Whether you’re into computer gaming, data science or video editing, the best hardware can provide the performance you need. But what exactly are the parts that make up a PC?
The heart of a computer is the central processing unit, or CPU, which takes instructions from software and makes calculations. Other important hardware includes RAM and disk drives, which store large amounts of data.
Motherboard
A motherboard is the physical core of a computer. It supports different components like a backbone, acts as a control center and moves voltage like a circulatory system. It also has expansion slots for performance-critical devices like GPUs.
The CPU socket on a motherboard provides a place to install the microprocessor (the mechanical “brain” of a computer) and enables data communication between the processor and other critical hardware components installed in the computer case via the motherboard’s data buses.
Motherboards are available in many different form factors depending on the computer that you’re building or upgrading. Standard ATX motherboards are used in desktop computers, while microATX and mini-ITX boards are popular for small form factor PCs. They’re usually populated with multiple ports that work with external devices like peripherals and speakers.
RAM
RAM is where your computer stores information it’s currently working with, like applications and files. It’s volatile memory, meaning it retains data only as long as the computer has power.
RAM takes the form of chips or modules that plug into sockets on a motherboard. Laptops and mini PCs typically use a variant called SODIMM (Small Outline Dual In-line Memory Module), which is more compact and uses less power than the DIMM sticks found on desktop computers.
Most modern motherboards support two or four DIMM slots known as “channels” that run most efficiently when paired with identical sets of RAM. For the best performance, look for DIMMs with a clock speed matching your CPU’s clock. This will reduce wait times for data to transfer into and from the RAM, making your system more responsive.
CPU
The CPU is the brains of your computer. It interprets instructions from the software programs you use, like your web browser or word processor. It completes calculations to make all the hardware components work together – from the hard drives and RAM that store data to the GPU, which renders graphics and video for games and video editing.
Within the CPU, there are a number of parts that perform specific functions: the control unit reads and follows instructions, the arithmetic logic unit does math and logical operations, and the immediate access storage holds temporary data and instructions used during processing. Registers and cache memory speed up the processor’s processing capabilities.
High-performance CPUs are designed for demanding applications and have higher core counts, larger cache sizes, and advanced instruction sets. They’re a great choice for gamers, video editors, and power users.
Graphics Card
GPUs, or Graphics Processing Units, are responsible for rendering the image you see on your monitor. They are vital for gaming, video editing and graphic design. They also help with parallel computing tasks such as data analysis and machine learning. Integrated GPUs (built into the CPU) are sufficient for most casual users but more advanced gamers and video editors require dedicated graphics cards to get the best performance from their system.
Dedicated graphics cards are often connected to the motherboard via a PCI Express (PCIe) or Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) expansion slot. These allow for high transfer bandwidth capabilities. GPUs may use Hybrid Memory Architecture, wherein the GPU shares RAM with the CPU. This eliminates the need for a static split of memory between a physically separate pool and addresses space and allows the GPU to leverage the full capacity of the available RAM.
Hard Drives
Hard disks (or HDDs) store program files, documents, pictures, video and music, among other digital content. They are non-volatile, which means that they retain data even when power is off.
Internal hard drives reside in a drive bay connected to the motherboard via an internal cable interface, such as IDE/ATA, PATA or SATA. AHCI and NVMe are newer standards that enable faster data transfer rates.
The physical platters are housed in an air-sealed case. The mechanical arm moves the read/write heads over the platter surfaces, transferring information one sector at a time. This adds up to a data rate of 5 to 40 megabytes per second, and seek times that are measured in milliseconds. This is why many computer users choose to install an SSD instead of an HDD.