Understanding computer hardware
Knowing a little about computer basics is not a requirement but important in understanding the components of your computer hardware as well as understanding the difference between a computer hardware and a computer software. People are afraid of computers thinking that pressing one single key will damage the software and they need to call a qualified technician with expensive home call charges for repair.
Your personal computer system is composed of a big box that contains your disk drives and other components called system unit, monitor, keyboard, and a mouse. The back of the system unit have phone/modem/Ethernet port, audio port, firewire, power, video port, printer port, USB port, keyboard port, and slots for add-in cards. The front of your system unit has CD/DVD drive, USB, and speaker or headset ports.
If you open the big case of the computer system unit, you will see circuit boards and chips. The motherboard carries the memory chips and the microprocessor. The motherboard also contains several slots for cards so that you can add more functionality to your computer. Most personal computer motherboards contain at least six cards reserved for add-on cards. The microprocessor, central processing unit, is the brain of the computer that processes all instructions to make your computer perform its function. This means that a powerful microprocessor chip makes your computer run more efficiently. Your computer microprocessor chip affects everything a computer does and is the workhorse of your whole computer system.
Learning about computer hardware will make one understand more about computer fundamentals and computer networking. Computer hardware refers to the physical components or parts of your personal computer. This means anything that you see and touch in a personal computer form part of the computer's hardware. A personal computer is a blend of hardware and software. The software instructs the computer how to function and what to do. The computer hardware cannot function and will just sit there without the software. The computer hardware needs software to complete the computer system. Below are the functions of some common parts of computer hardware:
Keyboard
This is where you type and communicate with the computer.
Monitor
The monitor displays the things that you type and all the things that you see in websites you visit.
Mouse
This device allows you to work with graphical objects displayed on the computer.
Printer
The printer prints the computer's output popularly called as computer hard copy.
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