Computer Hardware for the "Non-Techie"

When the conversation turns to computer hardware, most people's eyes start to glaze over. The jargon is at best confusing, and at worst intimidating. So what does the average person really need to know about computer hardware? The good news is: not much! Once you know the basic parts, and what they do, you're well on your way.

Here are the main parts inside your computer case:

• The power supply -the power cord goes into it, and it distributes power to everything else
• The motherboard - a big circuit board that's connected to everything else
• The daughter-boards (or "cards") - smaller circuit boards that plug into the motherboard.
• The CPU (or "chip") - a chip that plugs into the motherboard, covered by a fan
• The hard drive - a small metal case and circuit board about 4" by 6"
• The RAM (or "memory") - little circuit boards that plug into the motherboard

The first three items are fairly self-explanatory. The power supply simply supplies power to all the other parts. Without the motherboard, none of the parts could work together. The cards provide ways to get information into and out of the computer. For example, you plug your monitor into the video card.

"CPU" stands for "Central Processing Unit", and it directs traffic between the motherboard and all the things connected to the motherboard. The CPU does all the data processing and calculations, but it doesn't store any data. Think of the CPU as the CEO of a corporation - it does all the thinking and directing, but it leaves filing to others.

The hard drive is like your filing cabinet. All your data is stored on the hard drive. When you open a file, the CPU directs the request to the hard drive to get the information.

"RAM" stands for "Random Access Memory", and it's similar to your short-term memory. Without short-term memory, you'd have to get up and go to the filing cabinet each time you needed information. When the CPU first requests data from the hard drive, the data goes into RAM, which can be accessed more quickly than the hard drive. But, like your short-term memory, there's only so much RAM available. As you work on more files, the older data in RAM is replaced with the current data you're using.

This is why the CPU, RAM, and hard drive are all important in controlling the speed of your computer. The advertised speed of the CPU (for example, "a 3.8 GigaHertz chip") is really the maximum speed it could go if it had adequate RAM and hard drive space. So you don't necessarily need to buy a "faster" computer - you might be able to add RAM or free up hard drive space to improve performance.

Back to Article Directory

By: Diane Henders, Bright Ideas Personalized Learning Inc. For more information or computer training services, please call Bright Ideas Personalized Learning at (403) 692-2255.

Site Map | Privacy | Careers | FAQ | Contact Us

Copyright © 2008 Bright Ideas Personalized Learning
Bright Ideas Personalized Learning - 303, 6707 Elbow Drive S.W., Calgary, AB T2V 0E5