COMPUTER HARDWARE

COMPUTER PARTS
AND
COMPONENTS
• COMPUTER SYSTEM
• SYSTEM UNIT
• PERIPHERALS
• INPUT DEVICES
• OUTPUT DEVICES
• STORAGE DEVICES
COMPUTER PARTS AND
COMPONENTS
COMPUTER
SYSTEM
Main Computer System
 Monitor
• A monitor is a computer display that is like a TV monitor. A
computer monitor image is made up of pixels (dots). In
general, the higher the resolution, the better the image. The
smaller the dots pitch (typically from 0.25 mm to 0.31 mm),
the better the image. The different types of display screens
are:
– Standard television set
– Standard computer monitors
– Liquid Crystal Displays (LCD)
Standard television set

An ordinary home television that can be used for computer output.

These monitors have better resolution than TV monitors. Some are
flat screens.
Standard computer monitors
These screens are made up of two glass plates with liquid in
between.
Liquid Crystal Displays (LCD)
 Keyboard
• The keyboard is the main input device for text
and commands. The computer keyboard uses
the same key arrangement as typewriters. It
also contain standard function keys, such as
the escape, cursor movement and control
keys.
• 2 types of keyboard:
– Multimedia keyboard
– Wireless keyboard
Multimedia keyboard Wireless keyboard
•Keyboards come with three (3) different types of port such as:
 Speaker
• Speakers give out information in the form of sound.
Computer speakers range widely in quality and price.
Computer speakers are typically packaged with
computer systems in small plastic boxes with
mediocre sound quality. The internal amplifiers
requires an external power source,known as 'wall-
wart'.
Speaker
 Mouse
• A mouse is an input device used to controls the movement of
the cursor or pointer on a display screen. It has right click, left
click and double click to function.
• An optical mouse uses camera technology and digital
processing to compare and track the position of the mouse,
rather than a ball and rollers used on PS/2 port mouse. A
small LED (light-emitting diode) provides light underneath the
mouse, helping to highlight slight differences in the surface
underneath the mouse. It does not require maintenance or
regular cleaning.
PS/2 Port Mouse USB Optical Mouse
 System Unit
• A system unit is also known as a base unit. It
is the main body of a desktop computer
consisting of a metal or fibre enclosure
containing the motherboard, power supply,
cooling fans, internal disk drives, memory
modules and expansion cards(such as video
and network cards) that are plugged into the
motherboard.
System unit
 Printer
• A printer is a device that produces a hard copy
(permanent human readable text or graphics)
ofdocuments stored in electronic form that
prints texts or illustrations on paper.
• Many printers are used as computer peripherals
and are attached by a printer cable to a
computer that serves as a document source.
• There are many types of computer printers.
Dot-Matrix Printer
The dot matrix printer is a low-cost printer that produces low quality
output. It works like an automatic typewriter. It can also be used when
carbon copies of a document are required.
Ink-Jet Printer
The ink jet printer is a low-cost printer that produces a mid-quality
output. This type of printer is the most economical for colour output.
Laser Printer
The laser printer uses a laser beam to produce the best quality output.
The speed of a laser printer is typically about 8 ppm (page per minute).
 Data Processing Cycle
• The computer system processes data into
information through four operations; input,
process,storage and output.

Input Process Output

Storage
• The user enters the data by using an input device
(such as keyboard, mouse) electronically and is
processed by the processor. In the processing
operation, data is manipulated to process or
transform it into information.
• The storage (such as hard disk, compact disc (CD),
diskettes) holds data, information and programs. The
output devices (such as monitor, printer) present the
processed data as useful information products to the
user
COMPUTER PARTS AND
COMPONENTS
SYSTEM
UNIT
What is system
unit?
•Box-like case that
contains computer’s
electronic components

•Sometimes called the

chassis
Inside view of system unit
 Front layer of a system unit
DVD-ROM drive

CD-ROM/CD-RW drive

Zip drive

Empty drive bay

Floppy disk drive

Power button

Reset button
Input / Output Port
 Input/Output port
• A port is the point at which a peripheral attaches to a system unit so
that the peripheral can send data to or receive information from the
computer.
• An external device, such as a keyboard, monitor, printer, mouse and
microphone is often attached by a cable to a port on the system
unit.
• The back of the system unit contains so many ports. Some newer
personal computers also have ports on the front of the system unit.
• Ports have different types of connectors. A connector joins a cable
to a peripheral. One end of a cable attaches to the connector on the
system unit and the other end of the cable attaches to a connector
on the peripheral.
 Power button
• To start on computer
 Reset button
• Kick of soft boot, instructing the computer to
go through the process of shutting down,
which would clear memory and reset devices
to their initialized state. It simply removes
power immediately.
 Motherboard
• Main circuit board of the system unit, which
has some electronic components attached to
it and others built into it.
 Power supply
• Convert standard electrical power into the
form that computer can use. If a power supply
is not providing the necessary power, the
computer will not function properly.
 DVD-ROM drives
• A device that reads DVD-ROM, also can read
audio CDs, CDROMSs, CD-Rs and CD-RWs.
 CD-ROM drives
• A device that reads audio CDs, CD-ROMs, CD-
Rs and CD-RWs.
 DVD/CD-RW drive
• It is a combination drive that reads DVD and
CD media, it also writes to CD-RW media. This
drive also allows watching a DVD or burn a CD.
 Zip drive
• A high-capacity disk drive that reads from and
writes on a Zip disk.
 Floppy drive
• A device that reads from and writes on a
floppy disk
 Hard disk drive
• Type of storage device that contains one or
more inflexible, circular platters that store
data, instructions and information. Also called
a hard disk.