Micro PC Components

Many components go into making a personal computer.The size, shapes, processing power and uses of personal computers, or microcomputers, have evolved dramatically since the first desktop size computers became popular in the 1970s and 1980s. PCs used to handle a million or so instructions a second. Now they process billions, and make video telephone calls as easily as they pay utility bills. Despite many advances, the basic components of a PC haven't changed much.ChassisThe chassis, or case, is the protective housing that contains many of a computer's components, including the motherboard, central processing unit, cooling fan, and power supply. Disk drives are often inside the case though they can also be external. The case is usually made of metal and has ports which support devices, such as printers, scanners, cameras, monitors and keyboards.Motherboard and CPUThe motherboard holds many of a PC's electrical components.Most of a PC's electrical components, all of its memory and its central processing unit, or CPU, are attached to the motherboard inside the chassis. Many of the external ports that printers and other peripherals plug into connect to the motherboard. The CPU is the computer's brain. The CPU is a specialized chip that interprets and executes the various software programs run on the PC.MemoryData needed to execute programs is stored in random access memory.A computer's random access memory, or RAM, holds all program data used to execute programs, commands and processes. RAM is called read-write memory because the PC writes data into the RAM and also reads the data after it is written. Anything written to RAM is lost when you turn off the computer's power. RAM chips plug into the motherboard.Keyboard and MouseThe keyboard is a user's primary input device.By typing on the keyboard you send data and instructions directly to the computer's CPU. Keyboard layouts vary but most include alphabetical letters, numerals, punctuation marks and keys that execute special function commands such as "print screen." The mouse is another input device that allows you to interact with graphics by moving an icon called a cursor around the screen.Hard Disk DriveThe hard disk drive usually is the primary data storage device. Data can be written to and read from a hard drive, and the data is retained when the computer is turned off. Early PC hard drives held up to 5 and 10 megabytes of data. Today's hard drives have capacities up to 500 gigabytes and more. PCs usually have at least one internal hard drive. Additional drives can be installed inside the chassis or plugged into external ports.Other Disk DrivesDVD drives are standard on many PCs.Floppy disks in either a 5 ¼ inch or 3 ½ inch formats used to be used as removable storage and program installation media, with floppy disk drives reading and writing data to the disks. Today writeable CD/DVD drives come standard on most PCs to handle data storage, play movies and read program installation disks. Blu-Ray drives are an option to read high-capacity Blu-Ray format disks, primarily for playing movies. Flash memory drives that plug into external USB ports also are used to transport files.MonitorMost PCs aren't much use without a monitor.The monitor is the primary output device for displaying images and other visual information. For desktop PCs, the monitor usually is a peripheral devices that plugs into a port on the chassis. Laptops and other portable PCs integrate the monitor into the chassis. Early PC monitors displayed a single color, usually green. Today, monitors display thousands of color combinations.Graphics CardVideo cards enhance image quality.The graphics processing card or video card sends digital image data to a display device such as a monitor. The graphics card allows the display of photographs, video recordings, paintings, designs and other types of visual images. Many graphics cards have dedicated memory chips to speed memory-intensive functions like animation and video movies.Sound CardThe sound card enables the computer to reproduce everything from music and speech to natural noises like rain hitting a tin roof or a door being slammed. The card plugs into or is integrated with the motherboard. External speakers can be used to enhance sound quality. References Tekxam: Study Guide: Computer Components IdeaFinder: Personal Computer University of Florida: Components of a Personal Computer System PC Guide: Random Access Memory (RAM)