Hardware ComponentsStuff you can touch and feel

• Input devices• Keyboard, mouse, digital camera, mic

• Output devices• Monitor (screen), printer, projector, speakers

• Processor - CPU/Microprocessor • Intel Pentium

• Storage devices• Hard drive, CDROM, DVD, floppy

• Memory / RAM• Bus

• Connects the internal components of a personal computer

Information Flow

Users

Input

Output

ProcessorMemory Storage

Software

• The Operating System– Microsoft Windows XP, NT, 2000, 95, 98– Unix / Linux / Solaris– Macintosh

• Application Software– Word processor, spreadsheet, database– Games, browser, image software, music

software

Processor - CPU/Microprocessor

• The “brains” of the computer• Intel Pentium 4 is currently the

most popular• Current speeds 1.5 – 3.0 GHz (Giga Hertz)

– A Giga Hertz is a billion cycles per second.

• Others include:• Intel Pentium, Celeron, Itanium, Xeon; AMD Athlon, Duron• Motorola PowerPC

• Older ones include:• Intel 8080, 286, 386, 486, Pentium I, II, III

Memory / RAM

• Used for fast but temporary storage for what the computer is currently working on.

• The info goes away when the power goes away.

• Most computers today have 128 – 512 Megs (Mega Bytes) of RAM.

Storage

• Hard drive 10-100 Gigs Fast• CDROM 640 Megs (Read Only)

– CD-R (Write Once)– CD-RW (Read/Write)

• DVD 4-16 Gigs• Flash Cards 4 Megs – 1 Gig

Used for digital cameras and MP3 players

• Floppy 1.4 Megs Slow / Cheap