Mid Tower Atx
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US $89.00
Computer Parts: A General Purpose Guide
Upon reviewing my knowledge of the Information Technology society, I discovered that we are too few. Actually we are to numerous by count of inexperienced "technicians," to such a degree, that I have decided to begin writing an introductory article on computers and their components. In this article I will be detailing the primary components of a standard desktop and/or tower computer. The article you read now contains an explanation of key components, designed to provide an introduction to computers. If you know (or think you know) what the parts are already please do not waste your time reading this article as it will probably be quite redundant and boring to you. Over the course of the reading I will explain what motherboards, Processors, Power Supplies, Memory, hard drives, Solid State Drives, and expansion cards are, as well as what they do.
The motherboard (also known as the mainboard or mobo) is the foundation component that computers must have in order to do anything. Without this component your computer would not function. It wouldn't even be a computer because it wouldn't know what a function was to begin with. The motherboard comes in many forms, the most common of which are mini-ITX, ATX, and e-ATX. The board also houses various interfaces for many devices. Serial ATA (SATA) and ATA (commonly referred to as IDE) are the most commonly used device interfaces. There are also several sets of pins on the board for USB interfaces. These are clusters of pins are called "headers" and allow expansion. Also on the mainboard there is a set of plastic slots (generally located next to the CPU) for memory. In to the memory slots, you will find several different types of expansion card slots, such as PCI, PCI-e x1, and PCI-e x8 or x16. These expansion slots allow the user to later put in cards that can provide assorted functions in the as well as providing a foundation for computer. None of this matters without two other components, the first of which is the Processor.
Central Processing Units (also known as processors or CPU's) are the brains of the whole operation. This component is the brain of the computer. In order to do anything your computer must have a properly installed CPU. When installing a CPU, make sure that you align notches on the chip itself with the notches on the CPU socket. This will ensure that you do not damage the CPU or motherboard. The next step is to install the heatsink and fan to cool the processor. When installing these cooling products you must use thermal compound. Thermal compound is a paste that transfers heat from the metal of the CPU to the metal of the heatsink. Without thermal compound a heatsink is useless. To install the heatsink, you first administer a small amount of thermal paste (via brush or syringe) onto the CPU. (It is very important not to get any thermal paste on the pin side of the CPU.) After applying thermal paste, you will align the heatsink with the plastic on the motherboard and then press down firmly. You are now ready to install the memory.
Random Access Memory (commonly referred to as RAM or memory) is another of the basic components necessary for a computer to function. When powered on without it, the computer will emit a series of three evenly spaced beeps and will not display anything on the screen. Memory consists of multiple sets of integrated circuit chips set into a circuit board. The gold leads at the bottom of the memory stick conduct electrical signals to the circuits and allow the computer to process information. Memory is volatile, meaning that it will not retain any data when power to the system is lost. Thus users should save their data often in order to retain it in the event of power loss. When installing memory make sure that you align the notches with the bump(s) in the memory slot. Also make sure that you have the right type of memory (DDR, DDR2, or DDR3).
Sometimes referred to as a PSU (Power Supply Unit), the power supply is a metal box containing capacitors and other electrical components that allow the computer to be powered from a simple wall socket. The power supply is responsible for drawing power from the wall socket and directing it to specific components in the computer.
The hard disk drive (HDD) is the part of the computer where files are stored. Hard Drive's hold information on magnetic platters so that the data can be used later. Memory is volatile (not able to store data), but these drive's are non-volatile. This is because instead of using constant electric currents, they use magnetic 1's and 0's to store the information. When choosing a hard drive, there a few options to consider. How much storage space is necessary? This is a question to consider due to the relatively large amount of data users typically process and store over the course of their lives (such as pictures or music). Usually bigger is better, but users probably won't need to have a one terabyte hard drive. How fast does it need to spin? Again faster is better, but faster also equals more expensive. Higher rpm's mean faster read/write speeds thus making the computer just that much faster. What about SSD's? SSD's (Solid State Drives) are a relatively new improvement to the data storage market. Considering their relative youth they are not necessarily going to be the best method of storage for the average user. They are currently geared more towards the enthusiast or gamer than the average PC user. They also cost more per gigabyte than the average hard drive due to their faster read/write speeds.
Optical disc drives (such as CD and DVD drives) are considered removable storage media devices. These devices make use of lasers for both reading and writing information to removable discs. The discs store information through pits in their reflective coating. As the disc spins, the optical drive projects invisible laser light to the disk, and receives the stored information through the deflected output. Writing or burning information to the disc is performed in much the same way except that the laser changes the way the pits on the disc are arranged.
Graphics cards are amongst the most commonly upgraded components of a computer. A graphics card has an onboard GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) and its own set of graphics memory. Modern graphics cards commonly use PCI express interface slots to communicate with the motherboard. Often times the high-end graphics cards require power directly from the power supply. Other lower-end graphics cards can simply be powered by the PCIe bus. There are two primary manufacturers of computer graphics cards: NVIDIA and ATI. These two companies have many great cards, and are constantly improving them. Before choosing a graphics card the user should consider what the primary use of their computer will be. Gaming computers generally need a mid-range to high-end graphics card. Computers that will be used for internet browsing and word-processing probably will not need a graphics card expansion.
Sound cards provide better quality sound and additional channels. Onboard sound cards have a microphone, audio in, and speaker/headphone ports. Expansion slot sound cards generally have four more ports for surround sound: right to left, rear stereo, subwoofer, and a MIDI/game port. The ports on the graphics cards are labeled as follows:
To sum up, there are many components required for a computer to function. Over the course of the reading I explained what motherboards, Processors, Power Supplies, Memory, hard drives, Solid State Drives, and expansion cards are, as well as what they do. I hope this article has been helpful to you.
About the Author
I am a senior in high school looking to help improve the computer world by writing informative documents that will provide a basic introduction.
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