Computer Hardware
Computer hardware can be categorized as having either internal or external components. 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).
External components, also called peripheral components, are those items that are often connected to the computer in order to control either its input or output. Common input components include a mouse, keyboard, microphone, camera, touchpad, stylus, joystick, scanner, USB or memory card. Monitors, printers, speakers, headphones and earphones/earbuds are all examples of output computer hardware components. All these hardware devices are designed to either provide instructions to the software or render results from its execution.
A CPU(Central Processing unit) is referred to as a brain of a computer. The CPU does the active “running” of code, manipulating data, while the other components have a more passive role, such as storing data. When we say that a computer can “add two numbers, a billion times a second” .. that’s the CPU. When you hit the Run button, the CPU ultimately “runs” your code.
RAM(Random Access Memory), or just “memory”. RAM is the working scratchpad memory the computer uses to store code and data that are being actively used. RAM is effectively a storage area of bytes under the control of the CPU. RAM is relatively fast and able to retrieve the value of any particular byte in a few nanoseconds (1 nanosecond is 1 billionth of a second). The other main feature of RAM is that it only keeps its state so long as it is supplied with power — RAM is not “persistent” storage.Suppose you are working on your computer and it suddenly loses power and the screen goes blank. You understand that what you were working on is gone. RAM has been wiped clean, leaving you only with what you last saved to disk.
Persistent storage is long term storage for bytes as files and folders. Persistent means that the bytes are stored, even when power is removed. A laptop might use a spinning hard drive (also known as “hard disk”) for persistent storage of files. Or it could use a “flash drive”, also known as a Solid State Disk (SSD), to store bytes on flash chips. The hard drive reads and writes magnetic patterns on a spinning metal disk to store the bytes, while flash is “solid state”: no moving parts, just silicon chips with tiny groups of electrons to store the bytes. In either case, the storage is persistent, in that it maintains its state even when the power is off.
Graphics card is responsible for rendering graphics in a computer and projecting information onto a screen, a graphics card aims to remove the processing strain from the processor or RAM.
The power supply converts the power from the outlet into usable power for the other components inside the computer. Typically, more power is needed to run more complex systems.
