Internal structure of the computer. The structure of a personal computer

Today, computer technology is stepped by leaps and bounds, and, for example, PCs may become obsolete in a few years. And on obsolete equipment many modern programs will work slowly or not run at all. Someone will offer to buy a new computer, and someone - to upgrade. In both cases it is required to know the structure of the computer's system unit.

General information

What are the main parts of your PC? If in general, the computer structure assumes the presence of the following elements:

• Internal devices of the system unit.
• Input devices (usually a keyboard and mouse, but can be supplemented by many others, for example, a drawing board).
• Output devices (monitor, headphones).
• Additional peripheral devices (card readers, TV tuners, network adapters, USB-modems).

The structure of the computer's system unit should be considered in detail, because it includes many important components that directly or indirectly affect the system's overall performance. These components include:

• Motherboard.
• CPU.
• RAM.
• Hard disk or solid state drive.
• Video card.
• Sound card.
• PCI devices.

The structure of the computer processor

It is believed that the CPU is the most complex digital device in the computer. It is made in the form of a silicon wafer in a casing with a number of leads that are connected to a special socket on the motherboard. On silicon, a substance is produced that reproduces a complex but very small electrical circuit.

Several million elements (transistors, resistors) are included in the structure of the computer processor. All parts are a few nanometers in size. After the manufacture of the device, a radiator for removing heat and a blowing fan are installed on it. With a large number of transistors working simultaneously, this can not be avoided.

The structure of the computer's processor is so high-tech that only two companies in the world compete in this segment of the market (Intel and AMD).

Main characteristics of the CPU

The main characteristics of the CPU are the clock frequency, the size of the cache, the number of cores. Accordingly, the higher these parameters, the faster the device performs calculations. The clock frequency depends on how many logical and arithmetic operations can be performed per second by one core, respectively, if the cores in the computer are two, then operations per second are made twice as much.

The cache is intended for storing commands that programs send to the central processor. Exchange of information with the cache is performed at the highest speed. If its size is too small, then the full speed of the processor will not work.

The structure of the motherboard

Of course, you need to consider building a computer motherboard. The motherboard is a complex device with a multi-layered circuit. It contains the main sockets for connecting all other computer devices, sets of logic so that all components work interconnected, controllers of the main interfaces (sound card, network card, input-output devices). Often, the motherboard may have slots for additional devices (PSI-e, PCI, USB).

The key component of the motherboard is the chipset. This is a chip that connects the device controllers to the CPU to work together. The internal structure of the computer is entirely determined by the chipset. For example, you can not install a third generation memory in the motherboard, if the logic supports only the second one, as well as with all other devices.

RAM

RAM - random access memory. Describing the internal structure of the computer, this element can not be bypassed. The RAM stores temporary data and CPU commands for which there is not enough space in the cache. The most important characteristics of memory are frequency, volume, generation and timings. At the same time, the memory strip of the DDR2 or DDR generation can not be installed in the DDR3 connector, because the sets of software logic for all these generations are different.

Frequency and timings are the most important indicators for determining the speed of information exchange with RAM. There are two reciprocal rules. If the frequency is higher, the speed is higher. With the timings, the inverse law acts, so their lower values are preferable.

Video card

The structure of a personal computer in the modern world necessarily assumes the availability of a video card. In simple terms, this device prepares and generates graphic information, which is subsequently displayed on the screen.

The video adapter can be integrated into the computer's motherboard or connected to the PCI-e connector. Adapters of the first type are almost always called budgetary, they allow you to work comfortably in office software packages, but do not create complex three-dimensional images. Even if the graphics output of such video cards are in the teeth, then their power is unlikely to be sufficient to confidently maintain an acceptable level of FPS (frame per second).

If we consider a video adapter connected to the PSI-e connector, we can say that this is an additional computer that is installed inside the system unit. It also includes a processor (but not a CPU, but a GPU) with a cooling system, video memory (GDDR), a controller, a DAC and an ADC (digital-analog and analog-to-digital converters).

The fact that the structure of the computer includes such a complicated apparatus is due to the increased requirements for resources for rendering realistic 3D graphics. Otherwise, the beauty of modern video games will have to be forgotten.

You can learn the main characteristics of the video card, relying on the most important parameters of the other components that make up the computer. This includes the frequency of the video processor, the volume, frequency and bandwidth of the video memory. It is impossible not to mention the technologies of SLI and CrossFire. They allow you to combine several video adapters to increase the power of the video system.

HDD

A hard disk (Hard Disk Drive) is used to store data. It is on it that the OS, games, programs are installed, it is it that stores music, videos, photos. The structure of the computer is such that any device can be replaced with a similar one without problems, but after changing the HDD all user data is lost, therefore to devices of this type the highest reliability requirements are presented.

Main characteristics of HDD

Capacity (measured in bytes), the larger this value, the more data can be written to the drive. In modern conditions, it makes sense to give preference only to those representatives of the family, whose capacity is above 500 Gigabytes.

The spindle speed (measured in revolutions per second) determines the average speed of data access. The higher this characteristic, the faster the reading and writing of information. Remember that a large rpm creates a high noise level.

Interface (type of connector to connect to the system board). The structure of a personal computer in the modern world is such that it is almost impossible to choose a motherboard and a hard disk so that they do not fit together.

Cache is a kind of RAM. Its purpose is to smooth the difference in the speeds of reading and writing. When selecting a device, this parameter can be ignored.

Keyboard

Everything goes forward, everything is developing, the processing power of the processors is increasing, methodical aids and lectures are being changed, according to which computer science is being taught. The structure of the computer, however, has one component, which remains unchanged, is the keyboard. It can be with membrane keys, semi-mechanical, mechanical or use a scissor mechanism.

The structure of the computer keyboard with a membrane mechanism includes plastic cones and three layers of film on which the contacts are located. When the button is pressed, the cone is compressed, shorting the upper and lower contacts. Such keyboards are the cheapest and lightest.

In semi-mechanical keypads instead of short-lived dusty contacts are installed metal, which are attached to the printed circuit board. But the return of the key to its original position and closing of the contacts is still done by the plastic cone.

The mechanical keypads use a spring as a return mechanism. They are considered the most durable and reliable. Their service life in the regular mode is from 50 to 100 years. The weight is much higher than that of any others.

Scissors keyboards are considered a kind of membrane keyboards. These are most often installed in laptops. Below the key, apart from the membrane, there are two rectangular crossed bars that provide an even stroke, which in turn protects against seizures.

Power Supply

When describing the anatomy of the computer (or the structure of the computer), often information about this component is deleted. And in vain, the power supply depends on the stability of the entire system.

Its main characteristic is power. The modern market offers a choice of devices from 300 to 1600 watts. The office computer will be enough for four hundred, and the newest gaming system will require at least a kilowatt.

Please note that the PB must not only provide all components with the necessary power, but also have an excess capacity exceeding the standard values by 20%. The situation is so, because after a while the characteristics of power supplies "sag", and peak loads can disable the device.

As informatics says, the structure of the computer is absolutely independent of the chosen power supply. They are universal and suitable for any configuration. However, more powerful power supplies have a larger size and an increased number of the same type of connectors. In most cases, the number of connectors is redundant even on power supplies with the lowest power.

It is better not to use cheap PBs manufactured by manufacturers without a name. Low voltage (3 to 12 volts) is applied to the PC devices, and even a slight fluctuation of this indicator can disable any "piece of hardware". In addition, in practice, such power supplies produce a quarter of the power compared to the data in the passport.

Instead of an afterword

Likbez on the topic "computer building for dummies" is completed. It does not describe absolutely exhaustive information. In such descriptions, you can go deeper, describing the technical details, but for a simple user enough information that is provided in this article. When you are already at this level, you can not call yourself a kettle or a beginner.