cK-Gunslinger's Journal: Explaining PC components to *the common man* =)

I often find myself explaining to non-technical people what a common piece of PC hardware does, or why they need it, or why it needs updating. I've decided to create a small (~2 pages) document that I can leave with people who are wanting a new PC or want to upgrade their old one. My hope is to create something that will clear up any confusions they may have and perhaps "raise them up" to a platform where they can confidently discuss PC hardware related issues with tech support, sales staff, etc. Some of the common components are listed (along with an image) and briefly described.

Feel free to bash me or add suggestions that you have found to be effective in helping people (your mother?) understand these concepts. I know that I use to have a RAM vs Harddrive issue when I first began working with PCs (it's both memory, right?), so I have tried to include that distinction here. Any more? What about the level of complexity (too technical, too simple) used?

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Case
The PC case is the typically box-shaped object that houses all the computer components. The case provides an ON/OFF power switch in the front, as well as drive bays that allow access to the FLOPPY and CDROM drives. The rear of the case provides openings for the various connectors used to attach other components, such as the MONITOR, PRINTER, KEYBOARD, and MOUSE. Cases can differ greatly in style, color, material and price.

Power Supply
The Power Supply (PS) sits inside the case (typically in the upper-rear) and is used to convert the AC power (from your wall outlet) to the DC power needed by the various internal components of the PC. The PS typically has an exhaust fan that is used to keep the unit cool. Power supplies are rated by their power output in watts. As new computers become faster and more powerful, they tend to need more power (300W or greater) to run reliably.

Motherboard
The motherboard (MB) sits on the inside back wall of your case and is used to connect all the various components to each other. The MB has various slots and sockets that are used to connect the CPU, RAM, VIDEO CARD, etc and contains all the necessary wiring to allow all these devices to talk to each other as needed. The MB is connected directly to the Power Supply and uses that connection to feed power to the other components.

CPU
The CPU (also known as the Processor) is often referred to as the "brains" of the computer. It is where all the processing of the PC takes place. Its job is to run your programs (word processor, spreadsheet, games) as fast as it can. The speed of the CPU is measured in MHz (megahertz) and GHz (gigahertz) with 1000 MHz equaling 1 GHz. While other factors also affect speed, a faster CPU usually results in faster response times while using the PC (opening programs, running games, etc.)

Hard Drive
The Hard Drive (also known as Disk Drive or Hard Disk Drive) serves as the permanent storage location for the PC. All your documents, pictures, music, games, etc are stored on you hard drive and remain there even when the PC is turned off. The hard drive can be thought of as a large filing cabinet, where you can organize and store all your important files. The size of a hard drive is measured in GB (gigabytes), with more gigabytes allowing you to store more data and files.

RAM
RAM or "memory" is often confused with hard drive space. If we continue to use the analogy of a hard drive as a large filing cabinet, then we can consider RAM our desk space. When we pull files from the filing cabinet (hard drive) we place them on our desktop (RAM) to work with. The larger the desk we have, the more files we can have open at the same time. Similarly, the more memory (RAM) we have, the more programs we can run simultaneously. Unlike hard drive space, however, whatever is in RAM is lost when the power is shut off, which is why it is a good idea to save your files often. It's like making a copy of your file and putting it back in the filing cabinet, just in case you lose your working copy! RAM is measured in MB (megabytes) and GB (gigabytes) with 1024 MB equaling 1 GB.

Video Card
The Video Card (or graphics card) is attached to the motherboard (via an AGP or PCI slot) and has a connector for your MONITOR. It is used to send all the images from your PC to be displayed on your monitor. Some newer 3D games require a 3D video card, which is a video card that contains a small CPU and some extra RAM. This small CPU (sometimes called a GPU) does some of the specialized computations required to draw 3D pictures and can relieve your computer's main CPU of some processing work. The net result is that a faster 3D video card can make compatible games run faster and look smoother.

Sound Card
The Sound Card is attached to the motherboard (via a PCI slot) and has connectors for your speakers. Some newer motherboards have built-in sound and simply provide speaker connections without the need for a separate card. The major distinction between sound cards is how many speakers they support. Some support 2 speakers for stereo sound, while some support 4, 5, or even 6 speakers for surround sound while gaming or watching movies.

Modem
A modem is a device for connecting to the Internet through your phone line and a dial-up account with your service provider (ISP.) It may plug into your motherboard or be a small external box. Almost all newer modems operate at the maximum speed of 56Kbps (often called 56K, for short.) The major distinction between modems is whether they are software (WinModems) or hardware based. Software based modems typically only work under Microsoft Windows OSs and use part of your CPU for its operation, whereas hardware based modems don't consume your PC's resources, but cost a good deal more.

Floppy Drive
A Floppy Drive (or Floppy Disk Drive) is accessible from the front of your PC case and attaches to the motherboard via a ribbon cable. The drive can read from and write to small (3.5") floppy disks. A floppy disk can only hold about 1.44 MB (megabytes) of data, yet is still useful for transferring small files and documents between two PCs.

CD-ROM / CD-RW Drive
A CD-ROM or CD-RW Drive is accessible from the front of your PC case and attaches to the motherboard via a ribbon cable. A CD-ROM is capable of reading CD (both audio and data), whereas a CD-RW is capable of both reading from and writing to CDs. CD-ROMs are designated by their read speeds, expressed as a number follow by an x (ex: 48x or 52x.) CR-RWs are designated by 3 values that correspond to their write, rewrite, and read speeds, respectively (ex: 52x44x48x.) A CD-RW that can write at 48x can typically fill a 650MB CD in less than 3 minutes.

Network Card
If your computer will be part of a network or attached directly to other computers, it will need a network card. This card attaches to the motherboard (some are built into the motherboards directly) and provides a connector for your network cable. Cards are designated by their maximum data rate or how fast they can send and receive data to and from other computers on the network. A card may support 10Mbs (megabits/second), 100Mbs, 1Gb (gigabits/second) or a combination of the three.

Monitor
The Monitor is the PC component we are most familiar with, because we stare at it when we're using the PC! Monitors come in 2 varieties: conventional CRTs (the bulky displays, similar to TVs) and the newer LCDs (the ultra-thin displays.) They also come in a variety of sizes ranging from 15" to more than 21".