The three main internal components of a computer are the CPU, motherboard, and RAM. The CPU processes data and exchanges it with other components. Motherboards contain many components and connect them together. RAM stores data temporarily while the computer is on. Other important internal components include the power supply, fans, adapter cards, optical and floppy disk drives, hard drives, and connectors.
2. CPU
A CPU (Central Processing Unit), or processor as it is sometimes
called, is the main chip in the computer and is located on the
Motherboard.
The CPU processes the computer’s data and exchanges it with
the other components and peripherals.
CPU’s come in different speeds, the most of common of which
are between 500MHz - 800MHz. The speeds are measured in
Mega Hertz (MHz) and even Giga Hertz (GHz). Most modern
computers have two processors (Intel Dual Core Processor).
The CPU is often referred to as the brain of the computer.
3. Motherboard
The Motherboard, or logic board as it is known in Macintosh
computers, is the main circuit board in the computer. The
Motherboard contains many components like the RAM, CPU,
expansion slots and the heat sink. The motherboard connects
all these peripherals together.
4. RAM
RAM or Random Accessing Memory is the main memory that
stores data on the computer.
RAM is a type of volatile memory which means it requires
electricity to store data, so when the computer is powered down
all the memory is wiped.
There are many types of RAM including SRAM (Static Random
Accessing Memory), DRAM (Dynamic Random Accessing
Memory) and SO-DIMM RAM. All these do similar jobs to the RAM.
5. Power Supply
The Power Supply Unit supplies all the computer components
which power (electricity). The Power Supply Unit changes AC
(Alternating Current) from the mains supply into DC ( Direct
Current) which is used by the components.
6. Fans
One of the main problems with computers, especially laptops, are
that they can overheat easily. To stop this problem fans are added
to cool the computer down.
The main fan is positioned on the CPU because the CPU is prone to
overheating. Firstly a thermal compound is put on top of the CPU
followed by the heat sink, and the fan is placed on top of this.
7. Adapter Cards
On the motherboard there are a couple of expansion slots. In
these expansion slots go several printed circuit boards, or
adapter cards as they are more commonly known.
The sound card is an adapter card that allows
the computer to have extended sound
capabilities, and for sound components to be
used, for example, headphones.
The Video or Graphics card is an adapter
card that allows the computer to show
graphics on the monitor.
8. NIC Card
The NIC, or Network Interface Card, is an adapter card that
allows the computer to connect to a network.
The Wireless Network Interface Card allows the computer to
access the network wirelessly. It uses radio signals to do so.
9. FDD
A FDD (Floppy Disk Drive) is a drive that can read and write on a
removable magnetically coated floppy disk. The rectangular
disk is quite flexible so it has been give the name ‘floppy’.
The Floppy Disk is a type of storage medium and back up
device.
10. HDD
The HDD (Hard disk Drive) is a drive that can read and write on
a magnetically coated platter, that spins at a high speed.
There can be more than one patter (disk) in the hard drive.
While the platter is rotating the magnetic head reads the data
stored on it.
A computer can have more than one hard drive. In these
circumstances the main hard drive is called the ‘master’ while
the others are called ‘slaves’ these can be alternated by the a
switch know as a ‘jumper’.
11. Optical Drives
There are two types of optical drives.
The DVD drive is a DVD player built in to the base unit. The DVD
drive allows the computer to run DVD’s.
The other optical drive is the CD-ROM drive, which allows the
computer to run CD-ROMs . These have, however, mostly
been replaced by DVD drives.
12. Connectors
A connector is a cable that connects a peripheral device to a
hardware component. There are many types of connectors but
the main ones used today are USB, Firewire, and PS/2.
USB (Universal Serial Bus) is hot swappable, meaning that it can be put in or pulled out
without the system having to be rebooted, it can support 127 devices. There are 3
standards of USB, USB 3.0 is the latest and has transfer speeds of up to 625MBs per
second.
Firewire or IEEE 1394 is another high speed connector that is used predominantly by
Apple. IEEE 1394 can support up to 63 devices and has speeds of up to 800MBs per
second
An older, and less common connector, is PS/2. PS/2 is used to connect keyboards
and mice to the computer. These have mostly been replaced by USB.
Other Connectors include Ethernet, SCSI, Parallel and Serial.
