INTERNAL COMPONENTS
Hard drive http://www.ehow.com/facts_4895036_what-hard-drive-used.html
Description of purpose: The hard drive is used for permanent storage, it can store work
and other things of your computer onto it, and this is the long term storage
device in the computer system as opposed to the RAM. The operational system of
the computer is also stored on the hard drive connected to the
motherboard.
How it communicates with other components: The hard drive communicates with the rest of the system
through the front side bus, depending on your computer the FSB can be operating
at any number of different speeds, the faster the FSB the faster the
communication from the processor of the hard
drive
Description of purpose: The hard drive is used for permanent storage, it can store work
and other things of your computer onto it, and this is the long term storage
device in the computer system as opposed to the RAM. The operational system of
the computer is also stored on the hard drive connected to the
motherboard.
How it communicates with other components: The hard drive communicates with the rest of the system
through the front side bus, depending on your computer the FSB can be operating
at any number of different speeds, the faster the FSB the faster the
communication from the processor of the hard
drive
The Motherboard http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motherboard
Description of purpose: The motherboard is the main circuit board of the computer, it
can also be known as the backbone of the computer system as it holds everything
together, it is where all the internal components are located such as the RAM,
CPU, heat sink etc. and where all USB/microphone/printer peripherals are
connected to once they have been plugged in. The motherboard connects everything
together and every component must be attached to it for the computer system to
function correctly
How it communicates with other components: The motherboard alone is useless, but every computer needs one
to operate, The main job if the motherboard is to hold everything together and
let everything else connect to it , anything that helps to run the computer or
enhances its performance is either part of the motherboard or plugged into the
USB slot
Description of purpose: The motherboard is the main circuit board of the computer, it
can also be known as the backbone of the computer system as it holds everything
together, it is where all the internal components are located such as the RAM,
CPU, heat sink etc. and where all USB/microphone/printer peripherals are
connected to once they have been plugged in. The motherboard connects everything
together and every component must be attached to it for the computer system to
function correctly
How it communicates with other components: The motherboard alone is useless, but every computer needs one
to operate, The main job if the motherboard is to hold everything together and
let everything else connect to it , anything that helps to run the computer or
enhances its performance is either part of the motherboard or plugged into the
USB slot
The Power supply http://computer.howstuffworks.com/power-supply.htm
Description of purpose: The power supply unit supplies power to all components of the
computer system which require electricity, it converts mains Alternating Current
to regulated Direct Current which is used by all internal components of a
computer
How it communicates with other components: The power supply is usually visible from the back of many
systems because it contains the power cord receptacle and the cooling fan. The
operating system can also send signals to the power supply telling it to turn
off, the power supply is vital to the operation of the computer; it converts AC
from the power sockets to DC needed by the personal computer. Without it the
computer would just be a box of plastic and metal full of weird and wonderful
devices.
Description of purpose: The power supply unit supplies power to all components of the
computer system which require electricity, it converts mains Alternating Current
to regulated Direct Current which is used by all internal components of a
computer
How it communicates with other components: The power supply is usually visible from the back of many
systems because it contains the power cord receptacle and the cooling fan. The
operating system can also send signals to the power supply telling it to turn
off, the power supply is vital to the operation of the computer; it converts AC
from the power sockets to DC needed by the personal computer. Without it the
computer would just be a box of plastic and metal full of weird and wonderful
devices.
CPU (Central Processing Unit)
Description of purpose: The processor is located on the motherboard and is known as the
brain of the computer; the CPU processes the computers data/commands sent by the
user and uses it in connection with the other components in the system, it
performs all the commands required for a computer to function properly and
allows you to operate a system. It is used to interpret information sent by the
other devices and relay the information in the appropriate area.
How it communicates with other components: A processor executes a collection of machine instructions that
tell the processor what to do based on the instructions given, a processor does
a few basic things like using its
arithmetic/logic unit to perform calculations, to move data from one memory
location to another, and to execute instructions
Description of purpose: The processor is located on the motherboard and is known as the
brain of the computer; the CPU processes the computers data/commands sent by the
user and uses it in connection with the other components in the system, it
performs all the commands required for a computer to function properly and
allows you to operate a system. It is used to interpret information sent by the
other devices and relay the information in the appropriate area.
How it communicates with other components: A processor executes a collection of machine instructions that
tell the processor what to do based on the instructions given, a processor does
a few basic things like using its
arithmetic/logic unit to perform calculations, to move data from one memory
location to another, and to execute instructions
Fan
Description of purpose: Computer systems overheat easily due to the huge amount of
energy passing through the components, to help this problem fans are built on
the motherboard to cool everything down, the main fan is positioned on the CPU
because the CPU is the most prone to overheat because of all the data input and
information it processes every second, there are many types of fans used to cool
each component for example a PCI slot fan, a hard disk fan a CD burner fan etc.
But its main function is to ensure the system does not overheat and
explode.
How it communicates with other components: The main function of the fan is to ventilate the heat and
generate cool air to cool down the internal components; there are many types of
fans such as the CPU fan and the heat sink fan without these fans the computer
would be at risk of becoming over heated.
Description of purpose: Computer systems overheat easily due to the huge amount of
energy passing through the components, to help this problem fans are built on
the motherboard to cool everything down, the main fan is positioned on the CPU
because the CPU is the most prone to overheat because of all the data input and
information it processes every second, there are many types of fans used to cool
each component for example a PCI slot fan, a hard disk fan a CD burner fan etc.
But its main function is to ensure the system does not overheat and
explode.
How it communicates with other components: The main function of the fan is to ventilate the heat and
generate cool air to cool down the internal components; there are many types of
fans such as the CPU fan and the heat sink fan without these fans the computer
would be at risk of becoming over heated.
Heat Sink
Description of purpose: The heat sink is a cooling device that is installed in the
computer to keep a hot component such as the processor cool; heat sinks are also
used in air conditioning units are an important device in the computer as it
stops the system from over heating
How it communicates with other components: The heat sink is an attachment for a chip that prevents the chip
from overheating and in modern computers it’s as important as any other
component, it draws heat away from the CPU providing a large surface area for
the heat to dissipate throughout the rest of the computer thus cooling both the
hear sink and processor
Description of purpose: The heat sink is a cooling device that is installed in the
computer to keep a hot component such as the processor cool; heat sinks are also
used in air conditioning units are an important device in the computer as it
stops the system from over heating
How it communicates with other components: The heat sink is an attachment for a chip that prevents the chip
from overheating and in modern computers it’s as important as any other
component, it draws heat away from the CPU providing a large surface area for
the heat to dissipate throughout the rest of the computer thus cooling both the
hear sink and processor
Floppy Disk Drive
Description of purpose: A drive that can read and write on a removable magnetically
coated floppy disk. The rectangular disk is quite flexible so it has been given
the name ‘floppy’ the floppy disk is a type of storage medium and back up
device
How it communicates with other components: The hard drive connects to a computer as the hard disk operates
within the computer by operating the disk spin and heads read and write data at
the same time that are being inputted into the computer and from other
components
Description of purpose: A drive that can read and write on a removable magnetically
coated floppy disk. The rectangular disk is quite flexible so it has been given
the name ‘floppy’ the floppy disk is a type of storage medium and back up
device
How it communicates with other components: The hard drive connects to a computer as the hard disk operates
within the computer by operating the disk spin and heads read and write data at
the same time that are being inputted into the computer and from other
components
