SHAW PUBLIC SCHOOL

Subject COMPUTER STUDIES

Title/Chapter COMPUTER – HARDWARE COMPONENTS
Class VII
Topic Anatomy of Computer & Some of the Internal Hardware
Month/Week April - Week1

Objective :
The students must go through the explanation to grasp the topics discussed, learn the terms
and the spellings.

Day1:-
Explanation :
Computers are machines that perform specific tasks according to a set of instructions or
programs. Earlier, computers were used mostly by scientists and engineers for complex
calculations and they were very costly too. Nowadays, computers are within the reach of
every working person. It has virtually become a need in every sphere of life.

ANATOMY OF COMPUTER
Computer comprises of two major components

Hardware Software.

• The physical components of • Software is a set of programs,

a computer, which we can which controls the internal
touch and feel, are known as operations of a computer and
Hardware. For example, instructs a computer about the
Keyboard, Mouse, Speaker, work to be done. For example,
etc. UNIX, MS Word, etc.
• It can be classified into two
• It can be categorized into
main categories - System
two main categories
Software and Application
Internal and External
Software.
hardware.

Hardware and Software are interdependent of each other's functioning. Without these two
components, a computer cannot work. For example, without the driver of a hardware and
OS kernel (a program which directly interacts with the hardware) we cannot use hardware.
Similarly, without the processor and a memory it is impossible fora software to run.
INTERNAL HARDWARE
The hardware components that are installed within the CPU cabinet are called Internal
Hardware. For example: CPU, RAM, ROM, disk drives (Hard disk drives, Blu-ray disk
drives, CD drives, DVD drives), Motherboard, Network card, Sound card, Video card,
etc.
MOTHERBOARD

• A motherboard is the main circuit board of a computer that holds the most essential
components of the computer system.
• The base of a motherboard consists of a rigid plastic sheet.
• It serves as a single platform to connect all the parts of a computer together and allows
them to communicate with each other.
• A motherboard is mounted inside the CPU cabinet and connects CPU, memory, hard
drives, optical drives, video card, sound card and other expansion cards directly or via
cables.
• All the activities related to the connected devices start and end up in the motherboard.

A motherboard mainly contains:

➢ The processor chip
➢ BIOS
➢ Memory chips
➢ External storage controllers for video display and sound
➢ Expansion slots for connecting additional circuit boards

PCI (Peripheral
Component
Interconnect)

• PCI serves as a connection between a computer's motherboard and any connected

hardware.
• The PCI transmits data and power between a computer and the device.
• PCI was introduced by Intel in 1992.

SOUND CARD

• A sound card is a hardware component that is fixed either in an expansion slot or on the
motherboard.
• It controls the input and output of the sound signals, i.e. it receives and sends audio
signals to and from the computer.
• A sound card converts the digital data to sound and vice versa.
• It enables the computer to reproduce sound or play music through output devices like
Speakers, Headphones and record audio with a Microphone.
• Separate PCI sound cards are used to get higher quality sound.
Day2:-
Explanation :
Today we are going to explain some more of the internal hardware:

VIDEO CARD

• The video card is an expansion card that is used to generate the video output to a display
screen, such as a monitor, TV, or projector.
• It is also known as a graphics card.
• Video card is used to enhance the quality of the displayed images.
• This card contains its own processing and memory unit and is connected to the
motherboard via AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) or PCI (Peripheral Component
Interconnect) connection.

CPU (Central Processing Unit)

• CPU is the main unit of a computer. It is alternately referred to as microprocessor.

• It controls all the instructions it from hardware (internal and external devices) and
running on a computer.
• The CPU is a small piece of a silicon chip placed into the CPU socket on the
motherboard.
• It is usually in the shape of a square or rectangle, which contains millions of transistors
that perform a wide variety of functions.
• The speed of CPU is determined by the number of instructions it executes per second
which is measured in Megahertz (mhz).

There are mainly three components of CPU:

• Memory Unit (MU): It is the principal storage of the computer. It stores both data and
instructions when entered. This is of two types – RAM and ROM

• Arithmetic and Logical Unit (ALU): This unit performs the arithmetic and logical
operations like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.

• Control Unit (CU): It controls the operation of every other component of a computer
system. This unit also controls the transfer of data and instructions among other units of
computer.
RAM(Random Access Memory)
• RAM is a type of memory that is available for the operating system, programs, and
processes to use when computer is running.
• It can be accessed randomly at any time.
• Whatever information we enter in the computer, goes into RAM and remains there until
the machine is working.
• It is a volatile memory and therefore data and instructions are stored here temporarily.
• When you switch off your computer or there is some power failure, the data is
completely erased.

Static RAM Dynamic RAM

ROM (Read Only Memory)

• It is a type of memory from which we can only read information but cannot write on it.
• It is a non-volatile memory therefore the information is stored permanently in it even
when the system is powered off.
• Data stored in ROM can neither be modified nor erased easily.
• It stores the instructions required to start a computer.

Example: ROM is like an audio-video disk. Once the songs are burned on a CD, the disc
contents cannot be changed. ROM chips are not only used in the computer but also used
Only Memory in microwave oven and washing machine.

PROM EPROM EEPROM

DISK DRIVE
• A disk drive is a hardware component in a computer that enables users to read, write,
delete, and modify data on a storage disk.
• It is either a built-in or external component of a disk that manages the input/output (I/0)
operations of a disk.
• Disk drives are of several types, such as hard disk drive, CD drive, DVD drive, etc. The
most commonly used disk drive is the Hard Disk drive
SMPS (Switched-Mode Power Supply)

• It is essential for safe running of power consuming electrical and electronic appliances.
• SMPS uses a switching regulator to control and stabilize the output voltage by switching
the load current on or off.
• It transfers electric power from a source (AC mains) to low voltage Direct Current (D.C.)
• It always supplies a well-regulated power to the motherboard and other parts of a
computer and saves power.
• It has a built-in fan to release the excessive heat during the time computer is in use.

HEAT SINK

• A heat sink is an electronic device, which is designed to disperse the heat generated by
the CPU.
• It is made up of metal, such as a copper or aluminum alloy, and normally uses a fan to
keep the processor cool.
• Heat sink is commonly used in all CPUs.

## For further reference, click on the following link (please note that we don't have
the copyright of the link):
https://youtu.be/ExxFxD4OSZ0