Experiment No → 1

Various Components of Computer

CPU
Its meaning is Central Processing Unit. Sometimes referred to simply as the central
processor or Nerve Centre or heart, but more commonly called processor, the CPU is where most
calculations take place. The CPU is the brains of the computer.

Central processing unit (CPU) is the central component of the Computer System.
Sometimes it is called as microprocessor or processor. It is the brain that runs the show inside the
Computer. All functions and processes that is done on a computer is performed directly or
indirectly by the processor. Obviously, computer processor is one of the most important elements
of the Computer system. CPU consists of transistors, that receives inputs and produces output.
Transistors perform logical operations which is called processing. It is also, scientifically, not
only one of the most amazing parts of the PC, but one of the most amazing devices in the world
of technology.
In terms of computing power, the computer processor is the most important element of a
computer system. It adds and compare its data in cpu chip. A CPU of all computers, whether
micro, mini or mainframe must have three parts.

Parts of CPU
Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU): It is the part of computer processor (CPU) can be used to
perform arithmetic and logic operations. An arithmetic-logic unit (ALU) is further divided into
two parts, (AU) arithmetic unit and a (LU) logic unit.

Control Unit (CU): Decodes the program instruction. CPU chip used in a computer is partially
made out of Silica. on other words silicon chip used for data processing are called Micro
Processor.

Keyboard
A computer keyboard is an input device used to enter characters and functions into the
computer system by pressing buttons, or keys. It is the primary device used to enter text. A
keyboard typically contains keys for individual letters, numbers and special characters, as well as
keys for specific functions. A keyboard is connected to a computer system using a cable or a
wireless connection.

Typical keyboard for a desktop computer

Most keyboards have a very similar layout. The individual keys for letters, numbers and special
characters are collectively called the character keys. The layout of these keys is derived from
the original layout of keys on a typewriter. The most widely used layout in the English language
is called QWERTY, named after the sequence of the first six letters from the top left.

Mouse
A computer mouse is a handheld hardware input device that controls a cursor in a GUI and can
move and select text, icons, files, and folders. For desktop computers, the mouse is placed on a
flat surface such as a mouse pad or a desk and is placed in front of your computer. The picture to
the right is an example of a desktop computer mouse with two buttons and a wheel.

The mouse was originally known as the X-Y Position Indicator for a Display System and was
invented by Douglas Engelhard in 1963 while working at Xerox PARC. However, due to Alto's
lack of success, the first widely used application of the mouse was with the Apple Lisa computer.
Today, this pointing device is on virtually every computer.

Monitor
Monitors, commonly called as Visual Display Unit (VDU), are the main output device of a
computer. It forms images from tiny dots, called pixels that are arranged in a rectangular form.
The sharpness of the image depends upon the number of pixels.

There are two kinds of viewing screen used for monitors.

• Cathode-Ray Tube (CRT)

• Flat-Panel Display

Cathode-Ray Tube (CRT) Monitor

The CRT display is made up of small picture elements called pixels. The smaller the pixels, the
better the image clarity or resolution.
A finite number of characters can be displayed on a screen at once. The screen can be divided
into a series of character boxes - fixed location on the screen where a standard character can be
placed. Most screens are capable of displaying 80 characters of data horizontally and 25 lines
vertically.

There are some disadvantages of CRT −

• Large in Size
• High power consumption
Flat-Panel Display Monitor
The flat-panel display refers to a class of video devices that have reduced volume, weight and
power requirement in comparison to the CRT. You can hang them on walls or wear them on
your wrists. Current uses of flat-panel displays include calculators, video games, monitors,
laptop computer, and graphics display.

The flat-panel display is divided into two categories −

• Emissive Displays − Emissive displays are devices that convert electrical energy into
light. For example, plasma panel and LED (Light-Emitting Diodes).

• Non-Emissive Displays − Non-emissive displays use optical effects to convert sunlight

or light from some other source into graphics patterns. For example, LCD (Liquid-
Crystal Device).
Printers
Printer is an output device, which is used to print information on paper.

There are two types of printers −

• Impact Printers
• Non-Impact Printers
Impact Printers
Impact printers print the characters by striking them on the ribbon, which is then pressed on the
paper.

Characteristics of Impact Printers are the following −

• Very low consumable costs

• Very noisy
• Useful for bulk printing due to low cost
• There is physical contact with the paper to produce an image
These printers are of two types −

• Character printers
• Line printers
Character Printers
Character printers are the printers which print one character at a time.

These are further divided into two types:

• Dot Matrix Printer(DMP)

• Daisy Wheel
Dot Matrix Printer
In the market, one of the most popular printers is Dot Matrix Printer. These printers are popular
because of their ease of printing and economical price. Each character printed is in the form of
pattern of dots and head consists of a Matrix of Pins of size (5*7, 7*9, 9*7 or 9*9) which come
out to form a character which is why it is called Dot Matrix Printer.
Daisy Wheel
Head is lying on a wheel and pins corresponding to characters are like petals of Daisy (flower)
which is why it is called Daisy Wheel Printer. These printers are generally used for word-
processing in offices that require a few letters to be sent here and there with very nice quality.

Line Printers
Line printers are the printers which print one line at a time.
Non-impact Printers
Non-impact printers print the characters without using the ribbon. These printers print a
complete page at a time, thus they are also called as Page Printers.

These printers are of two types −

• Laser Printers
• Inkjet Printers
Characteristics of Non-Impact Printers
• Faster than impact printers
• They are not noisy
• High quality
• Supports many fonts and different character size
Laser Printers
These are non-impact page printers. They use laser lights to produce the dots needed to form the
characters to be printed on a page.
Inkjet Printers
Inkjet printers are non-impact character printers based on a relatively new technology. They
print characters by spraying small drops of ink onto paper. Inkjet printers produce high quality
output with presentable features.

They make less noise because no hammering is done and these have many styles of printing
modes available. Color printing is also possible. Some models of Inkjet printers can produce
multiple copies of printing also.

Storage Devices
1. USB Flash Drive
A USB Flash Drive is a small, ultra-portable storage device which is used to store data and
transfer information. Flash drives are also called as pen-drives, jump-drives, and thumb-drives.
Basically, every USB flash drive are re-writable and removable. Actually, USB Flash Drive is
robust because there are no moving parts. At the time of First stage the size of USB Flash Drive
was just like 8 MB and now the size of USB Flash Drive is just like 2 GB to 1 TB.
2. Memory Cards
A Memory Card is a small storage device just like 16 MB to 64 GB and this storage device is
used for storing media and data files. Memory card is Non-Volatile, permanent storage device
which is used inside of Phone, Camera, and many other electronic devices. There are so many
types of memory card in market, and it's totally depended on size.

3. CD (Compact Disk)
The CD was created by Philips factory in Germany on august,1982. Compact Disk is the full
form of CD, it looks like a flat, round and the measures of standard CD is 120 millimeters and
across
1.2 mm thick. The size of Compact Disk is 650 Megabytes to 700 Megabytes. A compact Disk is
a portable storage medium that can store audio, video, picture, and also Data.
4. DVD (Digital Video Disk)
DVD (Digital Video Disk) is an optical disk format invented and developed in 1995.The
Capacity of CD is 4.7 GB and the Weight is 16 grams. The Compact Disk can store any kind of
digital media just like video, audio, picture, game, software, data. Actually, DVD is just like a
ROM because data can only be read and not written. DVD can be single side or double side both,
the size of single side DVD is 4.7 GB and the size of double side DVD is 9.4 GB.

5. HDD (Hard Disk Drive)

IBM company’s engineer created the first Hard Disk Drive in 1953.The size of Hard Disk was
just like two refrigerators. A Hard Disk Drive is a non-volatile secondary storage device, here
data can store permanently. unlike RAM, it is non-volatile means data is retained when the
computer is turned off. A Hard Disk Drive is actually a set of stacked disks. The first production
IBM hard Disk was 305 disk storage which was shipped in 1957.
 A computer made up of two main parts – Computer Software and Hardware.

➢ Computer Software
Computer software (often called just software) is untouchable components of computer. It
compiles all logic instructions that the system uses to do different tasks, including
the applications(game or a word processor) and the operating system(Mac OS, Microsoft
Windows, Linux, etc.).

• Types of Software
There are two types a software on the basis of their functionality - System software and
Application software.

• System Software
It is used to start and run computer systems and networks. It controls the operations and/or
extends the processing capability of a computer system. Some commonly known types of
system software are: (Operating systems, programming language translator, communications
software, utility programs).

• Application Software
It is the set of one or more programs, which solve specific problems, or specific tasks. Some
commonly known application software is: (Word processing software, Database software,
Personal assistance software, etc.).
➢ Computer Hardware
Computer hardware (usually simply called hardware) every physical part (touchable) of
computer such as the I/O Card, Memory, Motherboard, Power Supply, Screen. Etc.
❖ Basic hardware components of a modern personal computer
There are many basic components of modern personal computer hardware; some of these are
described below.
• Motherboard
The motherboard is the main component of a computer. It is a hard, plastic film that contains
every electronic circuit and connection where all the devices (like the CPU, the RAM, the
disk drives, power supply etc.) are switched.

• I/O Devices
Input devices allow the user to enter information into the system, or control its operation. For
example: keyboard, mouse, microphone, scanner, etc. On other hand, Output devices display
information in a human readable form. Such devices could
include printers, speakers, monitors, etc.
• I/O Peripheral Devices
I/O Peripheral used by processor to give information to user and vice versa. For example:
router, touchable screen, etc.

• Computer’s Memory
There are two types of memory, volatile (RAM) or non-volatile (ROM).
o Random Access Memory (RAM)
A computer’s main memory uses volatile RAM chips. RAM chips are of two types -
dynamic and static. Dynamic RAM (DRAM) uses an external circuitry to periodically
“regenerate” or refresh storage charge to retain storage data. On other hand, Static
RAM (SRAM) does not need any special regenerator circuit to retain the stored data.

o Read Only Memory (ROM)

It is a non-volatile memory chips in which data is stored permanently. There are two
types of ROM – Manufacturer programmed and User programmed. Manufacturer-
programmed ROM is one which data is burnt in by the manufacturer of the electronic
equipment in which it used. On other hand, User programmed ROM is one which a
user can loud and store “read-only” program and data.