Computer Hardware
Definition
Classification
Input Devices
Output devices
Keyboard
Joystick
Mouse
Scanner
Microphone
Storage Devices
Memory
Barcode reader
Digital camera
Touch screen
Light pen
Touch pad
Captures images from photographs, magazines, books etc.
Stores them in the computer in a digital form
Images can be edited, displayed on the screen or inserted in the documents
Allows the user to enter letters, numbers and special symbols into the computer
Main input device to communicate with the computer
Hand-held device used to control the movement of the cursor
Two or three buttons that allow the computer user to make selection in the menu, draw graphics or open files
Changes audio signals into electronic signals which are translated into digital form by the sound card
Allows the user to input audio into computer
Includes buttons called triggers
Mainly used for computer games
A pointing device with a vertical lever mounted on a base
Information is used by the computer to print bill for the customer
Reads the bar code printed on products that represents product code, description and price
Used to capture pictures and store them in a digital form
Can be downloaded to computer for editing, viewing or inserting in documents
Pressure sensitive display screen
Used to interact with the computer by touching the pictures or words with fingers
It is an input device on laptops and some keyboards to move a cursor with finger
The cursor moves in the same direction as the user's finger does
in the form of a light-sensitive wand used in conjunction with a computer's cathode-ray tube (CRT) display.
It allows the user to point to displayed objects or draw on the screen in a similar way to a touchscreen but with greater positional accuracy.
System Unit
Registers
ALU
Microprocessor
Motherboard
Control Unit
Contains microprocessor, main memory, expansion cards, many IC chips, connectors and other electronic components
It is the main circuit board inside the system unit and all the input and output devices are connected to the motherboard
Loads programs into memory and executes them
Consists of very complicated circuits and Controls the operations of all the operations of the computer
Performs all the calculations and comparisons
Arithmetic unit performs operations like Addition, subtraction, multiplication and division and logical unit performs logical operations which include comparisons of numbers or alphabets
Controls all the activities on the computer
It is the main chip on the motherboard
Hard disk
DVD
Small memory units in the microprocessor
Temporarily store some information during the execution of the program
Some common registers are Cash registers, Instruction register etc
Monitor
Printer
Plotter
Speaker
Memory Card
A magnetic storage device used to store computer data
Fixed inside the computer casing
Storage capacity of hundreds of gigabytes
Has more storage capacity then the CD
installed in the computer to read data from or write data to a DVD
A small storage device having storage capacity of few gigabytes
Available in different sizes
RAM
Cache Memory
ROM
High speed memory installed on the motherboard
Information can be read from or written into it
A very small amount of extremely fast memory
Faster and more expensive than RAM
Refers to physical parts of a computer
A single IC chip installed on the motherboard