In the recent past, you have most likely seen advertisements that describe a new computer, along with some of the parts. The purpose of this page is to try to explain how all parts of a computer work together.

• MotherBoard – Think of this piece as the floor of an office. Everything that works in an office will touch the floor (either directly or indirectly).
• Processor – The processor is the main brain of the computer, and does all the thinking. This part would relate to the office worker.
• Hard Drive – The hard drive is the permanent storage of the computer, similar to a filing cabinet in an office.
• RAM – This is temporary working space for the computer while it is running. This could be compared to a desk in the office.

When the computer is running, the Processor will take a file from the Hard Drive, and work with it in RAM. Once the file is no longer needed, the Processor will put the file back to the Hard Drive. In our office world, it works in the same fashion, where the office worker will take a file from the filing cabinet and work on it on the desk. Once the worker is done with the file, they will put it back into the filing cabinet for later use.

Now, in both scenarios there are variables that can affect the speed of a task getting done.

• The amount of RAM (desk space) can be increased to a certain point, but increasing it too much will not improve performance as much (no matter how big the workers desk is, he can only do a certain amount of work at one time).
• The speed of the processor (office worker) can be increased to a certain point, but if the RAM (desk space) is not increased in relation to the speed of the processor, a large increase in performance will not be noticed.
• The size of the hard drive (filing cabinet) will not affect the performance of the processor (office worker), unless it is full. However, if the hard drive is fragmented (filing cabinet is un-organized) the processor (office worker) will have difficulty finding the file.

So far, only the internal workings of the computer (office) have been described. The computer needs to communicate with the user (office worker’s boss). Below are more terms that we will try to explain.

• Video Card – This is the piece that the processor uses to display information to your screen, allowing you to tell your computer what to do (similar to how the office worker’s boss will give him instructions on what to work on).
• Modem – This is a piece that is used to allow your computer to communicate with another computer (most commonly your Internet provider).
• Network Card – This is a piece that will allow your computer to talk to other computers that are interconnected. Often, the network card is used to connect to an external modem allowing access to the internet.