COMPUTER COMPONENTS AND THEIR FUNCTIONS

1. The computer case or chassis

This component holds all of the physical parts of a computer system.

It is usually designed in such a manner to make fitting for a motherboard, wiring, primary and
secondary storage devices, CD or DVD drives, USB ports and Audio jack etc. Computer case comes in
different sizes

 Very small form factor: Supports Mini ITX motherboards

 Small form factor: Supports micro ATX motherboards.
 Standard form factor: Supports standard ATX motherboards.
 Larger form factors: Supports ATX and XL-ATX motherboards.

2. Motherboard

The motherboard is the main board mounted directly inside the computer case. It is a printed circuit
board in which the CPU, RAM, drives, power supply, expansion cards, are plugged.

Its function involves integrating all the physical components to communicate and operate together.

Motherboards come in the following sizes:

Motherboard Dimensions
Pico-ITX 3.9 inch x 2.9 inch | 100mm x 72mm
Nano-ITX 4.7 inch x 4.7 inch | 120mm x 120mm
Mini-ITX 6.7 inch x 6.7 inch | 170mm x 170mm
Micro-ATX 9.6 inch x 9.6 inch | 244mm x 244mm
Standard-ATX 12 inch x 9.6 inch | 305mm x 244mm
XL-ATX 13.5 inch x 10.3 inch | 343mm x 262mm

3. Central Processing Unit (CPU)

The CPU or central processing unit is basically like the brain of computer systems. It processes all the
information on a computational level.

It takes all the processes from the RAM and processes them to perform the tasks required by the
computer system.
The faster the processor, the more instructions it can execute at any given time. The central
processing unit is usually seated in a socket that utilizes a lever or a latch with a hinged plate with a
cut-out in the center to secure the CPU onto the motherboard.

It has many copper pads underneath it for the socket contacts to push up against them to make
electrical contact.

A processor generates a decent amount of heat This is why a heatsink and fan assembly are required
to draw the heat away from the central processing unit and distribute it to thin sheets or fins of
metal for the fan to cool down.

There are so many different types of computer processors. The largest manufacturers of processors
are Intel, AMD, and NVidia.

4. Random Access Memory (RAM)

RAM is a data storage device that can provide fast read and write access. RAM is volatile memory,
meaning it loses all the stored data when power is lost.

The RAM keeps data ready for the CPU to process and it’s speed is a big contributor to the overall
speed of a computer system.

It plugs directly into a long slot that has contacts on either side of the slot.

RAM has evolved like any other component. RAM used on the motherboard often uses DDR (Double
Data Rate) SDRAM (Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory) type memory.

RAM comes in different sizes :

Rated from 512 Mb, 1 GB, 2 GB, 4 GB, 8 GB, 16 GB

5. Graphics Card or Graphics Processing Unit (GPU)

A Graphics card is an output device that processes the data from the motherboard and sends the
appropriate information to the computer’s screen for display.

You can connect monitors to it using HDMI, DisplayPort, DVI, or VGA connectors.

It can also be referred to as a video or display card. A video card takes the burden of all the video
processing from the main CPU. This gives a computer a big boost in performance

A video card is plugged into a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) Express slot on the
motherboard. It is a serial expansion bus slot capable of high bandwidth in two directions.

A graphics card has a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), the main part of a computer system that
requires cooling.

A GPU is slower than a CPU but is designed to deal with mathematical operations required for video
rendering.
 6. Sound Card

Sound cards are plug into a computer in multiple ways. It can be through USB or PCI slot.

External DACs ( Digital to Analog Converter ) have gained popularity and help deliver clearer and
more defined audio or high-definition sound output.

They connect up using cable like a USB cable to your computer or laptop and provide a line out for
your speakers or headphones.

A sound processing chip on the card does all of the audio processing and is usually not a very
powerful processor.

A sound card can offer a wide range of connectivity with audio equipment.

7. Hard Disk Drive (HDD)

A hard drive is still found in many PCs to this day. A mechanical drive’s purpose is to store all your
information for retrieval at any time.

Apart from storing information for your computer, hard disk drives also function as a boot drive to run
the operating system (OS) from it. You can install operating systems of many different kinds
depending on your needs.

An OS is a software program installed, making a computer useable, like Microsoft Windows. hard drive
is physically fragile nature. One wrong bump can destroy the whole drive. A mechanical hard drive
contains one or more platters that spin anywhere between 5200 to 10000 RPM (revolutions per
minute).

The read and write heads are about 0.002 inches from the platter.

There are various categories of hard drives made for various real-world applications.

Some examples include:

●General use for desktops or laptops.

●Gaming optimized for desktops or laptops.

●General high-capacity storage.

●Servers.

●Video recording.

They can also be purchased as an external drive that usually connects to your computer by USB cable.

We have 2 typse of HDD namely:

● SATA connector HDD

● PATA connector HDD

Serial/Parallel Advanced Technology Attachment

8. Solid State Drive (SSD)

An SSD is also a type of hard drive, but it doesn’t have any moving bits. It consists of a bank of flash
memory that can hold a reasonable amount of information.

While the capacity of SSDs is increasing, they aren’t cost-effective for storing large amounts.

A mechanical drive has a cheaper gigabyte-to-dollar ratio.

However, the SSD is a high-performance drive. It’s fast and cannot be as easily damaged by dropping
it or taking a few bumps.

9. Power Supply Unit (PSU)

A power supply unit mounts inside the computer case. It converts the AC mains supply from the
power cord from a wall socket and supplies the correct DC voltages to all the parts of a computer.

A computer power supply supplies the following voltages:

+3.3v: This voltage is supplied to the motherboard.

+5V: This voltage is supplied to the motherboard and other computer hardware.

+12V: This voltage is supplied to the motherboard and other components.

-12V: This voltage is supplied to the motherboard.

It plays an important role in keeping a computer running reliably.

You get different wattage ratings for power supplies. The higher the wattage, the higher the electrical
current that can be made available to everything that needs it to function properly.

The higher you go in Watts, the more the power supply will likely cost.

A power supply usually also comes with a cooling fan. This helps all the internal components in your
computer to stay cool when the power supply is subjected to bigger loads.

10. Monitor

Monitor is an output device to visualize the graphics information sent from the computer’s GPU.

There are various types of monitors on the market. An LED (Light Emitting Diode) backlit LCD (Liquid
Crystal Display) monitor is the most commonly used with a modern PC.

There are also various computer screen sizes with different aspect ratios. The aspect ratio is simply the
ratio between height and width.
 11. Keyboard

A keyboard is an input device that is one of the ways to communicate with a computer. Typing a key
from the keyboard sends a small portion of information to tell it which key was pressed.

Once the computer receives input from the keyboard, it can use the keystrokes in digital form to
produce a specific task in any software being used.

The computer system can use this information in many ways. An example could be a command or a
character that can be used in a document.

12. Mouse

Mouse is an input device that allows the user to move a pointer displayed on the monitor and
experience a more intuitive interaction with computer systems.

These days, mice have more buttons than the common three and offer way more functions than mice
in the early days.

However, the three main buttons allow users to select, grab, scroll, and access extra menus and
options.

A computer mouse is a handy pointing device that can be wired or wireless. The latter requires
batteries.

Optical mice of today allow for very accurate precision and smooth movement.

Laptops have a built-in trackpad, which works almost like a mouse. Many people don’t like working
with them, so they usually plug a mouse into the laptop instead.