EXTERNAL PARTS OF A COMPUTER AND THEIR CHARACTERISTICS - TECHNOLOGY - 2024

The external parts of a computer are those that can be seen with the naked eye without having to open or disassemble the device. Some of these items are essential to the operation of your computer, while others are accessories.

Among the essentials, the case, the monitor, the keyboard and the mouse stand out. The last three elements are peripheral, which means that they allow communication between the user and the computer.

The monitor is a peripheral input element, while the keyboard and mouse are peripheral input elements. On the other hand, some accessory or non-essential elements are the horns, the printer, the camera, the microphone and the scanner.

These are not necessary for the computer to function but can improve the computer's capabilities. The horns and the printer are peripheral information output parts. The others are peripheral input elements.

You may also be interested in the internal parts of a computer.

Most important external elements of a computer

Here is a list of the most popular and important external elements of a computer.

1- Case

The case or box of the computer is the device in which the motherboard of the computer is installed. Without it, the computer could not function. There are vertical and horizontal boxes.

2- Monitor

The monitor is a peripheral information output device. It is a peripheral element, since it allows communication between the user and the equipment. It is output because it materializes on the screen the information that is processed in the computer.

The monitor works with a series of dots that light up according to a binary coding matrix. To control this system, a video card is used, which is an internal part of the computer.

3- Keyboard

The keyboard is the most important peripheral input device for your computer. It is input because it allows you to enter information on the computer.

This device is composed of a series of keys and a microprocessor that transmits information from the keyboard to the central processor of the computer.

Desktops typically have 101-key keyboards, but laptops in some cases have fewer.

Some of the most important keys on these peripheral devices are:

- Alphabetical, in which the letters are arranged.

- The number keys.

- The function keys (F1, F2… F12), which allow easier execution of operations.

- Navigation keys, that allow to move in the four directions.

- Escape key.

- Control keys.

- Tabulation.

- Caps lock.

- Shift, which makes the secondary functions of certain keys appear.

- Alt, which brings up additional key functions.

- Space bar.

- Home, back, forward and end keys, which allow you to scroll up and down a page.

- Enter key.

- Delete key.

4- Mouse

After the keyboard, the mouse is the second most relevant information input device on a computer. This reduces the use of the keyboard and makes navigation faster.

Initially, the mouse was equipped with a sphere at the bottom. Moving this sphere against the desktop moved the mouse cursor on the computer screen.

Later, this system was displaced by infrared technology, which is more efficient. The traditional mouse design consists of two buttons and a rotating disk.

The buttons allow you to select and open option menus, while the bar is used to scroll up and down.

5- Bugles

Horns are peripheral output devices. These allow to amplify the sounds coming from the computer. Some kits have built-in horns, while others require the installation of external horns.

6- Microphone

The microphone is a peripheral information input device. This is responsible for capturing the sounds that are produced around the computer.

Once the sound has been captured, it can be stored in the equipment (as a recording), sent to other equipment (as a call) or sent to the horns to be amplified.

7- Camera

The camera is a peripheral input device that is responsible for capturing images and videos. Together with the microphone, it allows you to record videos with audio.

The information received by a camera can be stored (in the form of an audiovisual recording) or it can be transmitted to another computer (through a video call).

8- Printer

Printers are information output elements. Thanks to these, the data stored by a computer can be put on paper.

The first printers were impact printers and worked with a technology similar to that of typewriters: they printed letter by letter. However, they were very slow and noisy, so they were displaced.

Currently, the most widely used printers are thermal and laser. Thermal printers work thanks to rollers that wet with a mixture of ink and wax.

Subsequently, the roller passes through the paper capturing the information. Thermal black and white printers use a single roller, while color printers have three (one for each primary color).

For their part, laser printers work with toner (a kind of powdered ink), photoconductive rollers and lasers. These printers are the fastest and most efficient on the market.

9- Scanner

The scanner is an information entry system. This works like a photocopier, because it reads an image and produces a copy of it. The difference is that the copy produced is digital and is stored in the memory of the computer.

This device is made up of two essential elements: an optical system and an analog-digital converter. The optical system is in charge of studying the image to be scanned, determining the colors and tones present on the page.

The information provided by the optical system is analyzed by the analog-digital converter. This transforms this data to the binary system, so that the computer can interpret and store the image.

10- Speakers

The speakers emit the sounds of the computer, whether they are from internal software (system errors) as well as from musical elements, videos or anything else that requires playback.

Within this peripheral element we can mention the headphones, which fulfill the same function as the loudspeaker but are for individual use.

11- Touch panel or touch pad

The touch panel is incorporated by most modern laptops, as well as some external keyboards. They perform the same function as the mouse, only in this case it is digital.

12 - Memory card ports

Memory cards or pendrives are external information storage devices. To be able to connect with the computer, it requires some ports that are located in the case. The most common port is USB, but there are others for reading SD cards.

13- CD player

It is an optical device that reads CD-ROMs that contain some type of recorded information. In turn, the reader serves to record information found in the computer on a CD. It is increasingly in disuse.

External parts of a laptop

In addition to some external elements already mentioned above such as mouse, camera, CD reader or memory card ports, laptops also have some exclusive peripherals with respect to the computer.

Cover

It would be the equivalent of the computer case, since it houses all the gear of the computer. They are rectangular and their size varies mainly depending on the screen.

screen

The screen is embedded in the cover and performs the functions of the monitor. Its size is calculated in inches, the most common currently being between 14 and 17 ″.

Touch pad

The same as the touch panel that some keyboards incorporate, but in this case it is also embedded in the cover. It is more important in laptops, since it allows that it is not necessary to carry extra peripheral elements on the move.

Charger and AC adapter (charger)

Computers are plugged into electrical power, while laptops incorporate a battery with a certain duration to be able to move it without having to be connected to electricity. To charge the battery you need a charger as well as an AC adapter for the charger.

References

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