LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
DEFINE HARDWARE AND
IDENTIFY THE BASIC PARTS OF A
COMPUTER.
EXPLAIN THE IMPORTANT
COMPONENTS OF THE
COMPUTER AND THEIR
FUNCTION.
RECOGNIZE THE IMPORTANCE
OF COMPUTER PARTS.
Lesson 1 : Understanding the
computer system
As an aspiring computer technician, it is
very important to know the different
components of a computer system. This
are the hardware, software and people
ware. Each components plays an
important role, without each other
computer systems will not work properly.
1.1 Hardware - the physical,
touchable, electronic and mechanical
parts of a computer system
A. Major hardware components of a
Computer system
The Following list represents a basic set of
hardware found in most PCs.
1. System Unit – The main part of a microcomputer,
sometimes called the chassis. It includes the
following parts : Motherboard, Microprocessor,
Memory Chips, Buses, Ports Expansion Slots and
Cards.
Figure 1
Tower type System
Unit
2. Motherboard / Main board / System Board – The
main circuit board of a computer. It contains all the
circuits and components that run the computer
3. DIMM/RAM
1. CPU socket 2. Chipset
slots
4. PCIe x16 6. M.2
5. PCI x1 slot
slot connector
8. Front panel 9. USB 2.
7. SATA ports
connectors header
12. ATX
10. USB 3.1 11. USB 3.1
power
Gen1 header Gen2 header
connector
13. CPU
14. BIOS 15. CMOS
power
chips battery
connector
16. Fan 17. Front 18. VRM
headers panel header heatsink
19.
20. TPM 21. RGB
COM/Serial
header header
Figure 2. Modern motherboard header
3. CPU ( Central Processing Unit ) – The Processor
is the main “brain “ or “heart “ of a computer
system. It performs all of the instructions and
calculations that are needed and manages the
flow of information through a computer.
Figure 3. Examples of
CPU
Ryzen 5 3600
4. Primary Storage – ( internal storage, main
memory or memory) is the computer’s working
storage space that holds data, instructions for
processing and processed data ( information )
waiting to be sent to secondary storage. Physically,
primary storage is a collection of RAM chips.
a. ROM – ( Read Only Memory ) ROM is non
volatile, meaning it holds data even when
the power is ON or OFF.
b. RAM – ( Random Access Memory) RAM is
a volatile, meaning it holds data only when
the power is on. When the power is off,
RAM’s contents are lost.
ROM
Hyper X Fury RAM DDR4
5. Expansion Bus – A bus is a data pathway
between several hardware components inside or
outside a computer. It does not only connect the
parts of the CPU to each other, but also links the
CPU with other important hardware.
PCI – Peripheral Component Expansion Card
Interconnect
6. Adapters – Printed – circuit boards ( also called
interface cards) that enable the computer to use a
peripheral device for which it does not have the
necessary connections or circuit boards. They are
often used to permit upgrading to a new deferent
hardware
Video Card
Radeon RX 570
7. Power Supply Unit (PSU) – installed in the back
corner of the PC case, next to the motherboard. It
converts 120vac (standard house power) into DC
voltages that are used by the other components of
the PC.
Power Supply Unit
8. Hard Disk Drive (HDD) – Also known as hard drive, is a magnetic
storage device that is installed inside the computer. The hard drive
is used as permanent storage for data. In a Windows computer, the
hard drive is usually configured as the C: drive and contains the
operating system and applications.
HDD – Seagate SkyHawk 6
terabyte
9. SSD ( Solid State Drive ) - A solid-state drive (SSD) is a solid
state storage device that uses integrated circuit assemblies to
store data persistently, typically using flash memory, and
functioning as secondary storage in the hierarchy of computer
storage. It is also sometimes called a solid-state device.
SSD – Solid State Drive SanDisk
10. Optical Drive – An optical drive is a storage device that uses
lasers to read data on the optical media. There are three types of
optical drives: Compact Disc (CD), Digital Versatile Disc (DVD) And
Blue – ray Disc (BD.)
Asus Optical Drive
B. Input Devices – Accepts Data and Instructions
from the user or from the other computer system
Two (2) Types of Input Devices
1. Keyboard Entry – Data is inputted to the Computer through keyboard.
Keyboard – The first input device develop for the PC. Data is
transferred to the PC over a short cable with a circular 6 – pin Mini –
din connector that plugs into the back of the motherboard.
Keyboard
2. Direct Entry – A form of input device does not require dat to be keyed
by someone sitting at the keyboard. Direct- entry devices create
machine – readable data on paper, or magnetic media, or feed it directly
into the Computer’s CPU.
Three Categories of Direct Entry Devices
1. Pointing Devices – An input device used to move the pointer (cursor)
on screen
* Mouse – the most common ‘pointing device’ used in PCs. Every
mouse has two buttons and most have one or two scroll wheels.
Wireless Gaming Mouse
Touch Screen – A display screen that is sensitive to the touch of a finger or
stylus. Used in myriad applications, including ATM machines, retail point- of
sale terminals, car navigation and industrial tools. The touch screen
become widely popular for smart phones and tablets
Light Pen – A light – sensitive wired to a video terminal used to draw
pictures or select menu options. The user brings the pen to the
desired point on screen and ie pen button to make contact.
Light Pen
Digitizer Tablet – A graphics drawing tablet used for sketching new
images or tracing old ones. Also called a “graphic tablet” the user
contacts the surface of the device with a wired or wireless pen or
puck. Often mistakenly called a mouse, the puck is officially the
“tablet cursor”
Scanning Devices – A device that can read text or illustrations printed
on paper and translates the information into a form the computer can
use.
Epson Scanner
3. Voice Input Devices – Audio input devices also known as speech
or voice recognition systems that allow a user to send audio
signals to a computer for processing, recording, or carrying out
commands. Audio input devices such as microphones allow users
to speak to the computer in order to record to record a voice
message or navigate software.
Headset
Microphone
C. Output Devices – Any piece of computer hardware that displays
results after the computer has processed the input data that has been
entered.
1. Computer Display monitor – It displays information in visual form
using text and graphics. The portion of the monitor that displays the
information is called the screen or video display terminal.
a. CRT Monitors – Cathode Ray tubes (CRT) were the only type of
displays for use with desktop PCs. They are relatively big ( 14” to
16” deep ) and heavy ( over 15 lbs).
CRT Monitors
LCD Monitors – Liquid Crystallize Display (LCD) technology has been
used in laptops for some time. It has recently been made
commercially available as monitors for desktop PCs.
HP LCD monitor
LED monitor (Light Emitting Diode) – A display and lighting technology
used in almost every electrical and electronic product on the market,
from a tiny on/off light to digital readouts, flashlights, traffic lights and
perimeter lighting.
LENOVO LED monitor
LCD Projectors – utilize two sheets of polarizing material with a liquid
crystal solution between them. An electric current passed through
the liquid causes the crystals to align so that light cannot pass
through them. Each crystal, therefore, is like a shutter, either
allowing light to pass through or blocking the light
LCD Projector
Smart Board – A type of display screen that has a touch sensitive
transparent panel covering the screen, which is similar to a touch
screen.
Smart Board
Printer – A device that prints text or illustration on paper
Types of Printer
Ink Jet printer Laser Printer
LED printer
Thermal Printer
5. Speakers – Used to play sound. They may be built into the system
unit or connected with cables. Speakers allow you to listen to music and
hear sound effects from your computer.
Speakers
Ports – external connecting sockets on the outside of the computer.
This is a pathway into and out of the computer. A port lets users plug in
outside peripherals, such as monitors, scanners and printers.
Ports
E. Cables and Wires – A cable is most often two or more wires running
side by side and bonded, twisted or brailed together to form a single
assembly, but can also refer to a heavy strong rope.
1.2 Software is the set of instructions ( also called a program) that
guides the hardware to operate effectively. Software can be split into
two main types:
1. System Software – Any software required to support the production
or execution of application programs, but which is not specific to
any particular application . Common operating systems include
Windows, the Macintosh OS, OS/2 and UNIX.
Windows Linux
2. Application Software – Designed to help the user to perform singular
or multiple related task. Examples of application software are as
follows.
a. Word Processing software – Creates, edits, saves, and prints
documents. Examples: MS Word, word perfect, Ami pro, MacWright.
b. Spreadsheet software - An electronic spreadsheet consisting of rows
and columns is used to present and analyze data. Example: MS
excel, Lotus 123, Quattro Pro.
c. Database Management software – Used to structure a database, a
large collection of computer programs. Data is organized as fields
and records for easy retrieval. Example : MS Access, dBase , Fox Pro,
Oracle.
d. Graphic software – Graphics programs display results of data
manipulation for easier analysis and presentation, Example:
Macromedia Flash, Harvard Graphics , 3D Studio Max, Adobe
Photoshop.
1.3 People ware – Refers to people involved in the data processing
operations such as the system administrator, office workers,
students and others.
Task 1 : Performance Test
Direction : Given the different cables, identify their functions
as well as the part of computer system each one supports.
Assignment:
1. View actual personal computer and discuss its parts and fucntion.
2. Utilizing the Internet and website YouTube, view a video
regarding parts of the computer. Use the URLs below
a. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9gYVKPczRA
b. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bySnX9ZHYvo
&feature=player_embedded
After watching the videos , answer the following questions:
•Can you cite the different parts/ components of computer
showed in the video presentation?
•Do the components play an important role in the computer
system?
Explain your answer.
