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Most computing devices have a similar architecture. The core of this architecture is the central processing unit (CPU). The CPU can be thought of as the “brains” of the device. The CPU carries out the commands sent to it by the software, and returns results to be acted upon.
The earliest CPUs were large circuit boards with limited functionality. Today, a CPU is generally on one chip and can perform a large variety of functions. There are two primary manufacturers of CPUs for personal computers: Intel and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD).
The motherboard is the main circuit board on the computer. The CPU, RAM, hard disk, integrated graphics card, and sound card (if not embedded into the motherboard), among other things, all connect into the motherboard. Motherboards come in different shapes and sizes, depending upon how compact or expandable the computer is designed to be. Most modern motherboards have many integrated components, such as video and sound processing, which used to require separate components.
The motherboard provides much of the bus of the computer (the term bus refers to the electrical connection between different computer components). The bus is an important determiner of the computer’s speed: the combination of how fast the bus can transfer data and the number of data bits that can be moved at one time determine the speed.
When a computer starts up, it begins to load information from the hard disk into its working memory. This working memory, called random-access memory (RAM), can transfer data much faster than the hard disk. Any program that you are running on the computer is loaded into RAM for processing. In order for a computer to work effectively, some minimal amount of RAM must be installed. In most cases, adding more RAM will allow the computer to run faster. RAM can store data as long as it is receiving power; when the computer is turned off, any data stored in RAM is lost.
Read-only memory (ROM) is a form of memory in which the data stored on it can only be read. Typically, the data stored on ROM is meant to only be read. The boot sequence of personal computers requires ROM to initialize the operating system.
While RAM is used as working memory, computers also need a place to store data long-term. Traditionally, hard disk drives (HDDs) were the primary storage devices in personal computers. An HDD stores data on a stack of spinning disks coated with magnetic material inside a hard metal case. Data is read and written by a moving read/write head. HDDs are called "hard" disks to distinguish them from the earlier "floppy" disks, which were flexible and removable.
In recent years, solid-state drives (SSDs) have become increasingly popular for long-term data storage. Unlike HDDs, SSDs have no moving parts and store data on flash memory chips. This makes SSDs faster, more reliable, and more durable, although they are typically more expensive per gigabyte than HDDs. Modern personal computers often use SSDs for their operating system and frequently accessed data, while HDDs are still used for larger, less frequently accessed files.
Source: DERIVED FROM CHAPTER 2 OF “INFORMATION SYSTEMS FOR BUSINESS AND BEYOND” BY DAVID T. BOURGEOIS. SOME SECTIONS REMOVED FOR BREVITY. www.saylor.org/site/textbooks/Information%20Systems%20for%20Business%20and%20Beyond/Textbook.html
