1. Motherboard
• The motherboard is the main part of the computer to make all of
the other components work.
• The motherboard holds all the components such as: RAM slots,
CPU, graphics card, heat sink/fan. Sockets, internal and external
connectors, and various ports are also placed on the motherboard.
• You will need a motherboard to make
Your computer work.
Some different form factors of the motherboard are: ATX,LPX,NLX and
BTX.
ATX=Advanced Technology extended.
LPX= This is an old version of NLX.
NLX=New Low Profile Extended.
BTX=Balanced Technology extended.

2. Hard Drive (HDD)
• The hard drive is where you save all of your
work or anything else.
• IDE=Integrated Drive Electronics.
• EIDE=Enhanced Integrated Drive Electronics.
• PATA=Parallel Advanced Technology
Attachment
• SATA=Serial Advanced Technology Attachment
• SCSI=Small Computer System Interface

3. Computer case
• The computer case holds all of the computer
components also it has 2 USB ports and 2 USB
ports at the back.
• You need one of these to plug in a mouse and
a keyboard

4. Sound card
• The sound card is the main component for
sound also know as the audio card.
• You can also plug in a speaker and microphone
and you can put in a gaming controller.

5. Disk drive
• The disk drive is where you can put your DVD
CD and games and it will run it

6. Graphics card
• The graphics card it what you need to play
games and watch films and do anything else
that you want to do.
• This also controls what you see on your
computer screen

7. CPU (Central Processing Unit)
• The CPU processes instructions that it gathers from
decoding the code in programs and other files. There are
many different types of CPU’s such as: i3, i5, i7. There is 2
main types of CPU’s: such as AMD, and Intel. (The I stands
for Intel.)
• There are 3 types of Cores to the CPU, these are Dual, Quad
and Single Core. The quad core is faster because there is 4
processers sharing the same job, Furthermore the quad
core will also be hotter because there is 4 of them. For
instance if I have got an i7 quad core 2.2Ghz it will be
8.8Ghz.
• The CPU has four primary functions: Fetch, decode, execute
and write back.

8. Heat Extractor
• It is used for getting rid of heat in the
computer so it wont blow up or melt.
•

9. Heat Sink/Fan
• The heat sink/fan is used so that
your computer doesn’t overheat

10. Ram(Random Access Memory)
• You need ram to run and load any applications
• Advanced gaming or graphics software require
large amounts of RAM.
• Most computers have 3 or 2 gigabits of RAM
You can also buy RAM and
Upgrade your computers
Speed/Memory.

11. Power Supply
• A power supply is what you need for your computer to
work.
• You will need one of these for your computer to
operate properly.
• DC Voltage
• Power=Watts
• Voltage=Volts
• Amps=Ohms
• The power supply converts AC into DC.
• DC= Direct Current.
• AC= Alternating Current.

12. Firewire
• It is where you can transfer data
From the device to the computer
e.g. if you have pictures on a camera
You can put them on your computer using one
of these cables
Its similar to a USB

13. ROM
• ROM is ‘Read Only Memory’.
• Data stored in ROM cannot be modified or can be
modified but very slowly, with some difficulty, so its
mainly used to distribute firmware.
• Some different types of ROM are:
ROM, PROM, EPROM, EEPROM
ROM= Read Only Memory.
PROM= Programmable Read-Only Memory.
EPROM= Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory.
EEPROM= Electorally Erasable Programmable Read-Only
Memory.

14. BIOS AND CMOS
• The definition of BIOS is; A set of computer
instructions in firmware that control input and
output operations.
• The bios checks to see if any input/output
devices are connected properly.