20 Must-Know Parts of a Computer: Names, Functions & Diagrams

Do you know life in the early 19th century and how we are going now in the 21st century? The answer is Yes, and it is only possible due to new inventions & innovations. The computer is one of the best inventions ever. It is a programmed digital electronic machine that automatically does different arithmetic and logical operations. It is made of various parts of a computer, which compels it unusual to carry out intelligent tasks. These computer parts are also referred to as hardware and have equal importance. Damage to any one part of the computer decreases its performance. So it is necessary to know every part and their locations.

The Assembly of all these parts is very complex. Nowadays. The computer evolved into an integral part of human life. In this article, we will see all computer parts, their internal and external parts with their diagrams.

Parts of Computer Diagram

Parts of a Computer

Computer Parts and Their Functions

Monitor

The monitor is one of the main parts of the computer system and is also called a Virtual Display Unit. It is made of glass, circuitry, an adjustment button, power supplies, and more.

The video card is inside the monitor, which displays the images, video, and text. The adjustment button on the monitor adjusts the brightness.

In the early days, the monitor had a CRT (Cathode ray tube) display, which was very heavy and bulky. Nowadays, light and thin display monitors are available and are known as flat panel displays.

Apart from these, LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) and LED (Light Emitting Diode) displays are the most common display in the market.

Keyboard

The keyboard is the primary input device that gives different inputs to the computer. So we can communicate and interact with the computer.

The keyboard looks and works the same as a traditional typewriter, but the main difference is that the keyboard has some extra keys and looks different.

Generally, there are two types of keyboards in the market. The mechanical and membrane type can be wired or may be wireless. A typical keyboard consists of a set of keys which are alphabetical, numerical, special, number, and arrow keys.

With these keys, we give instructions to the computer to populate the data or give instructions to do specific tasks.

The material of the keys and keyboard body is plastic. On each key specific letters and or words are written to know their use and function.

Mouse

A mouse is another input device that directly interacts with a computer system. A mouse is a pointing device and uses the “Point to Click “approach.

The main function of the mouse is to move the pointer on the screen and select/open the folder in the computer by buttons. A typical mouse has three buttons, left, right, and middle scroll buttons.

Some new generation mouse have more than 3 buttons, which has a unique function.

Generally, the mouse divides into 2 types which are the mechanical and optical mouse. The mechanical mouse uses ball and scroll technology to move the cursor, while the optical mouse uses laser technology to move the cursor.

Webcam

The webcam is yet another external part of the computer. The primary function of the webcam is to capture images and videos and send them to the computer in digital format.

This webcam is not like a digital camera because a webcam is needed to connect to a computer to perform this action.

Speakers

Speakers are optional parts of the computer. These speakers are connected to a computer via USB to get output in the audio format while watching movies or hearing to songs.

This speaker is attached to the sound card, which converts electromagnetic waves into audio waves. This speaker also has an amplifier that adjusts the volume of sound.

As it is not an integral part of the computer, we can use different speakers per the manufacturer and requirement.

Nowadays, computers and laptops are coming into the market with inbuilt speakers.

Microphone/Mike

The microphone is another external part of the computer. The primary function of the microphone is to give voice input to the computer system. This microphone comes in various sizes and shapes.

We can also connect to the computer when we need to insert audio into the presentation or broadcasting and voice conferencing.

Headphone

The headphone is the device from which we hear the sound. When we are talking on the call, through the mike, we convey our message to the other person, but with headphones, we listen to the other person.

It is an output device of the computer. As per the requirement, we can adjust the sound intensity. It helps to make our online conversation easy and effective.

In the market, there are various companies making headphones. Each has a different design and features.

Read More- Parts of Headphones you must have to know.

Printer

The printer is an output device connected to a computer system to print data on paper. It takes electronic data from the computer and takes an exact copy of that document in monochrome (Black and white ) or colored format.

The printer may be wired or wireless.

Scanner

The scanner is the device to scan physical documents such as pdf or images and reads each character on the paper using optical technology. After scanning and reading, it sends all the data to a computer system for further manipulation.

The scanner is just the opposite of the printer. It is an input device of the computer and converts physical documents into a digital format like JPEG, PDF, etc.

Photo scanners, Flatbed scanners, and handheld scanners are typical examples of scanners.

Read more- What is Optical Character Recognization Technology?

Pendrive/USB Flash Drive

Pendrive is a portable data-storing device that can carry wherever we want. It is small in dimension, and we can place it in our pockets. We connect it to the USB port of the motherboard to access the data. Without any additional power source, we can access the Pendrive through the USB port.

We can take backups of the essential data and any other data in Pendrive. It helps to transfer the data from one computer to the other by simply inserting the Pendrive.

There are various sizes of Pendrive available in the market, which starts from 2GB onward. Adata, HP, SanDisk, and Sony are the best manufacturer of it.

UPS

UPS is Uninterruptable Power Supply. It is a hardware device that gives power backup to our computer system when the primary electricity source does not supply the power.

UPS consists of a battery inside its cover, which keeps our system running for a shorter period to protect a data loss.

The main advantage of UPS is that we get enough time to save our data and correctly switch the system. When electricity cuts suddenly without UPS, there are chances to lose the data.

Power Cord

The power cord is the primary cable to provide power to the computer. One end of the power cord is connected to the UPS, and another to the computer case. Other cables connect the printer, scanner, and monitor to the computer.

Central Processing Unit (CPU)

The complete form of the CPU is the Control Processing Unit, which is the brain of the computer. CPU consist of the Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU ) and Control Unit ( CU), which perform and control arithmetic and logical function.

All the data given by the input devices is performed inside the processor to get the desired result.

The modern computer comes with a Multi-core processor (Multiple CPU is a Single Chip), which helps to increase the processing power. It also helps to do multitasking operations in the computer system.

Hard Drive

A hard disk is a non-volatile data storage device that stores various kinds of data, retrieves it per need, and maintains the data even after it turns off.

HDD is one example of a hard disk that is available in laptops, mobiles, and other electronics to store the software program, operation systems, and other files using the magnetic disk.

These hard drives connect with the motherboard through parallel or series ATA or Small Computer System interfaces.

Motherboard

A motherboard is a circuit board that is integrated into the computer case. It helps to provide connectivity and communication between the CPU, RAM, and other computer hardware.

A motherboard is also called a mainboard. It consists of parts such as RAM, ROM, CPU, sound card, video card, input/output ports, network card, and storage devices.

Sound Card

In most cases, a sound chip is installed on the motherboard to generate sound output. For better sound output, it is necessary to have a great and high-quality sound card.

A sound card is nothing but an expansion card on the motherboard of the computer system via a USB port or PCI slot.

The sound card also requires a proper driver and software installed on the computer system to control and produce high-quality sound through headphones, speakers, and a mic.

Network Card

Network Interface Card is the hardware component that connects the computer to the computer networks. Its other names are network adapter, LAN, network interface, and controller.

It uses LAN to communicate for the local network, but for the large-scale network, it uses Internet Protocol for communication. NIC uses a transceiver to transfer parallel data into serial data.

Each card has its unique name and number, like the MAC number, which differs as per the manufacturer.

RAM

RAM is the Random Access Memory, the short-term memory of the computer. It stores the processor data temporarily and is fast to access rather than the hard drive and other storage devices. The data of RAM get erased when we turn off the device.

The selection of the computer, laptop, and mobile mostly depends on the RAM capacity. It is necessary for efficient performance and not getting your device to lag.

Graphics Processing Unit (GPU)

Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) is an electronic circuit for displaying high-quality images and graphics. It is done by simply performing the arithmetic calculation.

As we know, the Graphics Processing Unit helps in the processing of 2D data as well as the decoding of 3D data such as videos and animation. The Graphics Processing Unit is called a Graphics Card or Video or Display Card.

As higher the memory of the Graphics Processing Unit, the higher the visual effect on a computer screen. This high-quality graphics card is widely used by professional gamers.

Fan

The fan is the internal part of the computer system. Its primary function is to provide air circulation to the inner part of the computer and reduce overheating.

Overheating causes physical damage to the component. Proper cooling of the part increases the life span of computer parts. BIOS controls the speed of the fan.

There is a variety of fans present in a system, like CPU fans, GPU fans, and power supply fans.

Conclusion

We all know computers change the life of human beings. Every advancement in computer parts makes life easier to lower effort. With time and innovations, the parts of the computer sizes are becoming smaller and increasing efficiency. Each part plays a good role in making a computer a supercomputer.

Read More-

• 30 Important Parts of Camera, their Names, Functions, and Diagram.
• Parts of Headphones you must have to know.