Glossary for Computer Concepts: hardware
Learn Computer Concepts in FREE step-by-step lessons.
ALU: ALU: Arithmetic/Logic Unit (Lesson:
Hardware)
   
Contains the circuits that carry out instructions, such as mathematical and logical operations.BIOS: BIOS: Basic Input/Output System (Lesson:
Hardware)
   
The BIOS stores information about your hardware configuration along with the boot program.bus: bus (Lesson:
Hardware)
   
electrical pathways on the motherboard that connect the components.BYOD: BYOD: Bring Your Own Device (Lesson:
Hardware)
   
A trend where employees are bringing devices to work and pressuring employers to support them.cache: Cache (Lesson:
Hardware)
   
A temporary storage area for frequently accessed or recently accessed data; speeds up the operation of the computer; size measured in megabytes (MB)chip: Chip, short for microchip (Lesson:
Hardware)
   
Developed in 1950s, it integrated multiple transistors into a single module called an integrated circuit.circuit: Circuit (Lesson:
Hardware)
   
A circuit is created by combining transistors, and sometimes other components, in a manner that accomplishes a specific taskclock: Clock Speed (Lesson:
Hardware)
   
Speed of the processor’s internal clock, which dictates how fast the processor can process data; usually measured in GHz (gigahertz, or billions of pulses per second)CPU: : CPU: Central Processing Unit (Lesson:
Hardware)
   
a group of circuits that perform the processing in a computer, typically in one integrated circuit called a microprocessorCPU: components: CPU Components (Lesson:
Hardware)
   
The CPU is made up of many components. The main ones are Control unit, Arithmetic/logic unit (ALU), Registers, Cache, Clock speeddigital assistant: Digital Assistant (Lesson:
Hardware)
   
Streamlined interfaces like Apple’s Siri, Google Now, Amazon’s Alexa, and Microsoft’s Cortanafirmware: Firmware (Lesson:
Hardware)
   
programs and data from the computer manufacturer, including the boot process used to start the computer.FSB: FSB: front front-side bus (Lesson:
Hardware)
   
The most important bus on a PC motherboard is the front front-side bus, or FSB. FSB speed is important and is typically listed with the specifications of a computer.hardware: Hardware, computer (Lesson:
Hardware)
   
the tangible parts of a computer or digital device and typically includes support for processing, storage, input, and output.Moore's law: Moore's Law (Lesson:
Hardware)
   
states that the number of transistors on a chip will double about every two years.motherboard: Motherboard (Lesson:
Hardware)
   
the primary circuit board of a computer to which all components are connected, including the CPU.multiprocessing: Multiprocessing (Lesson:
Hardware)
   
also called parallel processing, is processing that occurs using more than one processing unit to increase productivity and performance.processing: Processing (Lesson:
Hardware)
   
carries out the instructions provided by software. Digital devices process bits of data into useful information and services.questions: Self Study Questions(Lesson:
Hardware)
   
What have you learned?raspberry: Raspberry Pi (Lesson:
Hardware)
   
Small, inexpensive motherboard containing entire computer systems used to build all kinds of electronic gadgetsregisters: Registers (Lesson:
Hardware)
   
Hold the bytes currently being processedROM: ROM: Read-only memory (Lesson:
Hardware)
   
Read-only memory (ROM) provides permanent storage for data and instructions that do not change, such as firmware.Full Glossary