PARTS OF THE COMPUTER

Motherboard Parts & Functions:

Motherboard is the main printed circuit board.  It contains the buses, or electrical pathways found in a computer. It also accommodates CPU, RAM, expansion slots, BIOS chip, chip set, sockets, internal and external connectors, various ports and the embedded wires that interconnect the motherboard components.

   1.     CPU (Central Processing Unit)/Processor

The CPU executes a program, which is a sequence of stored instructions. Each model of processor has an instruction set, which it executes. The CPU executes the program by processing each piece of data as directed by the program and the instruction set.

  

          2.     CPU Socket

 Sockets are home for your CPU. Several types of socket exist but only 2 of them are really used, and both of them are used by Intel and AMD. The Pin Gray Array (PGA) and the Land Grid Array (LGA).

      

     3.     Memory Slots

     Memory Slots are called memory banks for RAM modules. Each memory bank receives a RAM module designed for a specific pc motherboard.

      

      4.     Chipset

             This is a set of chips; Northbridge and Southbridge which controls the data flow. The Northbridge controls communication between the CPU and RAM memory while the Southbridge manages the communication between the CPU and I/O busses.

    5.     CPU fan and Heat sink

CPU requires a special heat sink and fan unit to operate properly. If this device is not properly secured and operating normally, a modern CPU can reduce itself to a pile of molten silicon in a matter of seconds. The fan that sits atop a heat sink also plays a role in circulating air inside the computer case.

   6.    Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS)

      The CMOS chip retains settings such as the time, keyboard settings, and boot sequence. It also stores interrupt request lines (IRQ) and input/output (IO) resources that the BIOS uses when communicating with the computer’s device.

         

     7.     PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) Slot

It is an expansion bus architecture. The PCI bus transfers data in parallel over a data bus that is either 32 bit or 64 bits wide.

     

     8.     SATA (Serial Advance Technology Attachment)

This is a faster serial drive interface that has replaced PATA. SATA uses slender cables that can be up to 39.4 inches long. Because each SATA device has a direct connection to the SATA controller, it does not have to share a bus with other devices, and therefore it provides greater throughput.

        9.     Ports

          A.    PS/2 – for keyboard and mouse

          B.    USB Port – for devices with 2.0 or 3.0 USB connector

          C.    VGA Port – for monitor

          D.    Parallel Port – for printer

          E.     Ethernet LAN Port – for internet connection

Hard Disk Drive Parts & Function:

Hard drives store the operating system, application, and much of the user data. Hard drives are one of the computer components that suffer from mechanical failures due to wear on the parts. These failures affect the internal portions of the hard drive.

The Platters

o    The platters are the discs of the hard drive where the computer information gets stored. Both sides of the platters store data.

Slider (and Head)

o    The read/write heads write data to the hard disk platters and retrieve information from them. The read/write heads work in a manner similar to the needle on record players or the laser on CDs and DVDs.

Actuator Arm

o    The arms contain the read/write heads. The hard drive controller moves the arms to the correct position on the disk. The arm assembly is comprised of the head sliders, head arms, sliders and actuator.

The Spindle

o    The platters of a hard drive rest on the spindle. The spindle of the hard drive serves the same function as the spindle on a record player---it causes the disks to rotate.

The Spindle Motor

o    The spindle motor causes the spindle to spin and allows the arm actuators to move the arms to the correct position on the hard disk drive.