What are the Key Components of a Computer - Inside of a Computer

 

Hello and Welcome to another interesting article. This article for those who are beginners to the Tech or Computer world. This brief information will give you the basic knowledge for people who are willing to start gain their knowledge on computers and furthermore.

Introduction to the Inside of a Computer

You may already know that there are many important parts inside a computer. Sometimes you just use a computer at work or on your personal life, but you might don’t have a proper idea what are the things that have inside of a computer, or you might haven’t even seen inside of a computer at least once in your life. But don’t worry this article is for you. So, let's take a look inside and learn about the various components that make a computer work whether it's a desktop computer or a laptop. Each and every computer has a large circuit board called a motherboard. This contains some of the most important parts of the computer and also plugged in most important parts of the computer too. Let’s get to it soon.  I have published an article on Computer Motherboards so you can also check it out if you are interested in more detailed knowledge on Motherboards. 👉 What is a Motherboard | Briefly Explained | Key Areas

 

Basic Components that you can find inside of a Computer

So, when it comes to the components of a computer there are several key items that we can see inside of a computer, such as the CPU also known as the Central Processing Unit or Processor. The CPU can be considered the brain of the computer because it processes information and carries out commands of the user. Since it tends to get hot it's covered by a piece of metal called a heat sink which draws heat away from the processor and the Cooler will help the heatsink to cool it down. For your information there are two types of coolers you will be able to see inside of a computer. Either it should be an Air cooler that comes with heatsink and fan which is mounted over the CPU by screws or a Liquid Cooler that cool down the CPU with the help of a radiator. You can research furthermore about the Coolers if you are interested and most of the typical computers you use in your day job or personnel life use Air coolers because it is easy to install and cost effective as well as not much complicated compared to a Liquid cooler.

 

CPU of a Desktop Computer

CPU Mounted with Air Cooler

So, coming back to the topic. The next key component that you will be able to see inside a computer is the Motherboard which also contains the computer's RAM (Random Access Memory) this is the short-term memory that the computer uses whenever it's performing calculations however you cannot store your files there because the ram is cleared when you shut off the computer. RAM is a Volatile memory which a type of memory that maintains its data only while the device is powered. If the power is interrupted for any reason, the data is lost.

 

Motherboard with CPU and RAM cards Installed

Desktop Computer RAMs

So, the next component is the Hard Disk Drive (HDD) which provides long term Storage keeping all of the computer’s data even when it's turned off. HDD is a Non-Volatile Memory. many hard drives use a magnetic platter to store data, but many newer computers have Solid State Drives which are faster and more durable but also more expensive. I have done a completed article about SSDs and if you are willing to get to know more about it you can check it out too. 👉What is SATA SSD M2 and NVMe

Desktop Hard Drives

Solid State Drive (SSD)

on many desktop computers the motherboard comes with expansion slots that allow you to upgrade by adding expansion cards you can add a Video card/Graphics card to get better graphics performance, or you can add a Wireless card to connect to your wireless home network most laptops however don't have expansion slots, but some high-end laptops may come with several slots.

 

Desktop Graphics Card

And the computer's components need electricity to run so the Power Supply Unit (PSU) is designed to take power from the wall outlet and send it to all of the different components that need power. Apart from directing power to all the components of the computer the PSU’s other main task is converting the AC to DC (transform the Alternating current (AC) into a stable Direct current (DC) voltage), It is a little complicated information if you are a beginner and I recommend you to research more about PC PSU and you will eventually have a better idea about the PSU and what it does. laptops also contain a built-in battery that lets you use them anywhere.

 

Power Supply Unit

And finally, I have to mention the CD/DVD Disk Drive. With the emerging technology of data storage and transfer, the Compact disks are not being used much in today. But you will be able to find in typical computers even in today a CD or DVD Disk drive mounted in.  As you can see a computer functions with the help of several key components and now you have an idea about those components. And I recommend you to keep research about those and gain your knowledge because it will make you more interested towards tech world and help you to take advantage of this tech emerging era.