UNDERSTANDING COMPUTER
HARDWARE
HARDWARE
It refers to the
tangible (things you can touch) components of a computer system. Hardware components are further divided into
three groups namely:
- Input
Devices
- Output
devices
- System
Unit
INPUT DEVICES
It performs the two
most basic computing tasks: issuing commands and entering data. Common input devices are the following:
Keyboard
– is a standard input device of most computers
Mouse – is a hand-clicked
device used for pointing. The modern
mouse uses a ball for movement and has two to three buttons.
Trackball – is like a stationary,
upside down mouse.
Joystick – is an input device which is commonly used for computer games.
Light pen – a device used to draw, write, or issue commands when it touches
a specially designed screen.
OUTPUT
DEVICES
After processing
the data fed into computer with the use of input devices, the information must
now be outputted in a form understood by human beings. Output devices are
classified according to the output they can produce. An output which you can hold in your hand is
called hard copy. Output types such as
audio and video are referred to as soft copy.
The following are output devices used:
Printer - an output device
that produces text and graphics on paper.
Video Monitors – The monitor, or
display is used to provide soft copy output.
Video monitors are either monochrome or colored.
Speakers- play sounds transmitted
as electrical signals from the sound card.
Modem – a device that sends and
receives data over telephone lines to and from computers.
THE SYSTEM UNIT
The system unit is the part of the computer which is responsible
for accepting and processing the data brought in by the input devices. It also
responsible for passing the resulting information to the users via the output
devices.
The Main Circuit Board - Also called the "system board," is the main
printed circuit board in an electronic device, which contains sockets that
accept additional boards. In a personal computer, the motherboard contains the
bus, CPU and co-processor sockets, memory sockets, keyboard controller and
supporting chips.
Port – is a connection from the main circuit board to a peripheral
device such as a keyboard, a printer or a video monitor. The port is also called an interface. Ports are arranged at the rear of the main
circuit board.
Expansion Slot – is a receptacle inside a computer or other
electronic system that accepts printed circuit boards.
Bus is responsible for transporting electronic signals from place to
place or specific predefined routes.
CPU – Central Processing Unit is the computer’s processor, controller and storage device.
Case and Power Supply – is also known as the system unit, the case or system cabinet is
the box that houses the processor chip (CPU), the memory chips, and the
motherboard with power supply, as drive, and CD-ROM or DVD drive. It include a power supply unit and a fan to
keep the circuitry free from overheating.
Clock – it synchronizes the operation of all parts of the PC, and
provides the basic timing signal for the CPU.
Memory – The memory in a computer system is of two fundamental types: The
main memory and the secondary memory.
RAM-(Random Access Memory) is a group of memory chips, typically of the
dynamic RAM (DRAM) type, which function as the computer's primary workspace.
The "random" in RAM means that the contents of each byte of storage
in the chip can be directly accessed without regard to the bytes before or
after it.
BIOS – The BIOS (Basic Input / Output System) is a ROM chip
that provide.
HARD-DISK DRIVE – A hard-disk drive is a storage device that store billons of characters of data on a nonremoveable disk platter.
FLOPPY DISK – (or diskette) is as flimsy as a sheet of paper but is protected
by a sturdy, square jacket that encases it.
It has a low capacity, and is very, very slow compared to other storage
devices.
CD-ROM/DVD DRIVE – A CD (computer disk) drive, or its more recent variant, a DVD
(digital video disk, is a storage device that use laser technology to read data
from optical disks.
VIDEO CARD – is a board that is plugged into a period computer to give it
display capabilities. It connects the
processor’s output information into a video signal that can be sent through a
cable to the monitor.
SOUND CARD - enhances the computers sound generating capabilities by
allowing sound to be output through speakers.
POWER CABLES –
it supplies power from the power supply to the drive. The power cables are red, yellow and
black. The yellow wire furnishes 12
volts of power, the red wire furnishes 5 volts of power, the two black wire are ground wire for each.
SATA CABLE - connects the drive to the motherboard.
SATA stands for Serial Advanced Technology Attachment.
Source: Computer Hardware Servicing Module
Source: Computer Hardware Servicing Module
