Chapter 3: Computer Hardware

Motherboard:

A circuit board inside a computer that contains the microprocessor, the computer memory and other internal devices.

Video Card:

A circuit board that processes image signals.

Unicode:

A coding systems that represent text and symbols in computers, communications equipment, and other devices that use text.

Surge Suppressor:

A device that prevents power fluctuations from damaging electronic components.

Multitouch Screens:

A display that can respond to multiple fingers touching the screen simultaneously.

Touchscreen:

A display that lets you touch areas of the screen to interact with software.

Stylus:

A pen-shaped digital tool for making selections and entering information on a touchscreen.

Laptop:

A portable computer that is smaller than the average briefcase and light enough to carry comfortably; often called a notebook.

Mobile Device:

A portable or handheld computing device, such as a smartphone or a tablet, with a screen size of 10.1 inches or smaller.

Device Driver:

A program that controls a device attached to your computer such as a printer, monitor or video card.

Port:

A slot on the computer or device where you can attach a peripheral device.

Digital Pen:

A small device, shaped like a pen, that you can use to draw, tap icons, or tap keys on an on-screen keyboard, similar to a stylus, but is more capable because it has programmable buttons.

Trackball:

A stationary pointing device with a ball anchored inside a casing, as well as two or more buttons.

Benchmark

A test run by a laboratory or other organization to determine processor speed and other performance factors.

Wheel:

A type of game controller that mirrors the functionality of a steering wheel in a vehicle.

Gamepad:

Game controller held in both hands that controls movement and actions of players or objects.

Motion-Sensing Controller:

Game controller that allows users to guide on-screen elements with air gestures.

Dance Pad:

Game controller that is a flat, electronic device divided into panels that users press with their feet in response to instructions from the video game.

Joystick:

Game controller with a handheld vertical lever, mounted on a base, that you can move in different directions to control the actions of the simulated player or vehicle.

Webcams:

In computer concepts, a camera built-in to a computer, which is primarily used for videoconferencing, chatting or online gaming.

Pointing Device:

In computer concepts, a device used to point to and select specific objects on the computer screen.

ASCII:

In computer concepts, an 8-bit coding scheme, which means that 8 bits are used to represent upper and lowercase letters, mathematical operators, and logical operations.

Keyboard:

Input device that contains not only characters such as letters, numbers and punctuation, but also keys that can issue commands.

Voice Synthesizer:

Voice output that converts text to speech.

Bit:

(Short for binary digit) the smallest unit of data a computer can process.

Central Processing Unit:

A complex integrated circuit that consists of millions of electronic parts and is primarily responsible for converting input (data) into meaningful output (information.)

Peripheral Device:

A device such as a keyboard, mouse, printer, or speakers that can connected to and extend the capability of a computer.

Scanner:

A device that converts a paper image into an electronic file that you can open and work with on your computer.

Uninterruptable Power Supply:

A device that maintains power to computer equipment in case of an interruption in the primary power source.

Byte:

A field size for number fields that allows entries only from 0 to 255.

Touchpad:

A flat surface that is touch-sensitive, and you move your finger around the touch pad to move the pointer on the screen.

Solid State Drive:

A hard drive without moving parts, and is faster and more durable than magnetic drives.

Binary System:

A number system that has two digits, one and zero.

Tablet:

A small, flat computer with a touch-sensitive screen that accepts input from a digital pen, stylus, or your fingertip

Printer:

Creates hardcopy output on paper.

Plug-And-Play:

In computer concepts, devices that begin functioning properly as soon as you connect them to your computer.

Virtual Memory:

In computer concepts, the capability of an operating system to temporarily store data on a storage medium until it can be "swapped" into RAM.

Clock Speed:

In computer concepts, the speed at which a processor can execute instructions. Clock speed either can be measured in megahertz or gigahertz.

Headsets:

Includes one or more headphones for output, and a microphone for input.

Camera:

Input devices that support adding pictures or videos to a computer.

Control Unit:

Manages the flow of instructions within the processor.

Nonvolatile:

Memory that does not lose its contents when the power is removed.

Volatile:

Memory that loses its contents when power is removed.

Headphones:

Output device that consists of a pair of small listening devices that fit into a band placed over your ears.

Speakers:

Output devices used to convey audio output such as music, voice, sound effects or other sounds.

Read-Only Memory:

Permanently installed memory on your computer attached to the motherboard. The ROM chip contains the BIOS, which tells your computer how to start.

Multi-Core Processors:

Processor with multiple cores.

Arithmetic Logic Aid:

Responsible for performing arithmetic operations in the CPU.

Restore:

Returning an operating system or files to their default settings, or migrating back to the opening system's previous versions.

Firmware:

The instructions on the ROM chip.

Hard Drive:

The most common storage medium on a computer; can be magnetic or solid state.

Mouse:

The most common type of pointing device used with computer.

Form Factor:

The shape and size of a computer.

Cycle:

The smallest unit of time a process can measure.

Platform:

The software, or operating system, a device uses.

Microphone:

Used to enter voice or sound data into a computer.

USB Hub:

An external device that contains many USB ports.

Power-On Self Test:

At startup, a sequence that tests all computer components for proper operation.

Optical Media:

CDs, DVDs, and Blu-ray discs (BDs), use laser technology for storage and playback.

Input Device:

Communicates instructions and commands to a computer. Common input devices are keyboard, mouse, stylus, scanner, microphone and game controller.

Desktop Computer:

Computer that typically consists of the system unit, monitor, keyboard and mouse.

Output Device:

Conveys information from the computer to the user. Common output devices include displays, speakers, headphones, projectors and printers.

Swap File:

Data that cannot fit in RAM and uses an area of the hard disk called virtual memory.

Bus Width/Word Size:

Determines the speed at which data in a computer travels.

Projectors:

Displays visual output from a computer on a large surface such as a wall or screen.

All-In-One-Computer:

Similar to a desktop computer, but the monitor and system unit are housed together.

Earbuds:

Speakers that are small enough to place in your ears.

External Hard Drives:

Storage drive housed in a separate case, and typically connected to your computer using a USB cable.

Processor Cache:

Stores frequently used data next to the processor so that it can easily and quickly be retrieved.

Cloud Storage:

Storing electronic files on the Internet, not on a local computer; often called storing data "in the cloud."

Random Access Memory:

The storage location that is part of every computer and that temporarily stores open apps and document data while a computer is on.