Components of Computer Computer basic skills Components of Computer

COMPONENTS OF COMPUTER A personal computer is made up of multiple physical components of computer hardware, upon which can be installed an operating system and a multitude of software applications to perform the operator's desired functions.

INPUT DEVICES : provide data from the outside world to the processor: keyboards, mice, joysticks, microphones, digital cameras, scanners, and so forth, including various sensors for embedded computers that measure temperature, speed, throttle position, or whatever. Example : Keyboard - This is where the user enters text commands into the computer. Mouse - A point and click interface for entering commands which works well in graphical environments.

Output – devices allow the processor to communicate the results of its work to the outside world: monitors, printers, speakers, LED and LCD displays, and all sorts of different servos and actuators for embedded Example: Monitor:The monitor displays the computer's user interface and open programs, allowing the user to interact with the computer, typically using the keyboard and mouse.

Printer: A printer is a device that accepts text and graphic output from a computer and transfers the information to paper, usually to standard size sheets of paper. Video cards: A video card can be used to process the graphics portion of the processing load. Because most of today's programs are graphically oriented, the video card can help almost any program run more efficiently.

3. STORAGE devices are used by the processor to temporarily or permanently store data so that it can be retrieved at a later time. There are two types of memories: Volatile(RAM) Non-volatile(ROM) "Volatile" storage loses its contents when the computer power is turned off (the human analogy would be your own memories). The most common example of this type of storage is Random Access Memory, or RAM, or just "memory".

READ ONLY MEMORY OR NON -VOLATILE "Persistent", or "non-volatile", storage does not lose its contents when the power is turned off: hard disks, floppy disks, CD-ROMs, DVDs, and so forth (the human analogy would be books, cave drawings, and oral histories passed from generation to generation). EXAMPLES : Hard disk drive(s) - This is where your files are permanently stored on your computer. Also, normally, your operating system is installed here.

CD-ROM drive(s) - This is normally a read only drive where files are permanently stored. There are now read/write CD-ROM drives that use special software to allow users to read from and write to these drives. Floppy drive(s) - A floppy is a small disk storage device that today typically has about 1.4 Megabytes of memory capacity.

4. The Central Processing Unit or just "processor" for short, is the engine or brain of a computer. The processor executes a series of instructions that gather data from the input devices, occasionally store intermediate results using the storage devices, and then produce final results suitable for the output devices.

Examples are : Motherboard - This is where the core components of your computer reside which are listed below. Also the support cards for video, sound, networking and more are mounted into this board. Microprocessor - This is the brain of your computer. It performs commands and instructions and controls the operation of the computer.

Drive controllers - The drive controllers control the interface of your system to your hard drives. The controllers let your hard drives work by controlling their operation. On most systems, they are included on the motherboard, however you may add additional controllers for faster or other types of drives.

The Operating System (OS) is also shown as an intermediary between the CPU and its attached input, output, and storage devices. The responsibilities of the operating system . As far as human analogies are concerned, while it's a bit of a stretch, you could say the operating system is like the autonomic brain functions that handle breathing, beating the heart, and all of the muscle coordination needed to catch a ball--in other words, things that we don't consciously think about.

6.Power Supply The power supply comes with the case, but this component is mentioned separately since there are various types of power supplies. The one you should get depends on the requirements of your system.