Hardware

The term “hardware” refers to the physical parts of a computer system. Hardware appears both inside and outside the computer. Peripheral devices are equipment used with a computer to enhance its functionality. They are devices that are “outside” of or in addition to, the computer (i.e. printer, scanner, and modem).The basic hardware of a com­puter system includes:

Case: The box that holds the circuitry for the computer. One of the main chips inside is called the central pro­cessing unit or CPU for short. This acts as the “brain” to send instructions to other parts of the computer. Al­though there are other factors to consider, the higher the speed of the CPU, the faster the computer can send and receive information.

Drives: Nearly all computers have an internal hard drive used to store information. There are many other types of drives, such as external hard drives, CD and DVD drives that can be used to store information on CDs or DVDs.

Keyboard: The device used to type and enter information into the computer.

Mouse: A pointing device used to move the cursor displayed on the monitor. Laptops generally use a track pad or touch pad instead of a mouse to move the cursor.

Monitor: The screen that shows the information for the computer; also called a display. Newer com­puters have LCD (liquid crystal display) monitors that are thinner than the older monitors.

Printer: The printer takes the information displayed on the screen and prints it on paper. The most common types of printers are ink jet (left), which are typically used in homes and small businesses, and laser printers (right), which are used in schools and large businesses.