Basics of Computer Hardware. Devices, Parts, etc...

2.  Hardware
 Software
 Liveware

3.  System Unit
 Central Processing Unit (CPU)
 also called “The Chip”, “Microprocessor” or simply “The Processor”
 Main Memory (RAM)
 Storage Devices
 Input Devices
 Output Devices

4.  CPU or microprocessor is often described as the brain of a
computer
 CPU is an integrated circuit or “chip” which processes
instructions and data.
 CPU speed or CPU performance is measured by the
completed Instruction Cycles Per Second (IPS).
 Currently, CPU speeds range from
600 megahertz (MHz or million cycles
per second) to 4 gigahertz (GHz or
billion cycles per second).

5.  Processing performance of computers is increased by using
multi-core processors, which essentially is plugging two or
more individual processors (called cores in this sense) into
one integrated circuit.
(Eg: Intel Core i5, AMD Phenom II X4, …)

6. RAM or Random Access Memory
 It is a volatile type of memory
 Holds instructions for processing
data, processed data, and raw data.
 Ram is measured by:
 Capacity (in Megabytes or Gigabytes)
 Frequency (in MHz)

7.  Amount of RAM installed will determine.
Which software applications will run
(efficiently)?
How many software applications can be open
simultaneously? (multitasking ability)
 Types of RAM:
SRAM (Static RAM)
DRAM (Dynamic RAM)

8.  Magnetic storage devices store data by
magnetizing particles on a disk or tape.
 Optical storage devices store data as light
and dark spots on the disk surface.

9. Hard Disk Drives
 Capacity is measured in gigabytes (GB or
billions of bytes).
 Typically permanently installed.
 Used to store operating system, application
software, utilities and data.
 Magnetic storage device.

10. Other Storage Devices :
 CD, DVD, BD…
 External Hard Drives
 USB Flash Drive (Pen drive orThumb drive)

11.  Input devices gather and translate data
into a form the computer understands.
 Primary input device:
 Keyboard - Most common input device; used to
type in commands and data.
 Mouse or Trackball enhances user’s ability to
input commands, manipulate text, images.
 Touchpad orTouchscreen
 Joystick useful for Gaming

12.  Scanners
 Webcams
 Microphones

13.  Monitors are the most commonly used
output device.
Most monitors use a bitmap (Raster) display.
 Allows user to resize the display.
 Divides the screen into a matrix of tiny square “dots”
called pixels.
 The more “dots” a screen can display, the higher the
resolution of the monitor.
 For example: CRT(Cathode RayTube), LCD (Liquid Crystal
Display)…

14. Other output devices:
 Speakers
 Printers
 Projectors

15. ThankYou!