Computer hardware encompasses all the physical components that make a computer work. From the motherboard that acts as a central hub to the CPU that processes instructions, it’s important to understand how each component works.
Though they may look different today, basic computer hardware components still perform the same functions. RAM still stores on-the-fly information for quick access, while hard drives save data long-term.
Motherboard
The Motherboard is the hub that connects and supports all of the other parts in your computer. It takes the electrical power from the power supply unit and distributes it to different components such as the CPU, RAM, storage devices, expansion cards, and front panel connectors. It also provides and regulates voltage to prevent components from overheating.
Motherboards also house essential circuits, chips, sockets, slots, and ports that determine the performance and upgrade potential of a computer. They’re like a backbone, nervous system, and circulatory system all-in-one. To use a geekier analogy, the motherboard is like the black lion from the animated series Voltron that brings all of the individual parts together to function as one cohesive unit. Motherboards also host the BIOS or UEFI firmware that enables system initialization and configuration.
CPU
A CPU is a chip that connects to the motherboard and acts as your computer’s brain. It tells all other hardware what to do, and how to do it.
Its components include a control unit, arithmetic logic unit and main memory. It also includes registers, which are extremely fast memory locations where data and instructions are stored for quick access.
The control unit is a digital circuit that interprets machine instructions sent to the processor by the arithmetic logic unit and input and output devices. It then instructs the arithmetic logic unit and other parts of the CPU to execute those instructions. It also manages the CPU’s memory, providing a cache for faster data access. It also generates a clock that delivers electrical pulses to the internal circuitry at regular intervals, synchronizing its operations.
RAM
RAM (random access memory) is a temporary storage space for information that’s used by your programs and files. It’s volatile, meaning the information in RAM is erased when you shut down your computer.
RAM is stored in microchips grouped into modules that plug into slots on a motherboard. It takes just a few nanoseconds for a CPU to read data from RAM.
The faster your processor can access data from RAM, the more efficiently it works. Having more RAM also cuts down on the number of times your CPU has to read data from a hard drive or solid-state drive, which can take much longer. This can help your computer run multiple programs at once or handle demanding applications with ease.
Video Card
The video card, also known as a GPU, is what creates the images we see on our computer screen. It takes the information sent from the CPU in binary form and creates pixels (tiny squares of color that combine to make up an image on your monitor or display). This is a demanding task as it requires creating a wire frame out of straight lines then rasterizing the picture by filling it with data.
The graphics card needs somewhere to store information about each pixel and completed pictures so it can quickly access it when needed. This is done with a special type of RAM called video RAM. For basic computer use, the pre-installed GPU on the motherboard is sufficient but if you want to do anything like video editing or play high resolution games a discrete graphic card is required.
Optical Drive
An optical drive (ODD) reads and writes CDs, DVDs or Blu-Ray Discs. Optical drives can be found in both desktop PCs and laptops.
These drives use a laser to scan the underside of a spinning plastic disc, detecting a pattern of pits and bumps that contain encoded digital data. Discs that store data can be either write-once or rewritable, with the latter swapping an aluminum foil layer for an organic dye layer to allow repeated writing.
Many software tools, including Nero DiscSpeed, K-Probe, Opti Drive Control and QPxTool, let users monitor the error rate of an optical disc. A high error rate may indicate physical deterioration, low-quality manufacturing or surface contamination. A more precise method of monitoring optical media health involves analyzing raw, uncorrected readout data, which requires access to the drive’s hardware.