The Hardware types Which includes a basic computer system are: monitor, motherboard, power unit, keyboard and mouse, among others.
It is known as hardware to all electronic or electromechanical components from which a computer is built. Through the display, the keyboard and the Mouse We can interact with the computer. In this sense, we provide information to the machine and observe the results of the computational process through the screen.
Different types of hardware allow us to interact quickly and effectively with the computer. The microprocessor (CPU) executes instructions and controls all activities taking place inside the machine while the memory devices store instructions and data during operation.
A computer consists of a set of electronic or electromechanical components capable of accepting some form of input, processing this input in a way that we can specify and produce some form of output. The two fundamental elements of any computer are hardware and software.
The hardware serves as the software solution delivery system. A computer’s hardware is changed infrequently, compared to software and data, which are”soft”in the sense that they are easily created, modified, or deleted on the computer.
List with the 8 most outstanding hardware types
1- CPU or microprocessor
The central processing unit (CPU) is responsible for processing most of the data on the computer. People often refer to the CPU as the”brain”of a computer, as it is responsible for performing calculations, do the math of the calculator and compare the size of the numbers, among other functions.
A CPU is a very small, thin”silicon wafer”that is enclosed in a ceramic chip and then mounted on a circuit board. CPU speed and performance is one of the most important factors determining how well a computer works.
The CPU speed is measured in gigahertz (GHz). The higher this measurement, the faster the CPU can run.
However, CPU speed is not the only measure of their performance, different CPUs have built-in efficiency boosting technologies that can increase data throughput in several ways. A fairer comparison between two different CPUs is the number of instructions per second they can perform.
2- Memory
A type of memory, called random access memory (RAM), forms the central memory group that a computer uses to operate. The more RAM a computer has, the more applications it can open at once without the performance of the computer starting to overflow.
More RAM can also make some applications work better overall. The memory capacity is measured in gigabytes (GB). Nowadays, the most basic computers have at least 4GB, while more complex computer systems have 16GB or more.
Like the CPU, the memory consists of small, thin”wafers”of silicon, enclosed in ceramic chips and mounted on circuit boards.
Read-only memory (ROM) is the permanent and long-term memory of the computer. It does not disappear when the computer is turned off, it can not be erased or changed in any way.
However, there are ROM types called PROM that can be altered since the P is programmable. ROM is intended to store the basic input and output system that controls the start-up or boot-up process.
The cache is a buffer (made up of a small number of very fast memory chips) between the main memory and the processor. Temporarily stores recent or frequently accessed data allowing access to data faster.
Whenever the processor needs to read data, it is first looked at in this cache area. If the data is in the cache, then the processor does not need to do more time reading the data from the main memory.
3- Motherboard
The motherboard is considered the most important piece of hardware in the computer because it makes connections in the right places among all the other components of a computer so it”tells the data where they should go.”
The motherboard houses the microprocessor, providing the necessary sockets and slots that connect to all other types of computer hardware. Therefore, the motherboard serves as the”mediator,”a channel that allows components to work together. It is considered a complete unit of work.
4- Hard disk
When the computer is off, what is on the hard drive remains there, so the software does not have to be reloaded every time the computer is turned on. The operating system and its applications are loaded from the hard disk into memory, where they are executed.
Hard disk capacity is also measured in gigabytes (GB). A typical hard drive could be 500GB or even 1TB (1 terabyte = 1,000 GB) or more. Most hard drives sold today are of the traditional mechanical type that use metal discs to store data with magnetic polarity.
A newer type of hard drive, called a solid state hard disk (SSHD), uses a type of memory, resulting in a fast, quiet and reliable (but expensive) storage alternative.
5- Input Devices
Input devices include:
- Keyboards: Input device used to enter text and characters by pressing the keys.
- Mouse: Pointing device that detects two-dimensional motion to the surface. Other pointing devices include the track ball, the touch panel and the touch screen.
- Joystick: is a game device with a hand stick that rotates from left to right and from top to bottom, detecting angles in two and three dimensions.
6- Screen
Depending on the type of computer, the display may be integrated or may be a separate unit called a monitor with its own power cable. Some screens are touch screen, so you can use your finger on the screen to provide the input of information to the computer.
The quality of the screen is measured in resolution, ie the number of pixels (individual colored dots) that make up the screen with its highest resolution. A typical resolution for a portable PC is 1920 x 1080. The first number is the horizontal resolution and the second is the vertical resolution.
The aspect ratio of a screen is the ratio of its width to its height, expressed in pixels. The screens can have a standard aspect ratio (4: 3) or a wide screen (16: 9).
7- Optical unit
Optical drives get their name from the way data is written to and read from the disk. A laser light shines on the surface and a sensor measures the amount of light being recovered from a certain point.
Some laptops come without DVD capabilities because today you can easily download and install various softwares or play videos and music over the Internet), so it is possible to get along without the ability to play DVDs. However, most desktop computers still come with a DVD drive.
8- Network Adapter
Used to connect to Internet . That capacity can be built into the computer or can be added to the computer through an expansion card or a device that connects to a port.
Internet connectivity can be wired or wireless. A cable connection requires you to connect a computer cable to the device that provides your Internet connection (such as a cable modem). That type of cable and connection is known as Ethernet.
A wireless connection allows the computer to communicate with the Internet connection device via radio waves. The type of wireless connection used for Internet connectivity is called Wi-Fi or wireless Ethernet.
If high-speed Internet service is not available in your area, you may need to use a dial-up modem to connect using your home telephone line. Dial-up modems are not the first choice of anyone: they are old and slow technology and they tie Internet service to the telephone line.
References
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