Basic Computer Hardware

By: M. Holland

Computer Hardware

Obviously, before you can put together a computer, you're going to need to purchase some hardware. And before you can purchase hardware, you need to know what you're looking for! In this section, I will explain the primary components of a computer and their basic functions.

1. Computer Case

The computer case is the outer protective case that houses all of the computers components. The case is as far into the computer that most people ever look. The computer case is often mistakenly referred to as the CPU, which really stands for Central Processing Unit, or the processor.

Computer cases are most commonly constructed from steel, aluminium, and/or plastic. Occasionally, they have Plexiglas or acrylic windows, allowing a clear view of the internal components from the outside.

Computer cases come in many different shapes and sizes. The shape is generally determined by the form-factor of the motherboard, since it is the largest component of most home or office PC's. These days, most home computer cases are Tower cases, and house an ATX form-factor motherboard. For the tutorials on this site, tower cases and atx motherboards will be assumed.

2. The Motherboard

The motherboard (or main board) is the backbone of any home, office, or gaming computer. It is the large circuit board in the center of the computer case that every other component connect to. It contains the system BIOS (Basic Input Output System) and controller chips for the processor, memory, optical drives, hard drives, and expansion cards, among other things.

Selecting the correct motherboard is one of the most important decisions when putting your custom computer together. The motherboard determines what type of processor and memory your computer will use, and what sort of storage, media, and expansion options you will have. Selecting the wrong motherboard could be disastrous! For example: if you need to build a computer that has four internal hard drives, and your motherboard only has connectors for two, you will be out of luck!

3. Processor

The processor, or CPU (Central Processing Unit) is the brain of the computer. It carries out the instructions of a computer program, and is the primary element carrying out the computer's functions. The fundamental operation of most CPUs, regardless of the physical form they take, is to execute a sequence of stored instructions called a program.

The speed at which processors can execute instructions is called the Clock Rate, or clock speed. When selecting a processor for your new computer, clock speed is very important, as it will have a large impact on how fast your new computer is.

These days, most processors on the market are multi-core. Having a multi-core processor is like having two (or more) workers carrying out your instructions. While one worker carries out Task A, the other can work on Task B. If there is only one task, both workers can split the work evenly and help each other out! There is significantly more to multi-core processors, but for the beginner, it should be obvious that multi-core processors are a solid decision!

4. Memory

Random Access Memory (RAM) provides space for your computer to read and write data to be accessed by the CPU. When people refer to a computer's memory, they are usually referring to the RAM.

If you add more RAM to your computer, you reduce the number of times your CPU must read data from your hard disk. This usually allows your computer to work considerably faster, as RAM is many times faster than a hard disk. For many people (and maybe for you!), adding more RAM is the first computer upgrade they attempt themselves.

RAM is volatile, so data stored in RAM stays there only as long as your computer is running and electricity is flowing through the memory. As soon as you turn the computer off, the data stored in RAM disappears.

There are many different kinds of RAM you can buy, so it is important to ensure you select the proper type of RAM for your motherboard.

5. Hard Drive

The Hard drive, or Hard Disk Drive (HDD), is storage where all of the computers files and programs are kept. Everything stored on the hard drive is permanent, and unlike RAM, will not be lost when you power the computer off.

A hard disk stores data the same way a cassette tape does, through a magnetic storage technique. This makes data stored on a hard disk very easy to erase, revise and replace. Moreover, the magnetic recording patterns are stored on a hard disk for a long time. As such, the only way to definitely erase data that has ever been stored on the disk's magnetic surface is to physically destroy the disk.

Since the Hard Drive holds all of your data, the most important factor to consider when selecting one for you computer is size. Today, hard drive size is measured in Gigabytes. One gigabyte is roughly 1,000 megabytes, and one megabyte is roughly 1,000 kilobytes. The size of the hard drive you select will be dependant on your individual storage needs.

6. Optical Drive

The optical drive is a disk drive that uses laser light or electromagnetic waves near the light spectrum as part of the process of reading or writing data to or from optical discs. Some drives can only read from discs, but recent drives are commonly both readers and recorders. Recorders are sometimes called burners or writers. Compact discs, DVDs and Blu-ray discs are common types of optical media which can be read and recorded by such drives.

Selecting an optical drive is important, because most media today is distributed via CD or DVD, and this is how much of your data and programs will be installed to your computer. Ensuring you chose a recording optical drive, or burner, is importent if you want to write files to CDs, DVDs, or even Blu-ray discs. Selecting a Blu-ray drive is imporant if you want to watch Blu-ray movies on your computer.

7. Video Card

Video Cards, also known as display cards, graphics cards, graphics controllers, or graphics accelerator cards, convert binary data (bytes) into display images. The Video Card, at its most basic, is a printed circuit board where the major components, namely the graphics processing unit, the video memory, and the motherboard slot are mounted.

Not all computers requre a seperate video card, as many today have the video processing hardware integrated into the motherboard. However, gaming computers, home theater computers, or office computers used for 3D design will require the more powerful hardware offered in a standalone video card.

For custom gaming computers, selecting the proper video card is likely the most important decision you will make.

8. Expansion Cards

There are an assortment of other expansion cards you can add to your custom computer in order to add functionality and features.

9. Power Supply

The power supply unit (PSU) is the component that supplies power to the other components in a computer. Power supplies convert potentially lethal 110-115 or 220-230 volt alternating current (AC) into a steady low-voltage direct current (DC) usable by the computer. A power supply is rated by the number of watts it generates.

The most common computer power supplies are built to conform to the ATX form factor. This enables different power supplies to be interchangeable with different components inside the computer. ATX power supplies also are designed to turn on and off using a signal from the motherboard, and provide support for modern functions such as the standby mode available in many computers.

About the Author

M. Holland http://www.building-your-first-pc.com/

(ArticlesBase SC #1457142)

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