What is a computer?

Computer is an electronic device or machine that can accept input (data), process data to become
meaningful information, store data for future reference/use, and produce or print results.

A computer is an electronic device that can perform various tasks, such as encoding, calculating, saving,
sending, and so on.
Computer System
A computer system consists of two (2) major elements, namely computer hardware and computer
software.
2 MAJOR ELEMENTS
1. Computer hardware -is the collection of all the parts that can be physically touched.
-Examples of hardware are computer case, monitor, keyboard, scanner, printer, and
mouse. It also includes hard disk drive, motherboard, video card, and many others.
2. Computer software is something that you cannot touch.
-it is composed of programs and applications that run on computer (Tech Terms, 2006).
It is a set of instructions for a computer to perform a specific operation (Zandbergen,
2020). Software runs on computer hardware, while software programs often have
system requirements that list the minimum hardware required for the software to run
(Tech Terms, 2006).

Parts of Today’s Computer

In PARTS ANDera,
today’s digital THEIR
we can ACTUAL APPEARANCE
say that computer DEFINITIONS/
is everywhere. It can be found in theFUNCTIONS
office, at
school, in the gaming hub, in business, and even a simple household has this unit inside. All can
MOTHERBOARD
have access to it whether the person is a young or an adult. This shows that computer is part of
one’s daily activities. That is why I want you to know the basic What
parts is
of amodern
motherboard?
days’ computer. Let
us find out! Motherboard is a circuit board in
which all components are connected
to communicate.

ID Tech (2019) stated that it is like a

glue that holds everything. Simply, it
is a printed circuit board (PCB)
containing the principal components
of a computer or other device, with
connectors into which other circuit
boards can be slotted (Lexico.com,
2020).

THE CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT (CPU)

AND THE CPU CHIP
It is often called the brain of the
computer.

CPU Lexico.com (2020) noted that it is the

part of the computer in which
operations are controlled and
executed.

It is also called central processor.

 CPU CHIP

THE GRAPHICS PROCESSING UNIT (GPU)

The graphics card usually
communicates directly with the
display monitor.

In the early days of computing, the

central processing unit (CPU)
performed these calculations (Virtual
Desktop).

THE RANDOM-ACCESS MEMORY (RAM)

AND THE READ-ONLY MEMORY (ROM)
It is also called as volatile memory
because it is erased every time the
computer is restarted. It also stores
RAM data regarding frequently accessed
programs and processes (ID Tech,
2019).

A RAM chip is used in the normal

operations after the operating system
is loaded. RAM chips often range in
storage capacity of 1 to 256 GB or
gigabytes per chip (Computer Hope,
2019).
ROM
A ROM chip is non-volatile, which
means it does not require a constant
source of power to retain the
information stored on it. A ROM chip
is used primarily in the startup
process of a computer. ROM chips
often have a storage capacity of 4 to
8 MB or megabytes per chip
(Computer Hope, 2019).

All computers need somewhere to

THE store their data. Modern computers
either use a Hard Disk Drive (HDD)
STORAGE or Solid-State Drive (SSD).
(Hard Disk
Drive) HDDs are made of an actual disk
onto which data is stored. The disk is
read by a mechanical arm. HDDs are
 cheaper than SSDs, but are slowly
becoming more and more obsolete.

SSDs (think SIM cards) have no

moving parts and are faster than a
hard drive, because no time is spent
waiting for a mechanical arm to find
data on a physical location on the
disk (ID Tech, 2019).

LAPTOP: 2.5 inches

PC : 3.5 inches
SSD

Basic Parts of Computer

INPUT DEVICES.
These are the parts that help you to put or input data into the computer. The most commonly used
input devices in the field of Electronics are keyboard and mouse. These two are use in drawing
symbols (mouse), putting reference designations-combination of letter and a number (keyboard),
and making a PCB design.

Below are the examples of input devices:

PARTS AND THEIR ACTUAL APPEARANCE FUNCTIONS

Keyboard It is used to enter data into the computer like

words, numbers, and symbols (Inforamtionq.com,
2013).

It is a pointing device that is used to give input

Mouse into the computer system.
It has a small handheld device that is dragged
across a flat surface to move the cursor on a
computer screen, typically having buttons that are
pressed to control functions (Oxford Languages).
Other Input Devices Are:
 headphone webcam scanner

PARTS AND THEIR ACTUAL APPEARANCE FUNCTIONS

PROCESSING DEVICE. The device that helps a computer to the
This is a device that is used to store, sort, arrange, processing
and changeofall
data
theisinputs
the central processing unit
(Inforamtionq.com,
(CPU).
2013). A device is said to be a processing unit if it manages the storage and retrieval of information
(Reference.com, 2020).
It does the complete processing of the computer.
The CPU, for instance, takes entered data and
Below is the example of processing device: performs necessary processing, including
calculations, and saves it on the computer's
memory (Reference.com, 2020).
CPU

OUTPUT DEVICES.
These are the devices or parts of computer that help you to show the results of processing
(Inforamtionq.com, 2013).
An output device is a piece of computer hardware that receives data from a computer and then
translates that data into another form. That form may be audio, visual, textual, or hard copy such
as a printed document (Goodman, 2015).
What is the difference between input devices and output devices? Input devices are the ones that
send data into the computer, while output devices are the parts that receive data from the unit.

The most commonly used output devices in this area are monitor and printer:

PARTS AND THEIR ACTUAL APPEARANCE FUNCTIONS

 It looks like a television screen that shows the
data you type from the keyboard or you make
Monitor from the mouse.

It is used to print or produce results or outputs

Printer into a hard form.

It prints the PCB design you make from the

application like Express PCB.

Other output devices are speakers and headphone.

STORAGE DEVICES.
These are devices that are used to store data from the computer for future reference/use.

Below are the examples of storage devices:

Hard Disk Drive

PARTS AND THEIR ACTUAL APPEARANCE FUNCTIONS

USB Inside the CPU, there is a hard disk. It is made up

of one or more metallic disks. It stores a large
Storage Devices amount of information (Inforamtion.com, 2013).

These are also used to store data.

USB Storage devices are portable devices that
hold user data and files. USB storage devices
include external hard drives and flash drives.

USB storage devices can be used to hold files

ranging from video and audio files to documents
and program files (Payne, 2020).

USB- UNIVERSAL SERIAL BASS