COMPUTER HARDWARE:COMPONENTS AND THEIR FUNCTIONS

Introduction

What is a computer hardware?

Computer Hardware is the physical part of a computer, as distinguished from the computer
software that executes or runs on the hardware. The hardware of a computer is infrequently
changed, while software and data are modified frequently. The term soft refers to readily
created, modified, or erased. These are unlike the physical components within the computer
which are hard.

When you think of the term computer hardware you probably think of the guts inside your
personal computer at home or the one in your classroom. However, computer hardware does
not specifically refer to personal computers. Instead, it is all types of computer systems.
Computer hardware is in embedded systems in automobiles, microwave ovens, CD players,
DVD players, and many more devices. In 2003, only 0.2% of all microprocessors sold were
for personal computers. How many other things in your house or your classroom use computer
hardware?

Hardware Inside a Computer

Let us look at the various hardware parts inside a computer’s system unit shown above
Motherboard

The motherboard is the body or mainframe of the computer, through which all other
components interface. It is the central circuit board making up a complex electronic system. A
motherboard provides the electrical connections by which the other components of the system
communicate. The mother board includes many components such as: central processing unit
(CPU), random access memory (RAM), firmware, and internal and external buses.

Motherboard

Central Processing Unit

The Central Processing Unit (CPU; sometimes just called processor) is a machine that can
execute computer programs. It is sometimes referred to as the brain of the computer.
 CPU Diagram

There are four steps that nearly all CPUs use in their operation: fetch, decode, execute, and
writeback. The first step, fetch, involves retrieving an instruction from program memory. In
the decode step, the instruction is broken up into parts that have significance to other portions
of the CPU. During the execute step various portions of the CPU, such as the arithmetic logic
unit (ALU) and the floating point unit (FPU) are connected so they can perform the desired
operation. The final step, writeback, simply writes back the results of the executed step to some
form of memory.

Random Access Memory

Random access memory (RAM) is fast-access memory that is cleared when the computer is
power-down. RAM attaches directly to the motherboard, and is used to store programs that
are currently running. RAM is a set of integrated circuits that allow the stored data to be
accessed in any order (why it is called random). There are many different types of RAM.
Distinctions between these different types include: writable vs. read-only, static vs. dynamic,
volatile vs. non-volatile, etc.
 RAM

Firmware

Firmware is loaded from the Read only memory (ROM) run from the Basic Input-Output
System (BIOS). It is a computer program that is embedded in a hardware device, for
example a microcontroller. As it name suggests, firmware is somewhere between hardware
and software. Like software, it is a computer program which is executed by a microprocessor
or a microcontroller. But it is also tightly linked to a piece of hardware, and has little
meaning outside of it. Most devices attached to modern systems are special-purpose
computers in their own right, running their own software. Some of these devices store that
software (“firmware”) in a ROM within the device itself

Power Supply

The power supply as its name might suggest is the device that supplies power to all the
components in the computer. Its case holds a transformer, voltage control, and (usually) a
cooling fan. The power supply converts about 100-120 volts of AC power to low-voltage DC
power for the internal components to use. The most common computer power supplies are
built to conform with the ATX form factor. This enables different power supplies to be
interchangable with different components inside the computer. ATX power supplies also are
designed to turn on and off using a signal from the motherboard, and provide support for
modern functions such as standby mode.

Removable Media Devices

If your putting something in your computer and taking it out is most likely a form of removable
media. There are many different removable media devices. The most popular are probably CD
and DVD drives which almost every computer these days has at least one of. There are some
new disc drives such as Blu-ray which can hold a much larger amount of information then
normal CDs or DVDs. One type of removable media which is becoming less popular is floppy
disk.

COMPACT DISKS (CDS)

CDs are the most common type of removable media. They are inexpensive but also have short
life-span. There are a few different kinds of CDs. CD-ROM which stands for Compact Disc
read-only memory are popularly used to distribute computer software although any type of
data can be stored on them. CD-R is another variation which can only be written to once but
can be read many times. CD-RW (rewritable) can be written to more than once as well as read
more than once. Some other types of CDs which are not as popular include Super Audio CD
(SACD), Video Compact Discs (VCD), Super Video Compact Discs (SVCD), PhotoCD,
PictureCD, CD-i, and Enhanced CD.

CD-ROM Drive
There are two types of devices in a computer that use CDs: CD-ROM drive and a CD writer.
The CD-ROM drive used for reading a CD. The CD writer drive can read and write a CD. CD
writers are much more popular are new computers than a CD-ROM drive. Both kinds of CD
drives are called optical disc drives because the use a laser light or electromagnetic waves to
read or write data to or from a CD.

DVDS

DVDs (digital versatile discs) are another popular optical disc storage media format. The main
uses for DVDs are video and data storage. Most DVDs are of the same dimensions as compact
discs. Just like CDs there are many different variations. DVD-ROM has data which can only
be read and not written. DVD-R and DVD+R can be written once and then function as a DVD-
ROM. DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, or DVD+RW hold data that can be erased and re-written
multiple times. DVD-Video and DVD-Audio discs respectively refer to properly formatted
and structured video and audio content. The devices that use DVDs are very similar to the
devices that use CDs. There is a DVD-ROM drive as well as a DVD writer that work the same
way as a CD-ROM drive and CD writer. There is also a DVD-RAM drive that reads and writes
to the DVD-RAM variation of DVD.
Blu-ray

Blu-ray is a newer optical disc storage media format. Its main uses are high-definition video
and data storage. The disc has the same dimensions as a CD or DVD. The term “Blu-ray”
comes from the blue laser used to read and write to the disc. The Blu-ray discs can store much
more data then CDs or DVDs. A dual layer Blu-ray disc can store up to 50GB, almost six
times thecapacity of a dual layer DVD (WOW!). Blu-ray discs have similar devices used to
read them and write to them as CDs have. A BD-ROM drive can only read a Blu-ray disc and
a BD writer can read and write a Blu-ray disc.

Floppy Disk

A floppy disk is a type of data storage that is composed of a disk of thin, flexible(“floppy”)
magnetic storage medium encased in a square or rectangular plastic shell. Floppy disks are
read and written by a floppy disk drive. Floppy disks are a dying and being replaced by the
optical and flash drives. Many new computers do not come with floppy drives anymore but
there are a lot of older ones with floppy drives lying around. While floppy disks are very cheap
the amount of storage on them compared to the amount of storage for the price of flash drives
makes floppy disks unreasonable to use.

Floppy Disk

Internal Storage

Internal storage is hardware that keeps data inside the computer for later use and remains
persistent even when the computer has no power. There are a few different types of internal
storage. Hard disks are the most popular type of internal storage. Solid-state drives have grown
in popularity slowly. A disk array controller is popular when you need more storage then a
single har disk can hold.

Hard Disk Drive

A hard disk drive (HDD) is a non-volatile storage device which stores digitally encoded data
on rapidly rotating platters with magnetic surfaces. Just about every new computer comes with
a hard disk these days unless it comes with a new solid-state drive. Typical desktop hard disk
drives store between 120 and 400GB, rotate at 7,200 rpm, and have a madia transfer rate of 1
Gbit/s or higher. Hard disk drives are accessed over one of a number of bus types, including
parallel ATA(also called IDE), Serial ATA (SATA), SCSI, Serial Attached SCSI, and Fibre
Channel.

Solid-State Drive

A solid-state drive (SSD) is a data storage device that uses solid-state memory to store
persistent data. An SSD emulates a hard disk drive, thus easily replacing it in any application.
SSDs have begun to appear in laptops because they can be smaller than HDDs. SSDs are
currently more expensive per unit of capacity than HDDs which is why they have not caught
on so quickly.

Disk Array Controller

A disk array controller is a device which manage the physical disk drives and presents them
to the computer as logical units. It almost always implements hardware RAID. RAID
(Redundant Array of Independent Drives) is a technology that employs the simultaneous use
of two or more hard disk drives to achieve greater levels of performance, reliability, and/or
larger data volume sizes. A disk array controller also provides additional disk cache.