Hardware Devices

The hardware is the physical part of the computer. If you can touch it then it is hardware. Hardware includes:

• Central Processing Unit (CPU)
• Input devices
• Output Storage Devices
• Storage Devices

The CPU

This is the brain of the computer where all the processing takes place. It consists of electronic circuits that interprets and executes each program instruction as well as communicates with input, output and storage devices.

Input Devices

These are peripheral devices through which data is entered and transformed into machine-readable form. They accept data from the outside the computer and transmit it to the CPU. Your choice of input device is dependent on the characteristic or type of data to be transmitted. Examples include:

• Keyboards
• Mouse
• Gaming devices
• Track ball/Easy ball
• Scanners
• Digital Camera

Output Devices

An output device is a peripheral, which receives data in the form of electrical pulses from the CPU and transforms it into human readable form. Examples include:

• Monitor
• Plotters
• Printers
• Microfilm and Microfiche

Storage Devices

This group of devices is divided into two sections: memory storage devices and secondary storage devices.

• Memory storage devices fall into two categories: random access memory (RAM) and read only memory (ROM).
• Secondary storage devices are needed because RAM is volatile and limited in size. These are used to store programs when they are not being processed. Examples include: Magnetic disks, hard disks, floppy disks, optical disks and magnetic tape.