Lesson 1: THE

COMPUTER HARDWARE
MODULE 1

MODULE 1:
ON THE WAY TO COMPUTER AND INFORMATION LITERACY
Module Overview: Information technology tools are now part of the humans’ everyday
essentials. With the changes and new challenges in the world, humans need to level up and
cope with these changes. Technology helps us in many aspects – increases productivity at
work, makes distance learning possible, information becomes just one click away, among
others. One of the most used technological tools nowadays is the computer. In this module,
we will break down the computer parts into its hardware components and software
applications.

LESSON 1:
THE COMPUTER HARDWARE

Learning Outcomes:

At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:

∙ define “computer hardware” and identify computer hardware components

∙ label the different parts of computer hardware components; and

∙ evaluate the purpose of the different computer hardware components.

Introduction:

The history of computers goes back over 200 years. At first theorized by mathematicians
and entrepreneurs, during the 19th century mechanical calculating machines were designed
and built to solve the increasingly complex number-crunching challenges. The advancement
of technology enabled ever more-complex computers by the early 20th century, and
computers became larger and more powerful.

Today, computers are almost unrecognizable from designs of the 19th century, such as
Charles Babbage's Analytical Engine — or even from the huge computers of the 20th
century that occupied whole rooms, such as the Electronic Numerical Integrator and
Calculator.

In the 21st century, technology plays a huge role in all facets of life, we always turn to
computers to access information, create and express ourselves, communicate and
 1
Lesson 1: THE
COMPUTER HARDWARE
MODULE 1

collaborate, and track the achievement of learning outcomes. Hence, the 21st century is also
known as the Digital Age.

The modern computer is no longer just a numeric calculator; it is a multimedia device that
displays images, sound, and video through operating systems and applications that give the
user unprecedented control over information. Visionaries such as Alan Turing and Vannevar
Bush articulated the direction for such computers, but it was the development of
microelectronics that brought multimedia to our desktops. Powerful computing devices
make multimedia applications possible. They capture and convert input from various
analogue sources, process and store the digital data, and output in ways that empower
users to create, distribute, search, and share information as never before. Hardware powers
the development and delivery of multimedia. In this chapter you will explore the basic
components of a computer system including the peripheral devices used for developing
multimedia applications. Developers are concerned about the performance features of not
only the processor, but also all input, storage, and output devices. After completing this
chapter you should understand:

Key Concepts
What is a computer?

A computer is an electronic device that manipulates information, or data. It has the ability
to store, retrieve, and process data. You may already know that you can use a computer to
type documents, send email, play games, and browse the Web. You can also use it to edit or
create spreadsheets, presentations, and even videos.

What is a “Computer Hardware”?

⮚ Computer hardware is a collective term used to describe any of the physical

components of an analog or digital computer. 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.
⮚ Computer hardware can be categorized as having either internal or external
components.
o Internal components include items such as the motherboard, central
processing unit (CPU), random access memory (RAM), hard drive, optical
drive, heat sink, power supply, transistors, chips, graphics processing unit
(GPU), network interface card (NIC) and Universal Serial Bus (USB) ports.
These components collectively process or store the instructions delivered by
the program or operating system (OS).
 o External hardware components, also called peripheral components, are those
items that are often externally connected to the computer to control either
input or output functions. These hardware devices are designed to either

2
Lesson 1: THE
COMPUTER HARDWARE
MODULE 1

provide instructions to the software (input) or render results from its

execution (output).
⮚ Computer hardware components are further divided into three (3) categories:
o Input Devices
o Output Devices
o System Unit

Input Devices: An input device lets you communicate with a computer. You can use input
devices to enter information and issue commands.

INPUT DEVICE IMAGE

Keyboard - an input device featuring a
standard
QWERTY keyset that enables users to input
text,
numbers or special characters.

Image source: https://www.logitechg.com/en

us/products/gaming-keyboards/pro-mechanical-gaming
keyboard.920-009388.html

Mouse - a hand-held pointing device that

moves a
cursor around a computer screen and enables
interaction with objects on the screen. It may
be
wired or wireless.

Image source: https://www.logitechg.com/en

us/products/gaming-keyboards/pro-mechanical-gaming
keyboard.920-009388.html

Joystick - A pointing device used to move an

object
on screen in any direction, commonly used to
control gaming applications and, sometimes, used
in graphics applications.

Image Source: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Logitech

Extreme-Pro-Precision-Joystick/dp/B00CJ5FPTA

3
Lesson 1: THE
COMPUTER HARDWARE
MODULE 1

Trackball - A trackball is a computer cursor

control
device used in many laptop computer
keyboards
and older versions of computer mice.

Image source:
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/414650-
REG/Kensington_64327_Orbit_Optical_Trackball_USB.html

Light Pen - a light-sensitive computer

input device,
basically a stylus, that is used to select
text, draw
pictures and interact with user interface elements
on a computer screen or monitor.

Image source: https://www.c64-wiki.com/wiki/Light_pen

Scanner - A scanner allows you to scan

documents,
pictures, or graphics and view them on the
computer.

Image source:
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1114127-
REG/epson_b11b231201_perfection_v19_photo_scanner.ht
ml

Microphone - a device that translates

sound waves
into electrical signals and supports
computer
based audio communications.

Image source:
http://computerscience.slc.gr/inputdevices.html

4
Lesson 1: THE
COMPUTER HARDWARE
MODULE 1

Camera - captures visual images and streams

them
to the computer or through a computer to a
network device.

Image source:
http://img.fruugo.com/product/5/98/158211985_max.jpg

Touchpad - an input device, external or

built into a
laptop, used to control the pointer on a
display
screen. It is typically an alternative to an
external
mouse.

Image source: https://tinyurl.com/58ndc3am

Output Devices: An output device displays information on a screen, creates printed copies
or generates sound.

OUTPUT DEVICE IMAGE

Printers - render electronic data

from a
computer into printed material.

Image source: https://epson.com/For

Home/Printers/Photo/Epson-Artisan-1430-Inkjet
Printer/p/C11CB53201

Monitor - similar to a TV screen

that
displays information, documents or images
generated by the computing device.

5
Lesson 1: THE
COMPUTER HARDWARE
MODULE 1

Multimedia Projector - is a type of

video
projector for displaying video,
images or
computer data on a screen or other
flat
surface
Image source:
https://www.projectorreviews.com/projector
categories/multimedia-projectors/

Speaker - an external audio output

device
that connects to a computer to
generate a
sound output.

Image source:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Bose-Companion-2-
Computer-Speaker-System/49988350

Headphones, earphones, earbuds -

Similar
to speakers, these devices provide
audio
output that's audible only to a single
listener.

Image Source:
https://static1.makeuseofimages.com/wordpress/w
p-content/uploads/2022/05/Apple-Earbuds-and
Sony-headphones-side-by-side.jpg

System Unit: The system unit is the part of the computer which is responsible for accepting
and processing the data brought in by the input devices.

SYSTEM UNIT COMPONENTS IMAGE

Motherboard - the main circuit board of
the
computer. This board is called the
"motherboard" because it has all the
connectors that connect to the other
hardware
components of the computer system. This
means that all input and output (I/O)
devices
have their connectors on the motherboard.

Image source:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32989263098.html
 6
Lesson 1: THE
COMPUTER HARDWARE
MODULE 1

CPU (Central Processing Unit) -

responsible for
all operations performed in the
computer
system, which is why most computer
users call
it the brain of the computer, which is
fixed on
the motherboard through a slot.

Image source:
https://www.anandtech.com/show/8312/state-of-the
part-cpus

Hard-disk Drive - main storage device

of a
computer system, stores billons of
characters of
data on a non-removable disk.

Image source: https://www.intego.com/mac-security

blog/how-to-choose-the-right-hard-disk-for-your-mac/

PSU (Power Supply Unit) – converts

the
alternating current (AC) line from your
home to
the direct current (DC) needed by the
personal
computer. Without it, a computer is
just an
inert box full of plastic and metal.

Image source: https://il.farnell.com/sparkle

power/atx-400pa-b204/atx-400w-power
supply/dp/2803542

Computer memory - any physical device

capable of storing information
temporarily, like
RAM (random access memory), or permanently,
like ROM (read-only memory). Memory devices
utilize integrated circuits and are used by
operating systems, software, and hardware.

Image source:
https://sites.google.com/site/computerparts10101/prima
ry-memory

7
Lesson 1: THE
COMPUTER HARDWARE
MODULE 1

Floppy Disk Drive - a piece of computer

hardware that reads data from, and writes
data
to, a small disk.

Image source:
https://www.pinterest.ph/pin/331859066284958760/

CD/DVD Drive - Is a device that reads

information stored on a compact disc, it
is a
storage device that use laser technology
to read
data from optical disks.

Image source:
https://www.cleverfiles.com/howto/what-is-optical
drive.html

Video Card - it's a piece of hardware

inside your
computer that processes images and
video,
some tasks normally handled by the CPU.
Video
cards are used by gamers in place of
integrated
graphics due to their extra processing power
and video ram.

Image Source:
https://www.computerhope.com/jargon/v/video
card.htm

Sound Card - Enhances the computers

sound
generating capabilities by allowing
sound to be
output through speakers.

Image source:
https://solutionplus.com.np/product/pci-sound-card/

TYPES OF COMPUTER MEMORY

✔ RAM - RAM stands for Random Access Memory. The processor accesses all memory
addresses directly, irrespective of word length, making storage and retrieval fast.
RAM is the fastest memory available and hence most expensive. These two factors
imply that RAM is available in very small quantities of up to 1GB. RAM is volatile but
may be of any of these two types.

8
Lesson 1: THE
COMPUTER HARDWARE
MODULE 1

o DRAM (Dynamic RAM) - Each memory cell in a DRAM is made of one

transistor and one capacitor, which store one bit of data. However, this cell
starts losing its charge and hence data stored in less than thousandth of a
second. So it needs to be refreshed thousand times a second, which takes up
processor time. However, due to small size of each cell, one DRAM can have
large number of cells. Primary memory of most of the personal computers is
made of DRAM.

o SRAM - Each cell in SRAM is made of a flip flop that stores one bit. It retains its
bit till the power supply is on and doesn’t need to be refreshed like DRAM.
It also has shorter read-write cycles as compared to DRAM. SRAM is used in
specialized applications.
✔ ROM - ROM stands for Read Only Memory. As the name suggests, ROM can only be
read by the processor. New data cannot be written into ROM. Data to be stored into
ROM is written during the manufacturing phase itself. They contain data that does
not need to be altered, like booting sequence of a computer or algorithmic tables for
mathematical applications. ROM is slower and hence cheaper than RAM. It retains its
data even when power is switched off, i.e. it is non-volatile. ROM cannot be altered
the way RAM can be but technologies are available to program these types of ROMs

✔ Cache Memory - mall piece of high speed volatile memory available to the processor
for fast processing is called cache memory. Cache may be a reserved portion of main
memory, another chip on CPU or an independent high speed storage device. Cache
memory is made of fast speed SRAMs. The process of keeping some data and
instructions in cache memory for faster access is called caching. Caching is done
when a set of data or instructions is accesses again and again.
Whenever the processor needs any piece of data or instructions, it checks the cache
first. If it is unavailable there, then the main memory and finally secondary memory
is accessed. As cache has very high speed, time spent in accessing it every time is
negligible as compared to time saved if data indeed is in the cache. Finding data or
instruction in cache is called cache hit.

9
Lesson 1: THE
COMPUTER HARDWARE
MODULE 1

Back of System Unit

Image source: https://wanahsblog.wordpress.com/2016/10/07/computer-specification
system-unit/

10
Lesson 1: THE
 COMPUTER HARDWARE
MODULE 1

Shape up your mind.

Instruction: Share what you have learned by answering each of the following
questions/items in two to three sentences.

1. Why is a system unit important as one of the components of a computer system?

__________________________________________________________________________
_
__________________________________________________________________________
_
__________________________________________________________________________
_
__________________________________________________________________________
_

2. Briefly discuss the difference between a RAM and a ROM.

__________________________________________________________________________
_
__________________________________________________________________________
_
__________________________________________________________________________
_
__________________________________________________________________________
_

3. Which system unit component do you think is the most important? Explain.(Just choose one)
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

4. Differentiate a hard drive from a flash drive.

__________________________________________________________________________
_
__________________________________________________________________________
_
__________________________________________________________________________
 _
__________________________________________________________________________
_

5. As a student, which output device is most useful to you? Explain.

__________________________________________________________________________
_
__________________________________________________________________________
_
__________________________________________________________________________
_
__________________________________________________________________________
_

11
Lesson 1: THE
COMPUTER HARDWARE
MODULE 1

Label Up!
Instruction: Sketch and label the parts of a motherboard or you can have a cut out of a
picture of a motherboard and label them accordingly. Paste it in the box.
 12
Lesson 1: THE
COMPUTER HARDWARE
MODULE 1

Summary:
Technology and computer play a big role in today’s generation, may it be in education,
entertainment, social aspects, etc. It is important to know the different parts and functions
of a computer system to cope with digitization in the society. A computer system would be
more useful if the different hardware devices - input, output, and system unit components -
are correctly used.

References:

https://www.livescience.com/20718-computer-history.html

https://www2.slideshare.net/oliveresabornido/computer-hardware-presentation
41706852?from_action=save

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283540479_INTRODUCTION_TO_COMPUTER

http://samples.jbpub.com/9781449688394/88394_CH03_Savage.pdf

https://searchnetworking.techtarget.com/definition/hardware

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/basics_of_computers/basics_of_computers_primary_mem
ory.htm

https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/definition/hardware

Congratulations! You have completed the tasks and activities for

Lesson 2 of this module. Using the skills acquired, you are now ready
to move forward to the next lesson. Keep learning and have fun!

13