By: Joshua chambers

INTRODUCTIONINTRODUCTION What your computer can do depends upon two things: the hardware your computer has, and the software that can be run on you Internal Hard Drive r computer. Hardware are physical components that make up your computer. Any part of your computer that you can see or touch is hardware. Software are programs or applications that run on your computer. Without software, the hardware would be useless because the software tells the hardware what do to. For example, most computers can view web pages. Computers need both hardware and software to do this. Hardware it needs includes a modem or ethernet card, processor and monitor. Yet, hardware alone can not show you web pages. Although you have the modem or ethernet card to connect to the Internet, and the monitor to display the web pages for you, without the software your computer can not make the modem work, find the right web page on the web, or figure out how to bring it to your computer and display it properly. You can think of software as part of the "brains" of your computer. There are many types of software, such as word processing, games, programs, encyclopedias, web browsers, juke boxes, etc. The most important software on your computer is the Operating System. This is the "Master Mind" of your computer. It allows you to easily access all your other software programs, and assures that they work well with each other and your computer's hardware. Most computers come with the operating system and some software already installed, so whey you first boot up your computer it is ready to go. The most common operating system is Microsoft Windows. It is running on over 90% of all personal computers in the world

The Case This Case is the "box" or "chassis" that holds and encloses the many parts of your computer. Its purpose is to protect them from damage and dust. The case is usually made of metal. The style and color of the case has changed somewhat over the last few years. Until the year 2000 almost every case was an off-white color. Since then, most computer manufacturers have opted for a gray, black, or silver case color. The front of the case usually features the power button and media drive bays for the CD DVD Drive.

The MOTHERBOARD The Motherboard If you open your computer's case, you will see various wires, chips, slots, etc. The largest circuit board is called the Motherboard. It holds and connects all the important parts of your computer together. For example, the Motherboard holds all your computer's internal components. In fact, every component in your computer connects to the Motherboard. Some are permanently secured to the Motherboard during its construction. It also contains expansion slots that allow you to plug in additional boards to enable your computer to do even more things. The image at the right shows the motherboard of a personal computer. The long white strips on the left site of the image are the expansion slots. The long black strips near the bottom are for holding RAM (Random Access Memory). It is important to know your way around the mother board so you can make necessary additions and repairs to your computer.

Internal Hard Drive Internal Hard Drive When you think of a Hard Drive, think of Long Term Memory. The hard drive stores your operating system, software programs, and many other files. Hard drives in personal computers are non-removable. They are also very fast and are now reaching sizes of over 1 TB or 1000 GB. They are connected to the mother board by ribbon cables. Shown at the right are two hard drives. The image on the left has the top cover removed so you can view the interior.

THE PROCESSOR The Processor (Microprocessor or CPU-Central Processing Unit) Attached to the motherboard, the main processor acts as the brains of your computer. It processes all the instructions given to your computer. The more powerful the processor, the faster your computer can accomplish its tasks. Its speed is measured in Gigahertz (GHz). The higher the Gigahertz, the faster the chip runs. The Intel Xeon 4, shown at the right, can run between 3-4 GHz ( MHz).

RAMRAM RAM (Random Access Memory) When you think of a RAM, think of Short Term Memory. Before you computer can open software, it must first copy it temporarily to your RAM. This is where your computer places all your programs and applications that you currently have running. The more RAM you have, the faster your computer can juggle multiple programs at once. When you turn your computer off, the RAM is cleared. Most computers allow you to change the amount of RAM you have. If you want to add more RAM to your computer you can literally snap small boards(shown at the right) of RAM into your motherboard. The most inexpensive way to speed up your computer is to add more RAM.

Expansion Slots and Cards Expansion Slots and Cards When you want to add something to your computer, your first step is to see if you have any unused Expansion Slots. Expansion Slots are ports in your motherboard to which you can additional hardware. Most computers come with a few slots open, allowing you to expand your computer's capabilities. There are many "cards" you can place in the slots, such as a Video Card or Ethernet Card (shown at the right). Before you purchase a new card for you computer, it is important to make sure that the card is compatible with the available slots on your motherboard. The side of the card will snap into the motherboard and the end of the card will face the outside of the rear of your computer.