The computer hardware of each PC represents the collection of components which can be touched. These are the main components which are located inside the computer case and all of them work together in order to make the computer run properly. The computer software on the other hand, represents the total of computer programs which are to be installed on the computer. The hardware will function properly only if the proper software is installed on the computer. As you can imagine, the software can not be touched, as it is only computer data.



There are different components which form the computer hardware and in what follows I am going to present them to you. It is only suitable to start with the beginning and that should be the motherboard. The motherboard is the component on which all the other components connect. In order to make the connection between all the components, the motherboard uses different integrated circuits. It is important to know that certain components are only compatible with certain motherboards, and in many cases a change of the components might require a change of the motherboard as well.



One of the most important components which connects to the motherboard is the “brain of the computer”, which is the processor. It can also be called the CPU or the central processing unit. This component makes all the proper calculations which assure that the computer works in a proper manner. The processor communicates with all the other components as well and that is done through the chipset. The CPU connects to the chipset which then connects to the motherboard.



Another important component of each computer is the memory. The RAM or Random Access Memory will store all the data which is provided by the processor, motherboard, video card, and so on. This data is lost as soon as the computer is reset. It is advisable to have as much memory on the computer as possible because the more RAM you have the more data it will be able to store and the better the computer will work.

The video card is an important component as well because it creates the output for the computer monitor. Every computer has a video card, whether an integrated one which is included in the motherboard, or an external one which connects to the motherboard. The external ones are able to produce a much better performance than the integrated ones and because of this they are suitable mostly for gaming computers. The hard drive is the component which stores all the computer data, which is somewhat similar to the RAM, the difference being that the data is kept even after the computer is reset.