The average person believes that a computer can do everything. But a regular PC, located in an apartment or at work in an office, is able to solve a limited number of tasks. He is far from real supercars used by professionals. Therefore, the average person does not quite understand what the computer is intended for.
What is a computer?
A computer is a systematized device, the purpose of which is to solve certain problems through sequential operations. It is used in all Computers come from computers and they have come a long way through the decades, constantly changing and improving.
Purpose of the computer
The original purpose of computers is to solve problems by calculation. In the modern world, such a technique is used in many areas of human life. Consider what a computer is for.
Leisure and entertainment
Users can listen to music in different sound formats, copy it from a computer to a disk, and if they have the necessary programs, create it. Also, using a PC is convenient to watch movies, and having a large monitor and powerful stereo speakers, they can completely replace a home theater. On a computer, you can play games of which there are a myriad of all types and all genres (strategy, shooters, arcades, etc.). You can read books directly from the screen. But the most interesting thing is that, having a powerful computer and certain programs, you can create games and cartoons.
Internet access
If there is Internet access, then there is a connection with the outside world. On the World Wide Web, you can communicate with people from different countries, read any information about everything in the world, play games and much more. This use of the computer by modern man is the most common.
Job
On the computer, you can work, draw up documents, check spelling and spelling, calculate and solve problems, and much more. The most interesting thing is that you can also find work on the Internet, but it is not as easy as it sometimes seems at first glance. Here, too, we need to improve and go to the intended goal.
Connection
In today's world, a computer combines many means of communication. Among them are e-mail, telephones, faxes, messages on social networks, forums, chats. All this happens through the Internet and directly through the computer itself.
Paying bills and purchases
On the Internet there are a huge number of stores where you can buy anything. And besides, the prices there are lower than in ordinary outlets. Also in large cities, utility bills, Internet and mobile communications are sent to e-mail, which is very convenient for modern people.
Storage and deletion of information
Depending on the size of the hard drive memory, it can store certain amounts of information. Photos, videos from life, as well as your favorite music and movies - anything will be on your computer.
Computer in different spheres of human life
Knowing what the computer is intended for, one can understand that in modern society it is necessary in various spheres of human life. For example:
- in medicine (calculations of epidemics, databases of patient incidence, research results, etc.);
- in education (with its help, you can view a large number of pages, watch video tutorials, read books, take tests, make calculations, and much more);
- in the law enforcement sphere (creation of documentation of protocols, operational-search activities, databases of committed crimes and file cabinets for criminals, analysis of substances in a forensic laboratory, and so on);
- in the field of art (drawing, creating music, animation, games, programs, writing books, etc.), etc.
How to use a computer
A ready-to-use computer plus speakers, monitor, keyboard, mouse and surge protector. You also need to make sure that the Windows operating system (or another) is properly installed on your machine. In addition, there are additional devices: modem, fax, printer, webcam, etc. With a laptop, everything is a little different: it is not as large as a PC, and many devices are built into it directly, and it can also work without a connection. to the network. To start the computer, you need to make sure that the network filter is enabled and click on the appropriate button. It is located on the system unit and is marked with a special symbol. This will be followed by turning on the computer, and then loading Windows (or another). Icons are located on the desktop, they are small signed icons. To learn how to use a computer to the fullest, you need to master it well. It is worth going by clicking on the corresponding icon in "My Computer". Depending on how the hard drive is divided in BIOS, the machine may consist of several hard drives. They can store information of various kinds: music, movies, books, and so on. In order to systematize everything (put things in order and sort everything out), you can learn how to create folders inside these disks, and then give them the necessary names. How to do it? By clicking on the right mouse button in an empty place (not on the icon), select the "Create" item and the line - "Folder". Voila, ready! To rename it, double-click on the name, and the text of the name will become selected, press the Backspace key, and the old inscription will be erased, now you can safely enter your folder name using the keyboard. You can do the same with other files.
Required Programs
If you have already figured out what the computer is for, you need to take good care of it. Often, for its proper functioning, a number of programs are needed:
- Antivirus is a very important program so that the computer does not become infected with viruses.
- Archiver - for compressing documents.
- Microsoft Office complex - everything for working with a computer to the fullest: to print, calculate, create presentations, etc.
- Various codecs for watching movies and listening to music.
- Additional software such as DirectX and Microsoft Visual C++: to make games run smoothly on the computer.
Over time, having mastered the technique of using a PC, you can become an ace in this matter.
The main devices of the computer "live" in the system unit. These include: motherboard, processor, video card, RAM, hard drive. But outside of it, usually on the table, no less important computer devices also “live”. Such as: monitor, mouse, keyboard, speakers, printer.
In this article, we will look at What does computer consist of what these devices look like, what function they perform and where they are located.
System unit.
In the first category, we will analyze those devices, or they are also called components that “hide” in the system unit. They are the most important for his work. By the way, you can immediately look into the system unit. It is not difficult. It is enough to unscrew the two bolts at the back of the system unit and move the cover to the side, and then we will see a view of the most important computer devices, in order, which we will now consider.
The motherboard is a printed circuit board that is designed to connect the main components of a computer. Some of them, for example, a processor or a video card, are installed directly on the motherboard itself in a slot designed for this. And the other part of the components, for example, a hard drive or a power supply, is connected to the motherboard using special cables.
The processor is a microchip and at the same time the "brain" of the computer. Why? Because he is responsible for the execution of all operations. The better the processor, the faster it will perform these very operations, respectively, the computer will work faster. The processor of course affects the speed of the computer, and even very strongly, but the speed of the PC will also depend on your hard drive, video card and RAM. So the most powerful processor does not guarantee a high speed of the computer if the rest of the components are outdated.
3. Video card.
A video card, or otherwise a graphics card, is designed to display images on a monitor screen. It is also installed in the motherboard, in a special connector PSI-Express. Less commonly, a video card can be built into the motherboard itself, but its power is most often enough only for office applications and browsing the Internet.
RAM is such a rectangular bar, similar to a cartridge from old game consoles. It is intended for temporary data storage. For example, it stores the clipboard. We copied some text on the site, and immediately it got into the RAM. Information about running programs, computer sleep mode and other temporary data is stored in RAM. A feature of the RAM is that the data from it is completely deleted after the computer is turned off.
A hard drive, unlike RAM, is designed for long-term storage of files. In another way it is called Winchester. It stores data on special plates. SSD drives have also become popular in recent years.
Their features include high speed, but there is immediately a minus - they are expensive. A 64 GB SSD drive will cost you the same price as a 750 GB hard drive. Imagine how much an SSD for several hundred gigabytes will cost. Wo, woo! But do not be upset, you can buy a 64 GB SSD drive and use it as a system drive, that is, install Windows on it. They say that the speed of work increases several times. The system starts very quickly, programs fly. I'm planning to switch to an SSD and keep my regular files on a traditional hard drive.
A disk drive is needed to work with disks. Although it is already much less frequently used, it still does not hurt on desktop computers. At a minimum, a drive will come in handy for installing the system.
6. Cooling systems.
The cooling system is the fans that cool the components. Usually three or more coolers are installed. Be sure to have one on the processor, one on the video card, and one on the power supply, and then on request. If something is warm, then it is desirable to cool. Fans are also installed on hard drives and in the case itself. If the cooler in the case is installed on the front panel, then it takes heat, and the coolers installed on the rear compartment supply cold air to the system.
The sound card outputs sound to the speakers. It is usually built into the motherboard. But it happens that it either breaks down, and therefore it is bought separately, or initially the quality of the standard PC owner is not satisfied and he buys another sound system. In general, the sound card also has the right to be in this list of PC devices.
The power supply is needed in order for all the above computer devices to work. It provides all components with the necessary amount of electricity.
8. Housing
And in order to put the motherboard, processor, video card, RAM, hard drive, floppy drive, sound card, power supply and possibly some additional components somewhere, we need a case. There, everything is neatly installed, twisted, connected and begins daily life, from switching on to switching off. The required temperature is maintained in the case, and everything is protected from damage.
As a result, we get a full-fledged system unit, with all the most important computer devices that are needed for its operation.
Peripherals.
Well, in order to fully start working on a computer, and not look at the “buzzing” system unit, we need Peripherals. These include those computer components that are outside the system unit.
The monitor itself is needed to see what we are working with. The video card sends the image to the monitor. They are connected to each other with a VGA or HDMI cable.
The keyboard is designed to enter information, well, of course, what kind of work without a full-fledged keyboard. Type text, play games, surf the Internet, and everywhere you need a keyboard.
3. Mouse.
The mouse is needed to control the cursor on the screen. Move it in different directions, click, open files and folders, call various functions and much more. Just like without a keyboard, without a mouse, nowhere.
4. Speakers.
Speakers are needed mainly for listening to music, watching movies and playing games. Who else today uses columns more than ordinary users reproduce them daily in these tasks.
A printer and a scanner are needed to print and scan documents and everything that is needed in the field of printing. Or MFP, multifunctional device. It will come in handy for all those who often print, scan, make photocopies and do many other tasks with this device.
In this article, we only briefly reviewed the main computer devices, and in others, links to which you see below, we will take a closer look at all the most popular peripheral devices, as well as components that are part of the system unit, that is, components.
Enjoy reading!
– Igor (Administrator)In this article for beginners and ordinary users, I will consider what the computer is intended for, as well as the nuances associated with it.
The computer industry is developing very quickly. Therefore, various unnatural horizons are often attributed to computers, such as the ability to create powerful artificial intelligence using an ordinary home computer. For the most part, this comes from ignorance. Therefore, in the following, I will try to describe a few commonly encountered areas so that you, as a reader, can better understand the capabilities of these computing boxes.
I also advise you to read the articles:
Consider what a computer is for
Before considering what a computer is intended for, I would like to remind you once again that a computer is a computing device that only allows you to execute commands transmitted to it. Moreover, these commands can form cycles, algorithms, and so on. However, this is just a set of zeros and ones set by a person. And even today's artificial intelligences are only complex computing devices built on the basis of the theory of neural networks (in a way, complex corrective variable multi-weighted algorithms for choosing subsequent actions or commands to be executed, but still algorithms). Therefore, you should not attribute unusual characteristics and capabilities to them.
So, here is what a computer can be used for (the most common ones):
1. Information search (training). You need to find out something, today there is the Internet, where you can find the necessary information in just a few clicks of the mouse.
2. Information analysis. As I said before, a computer is just an electric box, but a fast box. Therefore, instead of grinding a huge amount of information by ourselves, it can be entrusted to a computer. For example, almost everyone has heard of databases. At their core, these are the same notebooks and diaries with a bunch of lines of scribbles. However, the advantage of a computer is that it can find and calculate information from a thousand or more such books in a second, while a person can spend hours, days and weeks on this.
3. Creation. It is important to understand that it is not a computer that creates, but a person. The computer only acts as a convenient tool. Illustrative examples - graphic editor And office packages that make the process much easier. For example, you do not need to rewrite sheets of paper, you can correct, copy, add or delete text where you need it.
4. Manage other devices. Everyone has seen videos or images of electronic-mechanical devices (for example, machine tools) that perform a certain set of actions according to a given algorithm. There, of course, specific computers other than home computers can be used, but they are still computers.
5. Communication and communication. Today, there are many variations for connecting computers to each other (not only the Internet) through wires or without them (the same WiFi). At the same time, the speed of electronic signal exchange is so high that it allows people to communicate from different parts of the world in real time without any problems. That is why today computers are often used for both business and personal communication.
6. Entertainment. A man would not be a man if he did not adapt an excellent computing device for entertainment. Therefore, today you can easily enjoy many fruits of these human efforts. Video, music, computer games and more.
So, what does our usual personal computer (PC) consist of, which we use at home or at work.
Consider its hardware (“hardware”):
- system unit (that big box that is on your desk or under the desk, on the side of it, etc.). It contains all the main components of the computer.
- peripherals(such as monitor, keyboard, mouse, modem, scanner, etc.).
The system unit in the computer is the "master". If you carefully unscrew the screws from its back wall, remove the side panel and look inside, then only in appearance its device will seem complicated. Now I will briefly describe its device, and then I will describe the main elements in the most understandable language.
The following elements are placed in the system block (not necessarily all at once):
- Power unit
- Hard disk drive (HDD)
- Floppy Disk Drive (FDD)
- CD or DVD drive (CD/DVD ROM)
- Connectors for additional devices (ports) on the rear (sometimes on the front) panel, etc.
- System board (it is more often called motherboard), which, in turn, contains:
- microprocessor;
- math coprocessor;
- clock pulse generator;
- memory chips(RAM, ROM, Cache, CMOS)
- controllers (adapters) of devices: keyboards, drives, etc.
- sound, video and network cards;
- timer, etc.
All of them are connected to the motherboard using connectors (slots). Its elements highlighted in bold are discussed below.
And now, in order about the system unit:
1 . Everything is clear with the power supply: it powers the computer. Let me just say that the higher its power rating, the cooler it is.
2. A hard disk drive (HDD - hard disk drive) is commonly called a hard drive.
This nickname originated from the slang name for the first 16 KB hard drive (IBM, 1973), which had 30 tracks of 30 sectors, which coincidentally coincided with the 30/30 caliber of the famous Winchester hunting rifle. The capacity of this drive is usually measured in gigabytes: from 20 GB (on older computers) to several Terabytes (1TB = 1024 GB). The most common hard drive capacity is 250-500 GB. The speed of operations depends on the rotational speed (5400-10000 rpm). Depending on the type of connection between the hard drive and the motherboard, ATA and IDE are distinguished.
3 . A floppy disk drive (FDD) is nothing more than floppy disk drive. Their standard capacity is 1.44 MB with a diameter of 3.5 "(89 mm). As a storage medium, magnetic disks use magnetic materials with special properties that allow fixing two magnetic states, each of which is associated with binary digits: 0 and 1.
4 . Optical disc drives (CD-ROM) come in different diameters (3.5" and 5.25") and capacities. The most common of them - with a capacity of 700 MB. It happens that CD discs can be used for recording only 1 time (then they are called R), and it is more profitable to use rewritable RW discs.
DVD originally stood for Digital Video Disk. Despite the name, you can burn anything to DVDs, from music to data. Therefore, in recent years, another decoding of this name is increasingly common - Digital Versatile Disk, loosely translated meaning "digital universal disk". The main difference between DVDs and CDs is the amount of information that can be recorded on such a medium. A DVD disc can contain from 4.7 to 13, and even up to 17 Gb. This is achieved in several ways. Firstly, a laser with a shorter wavelength is used to read DVDs than to read CDs, which has significantly increased the recording density. Secondly, the standard provides for the so-called dual-layer discs, in which data is recorded on one side in two layers, with one layer translucent, and the second layer is read "through" the first. This made it possible to write data to both sides of DVDs, thus doubling their capacity, which is sometimes done.
5 . Other additional devices can be connected to the personal computer ( mouse, printer, scanner and other). Connection is made through ports - special connectors on the rear panel.
Ports are parallel (LPT), serial (COM), and universal serial (USB). On a serial port, information is transmitted bit by bit (more slowly) over a small number of wires. A mouse and a modem are connected to the serial port. A parallel port transmits information simultaneously over a large number of wires corresponding to the number of bits. A printer and an external hard drive are connected to the parallel port. The USB port is used to connect a wide range of peripheral devices - from a mouse to a printer. It is also possible to exchange data between computers.
6. The main computer devices (processor, RAM, etc.) are located on motherboard.
Microprocessor (simpler - processor) - the central unit of a PC, designed to control the operation of all blocks of the machine and to perform arithmetic and logical operations on information.
Its main characteristics are bit depth (the higher it is, the higher the computer performance) and clock frequency (largely determines the speed of the computer). The clock frequency indicates how many elementary operations (cycles) the processor performs in one second.
Intel Pentium processors and its economy version Celeron are respected on the market, and their competitors are also valued - AMD Athlon with Duron economy variant. Intel processors are characterized by high reliability, low heat generation and compatibility with all software and hardware. And AMD show great speed with graphics and games, but are less reliable.
Computer memory can be internal or external. External memory devices include the already considered HDD, FDD, CD-ROM, DVD-ROM. Internal memory includes read-only memory (ROM, ROM English), random access memory (RAM, RAM English), CACHE.
ROM is designed to store permanent program and reference information (BIOS - Basic Input-Output System - basic input-output system).
RAM has a high speed and is used by the processor for short-term storage of information while the computer is running.
When the power supply is turned off, no information is stored in RAM. For the normal functioning of a computer these days, it is desirable to have from 1 GB to 3 GB of RAM.
Cache memory is an operational super-fast intermediate memory.
CMOS memory - CMOS RAM (Complementary Metall-Oxide Semiconductor RAM). It stores computer configuration settings that are checked each time the system is turned on. To change the configuration settings for your computer, the BIOS contains the computer configuration program, SETUP.
Sound, video and network cards can be either built into the motherboard or external. External boards can always be replaced, while if the integrated graphics card fails, you will have to change the entire motherboard. From video cards, I trust ATI Radeon and Nvidia. The higher the video card memory, the better.
Peripherals
The computer consists of 6 groups of keys:
- Alphanumeric;
- Controls (Enter, Backspace, Ctrl, Alt, Shift, Tab, Esc, Caps Lock, Num Lock, Scroll Lock, Pause, Print Screen);
- Functional (F1-F12);
- Numeric keypad;
- Cursor control (->,<-, Page Up, Page Down, Home, End, Delete, Insert);
- Light indicators of functions (Caps Lock, Num Lock, Scroll Lock).
Mouse (mechanical, optical). Most programs use two of the three mouse buttons. The left key is the main one, it controls the computer. It plays the role of the Enter key. The functions of the right key depend on the program. In the middle is a scroll wheel, which you quickly get used to.
The modem is a network adapter. It can be both external and internal.
The scanner automatically reads from paper media and enters any printed texts and images into the PC.
The microphone is used to input sound into the computer.
(display) is designed to display information on the screen. Most often, modern PCs use SVGA monitors with a resolution (the number of dots placed horizontally and vertically on the monitor screen) of 800 * 600, 1024 * 768, 1280 * 1024, 1600 * 1200 with up to 16.8 million colors.
Monitor screen size is 15 to 22 inches diagonally, but 17 inches (35.5 cm) is most common. Dot size (grain) - from 0.32 mm to 0.21 mm. The smaller it is, the better.
PCs equipped with television monitors (CRTs) are no longer as popular. Of these, monitors with low radiation levels (Low Radiation) should be preferred. Liquid crystal displays (LCDs) are more secure and most computers have one.
Designed for printing text and graphics. Printers are dot matrix, inkjet and laser. In dot matrix printers, the image is formed from dots in an impact way. Inkjet printers in the print head instead of needles have thin tubes - nozzles through which the smallest droplets of ink are ejected onto the paper. Inkjet printers also perform color printing by mixing primary colors. Dignity - high quality printing, disadvantage - the danger of drying ink, the high cost of consumables.
Laser printers use electrographic imaging. The laser is used to create an ultra-thin light beam that traces the contours of an invisible dot electronic image on the surface of a pre-charged photosensitive drum. After developing the electronic image with dye (toner) powder adhering to the discharged areas, printing is performed - transferring the toner from the drum to paper and fixing the image on paper by heating the toner until it melts. Laser printers provide the most high quality printing at high speeds. Color laser printers are widely used.
Speakers output sound. The sound quality depends - again - on the power of the speakers and the material from which the cabinets are made (preferably wood) and its volume. An important role is played by the presence of a phase inverter (a hole on the front panel) and the number of bands of reproducible frequencies (high, medium and low speakers on each speaker).
USB flash drives, in my opinion, have become the most versatile means of transferring information. This miniature device is smaller and weighs less than a lighter. It has high mechanical strength, is not afraid of electromagnetic radiation, heat and cold, dust and dirt.
The most sensitive part of the drive is the connector covered with a cap. These devices range from 256 MB to 32 GB, allowing you to choose the storage capacity you need according to your needs. Thanks to the interface, the USB drive can be connected to any modern computer. It works with Windows 98SE/Me/2000/XP/Vista/7, Mac OS 8.6 ~ 10.1, Linux 2.4 operating systems. In Windows, you don’t even need to install any drivers: plug it into a USB port and work.
Needed to enter a dynamic image into a computer and sound (for communication and the possibility of creating teleconferencing).
Uninterruptable power source needed in the event of a power outage.
Phuff, well, in my opinion, that's all the main thing that I wanted to tell you about the computer hardware, the so-called hardware.
The article "Computer Device" was written quite a long time ago. Therefore, if you find an error or find some inaccuracy, please write about it using the comment form. We will be very grateful to you!
