Question

Basic Hardware Knowledge

Answer

Computers are made up of multiple parts working together to make something cohesive - we all know this. What many people don’t know, however, is what each part is and what it does. Computer users should possess the basic knowledge of computer components as it is invaluable when troubleshooting.

In an everyday desktop computer, components are divided into two categories: internal and external. One of the most common mistakes people make when talking about their computer is referring to their display as the computer. The display is what, well, displays what information is being transmitted from the rest of the computer. Other external components can be mice, keyboards or external storage such as flash drives or external hard drives. Devices that interact with the computer in some way can also be called collectively “peripherals.” Most desktop computers have the actual computing parts in a box off to the side usually called the case.

Inside of the case, we can find the working parts of the computer, which take input, decide what to do with that input and then create output, usually to the display. The part that holds everything together is the motherboard (or logic board, or system board depending on who you ask). Each part of the computer plugs into the motherboard in some way. The “brain” of the computer, called the processor, is attached directly to the motherboard. The processor processes all information the computer receives at the scale of billions of cycles per second. The processor pulls what it needs to work on from the Random-Access Memory (RAM), which stores processes that are actively being worked on. The bulk of the computer’s information not actively being used is stored in the hard drive/solid-state drive.

Cat Tech hopes this information helps you be a more knowledgeable user. If you’re ever having trouble with any components come in and talk to one of our techs and we’ll gladly help you out!