Computer Parts - Internal Computer Information Technology – Section 1-2

Internal Parts of the Computer Objective: To identify the parts of a computer and their uses

Parts that are visible View a video: http://www.videojug.com/film/what-components-are-inside-my-computer

7 Major Parts of a Computer Motherboard CPU RAM Graphics Card Power Supply Hard Disk Optical Drive

Motherboard The motherboard holds the most essential parts of a computer, the Central Processing Unit, the RAM and ROM memory, and an assortment of other important parts. Everything connected to your computer system, plugs either directly or indirectly into the motherboard. The motherboard is the “central nervous system” of the computer

CPU - Central Processing Unit The microprocessor, (or CPU), is the brain of the computer. The central processing unit also contains the control unit and the arithmetic/logic unit, both working together as a team to process the computer's commands. The control unit controls the flow of events inside the processor. It fetches instructions from memory and decodes them into commands that the computer can understand. The arithmetic/logic unit handles all of the math calculations and logical comparisons.

RAM – Random Access Memory RAM is the computer's main memory. The computer uses RAM constantly to temporarily store information while it is working with it. RAM has to be fast enough to have the data and instructions ready for CPU when it needs it. RAM slots in a PC usually 1, 2 or 4 RAM chips.

Graphics Card Controls the video display for the PC. Most video cards today have their memory and processor built into the card. The video card will plug into a special slot on the motherboard.

Power Supply The power supply supplies the electrical power for a computer. It supplies power to the motherboard, drives, and certain expansion cards. It normally has at least one fan that helps cool the power supply and will assist in the task of cooling the computer. A high end computer can use up to 800 Watts of power. If you left it on 24 hours a day it would cost $700 a year to run.

Hard Disk A hard disk is a medium for permanent storage of data. Hard disks consist of one or more magnetic plates mounted in a metal box. Inside the box, a number of glass or metal plates whirl around at, for example, 5400 or 7200 revolutions per minute ­– these being the two most common speeds. The read/write heads hover over the magnetic plates, and can transfer data at a tremendous speed. The actual read/write head is a tiny electromagnet.

Optical Drive A CD or DVD drive uses a low-power laser to read digitized (binary) data that have been encoded onto the disc in the form of tiny pits. DVD stands for Digital Versatile, (or Video), Disk. DVD(+/-)R Double Layer discs burn at two depths on one side of a disc. They are capable of storing up to 8.5 GBs of information. CD-R/RW disks can only store up to 700 MBs of information.

Maintenance of a Desktop System As more and more in included on the motherboard there is less and less that a user can maintain. Things users can do to upgrade up their systems: Add memory – This is probably the best way to speed up your computer. The more memory you have in your computer the less often you the CPU will have to wait for data from the hard drive. Add a USB disk drive - The easiest way to add disk space to a computer today is to add an external USB drive.

Maintenance of a Desktop System Add an internal disk drive – Internal drives are faster and usually less expensive than external USB drives. The type of disk drive you add must match the current disk installed in the system Upgrade your video card – if you play games that require high quality graphics upgrading the video card will speed up the games.

Inside a Laptop Computer In a laptop nearly everything is included on the mother board. The only upgradable parts are: Memory Hard Drive

Inside a Laptop Computer

Rest of Today Complete HW 1-2 and place it in the folder on the shelf.