Computer System Notes

Computer System

  • A computer system is a set of devices that follows instructions.
  • It has two main parts:
    1. Hardware
    2. Software

Hardware

  • Hardware is any device you can touch physically in a computer.
  • It can be inside or outside the computer case.

Internal & External Hardware

  • Internal hardware is located inside the computer.
    1. Microprocessor or Central Processing Unit (CPU)
    2. Motherboard
    3. Random Access Memory (RAM)
    4. Hard-Disk Drive (HDD)
    5. Solid-State Drive (SSD)
    6. Graphical Processing Unit (GPU)
    7. Network Interface Card (NIC)
  • External hardware is located outside the computer.
    1. Mouse
    2. Keyboard
    3. Microphone
    4. Webcam
    5. Touchpad
    6. USB Flash Drive (Pen Drive or Thumb Drive)
    7. Memory Card
    8. Monitor
    9. Speaker
    10. Printer
    11. Projector

Core & Peripheral Components

  • Core components are the main internal parts of computers.
    • CPU, RAM, motherboard, storage devices, and power supply are core components.
  • Peripheral components (or simply peripherals) are non-essential but functional components connected to computers, usually externally.
    • Mouse, keyboard, printer, and monitor are peripherals.

Microprocessor

  • Processors (or microprocessors) are also called Central Processing Units (CPU).
  • The processor is the brain of a computer.
  • It performs all types of operations.
  • Some general-purpose processors:
    • Intel® Core series: i3, i5, i7, and i9
    • AMD Ryzen series: 3, 5, 7, and 9
    • Apple M series
    • Qualcomm Snapdragon®

Motherboard

  • The motherboard is the printed circuit board and foundation of a computer.
  • It allows communication between the CPU, RAM, and other components.
  • It also serves as connectors for other peripheral parts.

Parts of a Motherboard

  • AGP Slot or GPU Slot
  • BIOS
  • PCI Slot or PCIe Slot (NIC)
  • Northbridge
  • Southbridge
  • SATA (HDD or SSD)
  • IDE (HDD)
  • CMOS
  • CPU Socket
  • RAM Slots
  • Power

Random Access Memory (RAM)

  • Everything on monitors is stored in RAM
  • RAM is the short-term memory that the computer uses to store current data temporarily.
  • Data is lost when the computer is turned off (Volatile).
  • If the memory is full, the computer becomes slow or unresponsive (freezing and hanging).

Storage Devices

  • Storage devices are used to store data permanently or temporarily.
  • Examples include:
    • Read-Only Memory (ROM)
    • Hard-Disk Drive (HDD)
    • Solid State Drive (SSD)
    • Micro SD
    • Flash Drive (USB Thumb Drive)

Types of Software

  • There are two main types of software:
    • System software
    • Application software
  • System software makes the computer work.
  • Application software includes all software that is not system software (Apps).

System Software

  1. Operating System (OS)
  2. Utility Software
Operating System
  • An operating system is a software that acts as an interface between the users and devices such as the keyboard, mouse, and monitor.
  • Without an OS, a computer is hard to operate.