Dear friends, in today’s lesson we will look at the components of a computer in order to firmly know and, most importantly, understand the principle of interaction of these components.

It is these constituent components that are located inside the unit that are collectively called the system unit. The rest of the devices, such as a monitor, peripherals, and a mouse, are external components or devices. Moreover, each of the components performs its own specific function, for example, a monitor is designed to display information on the display, a keyboard is designed to enter information, a printer is designed to output information displayed on a computer display onto paper.

I believe that every user wants to understand their computer equipment themselves, namely, independently carry out preventive maintenance on their computer, have an idea of ​​​​the structure of the computer, and also quickly find and correct faults that caused a malfunction. After all, the ability to understand the computer itself begins with the purchase of the computer itself, since the user must decide on the functional purpose of his computer. When buying a computer, you need to clearly decide what you need it for?

The selection of a computer directly depends on the choice of configuration of the components. You can buy the first computer you come across, “stuffed” with high configuration requirements, which will not match the work you do on it, and you, of course, will pay a high price for it. Why, you ask? After all, the easiest way is to have at least the slightest idea about a computer by sufficiently studying its components, requirements, as well as the selection of system elements to ensure that there are no conflicts in the computer.

Well, okay, it's time to move on to studying these very components of a computer. Well, if you are interested in the history of the creation of the computer, then you.

– is the central part of the computer, which includes the power supply and components that ensure the functioning of the computer.

1. – provides electrical power to all components of the system unit. It is worth noting that at the time of writing this lesson, power supplies with a power of 450, 550 and 750 W are produced. For example, it is advisable to use power supplies with a power of 1500 W in servers. When buying a power supply, first of all, you need to take into account the requirements for the video card. If the power supply matches the parameters of the video card, then the power distribution occurs evenly for other elements of the system.

2. - is considered the “base” of the computer, since it is the motherboard that integrates and functions all the components of the computer. The motherboard is also called the system board or main board. This coordinated operation is ensured thanks to the chipset, which mainly consists of two chips called the north and south bridge. So, I propose to consider these two microcircuits.

Northbridge is a system controller that contains logic elements to ensure the interconnection and operation of the main components of a computer (video card, memory modules).

South bridge is a peripheral controller that serves as a kind of input/output device for connecting additional components. For example, the keyboard is provided with a connection to the system via the south bridge. Therefore, when you choose a computer for yourself, it is advisable to find out what chipset the motherboard was made on. Currently, chipsets are produced by such large companies: Nvidia, ATI/AMD, Intel, SiS. That is chipset on the motherboard should be made by a more well-known company. The figure shows a view of the motherboard.

The overall dimensions of motherboards vary. There is such a thing as a board form factor, which determines not only the dimensions of the main board, but also the configuration of the arrangement of elements and connectors on the board. Based on the form factor of the main board, the system unit case is selected.

As you can see, the board contains various types of connectors and slots for connecting, for example, external, additional devices (starting with a flash drive and ending with a printer, scanner). In addition, the board contains contacts for connecting various buttons, such as power, reboot, microphone, and displaying indicators.

It should also be noted that there is a ROM chip on the motherboard or, as it is also called, a basic input-output system BIOS(Basic Input Output System). BIOS is considered the foundation for the management and interaction of all elements of the system unit. In other words, the process of starting a computer and ensuring interaction with external devices occurs due to certain settings that are pre-installed in the system itself.

For example, in the BIOS we can set a ban on reading and recognizing flash drives and optical disks, and also completely change the boot order of the operating system. Moreover, the BIOS itself can start even if there is no hard drive in the system unit. There is also such a thing as “resetting the BIOS”, what does this mean? I answer you that resetting the BIOS means returning the system to its original settings. To reset, just remove the battery from the motherboard for 10-15 minutes. There is only one battery on the board, I think you will find it, you won’t be mistaken.
3. – is the main part of the computer, we can say that it is the “brain” of the computer, which performs calculations and information processing. The processor is characterized by two parameters:

1. Bit capacity – the amount of information processed by the processor at one time.

2. Speed ​​– the frequency with which this processing occurs. Currently, two, three, or four processors are widely used to increase these parameters. For example, a dual-core processor has two processors located on the same chip.

4. Video card – serves as a kind of link for connecting the monitor with the motherboard. The main purpose of a video card in a computer is to process graphic information. A video card is also called a graphics editor. Currently, video card manufacturers are the American company Nvidia (also known as GeForce) and the Canadian ATI Technologies. Video cards from ATI Technologies are also called Radeon. Next, let's look at the main parts of the graphics adapter:

1. Graphics processor – a processor whose main task is to perform all kinds of calculations in order to display specified graphic information on the display.

2. Video controller – ensures the formation and transmission of data from video memory to a digital-to-analog converter (DAC).

3. Video memory - serves as a cache memory where images displayed on the display are temporarily stored.

4. Digital-to-analog converter (DAC) - the main task is to convert the digital signals of the video card into analog.

5. Video - (read-only memory) - is a microcircuit that stores certain rules and algorithms to ensure operation and interaction with other elements of the board.

6. Radiators are a cooling system that removes heat from the video processor and video memory to ensure a given temperature regime on the video card elements.

5. RAM modules (random access memory devices) - are boards with microcircuits placed on them. The main task of RAM is to temporarily store data for the processor. In other words, RAM processes processor commands. RAM modules can be positioned on the board depending on the motherboard configuration.

The speed of RAM is represented by its bus frequency. There are the following types of RAM: SDRAM, DDR2, DDR3.

RAM modules are installed in special connectors on the motherboard, called slots.

In addition, it should be noted that the main characteristics of RAM are processing speed and volume. When purchasing a computer, the amount of RAM should be appropriate depending on the purpose of the computer, as well as the installed operating system. If the computer does not have enough RAM, then when running resource-intensive applications, the computer’s performance will significantly decrease, since the computer will turn into a state due to lack of memory.

6. Winchester (Hard Drive) is a device in which all our data is stored. Compared to RAM, data on a hard drive is stored permanently, even after rebooting or shutting down the computer. By design, a hard drive is a small board on which microcircuits are located, as well as one or more plates that rotate at high speed and an engine that ensures the rotation of the plates. It is characterized by high reliability, durability and low cost.

There is also another type of storage device - an SSD (solid-state drive), which differs from a hard drive in that it has no moving parts. This type of device has low energy consumption, small dimensions compared to hard drives, and no noise. But the cost of such information storage devices largely exceeds the cost of hard drives, and they fail much more often.

Let us list the main characteristics of storage devices:

1. Data storage capacity - this parameter determines the amount of information that can fit on the disk.

2. Spindle speed - represents the number of revolutions the plate makes in one minute. The characteristic determines such parameters as reliability and performance. It should be noted that in desktop computers the spindle speed is up to 15,000 rpm. If you are buying a laptop, I recommend that you pay attention to the spindle rotation speed (the lower the better) in order to ensure that you can work at the computer without noise and vibration.

3. Interconnection with the main board - involves a method of connection to the main board. The first hard drives were connected using the PATA interface. Currently, it is becoming increasingly popular SATA interface.

7. – designed to connect several computers together using cables (twisted pair) for the purpose of data exchange.

8. Optical drive(CD-ROM, DVD-RW) the purpose of the drive is to read and write data, depending on the configuration of the drive itself. Information is recorded on a CD in the form of tracks that have indentations (called pits) and gaps (called lands). Data reading is carried out using a laser.

It should also be noted that there is a so-called optical media Blue ray Disc (which means blue ray). It differs from previous media in that recording and reading are carried out using a blue laser, as well as the ability to increase the volume of recorded information.

9. Other devices– here you can list devices that are designed to perform additional tasks (webcam, TV tuner, microphone, etc.)
This concludes this lesson, I hope the information in this lesson was useful for you and you learned what components your computer consists of! See you in the next lesson!

You will find out what components a laptop consists of in this video.

Do you want to learn how to understand computer components without the help of specialists and improve your computer yourself? To do this, you will need basic knowledge of the internal structure of a PC, which you will gain by reading this article.

In the era of the 90s, when the personal computer market in Russia was just beginning to emerge, the few companies that sold computer equipment mainly offered customers already assembled system units. For the most part, they were assembled there in the office, on the knees, to the buyer’s order from components that God sent, and the quality of this very notorious assembly directly depended on the direct hands of the assembler. But did anyone pay attention to this at that time? There were practically no branded solutions on the market, and even such a homemade version of a home computer was rare and very expensive.

At the turn of the century, the situation in the computer industry changed dramatically. The active development of IT technologies has led to rapid growth of high-tech production in Asia. A large flow of all kinds of components and peripherals poured into the market, creating conditions for healthy competition, which led to a significant reduction in prices for computer hardware, and this in turn gave a powerful impetus to the mass distribution of PCs. Computer stores began to multiply like mushrooms, attracting customers with ever new types of services, among which one of the most popular was custom PC assembly. Its essence was that the buyer himself chose the components for his future computer and after an hour, an hour and a half, he picked it up from the store in assembled form.

The most advanced users have gone even further. It was during this period that assembling a system unit with one’s own hands began to be actively practiced, fortunately there were enough all kinds of publications related to this topic. This way to get the coveted home computer was significantly cheaper than buying a ready-made solution (at least you didn’t have to pay for assembly). Another advantage of “self-assembly” is the ability to select components of a certain manufacturer and quality, without being tied to the assortment of one store. Having assembled the computer yourself, in the future you could easily upgrade it (improve it) or simply replace/add any components without fear of losing the warranty, since in this case it was for each part separately. But when purchasing a ready-made “system unit”, all the components inside it were sealed with stickers, the tearing of which, as a rule, was a reason for refusing to fulfill your warranty obligations in the event of any malfunctions.

Recently, the issue of assembling a computer with your own hands has somehow faded into the background. Firstly, part of the reason for this is the mass distribution of laptops, netbooks and all-in-one PCs, the mobility of which in the eyes of many users is preferable to bulky desktops. And secondly, at the present time, ready-made solutions along with a pre-installed operating system are now often cheaper than “self-assembly” and a separate box with the OS. This is especially true for the most popular, lower and middle segments of the market.

So does a modern user of computer technology even need knowledge of its internals? In order to answer this question, I will give several situations in which knowledge of a PC, in my opinion, would be very useful to you:

- Buying a new computer yourself. I think there is no need to explain that this is a rather important moment. And if you don’t want to be deceived or at least disappointed with your future purchase, then at least a superficial knowledge of the computer’s hardware is strongly recommended. Remember that the phrase: “I need a computer for the Internet, watching movies, listening to music and sometimes playing” is clearly not enough for the seller to be able to choose the optimal solution for you. As a rule, such requirements will be satisfied by a sufficiently large number of offers and you will choose from them; in this case, it turns out that it will be the sales consultant, not you. And if so, you run a great risk of purchasing something that will not at all meet your expectations.

Surely, before purchasing, you will want to study the current prices for computer equipment in order to at least approximately understand what costs await you. Having previously studied the range of ready-made solutions in the store, on price tags, in price lists or online catalogs, the name of certain devices will most likely be presented to you, for example, in the following form:

SystemblockCore i5-2310/S1155/H61/4Gb DDR3-1333/1024Mb HD6770/HDD 500Gb-7200-16Mb/DVD+-RW/Sound 7.1/GLAN/ATX 450W

Laptop15.6”/i7-2630QM(2.00)/4Gb/GTX460M-1Gb/750Gb/DVD-RW/WiFi/BT/Cam/W7HP64

If you are not yet familiar with the internal structure of a computer, then I am almost sure that you have understood absolutely nothing in these names, which contain the most important characteristics of devices. After reading this article to the end, you can calmly understand what this abracadabra means.

Independent upgrade and purchase of components (improving a computer by adding or partially replacing computer parts). This feature is fully applicable only to system units, since in mobile devices the upgrade capabilities are limited to only two subsystems: RAM and hard drive. Therefore, when purchasing laptops, netbooks or all-in-one computers, you must immediately clearly determine the performance of the device you require, which is almost impossible to do without knowledge of the internal structure. On desktops, you can replace or add something at any time if you wish, and sell old hardware at some online auction. In general, purchasing components yourself in stores, as well as selling and exchanging them through various “hardware” flea markets on the Internet, can significantly reduce your costs aimed at upgrading your computer. But there are pitfalls here too.

The wrong choice of components when purchasing a new system unit can lead to the fact that modifying your computer will be almost impossible. And if it is possible, then only by replacing almost all components, which, as you understand, cannot be called an upgrade. And the names of components, as well as finished computers, are no less confusing and difficult for an ignorant buyer to understand.

- Do-it-yourself minor repairs. Here, as in the case of an upgrade, knowledge of the internal structure of a PC will be fully useful only to owners of desktop computers. For example, there is a power surge at your home, which is not that uncommon. The consequence of this event is often a partial failure of your computer. In order to save money, your nerves, time and effort, with certain knowledge, you can easily replace burnt components right at home. Moreover, in such cases, it is practically useless to take your computer for warranty service, since this kind of damage is not covered by the warranty. Even if your knowledge is not enough to replace failed parts, at least you can estimate their value on the market and buy it yourself at a better price than they will offer you at the service center. In this way, it is possible not only to reduce repair costs, but also to avoid unauthorized installation of used parts passed off as new.

METHODOLOGY

We will begin our familiarization process with the PC device with a description of its main components. There are seven of them in modern desktop computers and laptops:

• Motherboard
• CPU
• RAM
• Video card
• HDD
• Optical drive
• Power supply and case

We will talk about each of them in detail, and at the end of the description we will consider examples of real names of components from the catalogs of computer hardware sellers. Thus, we will immediately learn to apply the acquired theoretical knowledge in practice. At the end of the review, for the sake of completeness, we will briefly consider additional devices installed in mobile and desktop PCs to expand their functionality.

CPU(CPU or central processing unit CPU) is the main piece of computer hardware and its computing center. Essentially, it is a machine instruction executor and is designed to execute complex computer programs. A CPU has several main characteristics, but for the average person, only two are important - clock speed and number of cores. The first mass-produced multi-core processors for desktop PCs were released in early 2006 and have now almost completely replaced single-core processors.

To significantly speed up computing, any modern processor is equipped with built-in very fast access memory, which is designed to store data that is most likely to be requested by the processor. This buffer is called a cache and can be of the first (L1), second (L2) or third (L3) level. The fastest memory and, in fact, an integral part of the processor, is the first level cache, the volume of which is very small and amounts to 128 KB (64x2). Most modern CPUs cannot function without an L1 cache. The second fastest is the L2 cache and its volume can reach 1-12 MB. Well, the slowest, but also the most impressive in size (can be more than 24 MB) is the third level cache and not all processors have it.

Another important point is the concept of a processor socket or processor socket, called a socket, into which this processor is installed. Different generations or families of CPUs, as a rule, are installed in their own unique sockets, and this fact must be taken into account when selecting a motherboard - processor combination.

Due to the complexity and high-tech production, the highest requirements for product quality, there are not so many competitive companies producing central processors, and for the desktop PC market there are only two - Intel and AMD. Their long-standing rivalry began in the early 90s, although over these 20 years the share of processors sold by AMD has always been significantly lower than the share of Intel. However, Advanced Micro Devices products have always had an attractive performance/price ratio with a fairly affordable retail price for its products, which gives it the opportunity to confidently maintain its market share of about 19% of the global share.

For ease of positioning in the market, each manufacturer divides its products into different families, depending on the capabilities and performance of processors. In this article, we will get acquainted only with those lines of companies that are currently relevant and are in retail sale.

• Sempron- the lowest-cost processor for desktop PCs and mobile devices and a direct competitor to Intel's Celeron processors. The main niche of this processor is simple applications for everyday work.
• PhenomII- a multi-core family of high-performance processors designed to solve any problem. It is the flagship line for desktop computers and contains processors with a number of cores from 2 to 6.
• Athlon II- a multi-core processor family designed as a very low-cost alternative to the more expensive Phenom II series processors. Designed to solve everyday problems and is aimed as an option for “budget” gaming systems and PCs with very decent performance.
• A-Series- The latest quad-core processor family, which is currently the latest development from AMD to go on sale. A distinctive feature of this series is the Radeon graphics card built into the processor core.

• Celeron - a large family of low-cost processors designed for use in entry-level home and office computers.
• PentiumDual-Core - an outdated family of budget dual-core processors for low-cost home and office systems. Despite the fact that processors in this series are still sold everywhere, most users nowadays opt for the more current and cost-effective Core i3.
• Core i3 - a new generation of dual-core processors at entry-level and mid-range price and performance levels. Designed to replace the obsolete Pentium Dual-Core based on the architecture of the old generation Intel Core 2. They have a built-in graphics processor and a built-in memory controller.
• Core i5 - a family of processors of mid-range price and performance. CPUs in this series can contain 2 or 4 cores and most of them have an integrated graphics card. An excellent solution for gaming and multimedia systems. They support TurboBoost technology, which automatically overclocks the processor under load.
• Core i7 - flagship line of processors from Intel. Installed in high-performance systems designed to solve problems of any complexity. Supports Turbo Boost, with which the processor automatically increases performance when needed.

Table of the main characteristics of desktop processor families from Intel and AMD

Concluding this topic, finally, let's look at the price list of any computer company and try to understand some item from the processor catalog, applying the knowledge we have just gained. For example, let's decipher a record like:

“Processor Socket 1155 Intel Core i5 G620 (2.6GHz, L3 3Mb) BOX.”

• Socket 1155 - the processor is installed in an LGA 1155 type socket
• Intel Core i5 - the processor belongs to the Core i5 family and is manufactured by Intel
• G620 - processor model
• 2.6GHz - processor clock frequency (the higher it is, the faster the processor)
• L3 3Mb - the processor has a third level cache, which is equal to 3 megabytes
• BOX - means that the processor comes complete with a fan and has a proprietary three-year warranty (OEM - without a fan and a 1-year warranty)

RAM(random access memory RAM) - the most important part of the system, responsible for temporary storage of data and commands necessary for the processor to perform various operations. The main characteristics of memory are its clock frequency, which determines its bandwidth and capacity.

An equally important indicator for memory is the generation to which it belongs. Naturally, memory of different generations has completely different characteristics (supply voltage, power consumption, clock frequency, bandwidth, latency, etc.). As part of this review, we will not dwell on this in detail, the only thing you need to remember is that the connectors for installing memory modules are different for different generations, and this must be taken into account when choosing a RAM-motherboard combination.

Today's desktop and mobile PCs primarily use DIMM (Dual Data Rate Memory) or DDR (Double Data Rate Synchronous Dynamic Random Access) memory from three different generations. The generation number is always reflected in the name of the memory module. It should be noted that at the moment, first-generation DDR memory is already very outdated and can only be found in computers four or five years old, and second-generation DDR2 RAM is currently being actively replaced by DDR3.

Now let's see what the name of a memory module looks like in a real computer company catalog and try to figure it out. For example :

“RAM 4Gb PC3-10600 1333MHz DDR3 DIMM”.

• 4Gb - memory module capacity
• PC3 - 10600 - maximum memory bandwidth (peak amount of data that RAM can exchange with the processor per second). In this case, it is equal to 10667 Mb/sec.
• 1333MHz - memory clock frequency
• DDR3 - memory generation
• DIMM form factor of the RAM module

Sometimes RAM is sold in sets of 2 or 3 modules, for example: "RAM 4Gb (2x2Gb) PC3-10600 1333MHz DDR3 DIMM." Why is this being done? The fact is that modern computers use a dual-channel (much less often a three-channel) memory operating mode, which in practice increases the memory throughput mode by up to 70%, which undoubtedly increases the overall system performance. For this mode to be enabled, RAM modules must be installed in pairs (triples) on the computer, and this pair (triple) must have the same characteristics.

Dual channel mode Three channel mode

That is why manufacturers already select memory modules in pairs (three) at the factory and test them for error-free operation. Modules that pass the test are packaged together and sold as a set. But this does not mean that modules sold separately will not work well together. It’s just that the possibility of any errors still exists, although it is very small. Always try to use multi-channel memory mode to improve performance by installing modules only in pairs (triples). Remember this.

VIDEO CARD(graphics adapter, graphics card, video adapter) - a device that generates a graphic image and displays it on the monitor screen. In the era of the birth of desktop PCs, graphics adapters performed only the function of displaying an image already generated by the processor on the screen. The current generation of graphics cards not only displays images, but also generates them independently.

Modern video adapters can be built-in (integrated) into the computer’s motherboard or be an expansion card that is inserted into a special slot for PCI-Express video cards (previously this slot was AGP, which is now obsolete) on the motherboard. The first group of adapters, as a rule, is used in budget solutions for working with office applications, where we are not talking about the formation of complex three-dimensional images and in general the requirements for the graphic component are small. And although many integrated solutions have recently allowed users to watch high-definition (HD) video and enjoy entry-level three-dimensional (3D) graphics, their capabilities cannot be compared with the capabilities of video cards that are released as stand-alone solutions.

Essentially, a video adapter, which is an independent expansion card, is another computer in your computer. It has its own graphics processor (GPU) or even two, video memory (GDDR), cooling system, power system, video controller and digital-to-analog converter. Such a complex video card design is due to the very high requirements for computing resources to create a realistic and dynamic three-dimensional image in real time. Therefore, in order to fully enjoy the beauty of modern 3D games, it is necessary that your computer be equipped with a graphics card of the highest level.

The main characteristics of a video card are the clock frequencies of the video processor and video memory, the number of working execution units inside the graphics processor, the width of the video memory bus (affects the amount of data transferred by the memory per clock cycle) and the amount of video memory. As a rule, modern graphics adapters have several outputs with the same or different graphic interfaces for connecting a variety of monitors and TVs. Now the most common are the analog VGA and digital interfaces: DVI, HDMI (miniHDMI), DisplayPort (miniDP). The last two, in addition to video, also transmit sound.

Quite a lot of companies are currently engaged in the production of video card boards, but strangely enough, the entire graphics adapter market is divided into only two main competing camps. The fact is that the graphics processor determines almost all the main characteristics of the card, on which its performance depends and is its key component. Well, in the design and production of graphics chips, as in the case of central processors, since the mid-90s, two irreconcilable rivals have been fiercely fighting for consumers - the Canadian company ATI, purchased and now owned by AMD, and the Californian NVIDIA. It is worth noting that over all these years, none of them have managed to tip the scales in their favor, and today their shares in the video processor market can be estimated as 50 to 50. All video cards for widespread use (for home PCs) manufactured by those based on graphics chips from ATI (AMD) are called Radeon, and those released on NVIDIA logic are called GeForce. These companies also have professional solutions for workstations. These lines are called Quadro from NVIDIA and FireGL from ATI (AMD).

Today on the shelves of computer stores you can find video adapters built on graphics chips of two generations at once, and in some cases even three. NVIDIA has the GeForce GT 2XX, GT 4XX families (morally outdated lines and now mostly only budget models remain on sale), GTX 5XX and GTX 6XX, and AMD (ATI) Radeon HD 5XXX, HD 6XXX and HD 7XXX. The principle of forming a model range of graphic cards for both companies is similar. As a rule, models in the series differ in the clock frequencies of the video chip and memory, the different number of disabled execution units and the width of the memory bus. Depending on the combinations of the above characteristics, the overall performance of the video card and its cost are determined. I think there is no need to explain that the higher the performance and capabilities of the video adapter, the higher its price. Below is a summary table of the most popular GPUs and their budget positioning in the market.

Budget positioning of GPUs

Next, it is worth mentioning such important technologies as SLI (3-Way SLI) from NVIDIA and CrossFire (CrossFire X) from AMD (ATI), which allow you to combine the computing power of two, three or even four video cards installed in one computer. The simultaneous use of several video cards in one system can be interesting in cases where it is necessary to obtain a super-efficient video system that exceeds the power of any existing single video card. There are also cases when installing two mid-range (performance) class video adapters is more economically profitable than installing one video card of the same performance. To implement these technologies, it is necessary to have two or more slots for PCI-Express video cards on the motherboard, as well as support for these same technologies by the motherboard chipset.

In order to make life easier for developers of games and multimedia applications, Microsoft came up with an independent DirectX software package, which saves them from writing programs for each individual video card and gives them the opportunity to use ready-made solutions from this library. In turn, video cards, for their part, must also support one or another version of the DirectX library, which affects the ability of the adapter to perform a certain set of functions at the hardware level. The later the version of DirectX the video card supports, the larger the set of functions and, accordingly, the wider its capabilities for creating special effects. If the game was created using a new version of DirectX, and the video card does not support it, you will not be able to fully enjoy all the video effects provided by the developers.
Modern video cards support version 11. But you need to take into account that DirectX 11 only works under Windows Vista or Windows 7; if you have Windows XP, you will have to limit yourself to version 9.0c.

And finally, let's look at a couple of examples of video card names from a real computer catalog and break them down:

Example 1: "Video card 1536MbGTX580,PCI-E, 2xDVI,HDMIDisplayPortOEM"

• 1536Mb - amount of video memory installed on the video card in megabytes
• GTX580 is a type of graphics processor of a video card, by which the manufacturer of this processor itself can be easily determined (in this case it is NVIDIA)
• 2xDVI, HDMI, DisplayPort - has two DVI outputs, one HDMI and one DisplayPort for connecting various output devices (monitors, LCD TVs, plasma)
• OEM - video card sold without box

Example 2: " Video card 2048Mb HD6950, PCI-E,VGA, DVI, HDMI, 2xmini DP Retail»

• 2048Mb - amount of video memory installed on the video card in megabytes
• HD6950 is a type of video card GPU, in this case manufactured by AMD (ATI)
• PCI-E is the type of connector in which the video card is installed
• VGA, DVI, HDMI, 2xminiDP - listing of available outputs on the video card
• Retail - the video card is sold in colorful packaging

HDD(HDD) is a data storage device based on the principles of magnetic recording. The main device in your computer on which all information is located, from the installed operating system to your personal files.

The main characteristics of this device are:

Capacity- the amount of data that can be stored on the drive. Until recently, the entire range of hard drives fell into the range from 80 to 1000 Gigabytes. But even now modern drives, thanks to perpendicular recording technology, have sizes of 3 Terabytes (3000 GB).

Physical size. Drives with a width of 3.5 inches (rarely 2.5 inches) are used in desktop computers, and 2.5 or 1.8 inches are used in mobile devices (laptops or netbooks).

Spindle speed. An important characteristic on which access time and average data transfer speed depend. The higher the rotation speed, the faster the hard drive. It is measured in revolutions per minute and generally has the following values: 5400 rpm (mainly laptops or high-capacity 3.5-inch wide drives), 7200 rpm (desktop PCs, less often laptops), 10000 and 15000 rpm (high-performance PCs or servers). Lovers of silence should remember that the noise level of the drive increases significantly at high speeds and when assembling a quiet system, choosing a drive with a speed above 7200 rpm is not recommended.

Connection interface - the type of connector and bus used to connect and exchange data with the hard drive. For a long time, the most common interface in desktop and mobile computers was Parallel ATA (aka IDE, ATA, Ultra ATA, UDMA 133) with a maximum throughput of 133 MB/sec, which used the principle of parallel data transfer. Because of this, the connection connector was quite wide and had 40 pins, and bulky 80-wire connection cables always got in the way in the case and interfered with normal cooling. And although many modern motherboards are still equipped with an IDE connector, the days of this interface are numbered, and it has long been replaced by a new standard - Serial ATA (SATA), which uses a serial data transfer interface. The throughput of the modern 3rd revision of SATA III is 600 MB/sec and exceeds the capabilities of PATA by 4.5 times. Moreover, SATA uses a miniature 7-pin connector and, accordingly, a much smaller cable area than IDE, which reduces the resistance to air blowing across computer components and simplifies wiring inside the system unit.

Random access time- the average time during which the read/write head is positioned on an arbitrary section of the magnetic disk. As a rule, for disks intended for installation in desktop and laptop computers, it ranges from 8 to 16 milliseconds and is the main brake on the speed of a magnetic drive. For comparison, for new-fangled solid-state drives (SSDs) it is 1 ms.

Buffer- intermediate memory (cache), designed to smooth out differences in read/write speed and transfer speed over the interface. In modern media it varies from 8 to 64 MB.

For curious users, in detailed descriptions of hard drives you can find additional parameters, such as: noise level, reliability, energy consumption, standby time, shock resistance and data transfer speed from the internal and external zones of the disk.

More recently, in the modern magnetic storage market, all products were represented by four manufacturers: the world's largest Western Digital (WD) and Seagate, as well as Hitachi and Samsung. But in 2011, the situation changed, WD acquired Hitachi's hard drive division, and Seagate bought Samsung's division. Thus, to two segments of the computer market (production of central and graphic processors), a third has been added (production of hard drives), where only two competing companies are engaged in the development and production of products.

Finishing the description of hard drives, we, as usual, will look at an example of a drive name from a computer catalog and try to understand what is written there.

Hard drive 3.5" 1 Tb 7200rpm 64Mb cache Western Digital Caviar Black SATA III (6Gb/ s)

• 3.5” - the hard drive is 3.5 inches wide and is designed for installation in a desktop PC
• 1 Tb is the capacity of the hard drive, which in this case is 1 terabyte (1000 Gigabytes)
• 7200rpm - spindle rotation speed, in this case 7200 rpm
• 64Mb cache - buffer size in megabytes (here it is maximum)
• Western Digital - manufacturer
• Caviar Black is the family to which the hard drive belongs. Black - WD's family of the most productive drives
• SATA III - hard drive connection interface
• 6Gb/s - maximum interface throughput, in this case equal to 6 Gbit/s (600 MB/s).

I hope everything is clear here and we can move on.

OPTICAL DRIVE- a device designed for reading, writing and rewriting information from optical storage media in the form of a plastic disk (CD, DVD, BD).

In the early 90s, the most common optical media was the compact disc (CD), which could store 700 MB of various data. That is why the first optical drives could only read and only CDs and were called CD-ROM. The next actively developing format was and is now the most common DVD. Disks of this standard could already record 4.7 GB of information, which is almost 7 times more than on a CD. Computer drives designed to play DVDs were called DVD-ROMs, while the ability to read regular CDs on this device was retained. At the same time, the first CD recording devices began to appear on the market, which were called CD-RW. Then combined optical drives (ComboDrive or “combine”) appeared, which could read CDs and DVDs, but only write CDs. Progress, of course, did not stop there, and the next logical step was the appearance on the market of DVD recording drives that could read and write any disc. True, initially they were very expensive and for quite a long time the most popular optical device installed in home computers was the combo drive due to its affordability. But over time, DVD-RW drives have become cheaper, and this class of optical devices is still the most common on all types of computers.

Today, the maximum capacity of a DVD disc is 8.5 GB (double-layer disc). But with the advent of high-definition (HD) multimedia content, this volume was not enough for its storage and distribution, and therefore in the spring of 2006 a new optical media format appeared on the market - Blu-Ray. A single-layer Blu-Ray disc can store 25 GB of digital data, including high-definition video and audio, a double-layer can hold 50 GB, a triple-layer 100 GB, and a quad-layer 128 GB (BDXL). Modern Blu-Ray optical drives (BD-ROM) can read, write and rewrite not only new format discs (BD), but also previous ones - DVD and CD.

The main characteristics of optical drives are the speed of reading, writing and rewriting data in various formats. Previously, they were indicated directly in the drive name itself, but due to increased support for various disk formats, they are now indicated only in the detailed description of the device. A pleasant bonus may be the presence of marking technology for specially prepared disks, which allows you to obtain an image on its reverse surface. Like hard drives, optical drives can have two connection interfaces, the legacy IDE and the modern SATA.

An example of an optical drive name looks quite laconic and contains a minimum of information: Blu-ray drive Pioneer BDR-206DBK, Black, SATA, OEM

• Blu-ray drive supports all existing optical media formats, including the latest Blu-Ray
• Pioneer - optical drive manufacturer
• BDR-206DBK - drive model
• Black - drive color
• SATA - drive connection interface
• OEM drive is sold without paint box and additional accessories (fastening screws and connection cable)

As you can see, everything is simple here, but at the same time, to understand all the capabilities of the drive, you need to study its detailed description.

Now, having become acquainted with the main components that make up a computer, it’s time to look at the part that unites it all into a single whole.

MOTHERBOARD(motherboard, mother, main board, motherboard) is a complex multi-layer printed circuit board on which the main components of a personal computer are installed (central processor, RAM controller and RAM itself, graphics adapter, controllers for connecting hard drives and optical drives, basic interface controllers I/O, sound and network card). As a rule, the motherboard also contains connectors (slots) for connecting additional cards and devices via USB, PCI and PCI-Express buses.

In this material, to simplify perception, we will consider only motherboards for desktop PCs, without bothering ourselves with products for mobile computers. Moreover, for a general understanding of the issue this will be quite enough.

Main motherboard components

The key component of the motherboard is the chipset (system logic set) - a set of chips that connects the CPU to RAM, graphics controller and peripheral controllers. It is the set of system logic that determines all the key features of the motherboard, what devices can be connected to it and, in fact, all the future capabilities of your computer.

All motherboards can be divided into two main camps - motherboards for Intel processors and motherboards for AMD processors. Accordingly, they also produce system logic sets for their processors. Within these two main groups, further division is conveniently carried out along processor connectors (sockets). Today, motherboards with four types of sockets are available for Intel processors, and three for AMD. For each socket, developers have several sets of system logic, aimed at different budget segments of the market.

As can be seen from the block diagram, there are quite a lot of varieties of chipsets, and therefore motherboards built on them and their modifications. Let's see what basic characteristics of a computer can be affected by one or another chipset modification and what you should pay attention to first:

• CPU type
• Type of RAM (DDR, DDR-II, DDR-III), its bandwidth and possible maximum capacity
• The presence or absence of a built-in video adapter, and if present, a possible connection interface (VGA, DVI, HDMI)
• Possibility of installing multiple video cards to enable SLI and CrossFire technologies
• Number and revision of SATA connectors for connecting hard drives and optical drives
• The presence or absence of support for RAID technology (the ability to create an array of several hard drives perceived by the system as a single whole)
• Number and revision of USB connectors for connecting peripheral devices
• Type of sound card (2, 5 or 7 channels) and the presence of its digital outputs
• Number of network interfaces
• Availability of additional outputs (e-SATA, FireWire) for connecting digital peripheral devices
• Number and types of connectors for connecting expansion cards (sound and network cards, modems, TV tuners, analog and digital video capture cards, etc.)
• Availability of outdated connectors and corresponding FDD and LPT interfaces

Finally, it is worth mentioning another important characteristic of the motherboard - the form factor. This is a standard that determines its dimensions, places of attachment to the computer case and its entire wiring (location of interfaces, ports, slots and types of connectors for power connections). The modern and most common standards are ATX (the dominant format), micro-ATX and mini-ITX.

As you would expect, the names of motherboards in price lists look very cumbersome and are the most difficult to understand, since they include quite a lot of device characteristics. Let's look at one of them using an example: Motherboard ASUS P8P67 DELUXE (B3), Socket 1155, Intel P67, 4xDDR3, 3xPCI-E 16x, 2xPCI-E 1x, 2xPCI, 4xSATA II+4xSATA III, RAID0/1/5/10, 7.1 Sound, Glan, USB3. 0, ATX, Retail

• ASUS P8P67 DELUXE (B3) - manufacturer, model and revision (infrequently indicated)
• Socket 1155 - type of socket for installing a central processor
• Intel P67 - chipset name
• 4xDDR3 - the board has 4 connectors (slots) for installing third generation RAM modules
• 3xPCI-E 16x - the board has as many as three connectors for video cards, which means it is possible to use SLI (3-WaySLI) technologies from NVIDIA and CrossFire (CrossFireX) from AMD (ATI)
• 2xPCI-E 1x - the board has two PCI-EX1 type connectors for installing additional expansion cards (sound and network cards, modems, TV tuners, etc.)
• 2xPCI - the board has two PCI slots for installing additional expansion cards (sound and network cards, modems, TV tuners, etc.)
• 4xSATA II+4xSATA III - the board has 4 SATA interface connectors of the second revision and four thirds for connecting hard drives and optical drives.
• RAID0/1/5/10 - the motherboard supports the technology of combining multiple hard drives and makes it possible to create arrays of the 0th, 1st, 5th and 10th levels
• 7.1 Sound - has a built-in 7-channel sound card
• Glan - there is a gigabit network card on the motherboard
• USB 3.0 - the board has connectors of the new USB3.0 standard
• ATX - motherboard form factor
• Retail-motherboard is sold in a box and equipped with connecting cables, software and installation instructions

So, the hardest part is over and we are reaching the finish line.

POWER SUPPLY AND CASE

power unit(BP) - designed to supply computer components with direct current electrical energy, as well as convert the mains voltage to the required values. To some extent, the power supply can perform the functions of stabilizing and protecting computer components from minor voltage surges.

The main characteristic of a power supply is its power, which in modern products varies from 300 to 1500W (Watt). As a rule, a power of 400 - 450 W is sufficient for an office computer, but for advanced gaming systems with several video cards installed, a very powerful power supply may be required, since at peak load the power consumption of such a system can reach from 700 - 1000 W.

It is necessary to take into account the fact that it is worth choosing the power of the power supply with a margin from the calculated peak load, because in this case it will heat up less, which means its cooling system will work more quietly. A gentle regime will also have a beneficial effect on service life. Do not forget that over time, due to various facts, the power ratings of the power supply may drop by 15-20% of the nominal.

As a rule, the more powerful the power supply, the more connectors and their modifications for powering various computer components it contains. True, in most cases the number of these same connectors is excessive, and in order to compactly lay a large volume of wires in the case, you have to spend a lot of effort. That is why many manufacturers produce power supplies with detachable cables, where you can connect only the connectors you need.

Beware of buying cheap low-quality power supplies from unknown manufacturers. All computer components are powered by low voltage (+3, + 5 and +12 V) and in order to damage any board, a discharge of static electricity from an electrified sweater is sufficient. What can we say if the power supply allows even a slight voltage surge to pass through itself or produces abnormal values. The consumer qualities of these devices are not high either. As practice shows, the real power value of such products is much lower than what is stated on the labels, and their service life is short.

As a rule, in component catalogs the names of power supplies are some of the most capacious and short, for example: Power supply ATX 1000W OCZ Z1000M-UN

• ATX is a motherboard power connector standard that is the main one for desktop PCs
• 1000W - power supply power
• OCZ - power supply manufacturer
• Z1000M-UN - power supply model

It's as simple as that, but don't think that choosing a power source is a trivial task. Quite the contrary, this is the case when the name contains practically no useful information and it is necessary to study its detailed description, where you can find out about the number of different power connectors, its efficiency (efficiency), the presence of overvoltage protection, overload protection and much more. The right choice of a good power source is the key to long and uninterrupted operation of the hardware components of your computer.

Let's say a few words about power supplies for laptops. They are usually used to charge batteries, as well as to provide the laptop with power bypassing the battery. By type of design, the laptop's power supply is an external unit. Power supplies for mobile devices are produced for a specific model (series), they have different characteristics and power connectors, and therefore there is no single standard for them, and the power supplies themselves are usually not interchangeable. When purchasing a new unit for a laptop, you have no options other than to purchase exactly the power supply that is designed for your model of mobile device.

Frame(system unit) - protects the internal elements of the computer from external influences and mechanical damage, maintains internal temperature conditions and shields electromagnetic radiation. The main characteristics are its type (vertical Tower or horizontal Desktop) and size (small Mini, medium Midi, large Big). The most common format is Midi Tower, because such cases are designed to install motherboards of the most popular form factor - ATX. Also, when choosing a case, you should take into account the number and location of external USB ports, audio outputs, the presence of FireWire outputs on the external panel, the number of internal fans and their size.

Cases and power supplies for desktop PCs can be sold either separately or together as a set. As a rule, for office solutions, the entry-level and mid-range segment of home computers, it is more profitable to buy a kit. True, then you will most likely have to put up with a mediocre case design and an average power supply. Well, if you decide to assemble a powerful system or a computer with a unique design, then you only need to select these components separately, in accordance with the appetites of the selected hardware and your tastes.

OPTIONAL EQUIPMENT

So we looked at all the main components that make up a desktop computer. Of course, this is an incomplete list of components that can be located inside the system unit, but only those that are required to be installed in any computer. To complete the picture, let's still touch on the remaining components, but only briefly:

Floppy drive(FDD) - floppy disk drive with a physical size of 3.5 inches. With the advent of flash drives, these media have almost completely lost their relevance, and the drives themselves can only be found on very old computers.

Card reader- a device for reading all kinds of memory cards used in digital and mobile devices. As a rule, in modern computers it is installed instead of a floppy drive.

TV tuner- a device designed for receiving, playing and recording a television signal on a home computer. Most modern tuners can also receive signals from FM radio stations. According to the method of connection to the computer, they are divided into internal (for desktop PCs, connection via PCI and PCI-Ex1 connectors, for laptops via the CardBus connector) and external (USB and FireWire).

Controllers- boards that expand the interface capabilities of the motherboard. If necessary, using the controller card you can add additional USB, SATA, FireWire, IDE and LPT interfaces (connectors). They are usually installed in PCI and PCI-Ex1 slots.

Sound card- additional equipment for a personal computer that allows you to process and output sound. Provide the user with additional capabilities and quality compared to integrated solutions. They can be either internal devices (installed in PCI and PCI-Ex1 slots) or external (connected to USB, and for laptops PCMCIA).

Network adapter- a device that allows a computer to communicate with other devices on the network. Can be wired (Ethernet) or wireless (Wi-Fi). Based on the method of connecting to a computer, they are also divided into external and internal. On all modern motherboards, a wired network adapter is already built-in and therefore is practically no longer used as additional equipment.

CONCLUSION

Now let's go back to the beginning of the article, where as an example the real names of computer equipment (system unit and laptop) that you can encounter in any computer store were given. Definitely, without basic knowledge of PC devices, it is almost impossible to understand at least something about them. But if you carefully read the previous material, then now understanding these abbreviations will not be difficult. Let's check it out. Let's start with a description of the system unit:

System unitCorei5-2310/S1155/H61/4GbDDR3-1333/1024MbHD6770/HDD 500Gb-7200-16Mb/DVD+-RW/Sound 7.1/GLAN/ATX 450W

If you look carefully at this inscription, you can guess that the various components of the system unit are indicated through a slash; try to determine which ones yourself first, and then you can check our answer.

• Core i5-2310 - Processor from Intel of the Corei5 family. By its model number (2310), you can find out that its clock frequency is 2.9 GHz.
• S1155 - processor socket on a Socket 1155 type motherboard
• H61 is a motherboard chipset from Intel.
• 4Gb DDR3-1333 - the amount of installed third-generation RAM is 4 GB. Memory clock frequency 1333 MHz.
• 1024Mb HD6770 - Radeon video card from AMD/ATI (clear from the HD index) with a video memory capacity of 1024 MB. The index 6770 tells us that the graphics adapter belongs to the middle class.
• HDD 500Gb-7200-16Mb - the hard drive has a capacity of 500 GB, a spindle speed of 7200 rpm and a 16 MB buffer.
• DVD+-RW - the computer has an optical drive with the ability to read, write and rewrite CDs and DVDs.
• Sound 7.1 - has a built-in seven-channel sound card
• GLAN - there is a wired built-in network card with a data transfer speed of 1 Gbit.
• ATX 450W - a case designed to install an ATX form factor motherboard and a power supply with a power of 450 Watts.

See how much information about a product can be gleaned from its name with a certain knowledge of computer hardware. Now, to consolidate the material, let's decipher the typical name of a laptop. And although its name has some meanings that may not be clear to you, after our decoding you will be fully armed.

Laptop 15.6”/i7-2630QM(2.00)/4Gb/GTX460M-1Gb/750Gb/DVD-RW/Wi-Fi/BT/Cam/W7HP64

• 15.6” is the diagonal size of the laptop screen.
• i7-2630QM(2.00) - This entry should already be clear to you. Processor from Intel of the Corei7 family with a clock frequency of 2 GHz (indicated in parentheses). True, the clock frequency and other characteristics of the processor can always be determined by knowing its model, which is always indicated after the family. In our case it is 2630QM.
• 4Gb - amount of RAM. As you can see, it is listed here without any details about the type of memory and its bandwidth.
• GTX460M-1Gb is a GeForce video card with an nVidia graphics processor (this can be understood by the abbreviation GTX) and 1 GB video memory. Based on the GPU model (GTX460), we see that this graphics adapter belongs to the class of performance solutions. The letter “M” in the name of the video chip indicates that it was produced for mobile devices.
• 750Gb - hard drive with a capacity of 750 GB.
• DVD-RW - the laptop has an optical drive with the ability to read, write and rewrite CDs and DVDs.
• Wi-Fi - the laptop has a wireless network adapter installed.
• BT - the laptop is equipped with BlueTooth wireless technology (Bluetooth), which is now used mainly for connecting peripheral devices (mice, headphones, etc.) and mobile phones.
• Cam-laptop has a built-in webcam - a digital video and photo camera capable of capturing images in real time for further transmission over the network.
• W7HP64 - as a rule, at the end of the laptop configuration, the operating system preinstalled on it is indicated. In this case, it is Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit.

With this, let me finish our educational program on the internal structure of personal computers. I hope this material will be not only educational for you, but also a good help if you independently purchase a new computer and components or upgrade your home PC.

What does the system unit case hide behind?

A standard computer requires the following components:

• motherboard
• CPU
• RAM (random access memory) or random access memory
• hard drive (winchester)
• power unit
• video card, sound card
• CD-ROM drive or CD-RW drive (for compact discs)
• if necessary, an FDD drive (for floppy disks).

In this article we will talk about the motherboard, processor, RAM, hard drive.

Read about the power supply, video card, sound card and disk drives.

Motherboard (system) board

Has a middle name: motherboard. It is often called simply “mother” because it provides communication between all the dissimilar elements of the system unit.

It is to the motherboard that the processor, hard drive, disk drives, video card, monitor, keyboard, mouse, printer, modem, etc. are connected.

To do this, there are connectors (or slots) on the board, some of which have an exit to the outside, while others do not. On the back wall of the system unit you can see connectors that come out of the computer and are intended for connecting external devices (keyboard, mouse, printer, monitor, etc.)

But those connectors on the motherboard that are not visible to us from the outside are used to “stick” into them the main parts that are responsible for the speed of the computer as a whole. The most important element that is attached to the board is CPU.

This is the brain of the computer. Its main characteristics are the bit capacity and clock frequency; the higher these indicators, the more powerful the processor. The speed of the computer depends on the frequency of the processor (number of operations per second). Frequency is measured in hertz.

Fan (cooler)

To prevent the processor from “boiling its brain” from hard work, they install it directly on top of it. fan. The fan tries very hard to cool the processor and, unfortunately, sometimes starts to buzz. The fan is also called cooler: from English “cool”, which should not be understood in the sense of “cool”, but as cooling or cool.

Old computers did not have fans at all; they were not necessary. However, with the increase in computer power, some elements, consuming electric current, began to overheat and fail. There was a need to cool them, so fans appeared in system units. Now coolers can be installed inside the power supply, on the processor, or on the video card. An additional cooler can be installed on the system unit to cool the entire unit.

Random access memory (RAM)

In addition to the processor, the motherboard also contains a random access memory device (abbreviated RAM).

RAM in English is Random Access Memory or RAM for short. This memory is called operational. It is needed in order to store the information that the computer is working with at a given time. That is, it exists in order not to constantly “rummage” through a huge amount of data on the hard drive, but to work only with a certain volume, thereby reducing the time it takes to complete specified operations.

The more memory, the faster the computer runs. In addition, RAM is responsible for how many programs can be executed simultaneously.

There are several slots allocated for RAM on the motherboard, so over time, when it starts to run out, you can insert an additional one. Together with the original memory, they will make a good duet.

Hard drive (hard drive)

When you turn off the computer, all information from RAM is deleted. However, everything you need to save is always saved on hard disk (HDD) abbreviation for English Hard Disk Drive). You just need to remember to save your job!

A hard drive is often called a “screw” or a “vinch”. Located inside the system unit. This is a magic disk on which everything we need is recorded.

When you turn off the computer, all the information that was recorded on the hard drive remains. If you want, you can check it. The main thing is to have such a useful habit while working at the computer as periodically saving your work on the hard drive. As they say, “trust in God, but don’t make a mistake yourself.”

By the way, do you know where the name of the hard drive comes from – “hard drive”? In 1973, IBM created the first hard drive model, which had 30 tracks and 30 sectors. Therefore, the engineers who developed the disk, communicating with each other, used the short name “30-30”. This accidentally coincided with “Winchester 30/30” - the marking of the cartridge of the same company, which had a caliber of 0.30 inches, that is, 7.62 millimeters, and a standard charge of 30 grains (about 2 grams) of smokeless powder. Just as a rifle without a cartridge will not fire, a computer without a hard drive will not work.

External hard drive

Since 1973, the hard drive has been called “hard drive”.

In addition to the hard drive, which is located inside the system unit, if necessary, you can also connect the so-called “external hard drive” or “ external hard drive».

It can be connected to multiple computers and moved from place to place. It is especially relevant for laptops, where the resources of the built-in hard drive are usually small.

An external hard drive is also often used for archiving and backing up information on a computer.

In this note I want to tell novice users what is inside the computer.
Knowing what is inside the system unit is useful; if something suddenly breaks, you can replace the failed part yourself. Also, if you want to improve something on your computer, you won’t have to ask for outside help. Moreover, there is nothing complicated inside.

We will study the most ordinary computer, which consists of a system unit, a monitor and a keyboard with a mouse. Everything is clear with the monitor and all sorts of mice and keyboards, but the system unit (0) deserves more attention. This is where your computer is located.

So what's inside? (Your appearance may differ from what is shown in the pictures, but it roughly looks like this.)
In most cases this is:

1. Motherboard(motherboard) is the main part of the computer; it connects all the parts of the computer with each other.(1)

2. Processor, computer brain, counts and calculates(2)
True, you won’t see it; it’s covered with a fan on top.

3. RAM(3) Fast but short-lived memory, read the note at the link:

4. Video card, is responsible for displaying the image on the screen.(4)

5. Hard drive, the main storage device on which the operating system is installed.(5)

6. Sound card, is responsible for sound.(6)

7.DVD drive, the place where you insert the rounds with games and films.(7)

This is the so-called minimum set. You can exclude the sound card from it; it is often built into the motherboard. There may also be a separate network card, but usually now it is also built into the motherboard. There is also a power supply, it usually comes with the case. When assembled, it all looks something like this (8)

There is no sound card in the picture, it is located under video card 4, a white stripe with black in the middle.

All parts are attached directly or through wires to the motherboard. In principle, everything is done in the computer in such a way that it will not be possible to stick a part into the wrong place. You can be fooled by the mounting space if there are several of them, for example, for RAM there are usually 4-6 connectors (slots) for fastening; the instructions for the motherboard contain a description of how to correctly insert memory strips (modules). If there is one bracket, then in the first slot, if there are two, and the motherboard supports the so-called “Dual” mode, then usually these are slots 1 and 3. Most often they are painted in different colors; in the picture there are two yellow slots and two black ones. For normal operation of RAM, it is desirable that all modules are identical. I will not describe the RAM in detail, if suddenly you want to increase the amount of RAM in your computer, it is best to disassemble the system unit, remove the memory stick and go to the store with it. There is nothing complicated about it, and sellers will easily select the memory you need.

You can also miss when connecting a hard drive or DVD drive. They are usually attached to the same connectors. Now, these are the so-called SATA, the wire looks like this (9)

If you connect one hard drive, then you need to connect it to the connector on the motherboard, which is usually labeled SATA 0. (10)

Not so long ago, hard drives and DVD drives mostly had an IDE connector, the connector for them looks like this (11).

If you have an old computer and you want to buy a new hard drive or DVD drive for it, then be sure to check if you have a SATA connector on the motherboard (Fig. 10. Because now all drives mostly come with this connector.

Modern video cards, almost all of them, now come with a PCI Express connector. Previously, the main one was the AGP connector. The difference can be seen in the picture (12).

If you have an AGP video card and you want to change it, then it’s better not to look for a modern video card with such a connector, firstly, it will be more expensive than its PCI Express counterpart, and secondly, you won’t be able to attach it anywhere.

With the processor the matter is more complicated. There are also several different connectors (sockets) for different types of processors. There are motherboards for Intel and AMD processors. Connectors (sockets) are numerically designated by the number of legs on the processor, for example 775 or 478. If you have a motherboard designated Socket 775, then you need to buy a processor that matches this socket. Or vice versa, if you have your eye on a modern processor, you will have to buy a new motherboard for it, unless of course it has a different processor socket.

How to decrypt the motherboard. Usually in stores there is a brief description of the motherboard, it looks something like this:

ASUS RAMPAGE EXTREME Socket775, X48, DDR3, FSB1600, PCI-E, LAN1000, ATX

This means the following:
ASUS- manufacturer.
RAMPAGE EXTREME– name of the motherboard.
Socket775– processor socket type.
X48– (marking) type of chipset on the motherboard, also called chipset.
DDR3– type of supported RAM.
FSB1600– system bus frequency. The system bus connects the chipset to the processor (X48 with Socket775 :-))
PCI-E– type of video card connector.
LAN1000– type of built-in network card.
ATX– motherboard form factor, in other words, size.

Additionally, there may be the following inscriptions: SOUND and VIDEO, which will mean that a sound card and a video card are built into the motherboard. Sound is now mostly not indicated, because it is built in almost everywhere, but video is indicated, although you can find out about the presence of built-in video from the marking, in the example it is X48, without video, and if it were, for example, G35 means with video.
Buying a motherboard with a built-in video card is only worth it if you are not going to play games.

You can see what parts you have inside the system unit without opening it; general information can be obtained on the “Hardware” tab in the computer properties.(13)

But it’s better to use special programs, such as Everest, which will show almost everything you need.(14)

Well, that's all in a nutshell.

A note on how to install hardware drivers here.