Hardware refers to all components that work with a PC (or laptop). There are many hardware components inside a PC but the three most essential are the processing unit (the central processing unit or the CPU), the memory (RAM) and the hard drive. Other hardware components of a desktop PC include the video card (a chip that produces images for the PC to process), the wireless network card and an operating system. More complex hardware components can be found in high-end laptops.
Computer hardware is divided into microprocessors such as the Pentium processor based on AMD and an assortment of other designs. The main function of these chips is to process instructions from an instruction processor to execute the desired function on the PC. Instruction sets are instructions that tell the PC how to handle a particular task. The execution unit or the CPU executes these instructions on the main memory, which is what the RAM is for.
The third component is the motherboard, which connects all the other hardware components together. The motherboard carries out the tasks of communication between the CPU and other hardware components. It also controls the flow of signals from the other circuits board through the bus or cable that connects all the components together. The hardware is also attached to the circuit board through the PCI slot which is usually present on the front of the computer system board.
In addition to controlling the communication between the peripheral devices and the CPU, the motherboard also enables the user to edit source files, hardware devices and preferences. When the operating system boots up, it looks for commands from the BIOS (which is a firmware utility) and uses this to determine what device will be used to boot up the computer. The most common command that is used is the GRUB command which enables the operating system to load the settings from the circuit board’s GRQ buffer. The motherboard then uses the I/O port to access the various files and settings that are needed to run the computer system.
One important thing to note about the motherboard is that it is one of the most important parts of the computer system besides the central processing unit. The motherboard stores all the operational information and settings of the operating system and all the software programs. Without the motherboard, the entire system will not be able to function. The central processing unit is often called the brain of the machine because it is the main component responsible for processing all the information and delivering them to the screen for the user’s use.
There are three main types of computer motherboards that have been identified. The most commonly known is the AGP type which provides the standard for connectable component video adapter. Then there is the ATX form of motherboard which is more compatible with PCs that use open air cooling systems. The last type is the socket type, which is mostly used with servers and graphics cards because of its high compatibility and high speed with many different types of processor chips. All three of these motherboard types provide for the essential roles of the CPU but sometimes problems can occur when a motherboard fails.
