The Term Hardware refers to the physical components of the computer system. Computer Hardware consist of the devices within the case of the computer itself, and any peripheral devices that are connected to the computer (such as the mouse and keyboard).


The primary component of the computer is the motherboard (also called the main circuit board, main logic board, mainboard, or systemboard). The motherboard is a large printed circuit board with microchips, connectors, and other components mounted on it, and with copper circuitry traces that connect the components together.

A motherboard typically holds the following items:

• CPU (Central Processing Unit) where the actual processing of data takes place.

• RAM (Random Access Memory)

• ROM (Read Only Memory)

• CMOS Memory

• Expansion slots for adding expansion cards such as Video cards and Sound cards

• System clock circuitry

• Other controller chips that act as traffic cops directing data flow along the system busses (the circuitry connecting the chips to the CPU) and I/O ports.

Along with the motherboard, the case of your computer typically contains a power supply (to convert the AC line current from the wall outlet to the low-voltage DC current used by the computer) and several storage devices located in the expansion bays of the case (such as: Hard drives, Floppy drives, Zip drives, and CD drives, and DVD drives).