What are the Four Main Components of a Computer?

Computers in today’s world find its usage in almost every field and are considered to be machines which have made the life of human beings a lot easier. Ranging from a simple data management system to scientific laboratories, computers have gained a mainstream over the years. They can serve you within a fraction of seconds and come up with the best and reliable results.

A computer is made of a few basic elements which we all call as computer parts or peripherals. Ranging from the best motherboard for i5 8600K to the CPU and input and output units, many elements form the assembly of a computer. Read further to know the main components of a computer:

Basic components of a computer:

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Input unit

Input unit as the name suggests are the basic components through which the user can enter a command for the computer to process. Data can be anything ranging from actions, words, numbers, commands, etc. Input units direct the computer to perform a specific task. The central processing unit further processes the instructions given to the computer making use of input devices. Keyboards, mouse, touch screen, optical character readers, etc. are considered to be the input units of the computer.

Central processing unit (CPU)

Just like what brains are for a human, the CPU is for a computer. Thus, it is sometimes also known as the brain of the computer. The central processing unit receives various kinds of commands and instructions from the various running programs and executes it accordingly. It makes use of arithmetic functions, logical operations, and input and output commands for the execution process. All the applications are completed, making use of the CPU. The CPU can further be divided into three units, namely the arithmetic unit, the control unit, and the decoding unit. The arithmetic unit is in-charge of taking care of all the mathematical calculations and computation. The control unit is used for interpreting the commands and instructions that are sent in a program. The decoding unit is responsible for converting the instructions and commands into the machine language. Nowadays the latest CPU also come in the format of a microprocessor. These are efficient, portable, and comparatively inexpensive in comparison to their earlier counterparts.

Motherboard

Motherboard forms another integral part of a computer; the CPU also has to depend on the motherboard for various purposes. A motherboard can be thought of as PCB (printed circuit board) which is located inside the computer system. Like the CPU is considered as the brain of the computer, the motherboard is considered to be as the spinal cord of the system. The motherboard has sockets in it which acts like a gateway for the connection of various peripherals such as sound card, video cards, hard drive, CPU, microprocessors, etc. It is also connected with the power supply and thus plays a helping hand in distributing the electric voltage evenly to all the components attached to the system. In the absence of a motherboard, a computer cannot function and thus is supposed to provide a platform which helps in the operation of the CPU of a computer. Getting the best motherboard for i5 8600k is mandatory as the motherboard is the place where all the components are compiled. Thus it is necessary to make sure that the parts fit into it and are compatible with the motherboard.

Hard drive/ storage

A computer cannot function without having a storage unit. It serves to be the stomach of the computer, which has the capacity of storing data. A Hard drive serves its functionality in the storage of data that needs to be accessed to run different programs at different times on the computer. Its primary function is to store your important data permanently and improve the data transmission rate.

Conclusion

So, these were the primary units of a computer, there are other additional peripherals also, which helps in the effective functioning of a computer system. Computers involve several key components and their assembly in conjunction forms the integral part, which helps in making the computers functional. Every computer user needs to understand the worth of the various parts of a computer. We believe the above information must have been helpful for you to understand the basics of the primary parts of the computer.