A personal computer A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end user, with no intervening computer operator. This is in contrast to the batch processing or time-sharing models which allowed large expensive mainframe is made up of multiple physical components of computer hardware, upon which can be installed an operating system An operating system is the software on a computer that manages the way different programs use its hardware, and regulates the ways that a user controls the computer. Operating systems are found on almost any device that contains a computer with multiple programs—from cellular phones and video game consoles to supercomputers and web servers. Some and a multitude of software Computer software, or just software, is a general term primarily used for digitally stored data such as computer programs and other kinds of information read and written by computers. Today, this includes data that has not traditionally been associated with computers, such as film, tapes and records. The term was coined in order to contrast to the to perform the operator's desired functions.
Hardware of a modern Personal Computer. 1. Monitor A monitor or display is an electronic visual display for computers. The monitor comprises the display device, circuitry, and an enclosure. The display device in modern monitors is typically a thin film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD), while older monitors use a cathode ray tube (CRT) 2. Motherboard A motherboard is the central printed circuit board in many modern computers and holds many of the crucial components of the system, while providing connectors for other peripherals. The motherboard is sometimes alternatively known as the main board, system board, or, on Apple computers, the logic board. It is also sometimes casually shortened to 3. CPU The Central Processing Unit or the processor is the portion of a computer system that carries out the instructions of a computer program, and is the primary element carrying out the computer's functions. This term has been in use in the computer industry at least since the early 1960s . The form, design and implementation of CPUs have changed 4. RAM Random-access memory is a form of computer data storage. Today, it takes the form of integrated circuits that allow stored data to be accessed in any order (i.e., at random). "Random" refers to the idea that any piece of data can be returned in a constant time, regardless of its physical location and whether or not it is related to the Memory 5. Expansion card The expansion card in computing is a printed circuit board that can be inserted into an expansion slot of a computer motherboard to add additional functionality to a computer system 6. Power supply Power supply is a supply of power electrical power. A device or system that supplies electrical or other types of energy to an output load or group of loads is called a power supply unit or PSU. The term is most commonly applied to electrical energy supplies, less often to mechanical ones, and rarely to others 7. Optical disc drive In computing, an optical disc 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 8. Hard Disk A hard disk drive is a non-volatile storage device for digital data. It features one or more rotating rigid platters on a motor-driven spindle within a metal case. Data is encoded magnetically by read/write heads that float on a cushion of air above the platters, with modern storage capacity measured in gigabytes and terabytes 9. Keyboard In computing, a keyboard is an input device, partially modeled after the typewriter keyboard, which uses an arrangement of buttons or keys, to act as mechanical levers or electronic switches. A keyboard typically has characters engraved or printed on the keys and each press of a key typically corresponds to a single written symbol. However, to 10. Mouse In computing, a mouse is a pointing device that functions by detecting two-dimensional motion relative to its supporting surface. Physically, a mouse consists of an object held under one of the user's hands, with one or more buttons. (Although traditionally a button is typically round or square, modern mice have spring-loaded regions of their top Inside a custom computer.Though a PC comes in many different forms, a typical personal computer A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end user, with no intervening computer operator. This is in contrast to the batch processing or time-sharing models which allowed large expensive mainframe consists of a case A computer case is the enclosure that contains the main components of a computer. A computer case is sometimes incorrectly referred to metonymously as a CPU or hard drive referring to components housed within the case. CPU was a more common term in the earlier days of home computers, when peripherals other than the motherboard were usually housed or chassis in a tower shape (desktop) and the following parts:
The motherboard is the main component inside the case. It is a large rectangular board with integrated circuitry that connects the rest of the parts of the computer including the CPU The Central Processing Unit or the processor is the portion of a computer system that carries out the instructions of a computer program, and is the primary element carrying out the computer's functions. This term has been in use in the computer industry at least since the early 1960s . The form, design and implementation of CPUs have changed, the RAM Random-access memory is a form of computer data storage. Today, it takes the form of integrated circuits that allow stored data to be accessed in any order (i.e., at random). "Random" refers to the idea that any piece of data can be returned in a constant time, regardless of its physical location and whether or not it is related to the, the disk drives (CD A Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store sound recordings exclusively, but later it also allowed the preservation of other types of data. Audio CDs have been commercially available since October 1982. In 2010, they remain the standard physical storage medium for audio, DVD DVD, also known as Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc, is an optical disc storage media format, and was invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Time Warner in 1995. Its main uses are video and data storage. DVDs are of the same dimensions as compact discs , but are capable of storing more than six times as much data, hard disk A hard disk drive is a non-volatile storage device for digital data. It features one or more rotating rigid platters on a motor-driven spindle within a metal case. Data is encoded magnetically by read/write heads that float on a cushion of air above the platters, with modern storage capacity measured in gigabytes and terabytes, or any others) as well as any peripherals connected via the ports or the expansion slots.
Components directly attached to the motherboard include:
- The central processing unit The Central Processing Unit or the processor is the portion of a computer system that carries out the instructions of a computer program, and is the primary element carrying out the computer's functions. This term has been in use in the computer industry at least since the early 1960s . The form, design and implementation of CPUs have changed (CPU) performs most of the calculations which enable a computer to function, and is sometimes referred to as the "brain" of the computer. It is usually cooled Computer cooling is the process of removing heat from computer components. Because a computer system's components produce large amounts of heat during operation, this heat must be dissipated in order to keep these components within their safe operating temperatures. In addition to maintaining normative function, varied cooling methods are used to by a heat sink and fan.
- The chip set mediates communication between the CPU and the other components of the system, including main memory.
- RAM Random-access memory is a form of computer data storage. Today, it takes the form of integrated circuits that allow stored data to be accessed in any order (i.e., at random). "Random" refers to the idea that any piece of data can be returned in a constant time, regardless of its physical location and whether or not it is related to the (Random Access Memory) stores all running processes (applications) and the current running OS.
- The BIOS In IBM PC Compatible computers, the basic input/output system , also known as the System BIOS, is a de facto standard defining a firmware interface includes boot firmware In electronics and computing, firmware is a term often used to denote the fixed, usually rather small, programs and data structures that internally control various electronic devices. Typical examples of devices containing firmware range from end-user products such as remote controls or calculators, through computer parts and devices like hard and power management. The Basic Input Output System tasks are handled by operating system An operating system is the software on a computer that manages the way different programs use its hardware, and regulates the ways that a user controls the computer. Operating systems are found on almost any device that contains a computer with multiple programs—from cellular phones and video game consoles to supercomputers and web servers. Some drivers.
- Internal Buses In computer architecture, a bus is a subsystem that transfers data between computer components inside a computer or between computers connect the CPU to various internal components and to expansion cards for graphics and sound.
- Current
- The north bridge The northbridge, also known as a memory controller hub or an integrated memory controller (IMC) in Intel systems (AMD, VIA, SiS and others usually use 'northbridge'), is one of the two chips in the core logic chipset on a PC motherboard, the other being the southbridge. Separating the chipset into the northbridge and southbridge is common, memory controller, for RAM and PCI Express
- PCI Express PCI Express , officially abbreviated as PCIe (or PCI-E, as it is commonly called), is a computer expansion card standard designed to replace the older PCI, PCI-X, and AGP standards. PCIe 2.1 is the latest standard for expansion cards that is available on mainstream personal computers, for expansion cards such as graphics and physics processors, and high-end network interfaces
- PCI, for other expansion cards
- SATA Serial ATA (Serial Advanced Technology Attachment) is a computer bus interface for connecting host bus adapters to mass storage devices such as hard disk drives and optical drives. Serial ATA was designed to replace the older ATA (AT Attachment) standard (also known as EIDE). It is able to use the same low level commands, but serial ATA host-, for disk drives
- The north bridge The northbridge, also known as a memory controller hub or an integrated memory controller (IMC) in Intel systems (AMD, VIA, SiS and others usually use 'northbridge'), is one of the two chips in the core logic chipset on a PC motherboard, the other being the southbridge. Separating the chipset into the northbridge and southbridge is common, memory controller, for RAM and PCI Express
- Obsolete
- ATA Parallel ATA is an interface standard for the connection of storage devices such as hard disks, solid-state drives, and CD-ROM drives in computers. The standard is maintained by X3/INCITS committee. It uses the underlying AT Attachment and AT Attachment Packet Interface (ATA/ATAPI) standards (superseded by SATA)
- AGP The Accelerated Graphics Port is a high-speed point-to-point channel for attaching a video card to a computer's motherboard, primarily to assist in the acceleration of 3D computer graphics. Since 2004, AGP has been progressively phased out in favor of PCI Express. As of mid-2009, PCIe cards dominate the market, but new AGP cards and motherboards (superseded by PCI Express)
- VLB The VESA Local Bus was mostly used in personal computers. VESA (Video Electronics Standards Association) Local Bus worked alongside the ISA bus; it acted as a high-speed conduit for memory-mapped I/O and DMA, while the ISA bus handled interrupts and port-mapped I/O VESA Local Bus (superseded by AGP)
- ISA Industry Standard Architecture was a computer bus standard for IBM compatible computers (expansion card slot format obsolete in PCs, but still used in industrial computers)
- Current
- External Bus Controllers support ports for external peripherals. These ports may be controlled directly by the south bridge The Southbridge, also known as an I/O Controller Hub or a Platform Controller Hub (PCH) in Intel systems (AMD, VIA, SiS and others usually use 'southbridge'), is a chip that implements the "slower" capabilities of the motherboard in a northbridge/southbridge chipset computer architecture. The southbridge can usually be distinguished from I/O controller or based on expansion cards attached to the motherboard through the PCI bus.
- USB USB (pronounced /ˈjuː.ɛsbiː/ "YOO-ess-bee") is a specification to establish communication between devices and a host controller (usually personal computers), developed and invented by Ajay Bhatt while working for Intel. USB is intended to replace many varieties of serial and parallel ports. USB can connect computer peripherals such
- FireWire The IEEE 1394 interface is a serial bus interface standard for high-speed communications and isochronous real-time data transfer, frequently used by personal computers, as well as in digital audio, digital video, automotive, and aeronautics applications. The interface is also known by the brand names of FireWire , i.LINK (Sony), and Lynx (Texas
- eSATA Serial ATA (Serial Advanced Technology Attachment) is a computer bus interface for connecting host bus adapters to mass storage devices such as hard disk drives and optical drives. Serial ATA was designed to replace the older ATA (AT Attachment) standard (also known as EIDE). It is able to use the same low level commands, but serial ATA host-
- SCSI Small Computer System Interface, or SCSI , is a set of standards for physically connecting and transferring data between computers and peripheral devices. The SCSI standards define commands, protocols, and electrical and optical interfaces. SCSI is most commonly used for hard disks and tape drives, but it can connect a wide range of other devices,
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Power supply
Main article: Power supply unit (computer) A power supply unit is the component that supplies power to the other components in a computer. More specifically, a power supply unit is typically designed to convert general-purpose alternating current (AC) electric power from the mains (100-127V in North America, parts of South America, Japan, and Taiwan; 220-240V in most of the rest of theA power supply unit (PSU) is the component that supplies power to the other components in a computer. More specifically, a power supply unit is typically designed to convert general-purpose alternating current (AC) electric power from the mains (100-127V in North America, parts of South America, Japan, and Taiwan; 220-240V in most of the rest of the world) to usable low-voltage DC power for the internal components of the computer. Some power supplies have a switch to change between 230 V and 115 V. Other models have automatic sensors that switch input voltage automatically, or are able to accept any voltage between those limits. It converts high voltage into low voltage.
Video display controller
Main article: Graphics card A video card, video adapter, graphics-accelerator card, display adapter or graphics card is an expansion card whose function is to generate and output images to a display. Many video cards offer added functions, such as accelerated rendering of 3D scenes and 2D graphics, video capture, TV-tuner adapter, MPEG-2/MPEG-4 decoding, FireWire, light pen,Produces the output for the computer monitor A monitor or display is an electronic visual display for computers. The monitor comprises the display device, circuitry, and an enclosure. The display device in modern monitors is typically a thin film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD), while older monitors use a cathode ray tube (CRT). This will either be built into the motherboard or attached in its own separate slot (PCI, PCI-E, PCI-E 2.0, or AGP), in the form of a graphics card A video card, video adapter, graphics-accelerator card, display adapter or graphics card is an expansion card whose function is to generate and output images to a display. Many video cards offer added functions, such as accelerated rendering of 3D scenes and 2D graphics, video capture, TV-tuner adapter, MPEG-2/MPEG-4 decoding, FireWire, light pen,..
Removable media devices
Main article: Computer storage Computer data storage, often called storage or memory, refers to computer components, devices, and recording media that retain digital data used for computing for some interval of time. Computer data storage provides one of the core functions of the modern computer, that of information retention. It is one of the fundamental components of all- CD A Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store sound recordings exclusively, but later it also allowed the preservation of other types of data. Audio CDs have been commercially available since October 1982. In 2010, they remain the standard physical storage medium for audio (compact disc) - the most common type of removable media, suitable for music and data.
- CD-ROM Drive CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback, the 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data - a device used for reading data from a CD.
- CD Writer In computing, an optical disc 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 - a device used for both reading and writing data to and from a CD.
- DVD DVD, also known as Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc, is an optical disc storage media format, and was invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Time Warner in 1995. Its main uses are video and data storage. DVDs are of the same dimensions as compact discs , but are capable of storing more than six times as much data (digital versatile disc) - a popular type of removable media that is the same dimensions as a CD but stores up to 12 times as much information. It is the most common way of transferring digital video, and is popular for data storage.
- DVD-ROM Drive DVD, also known as Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc, is an optical disc storage media format, and was invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Time Warner in 1995. Its main uses are video and data storage. DVDs are of the same dimensions as compact discs , but are capable of storing more than six times as much data - a device used for reading data from a DVD.
- DVD Writer DVD, also known as Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc, is an optical disc storage media format, and was invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Time Warner in 1995. Its main uses are video and data storage. DVDs are of the same dimensions as compact discs , but are capable of storing more than six times as much data - a device used for both reading and writing data to and from a DVD.
- DVD-RAM Drive - a device used for rapid writing and reading of data from a special type of DVD.
- Blu-ray Disc - a high-density optical disc format for data and high-definition video. Can store 70 times as much information as a CD.
- BD-ROM Drive - a device used for reading data from a Blu-ray disc.
- BD Writer - a device used for both reading and writing data to and from a Blu-ray disc.
- HD DVD - a discontinued competitor to the Blu-ray format...
- Floppy disk - an outdated storage device consisting of a thin disk of a flexible magnetic storage medium. Used today mainly for loading RAID drivers.
- Iomega Zip drive - an outdated medium-capacity removable disk storage system, first introduced by Iomega in 1994.
- USB flash drive - a flash memory data storage device integrated with a USB interface, typically small, lightweight, removable, and rewritable. Capacities vary, from hundreds of megabytes (in the same ballpark as CDs) to tens of gigabytes (surpassing, at great expense, Blu-ray discs).
- Tape drive - a device that reads and writes data on a magnetic tape, used for long term storage and backups.
Secondary storage
Hardware that keeps data inside the computer for later use and remains persistent even when the computer has no power.
- Hard disk - for medium-term storage of data.
- Solid-state drive - a device similar to hard disk, but containing no moving parts and stores data in a digital format.
- RAID array controller - a device to manage several internal or external hard disks and optionally some peripherals in order to achieve performance or reliability improvement in what is called a RAID array.
Sound card
Main article: Sound cardEnables the computer to output sound to audio devices, as well as accept input from a microphone. Most modern computers have sound cards built-in to the motherboard, though it is common for a user to install a separate sound card as an upgrade. Most sound cards, either built-in or added, have surround sound capabilities.
Other peripherals
Main article: PeripheralIn addition, hardware devices can include external components of a computer system. The following are either standard or very common.
Wheel MouseIncludes various input and output devices, usually external to the computer system.
Input
Main article: Input device- Text input devices
- Pointing devices
- Mouse - a pointing device that detects two dimensional motion relative to its supporting surface.
- Optical Mouse - a newer technology that uses Light to track the surface under the mouse to determine the motion to be translated into cursor movements on the screen.
- Trackball - a pointing device consisting of an exposed protruding ball housed in a socket that detects rotation about two axes.
- Touchscreen
- Mouse - a pointing device that detects two dimensional motion relative to its supporting surface.
- Gaming devices
- Joystick - a general control device that consists of a handheld stick that pivots around one end, to detect angles in two or three dimensions.
- Gamepad - a general handheld game controller that relies on the digits (especially thumbs) to provide input.
- Game controller - a specific type of controller specialized for certain gaming purposes.
- Image, Video input devices
- Image scanner - a device that provides input by analyzing images, printed text, handwriting, or an object.
- Webcam - a low resolution video camera used to provide visual input that can be easily transferred over the internet.
- Audio input devices
- Microphone - an acoustic sensor that provides input by converting sound into electrical signals.
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Categories: Personal computers
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CNET (blog)
OS X contains a number of different settings and temporary items, both in software and hardware , that can influence how the system and applications are ...
FTS
ue, 25 May 2010 17:48:11 GM
If you do not have the software, designed to ensure its security, in other words you do not have antivirus, you should always look for it on the Internet. Today.
Q. I have always wanted to learn about upgrading graphic cards and other stuff but i am always afraid that doing this will screw up my computer. I have lots of dare devil friends who spent lots of money on computer hardware but spoil the whole computer. One of my friend even had his computer exploded when he tries to upgrade his hardware manually.
Asked by chemistry weakling - Sat Dec 13 23:28:15 2008 - - 2 Answers - 0 Comments
A. You might try taking a class at a technical college. I'm taking a computer hardware class and when you do so, you don't have to worry about screwing up a computer, it becomes part of the learning process.
Answered by Cootie_Gurl - Sat Dec 13 23:40:13 2008
