Parts of the Computer & Their Uses

by J.T. Barett, Demand Media

The microprocessor controls all activities inside a computer.

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The computer on your office desk consists of several main parts, including a
microprocessor, memory and a hard drive. Each part plays a different role in
processing, producing and storing data. Though PCs have become thousands of times
faster and more capable than their predecessors in the 1980s, the general design has
remained much the same. Understanding what the various parts do and how they work
can help you troubleshoot problems or decide whether it's time to upgrade your
company's computers.
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Memory
The computer uses random access memory, or RAM, as a high-speed working storage
space for programs, documents and the intermediate results of calculations. Character
for character, RAM storage is about a thousand times more expensive than hard drive
space, though it is more than a thousand times faster. It is faster because it consists of
millions of tiny transistors that store data as electric charges; the electricity moves at
nearly the speed of light. RAM is called "volatile storage" because it can hold data only
while the power is on. Flash memory is another form of transistorized data storage.
Though slower than RAM, it is less expensive and able to hold its information without
power. USB thumb drives store data in flash memory.
Hard Drive
Based on a design first used in the 1950s, the computer's hard drive stores large
amounts of data at a very low cost. As of the time of publication, a typical desktop
computer has hundreds of billions of characters, or gigabytes, worth of documents,
programs, video and music files; today, a typical hard drive with this capacity costs
under $100. Inside the hard drive, a metal platter stores data encoded as microscopic

magnetic patterns. A mechanism moves back and forth across the platter's surface,
writing and reading information at millions of characters per second. Because the disk
stores data magnetically, the computer can rewrite it with new data indefinitely, and the
data remains intact after you turn the power off.
Related Reading: Computer Installation Basics
Microprocessor
The microprocessor is the part of the computer that performs calculations, compares
one piece of data to another and moves data between memory areas. A program
running on your computer, such as your Web browser, consists of instructions which the
microprocessor carries out. The microprocessor runs very fast a billion or more
instructions per second and can appear to run many programs at the same time. In
reality, it runs only a few at a time, at most, but switches back and forth rapidly between
tasks like the world's busiest traffic cop.
Monitor
A desktop computer isn't useful unless it gives you results; a monitor displays the results
of the work done by the microprocessor and other parts. The display screen consists of
thousands of small dots, called pixels, arranged in a rectangular grid. The monitor's
circuits turn the dots different colors, forming text and graphic images you can see. It
responds very quickly to the activities in the computer, fast enough to show highdefinition video.
Keyboard and Mouse
The keyboard and mouse are the two most common input devices. The computer
performs different actions depending on the icons you click and commands you type.
The computer gives you nearly instant feedback, moving a pointer on the screen as you
move the mouse and displaying characters as you type. Though the keyboard and
mouse might seem directly connected to the screen, the microprocessor oversees the
whole activity, receiving keystrokes from the keyboard, clicks from the mouse and
sending data to the screen.
Sound Card
The computer's sound card performs a similar function as the display, though it can
input audio as well as produce sound. The computer stores representations of sound as
long strings of numbers; a graph of the numbers would resemble sound waves. The
microprocessor sends the sound card these number strings, which the card turns into
electrical waves you hear as sound through speakers or headphones. The sound card
can also turn audio from a microphone or other source into number strings, which it
passes to the microprocessor. Internally, the computer treats sound as numbers,
making the storage, processing and playback of music straightforward and accurate.

The motherboard is one of the most important parts of the PC, but as a tech enthusiast,
you probably already know that. What you might not know, though, is the role played by
each chip, port or slot present on a motherboard. A lot of people simply dont care about
these aspects, but if youre the do-it-yourself type, knowing everything there is to know
when it comes to motherboards can help you when it comes to troubleshooting,
upgrading or even building your own PC, despite the latter operation already being
simple if you take this online course on how to build a computer.

Motherboard Basics

A computer has many components, each with their own roles and functions. The role of
the motherboard is to allow all these components to communicate with each other.
Considering the fact that all the other components are installed on the motherboard or
connected to it, it is safe to say that the motherboard is the central piece of a PC, the
component that brings it all together.

Processor Socket

The processor socket is the central piece of a motherboard, usually being located near
the center of the motherboard. Its also the central piece because it holds the processor
the brain of your computer.

Power Connectors

No computer component can operate without power, and a motherboard is no

exception. The power connector, commonly a 20 or 24-pin connector, can be situated
either near the right edge of the motherboard, or somewhere close to the processor
socket on older motherboards. This is where the power supplys main connector gets
attached, providing power to the motherboard and all the other components.

Newer motherboards have an additional 4-pin or 8-pin connector near the processor,
used to supply additional power directly to the processor.

Memory Slots

Located in the upper-right part of the motherboard, the memory slots are used to house
the computers memory modules. The number of slots can vary, depending on
motherboard, from 2, in low-end motherboards, all the way up to 8 memory slots, on
high-end and gaming motherboards.

It is important to pay close attention to the type of memory a motherboard supports, in

order to buy the appropriate memory modules. Newer motherboards support DDR3
memory, the current industry standard memory architecture, but motherboards with
DDR2 memory slots and even DDR1 memory slots are still present on the market. An
interesting aspect is that there are some older motherboard models that supported
different types of memory, and usually come with two DDR1 memory slots and 2 DDR2
memory slots, or two DDR2 slots and two DDR3 slots. These motherboards were great
options for people that wanted to upgrade a motherboard without having to upgrade all
the other components as well.

The number of memory slots should be an important criterion to take into account when
choosing a motherboard, as it will determine the maximum amount of memory you can
install. You may plan to take an online course to learn video editing or learn 3d modeling
and rendering from this online course do you really want to be limited by your
motherboard in the process?

Video Card Slot

This is the type of slot that doesnt need an explanation, as its name doesnt leave much
room for interpretation as to what its role is. Coming in the form of a PCI-Express slot on
newer motherboards or AGP on older ones, the video card slot is situated right below
the processor.

It is not uncommon for older motherboards, especially those that target the office
segment, to lack this slot, meaning that you wont be able to install a discrete video
card, thus having to rely on the integrated one. At the opposite pole, high-end gaming
motherboards come with multiple video card slots, allowing the installation of multiple
video cards in a SLI or CrossFire configuration.

Expansion Slots

Expansions have the role of letting you install additional components to enhance or
expand the functionality of your PC. You can install a TV tuner, a video capture card, a
better soundcard, etc. you get the idea. These ports are located under the video card
slot, and come in the form of PCI slots (on older motherboards) or a scaled-down
version of PCI-Express slots (on newer motherboards). Some motherboards come with
both types of expansion slots. The number of slots is usually dependent on the format of
the motherboard larger motherboards (full ATX) have more, while smaller formats
(micro-ATX) have fewer, if any.

IDE and SATA Ports

IDE and SATA ports are used to provide connectivity for the storage devices and optical
drives. The IDE interface is somewhat outdated, so you shouldnt be surprised if you
see a lot of new motherboards coming without this type of port. It was replaced by the
smaller and much faster SATA interface, which currently reached its 3rd revision, being
able to achieve maximum speeds of up to 600 MB/s, as opposed to the IDE interface,
which can reach a maximum of 133 MB/s.

It is not uncommon for manufacturers to include SATA ports of different revisions, such
as two SATA2 ports and two SATA3 ports. Considering the fact that most optical drives
on the market come with a SATA connector, and these devices are not bandwidthhungry, using a SATA2 port for an optical drive is perfectly acceptable. In fact, most
mechanical hard drives cannot achieve SATA3 speeds due to mechanical limitations, so
unless you plan to use multiple high-performance solid state drives in your PC, which
can benefit of the higher speeds of SATA3, a combination of SATA2 and SATA3
shouldnt make much of a difference. If youre not familiar with the differences between
classical hard drives and solid state drives, check out this computer essentials online
course you might find out some more interesting information about computers along
the way.

BIOS Chip and Battery

The BIOS chip contains the basic code needed to take your computer through the boot
process, up to the point where the operating system takes over. Since the BIOS code is
stored on a memory chip that needs constant power to function, a battery is also
present to keep the chip powered when the computer is unplugged.

Northbridge and Southbridge

If you have a look at your motherboard, chances are youll see a square metal
component somewhere in the lower-right part of the board. This metal component is
actually a heatsink, and its role is to provide thermal protection for the Northbridge
one of the most important components of a motherboard. The northbridge is responsible
for coordinating the data flow between the memory, the video card and the processor. A
secondary chip, known as Southbridge, has a similar function, coordinating the data
flow between the processor and peripherals such as sound cards or network cards.

Front Panel Connectors, USB Headers and Audio Header

The front panel connector is where all the elements present on the front of your case
are connected. Power button, reset button, power led, audio connectors and USB
connectors they are all connected to the front panel or the corresponding headers.

Rear Connectors

These connectors are the bridge between the outside of your computer and the inside.
The name is a bit misleading, as the connectors are actually located on the left edge of
the motherboard; however, since these connectors are accessible from the outside, the
name simply implies where they are accessible from the rear of the PC case. External
peripherals such as keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers and so on are all connected
via these connectors.