PARTS OF A

COMPUTER
 Three (3) fundamental
Elements of a computer

• System Unit
• Output Devices
• Input Devices
 A) System Unit
• The system unit is the core of a computer.
It is responsible for processing and
storing data and controls all computer
functions. It is in the system unit that raw
data is processed into information. The
system unit works with the computer
peripheral devices. A system unit is
sometimes called a box or main unit.
 Basic parts of the system unit
• System Case
• Motherboard
• Central Processing Unit
• Memory
• Video Card
• Expansion Slots
• Speaker
• Internal Modem
• Power Supply
• IDE and Floppy Disk Ribbon Cable
• Power Cables
• System Case – is a plastic and metal
box that houses components such as
the motherboard, disk drives and
power supply units. The two basic
types of system case are desktop and
tower.
• Motherboard - The main circuit board of
a microcomputer. The motherboard
contains the connectors for attaching
additional boards. Typically, the
motherboard contains the CPU, BIOS,
memory, mass storage interfaces, serial
and parallel ports, expansion slots, and all
the controllers required to control
standard peripheral devices, such as the
display screen, keyboard, and disk drive.
Collectively, all these chips that reside on
the motherboard are known as the
motherboard's chipset.
• Central Processing Unit - The CPU is the
brains of the computer. Sometimes
referred to simply as the processor or
central processor, the CPU is where most
calculations take place. In terms of
computing power, the CPU is the most
important element of a computer system.
The CPU has the ability to fetch, decode,
and execute instructions and transfer
information to and from other resources
over the computer’s main data transfer
path, the bus.
• Memory - A computer’s memory is like a
person’s memory, the more it has the more it can
remember. The memory in a computer is of two
fundamental types, Main Memory and the
Secondary Memory.
• Main Memory = is where the programs and data
are kept when the processors is actively using
them. When programs and data become active,
they are copied from the secondary memory into
the main memory where the processor can
interact with them. The main memory is
sometimes called the RAM (Random Access
Memory)
• Secondary Memory = is where programs and data
are kept on a long tem basis. Common secondary
storage are the floppy disk, hard disks, and
compact disks.
• Video Card = (also referred to as a
graphics accelerator card, display
adapter, graphics card, and
numerous other terms), is an item of
personal computer hardware whose
function is to generate and output
images to a display.
 6. Expansion slots

• Expansion slots are located on the

back of the computer. They provide
access to the AGP, PCI, and ISA
expansion slots. AGP (Accelerated
Graphic Ports), PCI (Pheripheral
Component Interconnect), ISA (
 Speaker.
• A motherboard speaker provides
simple sound output, such as
indicating hardware errors during
start up.
 Internal Modem
• In order to connect to the internet you need
some from of MODEM (Modulator/ Demodulator).
Computers are digital machines in that the
information is represented by codes of small
currents. Standard telephones lines however, are
analogue devices and that the information is
directly represented by analogue waves. That’s
why we need modem to convert (modulate) the
digital code into analogue waves and convert them
back into digital (demodulate) at the other end.
•
 . Power Supply.
• The power supply supplies the fuel
(power) for the computer. It supplies
power to the motherboard, the
drives, and also normally, contains a
fan that help assist in the task of
cooling the computer
 IDE and Floppy Disk
Ribbon Cable
• . IDE stands for Integrated Device
Electronics
 Power Cables .
• The power cables supply power form
the power supply to the drives.