Introduction to Types of Computer Peripherals
. For every computer system, there can be several hardware components attached to
the system as per the requirements. The computer hardware contains mechanical
elements and electronic elements of the computer. The hardware of the computer
system includes monitor, CPU, keyboard, mouse, printer, sound system, RAM, hard
disk and many more. Hardware is used for taking input data from the user, store the
data and display the output and execute the commands given by an individual.
Computer peripherals devices are classified into four different categories such as
1. Input Devices - These components are mostly to be used for recognized the
input data that are given by users for solving their problems. Input instructions can be
different types such as text, images, audio, and video. With the help of
these components these data transfer from input devices to computer.
2. Processing Devices - The main function of processing devices are have to
responsible for getting meaningful information from converted data with the help of
various processing devices.
3. Output Devices - An output device is any piece of computer hardware
equipment which converts information into human read able form. It can be text,
graphics, tactile, audio, and video. Some of the output devices are Visual Display Units
(VDU) i.e. a Monitor, Printer graphic Output devices, Plotters, Speakers etc.
4. Memory/Storage Devices - Computer memory is any physical device capable
of storing information temporarily, like RAM (random access memory), or permanently,
like ROM (read-only memory). Memory devices utilize integrated circuits and are used
by operating systems, software, and hardware.
Keyboards: Keyboards are mostly used input devices as its required to type
commands, letter or any software that requires you to
type on. Keyboards have many keys with characters
printed; each key represents a letter, number or
symbol. Each and one of these keys have different
functions of its own such as the A key types in the
letter a.
Printer: A printer is an output device which is used to get a
hard copy of data from the computer, you can do so by printing
out a documentation or images. Printers are mostly used to
print text, images and photos. People use a printer to print
letters or invoices that they have already typed up on the
computer, so that they can hand it to the end user.
Monitor: For the computer hardware, the hardware is another device that is used to
display the output, videos and other graphics as it is directly
connected to the CPU. The video displayed by the monitor uses
the video card. The monitor can be compared to the television
set but the difference is the resolution and graphics displayed by
the monitor are of much high quality compare to the television
set. The desktop is connected via a cable and gets fitted in a
computer video card which is installed in the motherboard of the
computer system. For laptops, tablets the monitor is pre-built in
the system and there is no separate hardware installed in these
devices. There are two types of computer monitors which are
CRT and LCD. The CRT was used as an old model of computers. The LCD is used in a
modern computer as they are thinner and lighter and easy to use compared to CRT
monitors.
CPU (Central processing unit) is the core hardware part of the
computer system which is used to interpret and execute most of the
commands using other computer parts i.e. software and hardware.
The CPU is a core part of any PC, laptops, tablets, and notebooks.
The CPU is also called the brain of the computer as every operation
is executed in the CPU only. The CPU is made of computer chip
which contains billions of small transistors installed on it. All the
calculations are performed inside these transistors. The other
hardware components which are monitor, keyboard, mouse, printer,
sound system are connected o CPU.
Mouse It is a hand operator input device that is used to
point something on the screen. The mouse can be wired or
wireless. If the mouse is wired it is connected to the CPU
directly. The mouse can uses the laser o ball to scroll up or
down on the screen. Any movement done from the mouse
sends instructions directly to the computer to move the
cursor on the screen.
Speakers are an output device which are used to produce
data such as sound mostly when connected to a computer.
Speakers output sound that is generated by the computer.
Speakers can also be used to listen to music which plays on
your computer. The sound quality of speakers will depend on the
watts for the speakers as computer speakers range widely in
quality and price.
External Hard Drives are used as external storage
space if your computer does not have enough memory to
save your data or files. These External Hard Drives have a
large storage space meaning that you can store as much
data and files as you want. You do not need to worry about
graphics files taking up much space as these hard drives
have a large capacity.
USB Pen drives are usually used to move data and
files from one computer to another due to its small size
and also as they have a low storage capacity. USB’s can
also be used to save work that you have started on one
computer then carry on with it on another computer. For
example, if you start a Document at work and then want to
continue with the document at home, you simply save it
onto the USB. Then plug it into your home computer and
you have access to the document at home.
Expansion cards
Most computers have expansion slots on the motherboard that allow you to add various
types of expansion cards. These are sometimes called PCI (peripheral component
interconnect) cards. You may never need to add any PCI cards because most
motherboards have built-in video, sound, network, and other capabilities.
However, if you want to boost the performance of your computer or update the
capabilities of an older computer, you can always add one or more cards. Below are
some of the most common types of expansion cards.
Video card
The video card is responsible for what you see on the monitor. Most computers have
a GPU (graphics processing unit) built into the motherboard instead of having a
separate video card. If you like playing graphics-intensive games, you can add a faster
video card to one of the expansion slots to get better performance.
Sound card
The sound card—also called an audio card—is responsible for what you hear in the
speakers or headphones. Most motherboards have integrated sound, but you can
upgrade to a dedicated sound card for higher-quality sound.
Network card
The network card allows your computer to communicate over a network and access the
Internet. It can either connect with an Ethernet cable or through a wireless connection
(often called Wi-Fi). Many motherboards have built-in network connections, and a
network card can also be added to an expansion slot.
Bluetooth card (or adapter)
Bluetooth is a technology for wireless communication over short distances. It's often
used in computers to communicate with wireless keyboards, mice, and printers. It's
commonly built into the motherboard or included in a wireless network card. For
computers that don't have Bluetooth, you can purchase a USB adapter, often called
a dongle.
What Have You Learned?
1. Sometimes referred to as the brain of the computer.
a. ROM.
b. CPU.
c. Hard Drive
d. Soft Drive
2. A photo scanner is an example of an output device.
a. True
b. False
3. RAM is working memory where data is being processed.
a. True
b. False
4. How are a mouse, keyboard, and a printer alike?
a. They are all types of computer hardware
b. They are all types of input devices
c. They help you watch videos on a computer
d. They connect you to many other computers
5. Which hardware OUTPUTS information from the computer?
a. microphone
b. mouse
c. keyboard
d. printer
6. What can you use to point to and select things on a computer screen?
a. CD drive
b. scanner
c. mouse
d. monitor
7. Select 2 OUTPUT devices:
a. Scanner & Microphone
b. Monitor & Speaker
c. Keyboard & Mouse
d. Printer & Scanner
