A computer is an electronic device which can accept a set of instructions and execute them as per the requirements. As there are numerous definitions for a computer, it’s hard to determine which one is perfect. But simply, the above lines suits it most. There are different types of computers such as Desktop PCs, Laptops, Notebooks, Netbooks, etc. all are capable of almost anything which can be done by a machine. In other words, the modern era is completely controlled by some computers.
The components of a Desktop computer
The peripherals in today’s computers are completely different from what we’ve seen years before. As the technology keeps advancing, more and more devices will be added in and out of a computer. But, most commonly, the following are considered as the building blocks of a modern computer.
- Bay
- Case or Chassis
- Case Fan
- Optical drive
- CPU (processor)
- Floppy disk drive
- Hard drive
- Keyboard
- Memory (RAM)
- Microphone
- Monitor
- Motherboard
- Mouse
- Network card
- Power Supply
- Printer
- Sound card
- Speakers
- Video card
Based on the size and usability of computers, we can classify them in different sections, some of them are given below.
- Personal computer or PC: This is the very basic form of computers we can see today. It will be built using a set of basic hardware and input devices such as a Mouse, Keyboard, Monitor, etc. It will have less amount of resources like CPU, RAM, HDD, etc.
- Workstation: It is another form of personal computers with much better hardware capabilities and better software functions.
- Minicomputer: It is a multi-user computer which supports numerous users at the same time. The hardware will be better than the above-listed computers.
- Mainframe: It is also a variation of the minicomputer but can hold thousands of simultaneous users at the same time.
- Supercomputer: the most advanced form of computers which can perform millions of operations at the same time. Most of the countries own their own supercomputers to perform governance related operations.
Now you know what a computer is.