Computer hardware

The physical parts of a computer are referred to as the hardware which primarily consists of the system unit and other peripheral devices. E.g monitor, keyboard, mouse e.t.c. Computer hardware(usually simply called hardware when a computing context is implicit) is the collection of physical elements that constitutes a computer system. Computer hardware is the physical parts or components of a computer, such as the monitor, mouse, keyboard, computer data storage, hard disk drive (HDD), system unit (graphic cards, sound cards, memory, motherboard and chips), and so on, all of which are physical objects that can be touched (that is, they are tangible).

Examples of External Hardware not inside the computer:

Monitor: A computer monitor is a display adapter that displays information processed by the computer’s video card. When a video card or graphics card converts binary information from 1s and 0s into images, these images are displayed onto the directly connected monitor.

a computer monitor

Printer: A printer is a device that accepts text and graphic output from a computer and transfers the information to paper i.e. physical evidence of your work, usually to standard size sheets of paper.

Printer

Keyboard: A computer keyboard is an input device used to enter characters and functions into the computer system by pressing buttons, or keys. It is the primary device used to enter text. A keyboard typically contains keys for individual letters, numbers and special characters, as well as keys for specific functions.

Mouse: A mouse has two buttons and a scroll wheel, which can also act as a third button. It is used to point, click and select text, pictures e.t. on your screen. It points and click on icons, menus, command buttons or activates something on a computer

Microphone/Speaker: To input voice/sound recordings and also listen to sound/music

Speaker

Scanner: A scanner is a digital device that converts films, documents and photographic prints to digital images. A scanner is a device that captures images from photographic prints, posters, magazine pages, and similar sources for computer editing and display. Scanners come in hand-held, feed-in, and flatbed types and for scanning black-and-white only, or color.

Examples of Internal hardware

Hard-disk:  Is a data storage device used for storing and retrieving digital information using one or more rigid (“hard”) rapidly rotating disks (platters) coated with magnetic material. There are two types; External and Internal.

hard disk

external hard drive

CPU (Central Processing Unit): The brain of the computer. The thing that carries out the tasks you give it. Better CPUs can perform more tasks at once, and perform them faster. That said, not everyone actually takes advantage of their processor’s full speed, so the high-end models are only really crucial.

CPU

Fan: To keep CPU cool and prevent overheating. A computer fan is any fan inside, or attached to, a computer case used for active cooling, and may refer to fans that draw cooler air into the case from the outside, expel warm air from inside, or move air across a heat sink to cool a particular component.

Fan

Graphics Card: The Graphics card, or GPU, is a processor specifically designed to handle graphics. It’s what you hook your monitor up to, and it’s what draws your desktop and your windows on the screen.

Motherboard: The main printed circuit board in the computer with sockets to connect to other parts. It contains a lot of your machine’s core features, like the number of USB ports, the number of expansion cards you can put in (such as video, sound, and Wi-Fi), and also partially determines how big your computer will be.

Mother Board

RAM: RAM or Random Access Memory (or “Memory” for short), is like your computer’s short-term memory. It stores data your computer needs quick access to to help your programs run faster, and help you run more programs at one time.

RAM- Random Access Memory

Sound card: Used to generate and capture sounds. A sound card (also known as an audio card) is an internal computer expansion card that facilitates economical 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 that use software to generate sound, as opposed to using hardware inside the PC.

Sound card

Input Devices:

• Text input devices
  • Keyboard – a device to input text and characters by depressing buttons (referred to as keys), similar to a typewriter. The most common English-language key layout is the QWERTY layout.
• Pointing devices
  • Mouse – a pointing device that detects two dimensional motion relative to its supporting surface.
  • Trackball – a pointing device consisting of an exposed protruding ball housed in a socket that detects rotation about two axes.
• Gaming devices
  • Joystick – a general control device that consists of a handheld stick that pivots around one end, to detect angles in two or three dimensions.
  • Gamepad – a general handheld game controller that relies on the digits (especially thumbs) to provide input.

Game pad

• Game controller – a specific type of controller specialized for certain gaming purposes.

• Image, Video input devices
  • Image scanner – a device that provides input by analyzing images, printed text, handwriting, or an object.
  • Webcam – a low resolution video camera used to provide visual input that can be easily transferred over the internet.
• Audio input devices
  • Microphone – an acoustic sensor that provides input by converting sound into electrical signals

Output

• Image, Video output devices
  • Printer
  • Monitor
• Audio output devices
  • Speakers
  • Headset

ASSESSMENT

1. Define the following:

• Monitor
• mouse Graphics card
• Sound Card
• CPU