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Hardware

The hardware are the parts of computer itself including the Central Processing Unit (CPU) and related microchips and micro-circuitry, keyboards, monitors, case and drives (floppy, hard, CD, DVD, optical, tape, etc...). Other extra parts called peripheral components or devices include mouse, printers, modems, scanners, and cards (sound, color, video) etc... Together they are often referred to as a personal computers or PCs.

Central Processing Unit (CPU) - Though the term relates to a specific chip or the processor a CPU's performance is determined by the the rest of the computers circuitry and chips.

Currently the Pentium chip or processor, made by Intel, is the most common CPU though there are many other companies that produce processors for personal computers. One example is the CPU made by Motorola which is used in Mac based personal computers.

With faster processors the clock speed becomes more important. Compared to some of the first computers which operated at below 30 megahertz (MHz) the Pentium chips began at 75 MHz in the late 1990's. As of mid 2001 speeds now exceed 1500+ MHz or 1.5 gigahertz (GHz) (check your local computer store for the latest speed). It depends on the circuit board that the chip is housed in, or the mother board, as to whether you are able to upgrades to a faster chip. The mother board contains the circuitry and connections that allow the various component to communicate with each other.

Though there were many computers using many different processors previous to this I call the 80286 processor the advent of home computers as these where the processors that made computers available for the average person. Using a processor before the 286 involves learning a proprietary system and software. Most new software is being developed for the newest and fastest processors so it can be difficult to use an older computer system.

Keyboard - The keyboard is used to type information into the computer or input information. There are many different keyboard layouts and sizes with the most common for Latin based languages being the QWERTY layout (named for the first 6 keys). The standard keyboard has 101 keys. Notebooks have embedded keys accessible by special keys or by pressing key combinations (CTRL or Command and P for example). Ergonomically designed keyboards are designed to make typing easier.

Some of the keys have a special use. There are referred to as command keys. The 3 most common are the Control or CTRL, Alternate or Alt and the Shift keys thought there can be more (the Windows key for example or the Command key). Each key on a standard keyboard has one or two characters. Press the key to get the lower character and hold Shift to get the upper.

Disk Drives - All disks need a drive to get information off or read and put information on the disk or write. Each drive is designed for a specific type of disk whether it is a CD, DVD, hard disk, Zip© or floppy. Often the term 'disk' and 'drive' are used to describe the same thing but it helps to understand that the disk is the storage device which contains computer files or software and the drive is the mechanism that runs the disk.

Mouse - Most modern computers today are run using a mouse controlled pointer. Generally if the mouse has two buttons the left one is used to select objects and text and the right one is used to access menus. If the mouse has one button (Mac for instance) it controls all the activity and a mouse with a third buttons can be used by specific software programs.

There is a round ball under the mouse that rolls and turns two wheels which control the direction of the pointer on the screen.

Note: It is important to clean the mouse periodically, particularly if it becomes sluggish. Under the mouse is a small circular panel that can be opened allowing you to remove the ball. Lint can be remove carefully with a tooth pick or tweezers and the ball can be washed with mild detergent. A build up will accumulate on the small wheels in the mouse. Use a small instrument or finger nail to scrap it off taking care not to scratch the wheels. Track balls can be cleaned much like a mouse and touch-pad can be wiped with a clean, damp cloth.

Monitors - The monitor shows information on the screen when you type. This is called outputting information. When the computer needs more information it will display a message on the screen, usually through a dialog box. Monitors come in many types and sizes from the simple monochrome (one colour) screen to full colour screens.

Most desktop computers use a monitor with a cathode tube and most notebooks use a liquid crystal display (LCD) monitor.

To get the full benefit of today's software with full colour graphics and animation, computers need a color monitor with a display or graphics card.

Printers - The printer takes the information on your screen and transfers it to paper or a hard copy. There are many different types of printers with various levels of quality. The three basic types of printer are; dot matrix, inkjet, and laser.

• Dot matrix printers work like a typewriter transferring ink from a ribbon to paper with a series or 'matrix' of tiny pins.
• Ink jet printers work like dot matrix printers but fires a stream of ink from a cartridge directly onto the paper.
• Laser printers use the same technology as a photocopier using heat to transfer toner onto paper.

Modem - A modem is used to translate information transferred through telephone lines or cable.

The term stands for modulate and demodulate which changes the signal from digital, which computers use, to analog, which telephones use and then back again.

Modems are measured by the speed that the information is transferred. The measuring tool is called the baud rate. Originally modems worked at speeds below 2400 baud but today speeds of 56,000 are common. Cable or digital subscriber lines (DSL) modems can transfer information much faster with rates of 1 million baud and up.

Modems also use Error Correction which corrects for transmission errors by constantly checking whether the information was received properly or not and Compression which allows for faster data transfer rates. Information is transferred in packets. Each packet is check for errors and is re-sent if there is an error.

Anyone who has used the Internet has noticed that at times the information travels at different speeds. Depending on the amount of information that is being transferred the information will arrive it's destination at different times. The amount of information that can travel through a line is limited. This limit is called bandwidth.

There are many more variables involved in communication technology using computers, much of which is covered in the section on the Internet.

Scanners - Scanners allow you to transfer pictures and photographs to your computer. A scanner 'scans' the image from the top to the bottom, one line at a time and transfers it to the computer as a series of bits or a bitmap. You can then take that image and use it in a paint program, send it out as a fax or print it. Video cameras are also becoming popular which allow users to capture digital sound and video directly to a computer.

Case - The case houses the microchips and circuitry that run the computer. Desktop models usually sit under the monitor and tower models beside. They come in many sizes, including desktop, mini, midi, and full tower. There is usually room inside to expand or add components at a later time. By removing the cover off the case you will may find plate covered, empty slots that allow you to add cards. There are various types of slots including IDE, ASI, USB and PCI slots.

Notebook computers may have room to expand depending on the type of computer. Most newer Notebooks have a connection called a PCI port that allows expansion or connection to exterior, peripheral devices.

Cards - Cards are components added to computers to increase their capability. When adding a peripheral device make sure that your computer has a slot of the type needed by the device.

Sound cards allow computers to produce sound like music and voice. The older sound cards were 8 bit then 16 bit then 32 bit. Though human ear can't distinguish the fine difference between sounds produced by the more powerful sound card they allow for more complex music and music production.

Color cards allow computers to produce color (with a color monitor of course). The first color cards were 8 bit which produced 16 colors. It was amazing what could be done with those 16 colors. Next came 16 bit allowing for 1064 colors and then 24 bit which allows for almost 17 million colors and now 32 bit is standard allowing monitors to display almost a billion separate colors.

Video cards allow computers to display video and animation. Some video cards allow computers to display television as well as capture frames from video. A video card with a digital video camera allows computers users to produce live video. A high speed or network connection is needed for effective video transmission.

Memory - Memory can be very confusing but is usually one of the easiest pieces of hardware to add to your computer. It is common to confuse chip memory with disk storage. An example of the difference between memory and storage would be the difference between a table where the actual work is done (memory) and and a filing cabinet where the finished product is stored (disk). To add a bit more confusion, Windows will use the computer's hard drive as temporary memory when the program needs more that the chips can provide.

Random Access Memory or RAM is the memory that the computer uses to temporarily store the information as it is being processed. The more information being processed the more RAM the computer needs.

One of the first home computers used 64 kilobytes of RAM memory. Today's modern computers need a minimum of 16 MB (recommended 32 MB) to run Windows 98 or ME with modern software.

RAM memory chips come in many different sizes and speeds. Older computers came with 512 KB of memory which could be expanded to a maximum of 640 KB. In most modern computers the memory can be expand by adding or replacing the memory chips depending on the processor you have and the type of memory your computer uses. Memory chips range in size from 1 MB to 512 MB. As computer technology changes the type of memory changes as well making old memory chips obsolete. Check your computer manual to find out what kind of memory your computer uses before purchasing new memory chips.

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