Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Hardware


Types of Hardware


Motherboard
This is the most important type of computer hardware. It is a circuit board, whereon different parts of the system are set up. All input devices work when they are connected to the motherboard. RAM, CPU, and other crucial peripherals are installed on the computer motherboard. 
Random Access Memory (RAM)The RAM is a small chip that fits on the motherboard. It does the job of storing data on a temporary basis. RAM chips are generally available from 256 MB to 6 GB or more and are upgradeable. The more the RAM, the faster the computer system will function.
Central Processing Unit (CPU)
The CPU is a small chip installed on the motherboard that does the job of running computer programs. It is more commonly referred to as the computer processor. The speed of computer functioning also depends a lot on the processor's capacity. Without the CPU, you will not be able to play games, browse the web, or run any other applications on the system.
Hard Drive
The hard drive is where all the program files are stored for retrieval or further operation. There are many storage capacities of hard drives which normally range from 80 GB to 1 TB or more. External hard drives are also available nowadays with a storage capacity of around 8 TB.
Power Supply Unit
As the name suggests, this device is responsible for providing the system with power to function. It is an electrical box fitted inside at the back of the cabinet, which connects to and powers the motherboard, disk drives, and other similar components. It also has a fan for cooling purpose in case of overheating.
Miscellaneous Computer Hardware

There are many other parts which can be considered as computer hardware. The floppy drive is one hardware component that accepts the floppy for data processing. Today no one uses these drives though.
The computer keyboard is another essential part of computer hardware which allows the user to control the programs and commands. The keyboard is then accompanied by the computer mouse that is an input device which helps the user select programs on the screen.

The computer monitor is another important hardware that at present comes in the conventional CRT, LCD and plasma types. The printer and scanner are computer hardware which are mostly used in offices. Pen drives are small but extremely useful peripherals of computers. These are the ones which have substantially reduced the use of data CDs to transfer files and media. DVD drives are parts of computer which can be used for viewing data from DVDs.

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