A personal computer has long been present in almost every family. Thanks to the rapid development of technology and electronics, computers that occupied entire halls some 40-50 years ago, today quite fit on a desk. Modern people no longer perceive the presence of a personal computer in the house as a luxury, these days it is both a tool for work, an entertainment center, and a means for finding the necessary information. Each user of a personal computer must know what parts the computer consists of, so that by upgrading or handing it over for repair, not to become a victim of unscrupulous sellers or repairmen, but to spend the invested money as efficiently as possible.
General computer device
Any modern computer consists of plug-in external devices (peripherals) and internal modules located in the system unit. Peripherals include printers, monitors, mice, keyboards, and many other devices that connect to the computer system unit and are structurally separated from it. What are the main parts of a computer?
It depends on the purpose for which a particular personal computer is used. Conventionally, it can be divided according to the tasks to be solved into office, multimedia, workstations and gaming. The presence or absence of some components inside the system unit depends on the purpose for which the PC is used. Below we will consider in more detail what parts the computer consists of. This is very important to know, because there are basic components that cannot be dispensed with, as well as those that are not present on every personal computer.
What are the parts of a computer
The first thing we see when looking at a personal computer is the case, inside of which, in fact, the other internal parts are fixed. Computer cases vary in size and, accordingly, the size of supported motherboards. Next, we will consider in detail those elements that are hidden inside the PC case.
Motherboard
The basis of the entire computer, without which no PC can function, is the motherboard. It is the link between the rest of the computer. It performs the role of the nervous system, transmitting signals from the brain - the processor to the rest of the PC. Motherboards differ in size (mATX, ATX, E-ATX, ITX, etc.), socket (socket where the processor is inserted), type of supported memory (DDR, DDR2, DDR3, DDR4), the presence and number of slots (interfaces or buses) for connecting all kinds of expansion cards (video cards, network, sound, etc.).
CPU
The central processor is the heart and brain of any computer. He is engaged in processing all the data that comes from running programs, and manages the flow of this data. Processors, except the manufacturer (the largest - Intel and AMD), differ in clock frequency - the most important parameter that shows the number of operations performed per second, the number of cores (the number of processors engaged in parallel processing of data located in one physical package), the type of supported RAM and constructive execution (socket). Any processor needs cooling, therefore, having looked inside the system unit, you will see a radiator with a fan, which is completely pressed by special latches to the motherboard and does not allow the processor to overheat.
RAM
Random access memory (RAM) is designed to store information that may be required by the processor as soon as possible (data of running programs, operating system services, etc. are placed here). Unlike hard drives, a power source is required for storing information, that is, when the computer is turned off, all information from RAM is deleted (that is why when an unplanned shutdown of the PC power is taken, data of open programs are not saved).
RAM differs in type (DDR, SO-DIMM DDR3, etc.), frequency, register (for servers) or not.
HDD
Hard disk - a device for storing information. Unlike RAM, hard drive memory is non-volatile, which allows you to save data even when you turn off the computer. Currently, 2 different types of solid state drives are used: HDD (Hard Disc Drive) and SSD (Solid State Drive). The main characteristics of hard drives are volume (the maximum amount of information that can be written to the disk) and read / write speed.
Video card
A video card is a device for outputting images from a computer to a monitor screen. Video cards are built-in (the video core is built into the chipset of the motherboard or the central processor) and external, which are connected to the motherboard of the computer through a special PCI-Express slot. As a rule, integrated video cards have rather mediocre characteristics and are designed to work with office applications, watching videos and undemanding games. The main characteristics of the video card are the frequency of the graphics processor and memory, the bus width and the amount of video memory.
Sound card
Sound card - a device designed to output a sound signal to external devices (headphones, microphone, speakers, etc.) In the vast majority of computers, a sound card is soldered to the motherboard. But there are external sound cards that differ from the built-in higher quality reproduced sound.
Network Card
A network card is a device that is necessary for connecting a computer to a network with other computers, which makes it possible to exchange information at a high speed between them. Just like a sound card, in modern computers the network card is soldered to the motherboard.
Power Supply
A power supply unit is a device that converts energy from a household electric network into electricity with specified parameters, which is necessary for the operation of all parts of a computer. The main characteristics of the power supply are its power and efficiency. It is important that the power is sufficient for all plug-ins to work, otherwise the computer will simply turn off during peak loads.
Above, we examined what parts the computer system unit consists of. Without these devices, no computer can fully function. But besides them, many other devices can be connected inside the system unit through various interfaces, such as additional ports for connecting external devices (USB, LPT, etc.), TV tuners, sound and network cards. But they are not mandatory and are used only if necessary.
External computer parts
Answering the question of what parts the computer consists of, external devices should be mentioned. These include a monitor, keyboard, mouse, camcorder and speaker system. Monitors differ in diagonal, type of matrix, and backlight used (we are talking about liquid crystal monitors, since monitors with a cathode ray tube are no longer available and are almost universally replaced by more technologically advanced TFT monitors), and the image refresh rate. Also, external computer devices include numerous means for inputting and outputting various information: printers, scanners, multifunction devices, projectors, joysticks, etc.
Conclusion
In this article, we examined what a personal computer consists of. Computer science at school provides more detailed and detailed knowledge. By studying it, you can understand the basic principles of assembling a PC with your own hands. But in order to gain a deeper understanding of the essence of work and operation, for example, to understand what parts the computer bus consists of, it is recommended to study the technical characteristics of the equipment, which is beyond the scope of this article.