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What Is Inside A Computer Week3 2

The document discusses the main internal components of a personal computer. It describes the motherboard as the main circuit board that holds the CPU, memory, and connections to other components like hard drives, optical drives, and expansion cards. It then explains the CPU/processor as the computer's brain that carries out commands, located on the motherboard. RAM is described as the computer's short-term memory that temporarily stores data while it is being processed. The hard drive is where software and files are permanently stored. Other main components mentioned include the power supply, expansion cards for adding capabilities like graphics or sound, and cooling fans.

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Ali Eb
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30 views17 pages

What Is Inside A Computer Week3 2

The document discusses the main internal components of a personal computer. It describes the motherboard as the main circuit board that holds the CPU, memory, and connections to other components like hard drives, optical drives, and expansion cards. It then explains the CPU/processor as the computer's brain that carries out commands, located on the motherboard. RAM is described as the computer's short-term memory that temporarily stores data while it is being processed. The hard drive is where software and files are permanently stored. Other main components mentioned include the power supply, expansion cards for adding capabilities like graphics or sound, and cooling fans.

Uploaded by

Ali Eb
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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INSIDE A COMPUTER

• HAVE YOU EVER LOOKED INSIDE A COMPUTER


CASE, OR SEEN PICTURES OF THE INSIDE OF ONE?
• THE SMALL PARTS MAY LOOK COMPLICATED, BUT
THE INSIDE OF A COMPUTER CASE ISN'T REALLY
ALL THAT MYSTERIOUS.
• THIS LESSON WILL HELP YOU MASTER SOME OF
THE BASIC TERMINOLOGY AND UNDERSTAND A
BIT MORE ABOUT WHAT GOES ON INSIDE
MAIN PARTS OF A PC:
1.MOTHERBOARD :
• IS THE COMPUTER'S MAIN CIRCUIT BOARD.
• IT'S A THIN PLATE THAT HOLDS THE CPU,
MEMORY, CONNECTORS FOR THE HARD DRIVE
AND OPTICAL DRIVES, EXPANSION CARDS TO
CONTROL THE VIDEO AND AUDIO
• CONNECTIONS TO A COMPUTER'S PORTS (SUCH
AS USB PORTS).
• THE MOTHERBOARD CONNECTS DIRECTLY OR
INDIRECTLY TO EVERY PART OF THE COMPUTER.
MAIN PARTS OF A PC
2.CPU/PROCESSOR:
• THE CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT (CPU), ALSO CALLED
A PROCESSOR,

• IS LOCATED INSIDE THE COMPUTER CASE ON THE


MOTHERBOARD. IT IS SOMETIMES CALLED THE
BRAIN OF THE COMPUTER, AND

• ITS JOB IS TO CARRY OUT COMMANDS. WHENEVER


YOU PRESS A KEY, CLICK THE MOUSE, OR START AN
APPLICATION, YOU'RE SENDING INSTRUCTIONS TO
THE CPU.
MAIN PARTS OF A PC
• THE CPU IS USUALLY A TWO-INCH CERAMIC
SQUARE WITH A SILICON CHIP LOCATED INSIDE.

• THE CHIP IS USUALLY ABOUT THE SIZE OF A


THUMBNAIL.

• THE CPU FITS INTO THE


MOTHERBOARD'S CPU SOCKET, WHICH IS
COVERED BY THE HEAT SINK, (AN OBJECT
THAT ABSORBS HEAT FROM THE CPU).
MAIN PARTS OF A PC
• A PROCESSOR'S SPEED IS MEASURED IN
• MEGAHERTZ (MHZ), OR MILLIONS OF INSTRUCTIONS PER SECOND; AND
• GIGAHERTZ (GHZ), OR BILLIONS OF INSTRUCTIONS PER SECOND.

• A FASTER PROCESSOR CAN EXECUTE INSTRUCTIONS MORE QUICKLY. HOWEVER, THE


ACTUAL SPEED OF THE COMPUTER DEPENDS ON THE SPEED OF MANY DIFFERENT
COMPONENTS—NOT JUST THE PROCESSOR.
MAIN PARTS OF A PC
3. RAM (RANDOM ACCESS MEMORY)
• RAM IS THE SYSTEM'S SHORT-TERM MEMORY. WHENEVER YOUR
COMPUTER PERFORMS CALCULATIONS, IT TEMPORARILY STORES
THE DATA IN THE RAM UNTIL IT IS NEEDED.

• THIS SHORT-TERM MEMORY DISAPPEARS WHEN THE COMPUTER


IS TURNED OFF. IF YOU'RE WORKING ON A DOCUMENT,
SPREADSHEET, OR OTHER TYPE OF FILE, YOU'LL NEED TO SAVE IT
TO AVOID LOSING IT. WHEN YOU SAVE A FILE, THE DATA IS WRITTEN
TO THE HARD DRIVE, WHICH ACTS AS LONG-TERM STORAGE.
MAIN PARTS OF A PC

• RAM IS MEASURED IN MEGABYTES (MB) OR GIGABYTES (GB).


• THE MORE RAM YOU HAVE, THE MORE THINGS YOUR COMPUTER CAN DO AT THE SAME
TIME. IF YOU DON'T HAVE ENOUGH RAM, YOU MAY NOTICE THAT YOUR COMPUTER IS
SLUGGISH WHEN YOU HAVE SEVERAL PROGRAMS OPEN. BECAUSE OF THIS,
• MANY PEOPLE ADD EXTRA RAM TO THEIR COMPUTERS TO IMPROVE PERFORMANCE.
MAIN PARTS OF A PC
4. HARD DRIVE:
• THE HARD DRIVE IS WHERE THE SOFTWARE, DOCUMENTS, AND
OTHER FILES ARE STORED.
• THE HARD DRIVE IS LONG-TERM STORAGE, WHICH MEANS THE DATA
IS STILL SAVED EVEN IF YOU TURN THE COMPUTER OFF OR UNPLUG
IT.
• WHEN YOU RUN A PROGRAM OR OPEN A FILE, THE COMPUTER
COPIES SOME OF THE DATA FROM THE HARD DRIVE ONTO THE RAM.
• WHEN YOU SAVE A FILE, THE DATA IS COPIED BACK TO THE HARD
DRIVE.
• THE FASTER THE HARD DRIVE, THE FASTER YOUR COMPUTER
CAN START UP AND LOAD PROGRAMS.
MAIN PARTS OF A PC
5. POWER SUPPLY UNIT:
• THE POWER SUPPLY UNIT IN A COMPUTER CONVERTS
THE POWER FROM THE WALL OUTLET TO THE TYPE OF
POWER NEEDED BY THE COMPUTER.
• IT SENDS POWER THROUGH CABLES TO THE
MOTHERBOARD AND OTHER COMPONENTS.
MAIN PARTS OF A PC
6.EXPANSION CARDS
• MOST COMPUTERS HAVE EXPANSION SLOTS ON THE MOTHERBOARD THAT
ALLOW YOU TO ADD VARIOUS TYPES OF EXPANSION CARDS.

• THESE ARE SOMETIMES CALLED PCI (PERIPHERAL COMPONENT


INTERCONNECT) CARDS. YOU MAY NEVER NEED TO ADD ANY PCI CARDS
BECAUSE MOST MOTHERBOARDS HAVE BUILT-IN VIDEO, SOUND, NETWORK,
AND OTHER CAPABILITIES.
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

• HOWEVER, IF YOU WANT TO BOOST THE PERFORMANCE OF YOUR COMPUTER


OR UPDATE THE CAPABILITIES OF AN OLDER COMPUTER, YOU CAN ALWAYS
ADD ONE OR MORE CARDS. BELOW ARE SOME OF THE MOST COMMON TYPES
OF EXPANSION CARDS.
EXPANSION CARDS
1. VIDEO CARD:
• THE VIDEO CARD IS RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT YOU SEE ON
THE MONITOR.
• MOST COMPUTERS HAVE A GPU (GRAPHICS PROCESSING
UNIT) BUILT INTO THE MOTHERBOARD INSTEAD OF HAVING A
SEPARATE VIDEO CARD.
EXPANSION CARDS
2.SOUND CARD
• THE SOUND CARD—ALSO CALLED AN AUDIO CARD—
• IS RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT WE HEAR IN THE SPEAKERS OR
HEADPHONES.

• MOST MOTHERBOARDS HAVE INTEGRATED SOUND, BUT YOU This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

CAN UPGRADE TO A DEDICATED SOUND CARD FOR HIGHER-


QUALITY SOUND.
EXPANSION CARDS
3.NETWORK CARD:
• THE NETWORK CARD ALLOWS YOUR COMPUTER TO
COMMUNICATE OVER A NETWORK AND ACCESS THE
INTERNET.
• IT CAN EITHER CONNECT WITH AN ETHERNET CABLE OR
THROUGH A WIRELESS CONNECTION (OFTEN CALLED WI-
FI).
• MANY MOTHERBOARDS HAVE BUILT-IN NETWORK
CONNECTIONS, AND A NETWORK CARD CAN ALSO BE ADDED
TO AN EXPANSION SLOT.
EXPANSION CARDS
4.BLUETOOTH CARD (OR ADAPTER):
• BLUETOOTH IS A TECHNOLOGY FOR WIRELESS
COMMUNICATION OVER SHORT DISTANCES.
• IT'S OFTEN USED IN COMPUTERS TO COMMUNICATE WITH
WIRELESS KEYBOARDS, MICE, AND PRINTERS.
• IT'S COMMONLY BUILT INTO THE MOTHERBOARD OR
INCLUDED IN A WIRELESS NETWORK CARD.
• FOR COMPUTERS THAT DON'T HAVE BLUETOOTH, YOU CAN
PURCHASE A USB ADAPTER, OFTEN CALLED A DONGLE.
MAIN PARTS OF
A PC
• HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM
/WATCH?V=HB4I2CGKCCO
EXERCISE 2
INSIDE A COMPUTER
• WATCH THE VIDEO “ A GUIDE TO THE
COMPONENTS INSIDE MY COMPUTER “
• WRITE DOWN ALL COMPUTER COMPONENT
WITH SOME DETAILS MENTIONED IN THE
VIDEO.

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