Hardware Basics

Introduction

This section is going to cover everything you need to know about Hardware. Starting from identifying Hardware and building a custom build machine.

What is Hardware?

You can class anything as Hardware if you can physically touch it. Hardware ranges from Mouse, Keyboard, Monitor or the base unit. Hardware is controlled by Software and they are reliant on each other. Below there is a list of different Hardware and its functions.

Random Access Memory (RAM)
Any program loaded or used at any one time is stored in RAM. The RAM is used for temporary storage, this is because the hard disk has lots of data and it cannot use it all the time and it needs a place to store it for faster access. RAM is volatile which means once you power the PC down all data stored in it will be wiped; this is why the Hard Disk is used for a permanent storage.

Hard Disk Drive
The Hard Disk is stored inside the PC case. There are two types of Hard Disk, IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics) and (Serial ATA). SATA is more modern and is much faster than IDE and it saves space as well. The Hard Disk is not volatile so it means that the data will be stored there permanently. Everything is stored in Hard Disk such as operating system, Software, music and general data. The Windows has a feature that will warn you in case you do fill up the Hard Disk. A Hard Drive can be partitioned which means that the physical Hard Drive can be split into two Logical Drives. This means that the Operating System can be saved on (C:) and data can be backed up on on the logical partition. There are differnt types of partitions. Primary partition is used to isntall the Operating System on and can only contain one Operating System. Extended partitions are used to divide the the partition into logical drives.

Mouse
The Mouse is an input device and it is the main way to open data or navigate around Web or programs. Generally the mouse has two buttons, one primary which is used to open shortcuts or hyperlinks and the other is known as secondary (right click). Depending on which hand the user is, the primary and secondary can be changed. The right click offers more options for editing or closing applications. The mouse also comes with a scroll bar that is used to view the page up and down.

Keyboard
The Keyboard is another well known input device used to type data onto documents or Websites. Without the keyboard it would be nearly impossible to type text on to documents unless you used an on screen keyboard. Therefore a Keyboard is essential. Newer keyboards provides many enhanced functionality by providing shortcuts and better editing options to make tasks easier.

Graphics Card
The Graphics Card or Video Card is the piece of Hardware used to view the pictures or videos on the screen. The graphics card will have a connector at the back known as a DB9/DVI or VGA which will enable the monitor to connect to it and view the images or videos produced on the computer onto monitor. Graphics cards follow a standard which measures the capacity and performance. Currently PCI-E offers the best performance.