Look Inside Your Computer
What We'll Learn- Three important components inside your computer
- How to check "under the hood" of your computer
- Using this information to buy a computer
What's Going on Inside
This video describes what goes on inside a computer:
Three Important Parts
Knowing a bit about these three parts is important to understand how your computer works. It's also helpful when comparing computers when considering a purchase. Often, if you purchase a software program, it will specify the minimum requirements and refer to these aspects of your computer.
- CPU - The Brain
- Central Processing Unit - Controls and manages all the activity
- Measured by size and speed (Hertz = Cycles per second)
- Hard Disk Drive - Filing Cabinet
- Stores all the information on your computer
- Measured by storage size (Bytes = space required to store a single letter)
- RAM - Workbench
- Random Access Memory - Temporary working area for information in use
- Measured by storage size (Bytes = space required to store a single letter)
It's helpful to know a bit about the Metric System when talking about these three items.
Kilo | 1 Thousand | 1,000 | Mega | 1 Million | 1,000,000 | Giga | 1 Billion | 1,000,000,000 | Tera | 1 Trillion | 1,000,000,000,000 |
Exercise 1 - Looking Under the Hood
You can easily learn a little about the details of the CPU and storage in your computer. Here's how:
For Windows XP
- Click on Start
- Right-mouse-click on My Computer
- Click on Properties
You will see the CPU speed and amount of RAM similar to the picture below:
Windows Vista / Windows 7.0
- Click on Start Icon
- Right-mouse-click on Computer
- Click on Properties
The screen with similar information is pictured below:
Exercise 2 - Buying a ComputerKnowing about these three parts is very helpful if you are buying a new computer. Let's have a look: - Open Internet Explorer
- Go to www.staples.ca
- Search for Computers and click Go
- Observe how the computers are described - Identify the three components in the descriptions
- Pick a computer you might like to buy
- Use Google Search to search for the following:
- Computer Brand and Model Reviews (replace the Computer Brand and Model with the specifics from your ad)
- Read what others say about this computer
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