What is Computer Hardware in Computer?

The physical parts of a computer that you can touch and feel are called hardware.  

Computer hardware consists of all the input, processing, output and storage devices. The connectors such as wires, cables, switches, etc., are also included in this category 

Here is the chart that will show the classification of different types of hardware in computer.

1. Input Devices
2. Processing Device
3. Output Devices
4. Storage Devices

1. Input Devices

The parts which are used to give input to the computer are called input devices.

Types of Input Devices

i) Keyboard

ii) Mouse

iii) Scanner

iv) Joystick

v) Web Camera

vi) Microphone

vii) Touch screen

viii) Trackball

ix) Barcode Reader

x) MICR (Magnetic Input Character Recognition)

xi) OMR (Optical Magnetic Recognition)

xii) Electronic Light Pen

Let’s have a look one by one.

i) Keyboard: We feed data into the computer with the help of keyboard. It contains different types of keys. You can type anything by pressing these keys.

ii) Mouse: It is also called a pointing device. It is used to draw and select the objects on the computer screen.

iii) Scanner: It scans our documents such as photographs and pages of text.

iv) Joystick: It is used for playing video games. It has a vertical stick on it. that is used to move the things around the screen.

v) Web Camera: It is used to capture pictures and video images from outside and input them into the computer.

vi) Microphone: It is used to record our voice or other sounds into the computer. It also helps us to talk to people through the internet.

vii) Touch Screen: A touch screen is a special sensor based screen. It takes the input by touch of human finger, hand or pen. A touch screen can detect exactly where it’s surface has been touched. It is also available in mobiles, ipods and many other devices.

viii) Trackball: It works like a mouse. It is a pointing device. A mouse which is upside-down is known as trackball. It consists of a rolling ball on its top. We move the mouse pointer on the screen by rolling only the ball with our hands.

ix) Barcode Reader: The reader which reads the barcode is known as barcode reader. A sequence of thin and thick black lines on the white backgrounds is known as barcode. Each line of barcode represents some number. It has a light source and a lens. It reads bars printed on the barcode and sends digital information to the computer.

x) MICR (Magnetic Ink Character Reader): We use the MICR to read particular characters on bank cheques which are written at the bottom of cheques or demand drafts with a specific magnetic ink. These represent cheque number, branch number as well as customer account number. The numbers are somewhat different in shape. Since, the characters are designed, they can be read by the MICR reader.

xi) OMR (Optical Mark Recognition): We use OMR to detect the marks in an examination. The examination compromises Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs), where answers should be marked with a soft and dark pencil.

xii) Electronic Light Pen: You can write with it like a normal pen, on a special pad. whatever you write on the pad with this pen, appears on the monitor. It is mainly used by engineers, architects and designers.

What is Computer Hardware in Computer?

2. Processing Device:

The processing device of computer is called CPU (Central Processing Unit).

CPU (Central Processing Unit): Just like our brain keeps control on all parts of body. CPU controls all the functions of a computer. That is why, CPU is called the “Brain of Computer”. It is also called the processing device of computer.

All calculations and comparisons are performed by CPU. CPU is actually the microprocessor which is located on a board inside the CPU cabinet.

CPU is divided into three parts:

1. Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU)
2. Control Unit (CU)
3. Memory Unit ( MU)

Let’s have a look one by one.

1. Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU): It performs all the arithmetic calculations such as: addition (+), subtraction (-), multiplication (*), division (/). It also performs the logical operations involving comparisions such as less than (<), less than equal to (<=), greater than (>), greater than equal to (>=), equal to (=), not equal to.

2. Control Unit (CU): It controls all the activities of a computer. It checks the result given by Arithmetic Logic Unit. It also checks what to do and when to do.

3. Memory Unit (MU): The storage device of a computer is called memory. Memory unit stores the input and output data. There are two kinds of memory

a) RAM: It stands for Random Access Memory.

b) ROM: It stands for Read Only Memory.

What is Computer Hardware in Computer?

3. Output Devices:

Output Devices are used to display the data that we input into a computer and the results which we get after processing.

Types of output devices

i) Monitor

ii) Printer

iii) Plotter

iv) Speakers

v) Projector

vi) Sound card

vii) Video card

viii) Headphones

ix) GPS

x) Bluetooth earphone

Let’s have a look one by one.

i) Monitor: It looks like a television. You can watch movies and play games on the monitor. The output given by a monitor is called as soft copy. It is also called VDU (Visual Display Unit).

There are mainly three types of monitors:

A) CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) Monitor

B) LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) Monitor

C) LED (Light Emitting Diode) Monitor

ii) Printer: It is used to print the output on a paper.

Types of Printers

A) Dot Matrix Printer

B) Laser Printer

C) Inkjet Printer

iii) Plotter: It is used for taking big printouts. Especially, plotters are used for printing country maps, weather forecasting pictures, etc. It is used by engineers, architects, etc., to produce 3D effects in their designs or pictures.

Plotters are divided into two types:

A) Drum Plotter

B) Flatbed Plotter

iv) Speakers: It is used to listen to music and other sounds played on the computer. These are attached to the CPU through cables. Speakers comes in different shapes and sizes.

v) Projector: It takes image from a computer and display them by projection onto screen, wall or another surface. The surface projected onto is usually large, flat and lightly colored.

vi) Sound Card: Inside the computer, a sound card is an expansion component. It is also referred to as a soundboard, audio output device, or audio card. It offers audio input and output capabilities in computers, which can be heard with the help of speakers or headphones.

There are three primary types of sound cards:

A) Motherboard Sound Chips.

B) Standard Sound Cards.

C) External Sound Adapters.

vii) Video Card: The video card is an expansion card that allows the computer t send graphical information to a video display device such as a monitor, TV, or projector. The card is usually located on the computer motherboard or is a separate circuit board but is sometimes built into the computer display unit.

viii) Headphones: Headphone are special speakers that enable a person to listen to music alone without disturbing the other persons.

4. Storage devices: 

Storage devices are used to store the data and instructions entered into the computer are called storage devices.

Types of storage devices are:

i) Hard Disk

ii) Floppy Disk

iii) CD

iv) DVD

v) Pen drive

vi) Memory card

i) Hard Disk: It is the main and the largest storage device of the computer. It is located inside the CPU box. All the work that you do on the computer gets stored on the hard disk permanently. It is also called a hard drive.

ii) Floppy Disk: It stores very small amount of data. It is used to transfer data from one computer to another. It is also used for storing files or data in a safe place. Floppy is inserted in the floppy drive. Floppy disk is available in two sizes. One is 3.5 inches and the other is 5.25 inches.

iii) CD (Compact Disk): CD stands for Compact Disk. It is a common storage device on the computer. It is round in shape and is 5 inch in diameter. The CD can hold about 720 MB (Megabyte) of data into it. It is put into a CD drive to store or read data. CD stores data permanently.

iv) DVD (Digital Versatile Disk or Digital Video Disk):

DVD stands for “Digital Versatile Disk” or “Digital Video Disk”. It looks similar to a CD. But it can store more data than a CD. The storage capacity of DVD is up to 4.7 GB. It stores the data permanently. You can store movies, songs, games, etc. inside the DVD. A DVD drive is needed to play a DVD on a computer.

v) Pen Drive: It is also known as flash drive. It is used for transferring data or file from one computer to another. The most important feature of pen drive is that we can carry our data and important files in it anywhere. It is put into the USB (Universal Serial Bus) part of a computer. It comes in various capacities ranging from 512 MB to 32 GB.

vi) Memory Card: It is a small, square or rectangular shaped storage device. It is mostly used in mobile phones and laptops for storing data and software.

What is Computer Hardware in Computer?

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