Hardware

 

Computer Hardware Architecture

                                                   
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The basic structure of a computer is divided into 4 fundamental units.

1.CPU(central Processing Unit)

    1.Control unit
    2.Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU)

2.Input Devices

    Eg. Keyboard, mouse etc.

3.Output Devices

    Eg. Visual Display Unit(VDU), printers, Plotters etc.

4.Storage Unit
    1.Internal or primary storage
         Eg. RAM and ROM
    2.External or Secondary Storage
        Eg. Hard disks, Optical Disks etc.

BIOS (Basic Input Output System)

It is the first program that Run by the CPU when the PC is power on.
It controls flow of information among the various components of the computer and information regarding the various hardware present in the system. BIOS is a firmware.

Operating System

An operating system is a collection of software that manages computer hardware resources and provides common services for computer programs. Operating system creates a user interface and to enable users to manipulate the user interface and there by make changes to the computer.
Eg. Windows, Linux, Mac OS X etc.

Processor (CPU)

CPU is referred to as the brain of a computer. The computer will not work without CPU. It is single IC chip on the mother board. It contains two basic components- Control Unit and Arithmetic and Logic Unit.

Mother Board

The motherboard is the primary printed circuit board in a PC. All of the basic circuitry and components required for a PC to function are either contained in or attached to the motherboard. The motherboard typically contains the system bus, processor and coprocessor sockets, memory sockets, serial and parallel ports, expansion slots, and peripheral controllers.

Memory

Memory is classified primarily into two parts- primary memory and secondary memory.

1.Primary memory
  1.RAM
  2.ROM

2.Secondary memory
  Hard disk, Optical Disk etc.

Cache memory

It is a small amount of high speed memory, designed to supply the CPU with most frequently required data & instruction.

Two types of cache

• L1 cache - primary cache located in CPU( processor)
• L2 cache - it is located between the CPU & DRAM

System Clock

It synchronizes all processes in a computer like a metronome.It sends out a signal to all computer peripherals.