounts of data.
[edit] PSU (Power Supply)
A power supply unit supplies a computer with electric current converting the high voltage home electricity to a lower voltage electricity that can be used by computer parts.
[edit] Case
A computer case is the enclosure inside of which all previous parts are enclosed. Computer cases are usually made of steel or aluminium and have different form factors like ATX, BTX, and mATX.
[edit] Monitor
This is the screen that displays all output images and text from the computer. It is made of thousands apon thousands of pixel, this is usually reffered to as resolution.
[edit] Keyboard
One of the cheapest computer parts yet one of the most parts dealt with. Keyboards are input devices used to type text into the computer.
[edit] Mouse
Like the keyboard, computer mice are very cheap yet computer users are always in contact with them. Mice are input devices that have a little pointer used to point to images and links on the computer screen and click them by means of the mouse buttons. There are usually two basic buttons on a mouse; a right one and a left one. There is also a middle wheel (which functions as a third button as well) used to scroll pages up and down. Some mice have a side wheel or a tilting wheel that can scroll pages right and left.
[edit] External Links
Custom PC Guide A regularly updated PC/HTPC buyer's guide.
