Monday, April 17, 2023

Collection of basic computer parts

This post is a collection of basic computer parts. There are 12 parts listed below alphabetically. License: CC BY-SA 3.0

Bus
"...a bus is a communication system that transfers data between components inside a computer, or between computers." (Wikipedia: Bus (computing), 2.17.23 UTC 05:07)

Chipset
"In computing, the term chipset commonly refers to a set of specialized chips on a  computer's motherboard or an expansion card." (Wikipedia: Chipset, 3.28.23 UTC 00:54)

Central processing unit (CPU)
"Principles components of a CPU include the arithmetic-logic unit (ALU) that performs arithmetic and logic operations, processor registers that supply operands to the ALU and store the results of ALU operations, and a control unit that orchestrates the fetching (from memory), decoding and execution (of instructions)..." (Wikipedia: Central processing unit, 4.17.23 UTC 16:31)

Graphics processing unit (GPU)
"Modern GPUs are efficient at manipulating computer graphics and image processing. Their parallel structure makes them more efficient than general-purpose central processing units (CPUs) for algorithms that process large blocks of data in parallel." (Wikipedia: Graphics processing unit, 4.16.23 UTC 18:03)

Hard disk drive
"A hard disk drive... is a electro-mechanical data storage device that stores and retrieves digital data using magnetic storage with one or more rigid rapidly rotating platters coated with magnetic material." (Wikipedia: Hard disk drive, 3.27.23 UCT 03:34)

Keyboard
"In normal usage, the keyboard is used as a text entry interface for typing text, numbers, and symbols into application software such a word processor, web browser or social media app." (Wikipedia: Keyboard, 3.9.23 UTC 18:08)

Monitor
"A computer monitor is an output device that displays information in pictorial or textual form." (Wikipedia: Computer monitor, 4.5.23 UTC 10:05)

Motherboard
"[The motherboard] holds and allows communication between many of the crucial electronic components of a system, such as the central processing unit (CPU) and memory, and provides connectors for other peripherals." (Wikipedia: Motherboard, 4.15.23 UTC 06:04)

Mouse
"A mouse typically controls the motion of a pointer in two dimensions in a graphical user interface (GUI)." (Wikipedia: Computer mouse, 4.17.23 UTC 11:33)

Power supply unit
"The desktop computer power supply converts the alternating current (AC) from a wall socket of mains electricity to a low- voltage direct current (DC) to operate the motherboard, processor and peripheral devices." (Wikipedia: Power supply unit (computer), 2.19.23 UTC 02:56)

Random-access memory (RAM)
"In addition to serving as temporary storage and working space for the operating system and applications, RAM is used in numerous other ways... Most modern operating system employ a method of extending RAM capacity, know as 'virtual memory'." (Wikipedia: Random-access memory, 4.14.23 UTC 19:08)

Solid state drive (SSD)
"A solid-state drive is a... 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." (Wikipedia: Solid-state drive, 4.11.23 UTC 13:09)