The hardware in a computer is vital to its function and performance. Each of the components connects together to form a computer, with several vital and many optional components.
The main hive of activity happens on the motherboard. Every component is connected directly to the motherboard, whose purpose it is to allow connections and communications between components. Whilst most motherboards appear visually similar, for obvious reasons there are differences between desktop and laptop versions of all hardware. Many components sit directly on the motherboard, to increase the speed at which they can be used. The closer a component is to the CPU, and thus the motherboard, the faster it can be used.
The CPU (Central Processing Unit) is the real brain of the computer. A CPU is comprised of millions of transistors, which can, through complicated electrical signals, perform many billions of calculations each second.
The memory in a computer is critical to help it with its calculations. Memory comes in both RAM and ROM form. RAM stands for Random Access Memory, which means that data can be both written and read from any location. ROM, or Read Only Memory is created with data on it, which can only ever be read from then on out. Memory is used to hold data before it is written to the hard disk.
The CMOS chip, a specific ROM component, works in tandem with the CPU to manage communications between the operating system and the hardware through a program known as a BIOS (Basic Input/Output System).
Backing storage drives are optional, but very common components, as without one every file would need to be stored remotely on a network or in primary memory. Hard Disk Drives and Flash Memory Drives are the most common storage devices. HDDs operate by using a series of moving arms and circular platters which hold data magnetically. SSDs have no moving parts, and instead hold data using semi-conductors. SSDs have a much higher data transfer rate than HDDs due to the lack of moving parts. In addition to these fixed drives, there are a multitude of portable backing storage devices. Commonly, data is stored on disks, which spin at a high RPM during which data is read in grooves. Data is also stored on USB pen drives. Files stored on pen drives are often documents that a user has created, such as spreadsheets or word processing documents, as they provide portability capabilities for work.
Sound cards are often integrated into the motherboard, but can be separate components, often resulting in a better quality sound. As the name implies, the sound card is responsible for producing the sounds outputted by the system, through the conversion of digital signals into an audible, analogue output.
Graphics cards, or GPUs (Graphical Processing Units) are also often integrated with the motherboard, but are increasingly becoming separate components, especially with machines designed for producing visual media or gaming. They take binary data from the CPU and transform it into visual signals which can be outputted to the monitor. Because of the task they perform, GPUs have to be incredibly powerful and often require their own cooling. Top end GPUs can cost into the thousands of pounds.
Cooling hardware is standard in most modern machines. Fans help dissipate the heat produced by components such as the aforementioned graphics card, and often work in conjunction with heat-sinks. A heat-sink is normally a large, corrugated piece of metal with a large surface area, used for conducting the heat away from the thermosensitive components.
A power supply is a critical, yet often overlooked component. The PSU (Power Supply Unit) provides power to the motherboard and other components that require more power than the motherboard alone can distribute to them. The PSU contains a transformer which ensures that each component receives only the electricity it requires, as to ensure it is not either overloaded or underpowered.
Not all of the hardware exists inside the computer, many important components lie external to the PC, one of which being the monitor. Obviously, a monitor is essential in the use of a computer, as it allows the user to see what is happening on the machine, either through a GUI or CLI. The monitor is connected to the motherboard or GPU, put is powered separately.
The mouse is a component used when operating machines with a GUI based OS. It duplicates the movements of the users hand on-screen, and enables the user to click buttons, used to navigate menus, access files and actuate buttons. Modern mice use lasers to detect the movement of a surface underneath them and feed this information to the computer.
A keyboard is another essential component for computers, enabling the user to effectively interface with the computer. Each key on the keyboard is assigned a corresponding code on the computer, so that when the keyboard tells the computer which key was pressed, a corresponding action or letter appears on screen.
A variety of different cable structures are used for communication across a network and the internet. Twisted pair cables, such as CAT5, are used to transmit data short distances through a network. CAT5 cables are capable of data transmission of up to 100Mbps, and so are sufficient for most network data transmission. CAT6 cables are capable of transfer speeds of up to 1Gbps and are becoming increasingly common as networks are future-proofed. Beyond the internal networks utilising twisted pair cabling, fibre cables is often used. Fibre optic cables are extremely high speed and thus good for long range transmission. The current record for fibre transfer speed is 31Tbps.
The main hive of activity happens on the motherboard. Every component is connected directly to the motherboard, whose purpose it is to allow connections and communications between components. Whilst most motherboards appear visually similar, for obvious reasons there are differences between desktop and laptop versions of all hardware. Many components sit directly on the motherboard, to increase the speed at which they can be used. The closer a component is to the CPU, and thus the motherboard, the faster it can be used.
The CPU (Central Processing Unit) is the real brain of the computer. A CPU is comprised of millions of transistors, which can, through complicated electrical signals, perform many billions of calculations each second.
The memory in a computer is critical to help it with its calculations. Memory comes in both RAM and ROM form. RAM stands for Random Access Memory, which means that data can be both written and read from any location. ROM, or Read Only Memory is created with data on it, which can only ever be read from then on out. Memory is used to hold data before it is written to the hard disk.
The CMOS chip, a specific ROM component, works in tandem with the CPU to manage communications between the operating system and the hardware through a program known as a BIOS (Basic Input/Output System).
Backing storage drives are optional, but very common components, as without one every file would need to be stored remotely on a network or in primary memory. Hard Disk Drives and Flash Memory Drives are the most common storage devices. HDDs operate by using a series of moving arms and circular platters which hold data magnetically. SSDs have no moving parts, and instead hold data using semi-conductors. SSDs have a much higher data transfer rate than HDDs due to the lack of moving parts. In addition to these fixed drives, there are a multitude of portable backing storage devices. Commonly, data is stored on disks, which spin at a high RPM during which data is read in grooves. Data is also stored on USB pen drives. Files stored on pen drives are often documents that a user has created, such as spreadsheets or word processing documents, as they provide portability capabilities for work.
Sound cards are often integrated into the motherboard, but can be separate components, often resulting in a better quality sound. As the name implies, the sound card is responsible for producing the sounds outputted by the system, through the conversion of digital signals into an audible, analogue output.
Graphics cards, or GPUs (Graphical Processing Units) are also often integrated with the motherboard, but are increasingly becoming separate components, especially with machines designed for producing visual media or gaming. They take binary data from the CPU and transform it into visual signals which can be outputted to the monitor. Because of the task they perform, GPUs have to be incredibly powerful and often require their own cooling. Top end GPUs can cost into the thousands of pounds.
Cooling hardware is standard in most modern machines. Fans help dissipate the heat produced by components such as the aforementioned graphics card, and often work in conjunction with heat-sinks. A heat-sink is normally a large, corrugated piece of metal with a large surface area, used for conducting the heat away from the thermosensitive components.
A power supply is a critical, yet often overlooked component. The PSU (Power Supply Unit) provides power to the motherboard and other components that require more power than the motherboard alone can distribute to them. The PSU contains a transformer which ensures that each component receives only the electricity it requires, as to ensure it is not either overloaded or underpowered.
Not all of the hardware exists inside the computer, many important components lie external to the PC, one of which being the monitor. Obviously, a monitor is essential in the use of a computer, as it allows the user to see what is happening on the machine, either through a GUI or CLI. The monitor is connected to the motherboard or GPU, put is powered separately.
The mouse is a component used when operating machines with a GUI based OS. It duplicates the movements of the users hand on-screen, and enables the user to click buttons, used to navigate menus, access files and actuate buttons. Modern mice use lasers to detect the movement of a surface underneath them and feed this information to the computer.
A keyboard is another essential component for computers, enabling the user to effectively interface with the computer. Each key on the keyboard is assigned a corresponding code on the computer, so that when the keyboard tells the computer which key was pressed, a corresponding action or letter appears on screen.
A variety of different cable structures are used for communication across a network and the internet. Twisted pair cables, such as CAT5, are used to transmit data short distances through a network. CAT5 cables are capable of data transmission of up to 100Mbps, and so are sufficient for most network data transmission. CAT6 cables are capable of transfer speeds of up to 1Gbps and are becoming increasingly common as networks are future-proofed. Beyond the internal networks utilising twisted pair cabling, fibre cables is often used. Fibre optic cables are extremely high speed and thus good for long range transmission. The current record for fibre transfer speed is 31Tbps.