A computer’s internal hardware includes the central processing unit (CPU), random-access memory (RAM) and storage devices. The motherboard coordinates these components and manages essential functions like power management and the BIOS boot sequence.
The chipset — a silicon backbone integrated into the motherboard that works with specific CPU generations — relays communications between the processor and slower I/O devices like storage and USB ports. It also supports features such as multi-threading, allowing each core to execute multiple tasks simultaneously.
Motherboard
A motherboard is the central hub of all internal computer hardware. It connects and communicates with other components, like the central processing unit (CPU), RAM and storage. It also sends electricity to each component.
Motherboards typically include a CPU socket for the computer’s processor; RAM slots that accept dual in-line memory modules (DIMM); and expansion slots for graphics cards, sound cards and LAN cards. They also have ports for connecting storage devices, such as hard disk drives and solid-state drives (SSDs), as well as connectivity cards, including USB 3.1, 3.2 and 4.0, and Thunderbolt.
Most modern motherboards offer a feature called TPM 2.0, or Trusted Platform Module. This tamper-resistant technology helps protect against ransomware attacks and firmware hacking. Also look for PCI-Express x16 connections for graphics cards and other high-speed expansion slots, as well as legacy PCI and a varying number of M.2 slots for SSDs.
Processor
The CPU (Central Processing Unit) is the brain of a computer, telling other hardware components like screens, disk drives, and graphics cards what to do. It’s the component that turns your input into output and controls how fast your system runs. It’s made of tiny, high-speed chips that execute and interpret instructions—usually a combination of arithmetic operations and logic (comparisons)—and can have one or more cores for multitasking. [50] Its control unit fetches and decodes instructions, manages memory resources, and directs data flow between the processor and other hardware. Its arithmetic logic unit performs basic math functions such as addition and subtraction, while its registers are small, high-speed memory units that store frequently used data close to the CPU for faster access. [51] It communicates with other components using a communication bus, traditionally coordinated by a northbridge chip that links the CPU to memory and high-speed peripherals, and a southbridge chip handling I/O with slower devices like storage and USB ports.
Graphics Card
Graphics cards (also called video cards) convert binary data from the CPU into pixels — tiny squares of color that combine to make computer images on monitors and displays. The more pixels in an image, the higher its resolution; a typical HD image has twice as many as a standard one, for example.
Modern graphics cards are highly sophisticated devices that in some ways behave like stand-alone computers. They not only render ordinary 2D graphics, but also advanced 3D images for computer games. They’re indispensable for photo, video, and graphics production applications, too, as they offload computationally demanding tasks such as ray tracing and resolution scaling from the CPU to the GPU, dramatically increasing rendering performance and graphical realism.
A discrete graphics card slips into a slot on the motherboard, and is usually connected to the monitor with an HDMI, DisplayPort, or DVI cable. Laptops, on the other hand, typically include integrated GPUs that are built into the motherboard and cannot be replaced.
Hard Drives
The hard drive is where your documents, pictures, music, videos, programs and operating system are stored. It’s a non-volatile storage device, meaning it retains its data when the computer is turned off.
A typical HDD has a motor that spins disc-like objects called platters, which have thousands of subdivisions that accept electric charges. The platters are accessed by an actuator arm equipped with magnetic read/write heads. The head is guided by a printed circuit board that connects it to amplifier electronics.
The electronics decode raw analog voltages from the read head and convert them into digital data that’s presented on a standard interface. The electronics also perform other tasks like bad sector remapping and Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology (SMART) maintenance. Modern drives connect to the system over a single data/control cable.
Memory
Random access memory (RAM) holds code and data actively used by the CPU, in a hierarchy optimized for speed and predicted reuse. The highest level, registers inside the processor, offers fastest access, with caches storing less frequently used data at greater capacity.
Memory modules come in various forms, with most desktop PCs fitting SDRAM, which operates in synchronisation with the CPU’s clock cycle to reduce wait times and improve performance. Some computers use solid-state drives (SSDs), which store data using nonmagnetic flash memory, and are therefore faster, more durable and energy efficient than HDDs.
The chipset on a motherboard controls communication between the CPU and other components, and is traditionally divided into two chips — the “Northbridge” towards the top of the motherboard, and the “Southbridge” toward the bottom, which connects to higher speed memory and I/O slots, while handling communications with slower devices such as storage and USB ports.