Tech Terms

Here are some terms that are commonly used in the computer industry.  At the moment these are very basic however more will be sure to follow.

Computer:  That is the actual box that houses the components of a PC.  Usually the box that you insert CD's into.  It can be either a desktop or a tower.

Display:  The devices that displays everything.  Commonly referred to as the computer TV.  Displays are usually CRT's [The one that looks like.....well a TV] and a LCD [The flat display that is usually only a few inches thick].  Also referred to as a flat screen or monitor.

CD-ROM/DVD-ROM:  This is called an optical drive because is uses a laser to read data.  These are the round discs.  Normally they hold music but they can hold a bunch of other things.  DVD's are the same exact size but they hold much much more information.  Usually movies come on these discs.

Memory:  There are two types of memory in a computer.  Storage which is the Hard Drive and RAM [Random Access Memory] which the system uses on the fly to process things because it is quicker than going to the Hard Drive.

Hard Drive:  The computer tower is commonly miscalled a hard drive.  A hard drive is actually a device inside the tower.  It uses two magnetic discs to hold all of your information.  This device is effected my magnetic disturbances and power surges.  Since the discs do spin in the device and are mechanical they DO wear out over time.  A hard drive's size is now commonly described in Gigabytes rather than megabytes [1GB = 1000MB].

CPU:  Once again the tower is commonly referred to as the CPU [Central Processing Unit] however this is INCORRECT.  The CPU is actually  a little chip inside the computer that acts like the brain of the computer.

RAM:  One of the two types if memory used in a computer.  RAM [Random Access Memory] is used by the operating system for storing things it needs to access quickly.  The computer can access the RAM more quickly and effectively than the Hard Drive.  However the data in RAM does not stay permanently.  Once you shut the system down or reboot it the computer erases the RAM.  That is why you have a Hard Drive for longer storage.  RAM is usually described in Megabytes but can go to 1GB and higher.

Power Supply:  On laptop this is the external adapter that goes from the wall to the laptop.  In a tower it is the device the takes power from the wall outlet and distributes it to all of the different components in the computer.

Motherboard/Mainboard:  This is usually the largest board in the computer and is parallel to the sides of the computer case.  There are a few different sizes to accommodate different case sizes.

Display Adapter / Graphics Adapter:  This card plugs into the motherboard and is the device that takes all of the information from the computer and displays it on your monitor.  This device is what does all the work to digitally draw all of the pictures in your monitor.  This component is especially critical to people who enjoy games because a better graphics card will give you a better and smoother picture.

Network Card:  This card is used to connect the computer to a network.  A network can be between a couple of computers in your house or the network can be the internet.  Most high-speed or broadband connections require an Ethernet connection [some however do use USB of a combination of both].

Sound Card:  This card is pretty strait forward.  It delivers sound to your speakers of headphones.  You can have a soundcard that can support upwards of 8 speaker.

Modem:  This device can be many things.  You can have an internal dialup modem which connects you to an internet service over a phone line [and ties up that phone line].  You can also have an external dialup modem.  Another type of modem is a broadband modem.  A broadband modem is almost always outside of your tower and connects the PC to a high-speed internet network.