COMPUTER COMPONENTS

Difference between software and hardware

Software Hardware
1. Set of instruction given to the computer to 1. Physical part of computer system that helps to
perform tasks. process data.
2. Software can not be executed without 2. Hardware cannot perform any task without
hardeware. software.
3. Software cannot touched. 3. Hardware can be seen and touched.

4. Software is debugged in case of problem. 4. Hardware is repaired in case of problem.

5. Software is reinstalled if the problem is not 5. Hardware is replaced if the problem is not
solved. solved.

Different between System software and Application software

System Software Application Software

1. It is general-purpose software. 1. It is specific-purpose software.
2. It is used to manage computer resources. 2. It is used to to solve particular problems.
3. It executes all the time in computer. 3. It executes as when it is required.
4. System software is essential for a computer. 4. System software Is not essential for a
computer
5. The number of system software is less then 5. The number of application software is more
application software. then application software.

Main Fuctions of computer system

Computer performs different functions.There are five major functions as follows

1. Input
Computer can accept data and instructions from input devices.
2. Storing
Computer can store data.
3. Processing
It can process data as required.
4. Output
It gives result in the form of output.
5. Controlling
Computer can control all operation .

Central processing unit(CPU)

The central processing unit is the brain of computer.It is the most important component of computer system.It is
also called processor.A computer can not work without CPU.All computer must have central processing unit.

Main funcitons of Cpu

 It accepts data.
 Process data.

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 COMPUTER COMPONENTS
 Give useful output after processing data.

Basic part of Cpu

There are two basic parts of Cpu which are as follows

1. ALU(Arithmetic and Logic unit )

2. CU(Control unit)

1.ALU

This unit can perform arithmetic and logic operations on data.It is further divided into (a) Arithmetic unit (b) Logic
unit

(a).Arithmetic unit

It can performs basic functions as follows

 Addition
 Subtraction
 Multiplication
 Division

(b).Logic unit

It can perform logic operations like comparison of two number.

Logic operations can test the following three conditions.

 Equal to condition:ALU compare two values if they are equal.It is denoted by “=”.
 Less then conditions:ALU compares two values to determine if one value is less then another value or
not.It is denoted by “<”.
 Greater than condition:ALU compares two values to determine if one value is greater than another value
or not.It is denoted by “>”.

Control unit(cu)

It is an important part of computer system ,it control all activities of computer.It perform the following operations

1. It fetches the instructions from main memory.

2. It interprets the instruction to find what operation is to be performed.
3. It controls the execution of instruction.

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Register

A register is a small high-speed memory inside CPU. CPU contain many registers. Register store
information being processed. These are temporary storage areas. The temporary result during
processing are also stored in registers .Each register has a predefined function.

Bus

computer system consists of different devices. CPU must be able to communicate with all devices.
These devices are connected together by a communication channel called bus. A bus consists of
communications lines on wires. These lines are used to move a large number of bits from one unit to
another.

The bus is used to connect the following units:

 Central Processing Unit

o Control unit
o Arithmetic and logic unit

 Main memory(RAM,ROM)
 Input/output output devices

The capacity of a bus depends upon numbers of data lines in it. The amount of data that a bus
can carry at one time is called bus width. For example a bus with 32 lines can carry 32 bits or 4
bytes at a time. Higher bus width means that the bus can carry more data. It increase the
performance of the computer.The speed at which data transfer from one component to the
another component of the computer is called bus speed.

System buses are part of the motherboard. Different type of system buses are as follows

 Data bus
 Address bus
 Control bus

Data bus

Data bus is used to transfer data between different components of a computer. For example,
it transfers instructions from memory to CPU for execution. It also transfers data between
memory and the input-output devices during input-output operations. The data bus lines are bi-
directional and can carry data to or fro from memory. The number of lines in data bus affects the
speed of the data transfer between different components.A bus with more lines can carry more
data at a time.

Address bus

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Address bus is used to connect the CPU with main memory to identify particular
addresses in main memory. Number of lines in the address bus determines the amount of
memory that can be directly addressed. Computer with a 32-bits address bus can directly address
4GB physical memory. The address bus is unidirectional bus. It can carry information only in
one direction. Nowadays computer have 64-bits address bus.

Computer storage

The unit that is used used to store programs and data is known as computer storage.It is also
known as computer memory. There are two types of computer memory:

 Main memory
 Secondary memory

Main memory

The type of memory that is directly accessible by cpu is known as main memory

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COMPUTER COMPONENTS

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