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How the heck does a computer work?
Intricate but simple.
Computers are intricate machines but the way they work is simple.
You type into the keyboard. What you type ends up on the screen. You go to a website and the website ends up on the screen.
In the background there’s a ton of things happening, you’re unaware happening.
After today you’ll understand what’s happening in the background.
What is in a computer?
For a computer to run you need a motherboard, CPU (central processing unit), Random access memory (RAM), power supply, and a GPU (graphic processing unit).
For a computer to power on you don’t need a GPU (also known as a video card) but you need the GPU to see something on the monitor.
How does this all connect?
A computer is very similar to your body’s nervous system. Your senses (vision, smell, taste, and touch) tell your brain to do something. Your brain then activates something else like your leg to move or turning you head.
For a computer, the words typed using the keyboard is like your senses. This input goes through the motherboard. The motherboard is like your body’s nervous system. It connects everything together.
From the motherboard, the words move to the RAM (also known as memory). The RAM is like your body’s short term memory. The RAM holds the information until the CPU (also known as a processor) is ready for it. The same way your memory holds a task until you complete it.
Then the processor goes through the information and tells the other components what to do. Just like your brain tells the rest of your body what to do.
What are the other parts and what do they do?
Video card processes video data and sends the information to your monitor so you can see the data.
PSU (power supply unit), also called a power supply, gives power to all of the components in the computer.
NIC (network interface card) connects you to other computers including the internet. There can be 2 NICs per computer. 1 for wired connection and the other for WiFi. Sound…
