Personal computer hardware

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A personal computer is made up of multiple physical components of computer hardware, upon which can be installed an operating system and a multitude of software to perform the operator's desired functions.

Contents [hide] 1 Typical PC hardware 2 Motherboard 2.1 Power supply 2.2 Video display controller

[edit] Typical PC hardware

Hardware of a modern Personal Computer.
1. Monitor
2. Motherboard
3. CPU
4. RAM Memory
5. Expansion card
6. Power supply
7. Optical disc drive
8. Hard Disk
9. Keyboard
10. Mouse

Inside a custom computer.

Though a PC comes in many different forms, a typical personal computer consists of a case or chassis in a tower shape (desktop) and the following parts:

Another sample of custom computer.

[edit] Motherboard

The motherboard is the main component inside the case. It is a large rectangular board with integrated circuitry that connects the rest of the parts of the computer including the CPU, the RAM, the disk drives (CD, DVD, hard disk, or any others) as well as any peripherals connected via the ports or the expansion slots. Computer Hardware course is very important in future life b'coz every work done by computer.

Components directly attached to the motherboard include:

• The central processing unit (CPU) performs most of the calculations which enable a computer to function, and is sometimes referred to as the "brain" of the computer. It is usually cooled by a heat sink and fan.
• The chip set mediates communication between the CPU and the other components of the system, including main memory.
• RAM Stores all running processes (applications) and the current running OS. RAM Stands for Random Access Memory
• The BIOS includes boot firmware and power management. The Basic Input Output System tasks are handled by operating system drivers.
• Internal Buses connect the CPU to various internal components and to expansion cards for graphics and sound.
  • Current
    • The north bridge memory controller, for RAM and PCI Express
      • PCI Express, for expansion cards such as graphics and physics processors, and high-end network interfaces
    • PCI, for other expansion cards
    • SATA, for disk drives
  • Obsolete
    • ATA (superseded by SATA)
    • AGP (superseded by PCI Express)
    • VLB VESA Local Bus (superseded by AGP)
    • ISA (expansion card slot format obsolete in PCs, but still used in industrial computers)
• External Bus Controllers support ports for external peripherals. These ports may be controlled directly by the south bridge I/O controller or based on expansion cards attached to the motherboard through the PCI bus.
  • USB
  • FireWire
  • eSATA
  • SCSI

[edit] Power supply

Main article: Power supply unit (computer)

A power supply unit (PSU) is the component that supplies power to the other components in a computer. More specifically, a power supply unit is typically designed to convert general-purpose alternating current (AC) electric power from the mains (100-127V in North America, parts of South America, Japan, and Taiwan; 220-240V in most of the rest of the world) to usable low-voltage DC power for the internal components of the computer. Some power supplies have a switch to change between 230 V and 115 V. Other models have automatic sensors that switch input voltage automatically, or are able to accept any voltage between those limits.

[edit] Video display controller

{{Main|Graphics card