Decoding the Jargon
Motherboard
A Motherboard is a curcuit board that all components of the computer are connected to.
There are many components that are found in the motherboard they are: Power Supply, Fan, SATA, IDE, Processors, Motherboard, BIOS, Ports (Parallel and Serial), Internal Memory (RAM and ROM), Specialised cards (Network and Graphics Card)
There are many components that are found in the motherboard they are: Power Supply, Fan, SATA, IDE, Processors, Motherboard, BIOS, Ports (Parallel and Serial), Internal Memory (RAM and ROM), Specialised cards (Network and Graphics Card)
Processor
The Central Processing Unit (CPU) tells the hardware components what to do and how it should be done and when. The processor also priortises what should have the most power from the component and what ones require less power from the component.
The speed of the processor is measured in Gigahertz (GHz) , higher the GHz the faster the processor is. The speed of the processor may mean that the power consumption is higher and may produce more heat by the components.
Power Supply
The power supply is a device that supply's electrical energy to every component on the PC. It is the main power source that powers the whole PC. It has various types of pins for each of the components to plug into, and a larger pin that plugs into the motherboard.
Heat Sink/Fan
The heatsink is a component that transfers heat from the motherboard and components into the metal and is released into the air.
A fan is positioned above the heatsink to help with dispersing the heat into the air and cooling the system quicker. If the fan is not working to its full potential, the whole computer could over heat and ruin the components in the motherboard.
A fan is positioned above the heatsink to help with dispersing the heat into the air and cooling the system quicker. If the fan is not working to its full potential, the whole computer could over heat and ruin the components in the motherboard.
Controllers IDE
The IDE is a cable that connects the hard drive to the motherboard.
Controllers SATA
It controls the CPU to the Hardrive
RAM
Random-access memory (RAM) is a form of computer data storage. It is used to load up data and programmes so therefore if you don’t have a RAM you wouldn’t be able to work some of the computer programmes such as: e.g. Microsoft word. It is also quicker to upload files/data of RAM rather than from the Hard Drive.
RAM is also used for computer games. You can buy higher GB of RAM to run higher specs on games.
RAM is also used for computer games. You can buy higher GB of RAM to run higher specs on games.
ROM
ROM (Read-only memory) is a type of memory. When you turn off your computer the contents will remain on the ROM, unlike RAM which wipes all the data once the computer is turned off.
ROM cannot be written to.
It contains the BIOS which is used to start up the computer.
ROM cannot be written to.
It contains the BIOS which is used to start up the computer.
Network Card
The Network Card is also known as a network controller . There are two methods to connect a CPU to a network, a wired connection ( uses a Ethernet Cable) or wireless.
VGA
Videa Graphics Array (VGA) refers to the display on the screen so that the quality of picture will be imporved.
People who play video games on the computer will buy a higher VGA Card to have a better picture quality.
People who play video games on the computer will buy a higher VGA Card to have a better picture quality.
Serial & Parrell
Serial Port: A Serial Port on a computer is used for different peripheral connections. A serial port transfers data one bit at a time whereas a parallel port transfers 8bits at a time.
Parallel Port : A Parallel port on a computer is used to connect different peripheral connections. It is mostly used to connect printers to a computer. A parallel port can transfer 8bits at a time.
Parallel Port : A Parallel port on a computer is used to connect different peripheral connections. It is mostly used to connect printers to a computer. A parallel port can transfer 8bits at a time.
CMOS Battery
The CMOS Battery is a small battery that powers the on-board memory. It is located on the motherboard and is easy to replace and install.
The CMOS Battery makes sure the computer time is correct even if the computer is turned off.
The CMOS Battery makes sure the computer time is correct even if the computer is turned off.
BIOS/POST
The BIOS software is built into the PC, and is the first code run by a PC when powered on.
"The primary function of the BIOS is to set up the hardware, load and start a boot loader. When the PC starts up, the first job for the BIOS is to initialize and identify system devices such as the video display card, keyboard and mouse, HDD and other hardware components, this is known as POST (power on self-test). The BIOS is stored on un-removable chip on your computers motherboard." (Referenced)
"The primary function of the BIOS is to set up the hardware, load and start a boot loader. When the PC starts up, the first job for the BIOS is to initialize and identify system devices such as the video display card, keyboard and mouse, HDD and other hardware components, this is known as POST (power on self-test). The BIOS is stored on un-removable chip on your computers motherboard." (Referenced)
Sound Card
A sound card (also known as an audio card) is an internal computer expansion card that facilitates the input and output of audio signals to and from a computer under control of computer programs. Typical uses of sound cards include providing the audio component for multimedia applications such as music composition and audio.
The input port types are MIDI and USB, typical uses of soundcards include:
- Music composition
- Editing audio in a video
- Listening to music
- Gaming
The input port types are MIDI and USB, typical uses of soundcards include:
- Music composition
- Editing audio in a video
- Listening to music
- Gaming
Expansion Slot
An expansion slot is where a circuit board can be inserted to add extra components onto the computer such as Extra RAM.
Bus (Computing)
A Bus (used in computing terms) is a type of system that send/receives and transfers data between the components inside of a computer. This data would be sent through physical wires or through a printed circuit board. A system bus, is a single computer bus that transfers data through the major parts of a computer.