What's Inside My Computer?

所以什么是在你computer? We can divide up the guts of a computer into five categories:

Thepower supplycomponent provides a supply ofelectricitythroughout the rest of the computer. When you plug your computer into a power socket, electricity flows from the cord into a shielded box containing atransformer。Thetransformer's job is to convert the incoming electricity into the proper voltage for each part of the machine that needs electricity. If you're using alaptop, some of that power goes to thelaptop's batteryto charge it. When unplugged, a laptop has to rely on the charge inside the battery for its power needs.

Computers also have a small battery — the CMOS battery — that's always on, even when you power down the rest of the computer. This battery helps preserve data stored in the complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS), a special chip in charge of maintaining information about your computer's hardware. It also powers a clock, which is why your computer should keep time accurately even if you turn it off or unplug it.

Thedrivesin a computer are the devices that let you store and recall data and applications. Most computers have ahard drive— either a series of thinplattersthat store information using magnetic recordings or asolid stateflashhard drivewith no moving parts. In either case, the hard drive allows you to store information and applications directly to your computer.

Older computers usedfloppy disk drives。其他老电脑依靠光存储drives likeCD-ROMorDVD-ROMdrives. These drives allow you to use media storage devices like compact discs or DVDs with your computer.

Modemsare machines that let computers communicate with other computing systems. Modems are closely related towireless cards, which are radio transceivers that can send and receive data through a specific frequency of radio waves.

Soundandgraphics cardsare pretty self-explanatory. They give your computer the ability to display graphics or play sounds and music. Not all cards are the same — some support more software formats than others. Graphics cards in particular come in a wide variety of specs.

Cooling systemstypically includeheat sinksandfans。Overheating can be a serious problem with computers, causing performance to suffer to the point of a system failure in some cases. Heat sinks absorb heat and move it away from critical components. Fans give computers a way to exhaust heat externally. Some computers have more advanced liquid-cooling systems. A water-cooling system uses tubes of flowing water to absorb heat and move it away from critical components.

There you have it. That covers the major elements that are inside a typical computer. Now you don't have to take one apart and look at it yourself. And we get to find out if this computer will still work once we put it back together.

To learn more about computers and other related topics, take a look at the links below.

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