PRIMARY COMPONENTS

1. The COMPUTER CASE, aka SYSTEM UNIT CASE, is a plastic or metal enclosure
that houses most of the components. Those found on desktop computers are usually
small enough to fit under a desk, however in recent years more compact designs
have become more common, such as the all-in-one style designs from Apple,
namely the iMac. Laptops are computers that usually come in a clamshell form
factor. However, in more recent years deviations from this form factor have started to
emerge such as laptops that have a detachable screen that become tablet
computers.
2. The POWER SUPPLY UNIT (PSU) converts AC (alternating current) electric power
to low-voltage DC power for the internal components of the computer. Laptops are
capable of running from a built-in battery, normally for a period of hours.
3. The MOTHERBOARD (aka mainboard and system board) is the main component of
computer. It is a large rectangular board with integrated circuitry that connects the
other parts of the computer including the CPU, the RAM, the ROM, the disk drives
(CD, DVD, hard disk), the buses, as well as any peripherals connected via the ports
or the expansion slots.
o The Chipset, which includes the north bridge, mediates communication
between the CPU and the other components of the system, including
main memory.
o The RAM (Random-Access-Memory) stores the code and data that are
being actively accessed by the CPU.
o The ROM (Read-Only-Memory) stores the BIOS that runs when the
computer is powered on or otherwise begins execution, a process known
as bootstrapping, or "booting" or "booting up".
o The BIOS (Basic Input Output System) includes boot firmware and power
management firmware. Newer motherboards use UEFI (Unified
Extensible Firmware Interface) instead of BIOS.
o Buses connect the CPU to various internal components and to expansion
cards for graphics and sound.
o The CMOS battery is also attached to the motherboard. This battery is
the same as a watch battery or a battery for a remote to a car's central
locking system. Most batteries are CR2032, which powers the memory
for date and time in the BIOS chip.
4. The CPU (central processing unit) is the brain of the computer. It is the hardware
within a computer that carries out the instructions of a computer program by
performing the basic arithmetical, logical, and input/output operations of the system.
The term has been used in the computer industry at least since the early 1960s. The
form, design, and implementation of CPUs have changed over the course of their
history, but their fundamental operation remains much the same.

The CPU performs most of the calculations which enable a computer to function. It is
usually cooled by a heat sink and fan. Most newer CPUs include an on-die GPU
(Graphics Processing Unit).
A computer can have more than one CPU; this is called multiprocessing. All modern
CPUs are microprocessors, meaning contained on a single chip. Some ICs (integrated
circuits) can contain multiple CPUs on a single chip; those ICs are called multi-core
processors. An IC containing a CPU can also contain peripheral devices, and other
components of a computer system; this is called a SoC (system on a chip).

PERIPHERALS

 A peripheral device is generally defined as any auxiliary device such as a computer

mouse or keyboard that connects to and works with the computer in some way.
Other examples of peripherals are expansion cards, graphics cards, image
scanners, tape drives, microphones, loudspeakers, webcams, and digital cameras.
RAM (random access memory) straddles the line between peripheral and primary
component. RAM is technically a storage peripheral, but is required for every major
function of a modern computer and removing the RAM will effectively disable any
modern machine. Many new devices such as smartphones and tablet computers
have interfaces which allow them to be used as a peripheral by a full computer,
though they are not host-dependent as other peripheral devices are. According to
the most technical definition, the only pieces of a computer not considered to be
peripherals are the CPU, power supply, motherboard, and computer case.
 Usually, the word peripheral refers to a device external to the computer case, like a
scanner, but the devices located inside the computer case are also technically
peripherals. Devices that exist outside the computer case are called external
peripherals, or auxiliary components. Devices that are inside the case such as
internal hard drives or CD-ROM drives are also peripherals in technical terms and
are called internal peripherals, but may not be recognized as peripherals by
laypeople.

1. INPUT DEVICES

 The KEYBOARD is made of several small buttons called 'keys'. Each key
corresponds to a number or a letter or some special function. Just as you use a
pencil to write on a paper, the computer needs a keyboard to tell it what to do.
 A computer MOUSE is a pointing device that controls the movement of a pointer on
the screen. A mouse can have one to three buttons that can be clicked to perform
actions on the computer. Clicking the mouse once is called a single click while
clicking it twice in quick succession is called a double click. Depending on which side
the clicked button of a mouse is, it may be called a right click or a left click.
 Graphic tablet
 Touchscreen
 Touchpad
 Joystick
 Trackball
 Barcode reader
 Image scanner
 Microphone
 Camera (webcam, CCTV or other digital camera connected to the computer)

2. OUTPUT DEVICES
  A computer display or MONITOR is like a television - it shows what work the
computer is doing. It is a standard output device. Turning the monitor off does not
turn off the computer. There may also be other buttons to be used for adjusting the
image. The glass surface of the monitor is called the screen, whereas the monitor is
the entire box with the screen, case, stand and buttons. There are 3 types of
monitors – CRT (cathode ray tube) type, LCD (liquid crystal display) type and LED
(light emitting diode) type. A lot of monitors today have touch-screen feature, thus
they are also classified as input device.
 The PRINTER is a device that helps you to print what you see on monitor on a
paper.
 Sounds produced by the computer or songs played on it are heard thru the
SPEAKER/S.

3. STORAGE DEVICES
Here are the more popular types of storage devices today.

o Flash disk
o Hard disk/drive
o SSD
o CD, DVD, blu-ray
o SD/micro/nano memory card

4. INPUT/OUTPUT DEVICES
Common examples are:

o Touchscreen monitor
o Modem
o Network interface controller (NIC)
o Expansion cards