Whats inside the computer?
Following picture shows a view of the inner organs of a computer.
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| Insde a typical computer |
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Power Supply:
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| Power supply |
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A power supply or SMPS (Switched Mode Power Supply) converts AC signal to low voltage regulated DC signal for the use of components inside the computer. Most modern desktop computer power supplies are ATX power supplies, which always provides a 5 V voltage although it is connected to the mains supply. ATX power supply can be turned ON and OFF by a signal from the computer.
Processor:
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| Processor | |
A processor is a multipurpose, programmable device that takes data from the user, processes it according to the instructions stored in its memory, and gives the result of the processing as output. In the earlier days of computer history, processors were constructed in small and medium scale IC forms, consisting of tens to few hundred transistors. Such processors were too much limited in their operations, and power consumption was also high. The first processors appeared in early 1970s, which were used for digital calculators, terminals, printers and other simple type of automatic systems.
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| intel 4004 processor |
The first commercial processor was intel 4004, whose price was $60. It was originally designed by intel for desktop calculators for a Japanese calculator company, with high performance and rich features. It was a 4-bit processor, with a clock speed of 740 kHz. Since the intel 4004, the history of processors has undergone a vast improvement in size, performance, quality, power consumption, etc. and today we have
intel i7 the most advanced processor up to date.
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| Modern Processor | |
Hard disk:
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| Hard Disk |
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A hard disk drive is a data storage device for a computer. It is used for storing the digital information processed by the computer for later use. A hard disk usually consists of rapidly rotating disks (or "plates") which are coated with magnetic material so that data can be stored in digital form. The magnetic storage of digital data is not deleted even when the power to the disk is cut off because data is stored as "magnetic cells" on the surface of the disk plates.
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| A simple hard disk |
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| Exploded view of a hard disk |
PCI Slots:
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| PCI Slots |
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PCI (
Peripheral
Components
Interconnect) are the slots on a motherboard where extra components in a computer can be inserted. It is a type of bus; the terminal where other components are inserted.
If, for example, you want to insert a TV card (a device that allows to watch TV on your PC), which does not usually come with your computer, you can insert it in the PCI bus and watch TV. Modems and NICs (
Network
Interface
Card) are other devices that are usually inserted in a PCI slot.
