PARTS OF THE DESKTOP

PERSONAL COMPUTER
 | BASIC PARTS OF A TYPICAL DESKTOP PERSONAL COMPUTER|
1. Monitor - to view (visual) both inputs and outputs
2. Keyboard - to key-in or enter text/character inputs
3. Mouse - to control the mouse pointer and to click inputs
4. System Unit – contains the motherboard, processor or CPU,
memory, etc.
5. Speakers/Headphone/ Headset - sound or audio output
6. Microphone - sound input
7. Web Camera - picture and video input
8. AVR - Automatic Voltage Regulator
9. UPS - Uninterruptible Power Supply (battery)
10. Scanner – Still or static picture, image/graphic input
11. Printer/Plotter - used to make hard copy visual outputs.
12. Router/Modem – network and internet access point of your
devices and computers through Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity)
radio signal.
 |THE SYSTEM UNIT|
SYSTEM UNIT - it is the core of the computer system. Among its
important contents are the CPU or Processor which is the
brain of the computer, the Memory (RAM) used as
temporary storage during processing, the Hard disk which is
the primary storage and many others.

SYSTEM CASE – also called computer case or chassis, is the

term used to describe a system unit without its components
inside.
 |TYPES OF SYSTEM CASE FORM FACTORS|
1. SMALL/MINI TOWER – 14 – 16 inches
2. MID TOWER – 17 - 21 inches
3. HIGH/FULL TOWER – 22 - 27 inches
4. SLIM TOWER – a thinner small tower
5. CLASSIC DESKTOP – the case is parallel to the table
6. ALL-IN-ONE DESKTOP – the monitor is integrated on the system
unit.
7. SMALL FORM FACTOR - a proprietary size and shape design.
8. Mini PC – a system unit half the size of a blackboard eraser.
 |FRONT PANEL OF THE SYSTEM UNIT|
1. Power button (toggle switch)
2. Reset/Restart button
3. Green LED (Light Emitting Diode) for power but some are Red
4. Red LED for hard disk activity
5. USB port
6. Microphone (Pink)and Headphone or speakers (Green) line out
ports
7. Optical drive bay and optical drive tray
8. Busy LED for optical drive (yellow green)
9. Eject button
10. Emergency (manual) eject hole
11. SD (Secure Digital) card slot or port
12. Air Vent (intake)
13. Processor sticker
14. Graphics Processor Unit (GPU) sticker
15. Brand name
ICON - a small picture that represents a file, function, device, or
an application.
 |BACK PANEL OF THE SYSTEM UNIT |
1.Power port usually black in color (220 VOLTS)
2.VGA port (Video Graphics Array) (blue) for monitor
3.USB port (Universal Serial Bus) for all USB peripheral devices (USB
2.0 – black, USB 3.0 - blue)
4.Sound or Audio ports a. Line-in (Light blue) b. Line-out (Lime
green) c. Mic (Pink)
5.DVI port (Digital Visual Interface) (white) for monitor
6.HDMI port (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) for Audio and
Video
7. Power supply fan window (Exhaust)
8. System Fan window (Intake/exhaust)
9. Voltage selector switch
10. Expansion Card slots or openings
11. Fire wire port (IEEE 1394)- Apple Co. designed port
12. Ethernet or LAN port (Local Area Network)
13. Display port for video and audio
14. eSATA and eSATAp port – e means external, p means power. For
external Hard and Optical Drives.
15. Thunderbolt port for audio and video, USB type-c can also be
connected here.

16. S/PDIF (Sony/Philips Digital Interface Format), RCA (Coaxial port)

and S/PDIF TOSLINK (Fiber optic)for digital audio in/out
17. Component/RGB video
 |SOME OLDER COMPUTER PORTS|
1. PS/2 port (Personal System) keyboard (purple)and mouse (green)
(Phase out)
2. Serial port or COM1 for very old mouse and keyboard (phase out)
3. Parallel port (pink) or LPT1 (Line Printer Terminal) for old printer
(phase out)
4. MIDI/Game port (gold) (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) for
old musical instruments (phase out)
5. S-Video (yellow) for composite video device
NOTE: Modifications or changes in types of ports is a result of
long history of INCREMENTAL TECHNICAL DEVELOPMENT.
Newer ports have improved and faster DATA TRANSFER.
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4. 19.

5. 20.

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7. 22.
16.
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10. 25.

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26
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VGA (blue)
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15.
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31.
 |WHAT'S INSIDE THE SYSTEM UNIT |
1. POWER SUPPLY – converts AC to DC and supplies power to all the
components inside the system unit.
2. MOTHERBOARD - main Printed Circuit Board (PCB) where all
other components are connected.
3. HARD DISK - primary storage where Operating System (OS) and
applications are installed, and user files are stored.
4. PROCESSOR/CPU/MICROPROCESSOR - the brain of the computer
that performs calculations, translates, and executes
instructions.
5. MEMORY OR RAM – this is where Operating System (OS) and
applications are loaded. It also holds data during processing.
6. SYSTEM FAN - an exhaust fan directly controlled by the
motherboard.
7. PROCESSOR FAN - it sits on the heat sink that helps cool the
processor.
8. AUXILIARY FAN - intake fan situated in the side panel.
9. HEAT SINK - a heat dissipating aluminum metal that sits on the
processor and northbridge chipset
10. OPTICAL DRIVE - for reading and writing on Compact Disc (CD),
Digital Versatile Disc (DVD), and Blu-Ray Disc (BD).
11. POWER and DATA CABLES - power cables… DC electricity from DC
3.3V to 25V and data cables… text, sound, video travel.
12. FRONT PANEL HEADER CABLES – it connects the front panel
interface (power button/LED, reset button/LED, USB, memory
card, audio, busy LED) to the motherboard.
13. EXPANSION CARDS - add-on circuit boards bought separately to
add capabilities of the computer.
14. DRIVE CAGE – this is where optical drive and hard disk drive are
placed
 Optical drive

Power supply
Power cables

Optical drive cage

System fan

SATA power connectors

Processor fan

RAM

Data Cables

Motherboard HDD

Intake fan
Expansion card

Hard drive cage

Expansion slots

SSD

Front panel cables