Computer Hardware
What is mean by hardware?
Hardware means all the physical electronics and mechanical
components of a computer that requires the function of a computer system. It's
a collective term used to describe the physical electronics and mechanical
components of an analog or digital computer. Computer hardware includes all the
external (outer) and the internal (inner) parts of a computer that you can
physically touch.
The term hardware distinguishes the tangible aspects of a
computing device from software, which consists of written instructions that
tell physical components what to do.
There are two types of hardware.
(I) External/Outer Hardware
External components are also called peripheral components. Those
components are often connected to the computer or a laptop to control its input or output.
External hardware includes components such as:
CPU-Central Processing Unit Case
Monitor
Keyboard
Mouse
Printer
Scanner
Projector
Speakers (Outer)
Microphone- headphone-earphone
Joystick
Gamepad
USB flash drive thumb drive
Power supply (Outer)
All these are output computer hardware components. The design of
hardware devices is either to provide instructions to the software or to render
results from its execution.
(II) Internal/Inner Hardware
Internal hardware includes components such as:
CPU-Central Processing Unit
Motherboard
GPU (Graphics card) – Graphics Processing
Unit
Sound card
Speaker (Inner)
Fans (heat sink)
NIC (Modem)- Network Interface Card
RAM- Random Access Memory
Video card
Drive- CD-ROM, DVD, HDD, SSD, Floppy drive
Power supply (Inner)
USB- Universal Serial Bus
Internal components collectively process or store the instructions given and delivered by the program or operating system.
Information about some hardware
CPU
The Central Processing Unit is the main part of a computer. It sends
signals to control the other parts of the computer. It is responsible for
processing computer data, turning an input into an output.
Motherboard
The motherboard is the main printed circuit board in a computer.
It is the backbone of the computer that ties all the components together in one
spot. It is the computer's central communications major connectivity point
through which components and external peripherals connect. It includes the CPU,
RAM, hard drive, power supply, sound card, and graphics card. Types of motherboard and motherboard components are also significant.
RAM
Random Access Memory is called a system, primary memory, or main
memory. It allows the computer the information to be stored and retrieved. As
the main memory of a computer, RAM is much faster to read from and write to
than other types of storage, including a hard disk drive (HDD), solid-state
drive (SSD), and optical drive. The data stored in RAM is unstable because data
remains in RAM if the computer is on, but it's lost the data after turning off
the computer. The OS and other files are reloaded into RAM, usually from an SSD
or HDD, after the computer is rebooted.
HDD
(Hard Disk Drive) It's an electromechanical data storage device.
It is a nonvolatile memory hardware device. Hard disk drive stores Operating
System files, application problems, media, and other documents. It can store
data permanently even in the event of a power failure.
SSD
A solid State Drive is a type of mass storage device similar to a
hard disk drive. It supports reading and writing data and maintains stored data
in a permanent state even without power. It doesn't have any moving parts. It
uses flash-based memory, which is significantly faster than traditional
mechanical hard disks. Since they are nonmechanical, the solid-state drive uses
less power, which means longer battery life when built into laptop computers.
Graphics card
A video card is an expansion card that generates a feed of
output images to a display device. It is responsible for rendering graphics on
a computer and projecting information onto a screen. The Graphics card aims to remove the
processing strain from the processor.
Monitor
A monitor is an electronic output device that displays
information in pictorial form. A touchscreen display is sensitive to pressure.
As such, a user interacts with the device by touching pictures or words on the
screen. The display device in modern monitors is a thin film transistor (TFT),
liquid crystal display (LCD) with LED backlighting having replaced the
cold-cathode fluorescent lamp.
Removable drives
Removable media is a type of storage device that reads and
writes removable storage. The use of removable drives is to store and transport
data from one computer to another. It is a portable storage device. These
devices have many names such as flash drives, removable drives, jump drives, pen
drives, thumb drives, etc.
It also includes USB cards, compact discs (CDs), digital
versatile discs (DVDs), and Floppy discs.
Power supply
A power supply is an electrical device that supplies electric
power to an electrical load. The primary function of a power supply is to
convert electric current from a source to the correct voltage, current, and
frequency to power the load.
The power supply converts the power from the outlet into usable
for the other components inside the computer. Typically, more power supply is
needed to run more complex systems. Such as a desktop computer with a high-end
motherboard, a custom liquid cooling loop, and dual GPUs will need a higher
wattage computer power supply than a system that is not so complex.
What is the most significant function of the hardware?
There is an interconnection between hardware and software.
Without software, the hardware of a computer would have no function. And
without hardware, the software would be useless. Hardware requires software to
run correctly. Without the correct hardware, your software may not run
efficiently.
Both are dependent on each other. A computer can function when
both hardware and software are working together. The speed of a system will
rely on the hardware used. However, the most important function of computer
hardware is input, processing, and output.
The importance of computer hardware
We all know that computers play a very significant role in our
lives, like television and mobiles. Almost all the activities in every sector
are done using the computer. Computer operators should have a strong
understanding of computer hardware.
Which are the most significant parts of the computer hardware?
One of the most significant parts of the computer hardware is the
RAM (Random Access Memory) of the computer. For running any application or
program computer requires RAM. If the computer has RAM with proper
specifications, it can be compatible with the programs expected to operate. Otherwise, the computer's function will slow down, and you will need to update it to have the ability to use the
planned program.
Which precautions should be taken while handling the hardware?
You have to take certain precautions while handling the hardware
of computers.
1) The most vital precaution is of power supply. While handling
the hardware, make sure that the power supply to your computer is off.
2) Before you touch any part inside the computer, make sure that
you're not carrying any electrical charge by linking to a grounded piece of
metal, or perhaps you secure an anti-static mat or wristband available on the
market.
3) While inspecting the hardware components, you should look for
damaged or broken parts because these are probably the causes of the computer
malfunction.
4) If a part does not fit in the slot, then you're most likely
trying to match it in the wrong place of the computer slot.
Each piece of hardware leads to the successful performance of the
computer. To a large extent, the functioning of a computer is dependent upon
the quality of its hardware, which makes it crucial to keep it in good
condition.
Basics of computer hardware and software
A computer is a general-purpose electronic counting device used
in data processing because of its accuracy and high speed. The physical
components of a computer system are called the hardware, which includes the central processing unit and peripheral equipment for data input, output, and
storage.
Computer storage and memory are measured in megabytes (MB) and
gigabytes (GB). Similarly, one 1 GB is 1,024 MB, or 1,073,741,824
(1024x1024x1024) bytes. A terabyte (TB) is 1,024 GB; 1 TB is about the same
amount of information as all of the books in a large library, or roughly 1,610
CDs worth of data.
In computing, an input device is a piece of equipment used to
provide data and control signals to an information processing system such as a
computer or information appliance.
Input devices are the components that accept raw data and convert
it into electronic form, and output devices present the results of data
processing that humans can read.
The system software is software designed to provide a platform
for other software. Examples of system software include operating systems like OS,
Linux, Android, and Microsoft Windows, computational science software, game
engines, industrial automation, and software as service applications.
Objectives in improving software quality are reducing development
costs, making maintenance easy, and making development results more
predictable. Because software development has lagged behind revolutionary
advances in hardware, the full potential of computers has yet to be realized.