The motherboard is the central hub of a PC, connecting and allowing communication between all other hardware. The processor follows instructions; the memory stores data for quick access; and hard drives store long term data.
A computer case, also called a tower, keeps electronics safe and cool. It contains fans and vents that prevent overheating.
Motherboard
The motherboard is a key component that connects all the components in a computer. It houses the CPU socket, which allows for the installation of the central processing unit that processes instructions and performs calculations. It also has RAM slots, which allow for the installation of random access memory modules that provide temporary storage for data and instructions.
Motherboards also feature expansion slots that enable you to install graphics cards, sound cards, and LAN cards, among other things. In addition, they contain the BIOS chip, which is responsible for kicking off the hardware during the boot process and providing a dashboard to adjust system settings. They also have power connectors, which supply electricity to the various hardware components. They also have voltage regulators that ensure your components don’t experience dangerous power fluctuations.
Video Card
A video card (also known as a GPU) is a specialized processor that handles graphics tasks like displaying images and videos. It offloads these duties from the central processor unit and allows the system to run faster.
The latest cards offer many advanced features:
For example, some include the ability to link multiple cards together for enhanced performance with SLI for NVIDIA cards and CrossFire for AMD. They also have various ports for connecting to displays. Some can support high frame rates and resolutions, while others have ray tracing cores that create more realistic lighting effects. High-performance cards generate more heat and require adequate cooling. Some are designed to be plugged into an expansion slot, while others may have dedicated enclosures. The card connects to the motherboard through the Peripheral Component Interconnect or Advanced Graphics Port (AGP) bus, or a faster PCI Express interface.
Hard Drive
A hard disk drive (HDD) is the primary storage device for your computer. It magnetically stores your data on circular platters that spin rapidly. The platters contain compartments divided into sectors, with each sector containing a fixed number of bytes. A high-speed actuator moves a read/write head assembly across the platters to access the data.
The read/write electronics use a DSP to decode the raw analog voltages from the head assembly and send data over the standard interface. The DSP also tracks error correction, bad sector remapping, and other internal tasks.
Because the actuator arm must move physically to reach the desired sector, seek time is a significant limitation on HDD performance. Similarly, the platters can only spin so fast without warping or breaking.
Optical Drive
Optical drives (also known as optical disk drives or CD/DVD/Blu-ray drives) enable computers to read nonmagnetic external media. They are found in the device drive bay of desktop PCs and laptops.
These flat circular disks are 12 centimeters in diameter and feature microscopic data pits and lands that hold digital information. Prerecorded audio and video discs use aluminum foil to encode digital data while rewritable optical discs swap the foil for an alloy that can be written over many times.
The optical drive offers a mechanism to insert and remove disks, as well as connectors for power and data cables that connect it to the computer motherboard. It also provides a control panel to manage drive operations.