The physical
components of a
computer system,
such as the circuit
boards,
enclosures,
peripherals,
cables, etc
A computer case, also
known as a computer
chassis, tower, system
unit, cabinet, base unit,
or simply case, is the
enclosure that contains
most of the components
of a computer.
A motherboard (sometimes
alternatively known as
the mainboard, system
board, baseboard or logic
board,is the main printed circuit
board (PCB) found in general
purpose microcomputers and
other expandable systems. It
holds and allows communication
between many of the crucial
electronic components of a
system, such as the central
processing unit (CPU)
and memory, and provides
connectors for
other peripherals.
A central processing
unit (CPU) is the electronic
circuitry within a computer that
carries out the instructions of
a computer program by
performing the basic arithmetic,
logical, control
and input/output (I/O)
operations specified by the
instructions.
Random-access
memory (RAM )is a form
of computer data storage which
stores frequently used program
instructions to increase the
general speed of a system.
A random-access memory
device allows data items to
be read or written in almost the
same amount of time
irrespective of the physical
location of data inside the
memory.
A hard disk drive (HDD), hard
disk, hard drive or fixed disk is
a data storage device that
uses magnetic storage to store
and retrieve digital information
using one or more rigid rapidly
rotating disks (platters) coated
with magnetic material. The
platters are paired
with magnetic heads, usually
arranged on a
moving actuator arm, which read
and write data to the platter
surfaces.
DVD (an abbreviation of "digital
versatile disc" or "digital video
disc") is a digital optical
disc storage format invented and
developed
by Panasonic, Philips, Sony and
Toshiba in 1995. The medium
can store any kind of digital data
and is widely used for software
and other computer files as well
as video programs watched
using DVD players
Heat Sink Fan. The
aluminum heat sink fan is a
cooling device that works on its
own to efficiently draw heat
away from the components into
its large surface area to transfer
cooler air into its fin-like
aluminum structure.
A small, portable flash memory
card that plugs into a computer s
USB port and functions as a
portable hard drive and a plug
and play device.
A connector is a device used to join electrical
circuits.
Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE)
It is a standard interface for IBM
compatible hard drives and CD or
DVD drives. IDE Enhanced Small
Device Interface (ESDI) because
its controllers are on each drive,
meaning the drive can connect
directly to the motherboard or
controller.
Serial ATA (Serial Advanced
Technology Attachment or SATA)
is a standard for connecting and
transferring data from hard disk
drives (HDDs) to computer
systems.
SATA power cables protrude from
the power supply unit and are,
therefore, meant to reside only
inside the computer case.
A power cord, line cord, or
mains cable is an
electrical cable that temporarily
connects an appliance to the mains
electricity supply.
A Video Graphics Array (VGA)
connector is a three-row 15-pin
DE-15 connector. The 15-
pin VGA connector was provided
on many video cards, computer
monitors, laptop computers,
projectors, and
high definition television sets.
HDMI
(High-Definition Multimedia
Interface) is a proprietary
audio/video interface for
transmitting uncompressed video
data and compressed or
uncompressed digital audio data
from a HDMI-compliant source
device, such as a display
controller, to a compatible
computer monitor, video projector,
digital television.
A power supply is an electronic device that
supplies electric energy to an electrical load. The
primary function of a power supply is to convert
one form of electrical energy to another.
ATX (Advanced Technology
eXtended) A power supply
unit (or PSU) converts mains
AC to low-voltage regulated DC
power for the internal
components of a computer.
Modern personal computers
universally use switched-mode
power supplies. Some power
supplies have a manual switch
for selecting input voltage, while
others automatically adapt to the
mains voltage.
Automatic Voltage
Regulator, AVR is a hardware
device used to maintain a voltage
to electronic devices.
An uninterruptible power
supply, also uninterruptible power
source, UPS or battery/flywheel
backup, is an electrical apparatus
that provides emergency power to
a load when the input power
source or mains power fails.
A computer peripheral is any external device that
provides input and output for the computer.
A video card (also called
a display card, graphics
card, display
adapter or graphics adapter) is
an expansion card which
generates a feed of output images
to a display (such as a computer
monitor).
A sound card (also known as
an audio card) is an
internal expansion card that
provides input and output of audio
signals to and from
a computer under control
of computer programs. The
term sound card is also applied to
external audio interfaces used
for professional
audio applications.
An Ethernet card is one kind
of network adapter. These
adapters support the Ethernet
standard for high-speed network
connections using cable
connections.
An input device is any hardware device that sends
data to a computer, allowing you to interact with
and control the computer.
An output device is any device used to send data
from a computer to another device or user. Most
computer data output that is meant for humans is in
the form of audio or video.
