Transcript
The Main Hardware Parts of a Computer In this age of technology and information, computers have become almost an absolute necessity. A lot of people know how to use them to an extent, but do we really know what a computer is? I mean in the sense of how it works, and the parts that make it up. Not all computer problems are software related, though it cannot be denied tha viruses and spyware are the poster boys of computer related migrains. Sometimes it will be a problem with your hardware. Computer running slow, freakish computer restarts, and unrecognized CD drives may be signs of hardware problems. As you should know what’s under the hood of your car, you should also know wha’t under the hood of your PC or Mac. Not all computers are created equal, but they all share the same fundamental parts. These are the main parts that you should come to know and familiarize with.
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1. This is the case. The case is the shell of your computer. It is important to get a good case. Some cases have more external bays than others, more room, or more air ventilation, or different front port features. 2. This is an external bay. They hold gear like CD-drives, floppy drives, and external sound card equipment. External bays come in different sizes, so make sure you know that the drive equipment you want to buy will fit into the case! This specific bay holds a DVD-Rom drive. DVD drives can play DVDs and normal CDs. 3. This bay holds a CD-RW drive. CD-RW drives can read and burn CDs. If you want to burn DVDs then you’ll have to buy a DVD-RW. They can read and burn both CDs and DVDs. Now DVD-RW drives are relatively low in price. I would recommend getting one. 4. This is an empty bay. Empty bays are usually covered, but that cover can be removed when you want to put a drive into it. Note that this drive is a different size than the other bays so you can’t put a large CD-drive in like the other two. 5. This is a really small bay that contains a floppy disk. Though floppy disks are considered obsolete due to better alternative ways to store data, it is important to have one because many pieces of hardware require an installation via floppy. At this time floppies are really cheap so make sure to get one. 6. These little rectangular openings are known as USB ports. Electronic equipment and items such as thumb drives plug into them. USB allows for remarkably quick data transfer. Other things that use USB connections include mp3 players, external drives (drives that hook up from outside the computer, not to be confused with the external bay) 7. This tiny hole is a port to plug in headphones with a 3.5 mm jack. It is good to have a plug in the front because sometimes the cord isn’t long enough when you plug into the back one. 8. This button switches on and off the power of the computer. That little icon on the button usually notates a power supply of some sort. It is best to shut down the computer through the operating system instead of just pushing the button. Some times if the computer freezes up really bad you have to just unplug the main power plug in the back of the case. 9. This is the power supply for the computer. Think of it as the engine. It is important to get a good power supply because if it isn’t working right or isn’t powerful enough to power the computer, it could cause sudden turn offs or restarts. As a precautionary, if you build your own computer be prepared to buy a new, better power supply incase the initial one conks out. 10. this blue thing you see is the motherboard, “mobo” for short. It is the brain of the computer. All functions and processes are analyzed and carried out from here. The motherboard holds the processing chip, ram, and certain PCI parts. 11. This is a RAM slot. RAM stands for random memory access. It is needed to perform tasks. When buying a computer, make sure you have lots of RAM. The recommended amount is 1 GB. Make sure that you get quality RAM. Bad RAM can cause all sorts of problems and memory failures. RAM is one thing you don’t want to skimp out on or be financially frugal about! 12. This black chip is the processor. It is responsible for most of the data processing done. There are two main processors out there right now: Intel and AMD. I guess it’s really more of a personal preference. I’ve heard that Pentium is better for multimedia and AMD is better suited if you want a computer for mostly gaming Please note that Intel compatible mobos are not the same as AMD compatible mobos. If you are building a computer make sure you know in advance which processor you will get. 13. These blocky things are PCI ports that show in the back of the computer. What kind of ports there are may vary from mobo to mobo. 14. This is a holder for the drives held in the external bays. 15. This black box is the hard drive. The hard drive is contained in an internal bay as opposed to an external bay. The hard drive memory actually saves and records data. unlike RAM. Delete old obsolete files to keep space free. Programs have certain quota for RAM and hard drive memory. Make sure you check that out before buying programs. If you have enough internal bays, you can contain multiple hard drives. 16. This thing is a fan. Some computers keep a fan right next to the power supply. Mine doesn’t though. Have good fans is important to keep your computer cool, thus keeping its parts from overheating. I don’t think I need to explain how bad it would be if the computer overheated. (Kaboom!) 17. This is where the cord plug into the computer from an outlet. Often computers require more than one outlet so make sure to get a power strip to hold everything. 18. These are holes to help air flow inside the computer. Good airflow keeps the computer cool. As I stated before it is essential to keep your computer cool. In addition to fans, you can buy a heat sink to soak up all the heat. Get as many and as powerful fans that can be properly placed as you can! (Though maybe not at the cost of noisiness, though) 19. Here are some more USB ports. You’ll most likely use these for UBS compatible printers, keyboards, and other main hardware. The front ones are more useful for quick access like thumb drives or plugging in an mp3 player to download some songs. Constantly reaching around the case to plug things in is too cumbersome. 20. This is a port to plug in a computer monitor. Make sure to plug the monitor’s end in straight and screw it in tight. 21. This is an audio PCI port. The three colorful circle ports are for plugging in headphones, speaker jack, and microphone jack, respectively. Each one is only meant for one of those things listed. Don’t mix them up! 22. This is a PCI port for internet access. It has the distinctive telephone modem plug shape. High-speed internet access does not use the same port style so make sure you have the necessary port for your needs. 23. This is a port for firewire, a data transfer system similar to USB. Note the different shape. Apple computers mostly use this. PCs rarely come with firewire access so you will have to buy a separate firewire PCI card and install it. Keep in mind that a lot of digital music equipment uses firewire, so if you plan to use that computer for music creation and recording, make sure you have firewire. 24. This is an empty PCI slot. You can add a port you may need.
