Definitions..

  

Hard Drive – The hard drive is what stores all your data. It houses the hard disk, where all your files and folders are physically located. A typical hard drive is only slightly larger than your hand, yet can hold over 100 GB of data. The data is stored on a stack of disks that are mounted inside a solid encasement. These disks spin extremely fast (typically at either 5400 or 7200 RPM) so that data can be accessed immediately from anywhere on the drive. The data is stored on the hard drive magnetically, so it stays on the drive even after the power supply is turned off.

CPU (Central Processing Unit) – This is the pretty much the brain of the computer. It processes everything from basic instructions to complex functions. Any time something needs to be computed, it gets sent to the CPU. The CPU can also be referred to simply as the “processor.”

Motherboard – Also known as the mainboard or logic board, this is the main circuit board of your computer. This is where you’ll find the CPU, the ROM, memory expansion slots, PCI slots, serial ports, USB ports, and all the controllers for things like the hard drive, DVD drive, keyboard, and mouse. Basically, the motherboard is what makes everything in your computer work together.

Power Supply – Also called a power supply unit or PSU, the component that supplies power to a computer. Most personal computers can be plugged into standard electrical outlets. The power supply then pulls the required amount of electricity and converts the AC current to DC current

PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) – It is a hardware bus designed by Intel and used in both PCs and Macs. Most add-on cards such as SCSI, Firewire, and USB controllers, use a PCI connection. PCI slots are found in the back of your computer and are about 3.5″ long and about 0.5″ high.

PCI Express – PCI Express does not use a parallel bus structure, but instead is a network of serial connections controlled by a hub on the computer’s motherboard. This enables PCI Express cards to run significantly faster than previous PCI cards.

USB (Universal Serial Bus) – USB is the most common type of computer port used in today’s computers. It can be used to connect keyboards, mice, game controllers, printers, scanners, digital cameras, and removable media drives.

Firewire - A standard Firewire connection can transfer data at 400 Mbps, which is roughly 30 times faster than USB 1.1. This blazing speed allows for quick transfers of large files. You may see Firewire referred to by its technical name, IEEE 1394, since it was standardized by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Both terms refer to the same technology.

IEEE-1394 (Institute of Electricaland Electronics Engineers ) – High Performance Serial Bus, is an electronics standard for connecting devices to your personal computer. IEEE 1394 provides a single plug-and-socket connection on which up to 63 devices can be attached with data transfer speeds up to 400 Mbps

LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) – LCDs are super-thin displays that are used in laptop computer screens and flat panel monitors. Smaller LCDs are used in handheld TVs, PDAs, and portable video game devices. The image on an LCD screen is created by sandwiching an electrically reactive substance between two electrodes. This color of this substance can be changed by increasing or reducing the electrical current.

Plasma (in relation to screens) – a type of flat panel display now commonly used for large TV displays. Many tiny cells located between two panels of glass hold an inert mixture of noble gases. The gas in the cells is electrically turned into a plasma which then excites phosphors to emit light.

HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) – HDMI is a digital interface for transmitting audio and video data in a single cable. It is supported by most HDTVs and related components, such as DVD and Blu-ray players, cable boxes, and video game systems. HDMI cables are less prone to interference and signal noise than analog cables.

RAM (Random Access Memory) – RAM is made up of small memory chips that are connected to the motherboard of your computer. Every time you open a program, it gets loaded from the hard drive into the RAM. This is because reading data from the RAM is much faster than reading data from the hard drive.

Flash Memory – Flash memory is a type of electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM). A common use of flash memory is to store the BIOS settings in a computer’s ROM. When the BIOS needs to be changed, the flash memory can be written in blocks, rather than bytes, making it easy to update.

AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) – This is a graphics card expansion port designed by Intel that resides on the motherboard of a computer. AGP ports run at 66 MHz and can transfer data up to 528 MB/sec. This allows games and applications to store and retrieve larger, more realistic 3D shapes and textures without slowing down the animation on the screen. Additionally, AGP cards can store graphics in system memory rather than video memory, which also helps improve performance.

DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) – It can also stand for “Digital Video Disc,” but with the mulitple uses of DVDs, the term “Digital Versatile Disc” is more correct. A DVD is a high-capacity optical disc that looks like a CD, but can store much more information. While a CD can store 650 to 700 MB of data, a single-layer, single-sided DVD can store 4.7 GB of data. This enables massive computer applications and full-length movies to be stored on a single DVD.