Components of the

system unit and

their functions

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 Parts of
System Unit
Motherboard

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Motherboard
 The motherboard is the main internal hardware component
of the system unit.
 The board is called ‘mother’ because it has all the connectors
to the other hardware components of the computer system.
This means that all input and output (I/O) devices have their
connectors on the motherboard.
 It has a socket for holding the Central Processing Unit (CPU)
or processor with heat sinks and fan mounting location(s)
very close to the socket due to the huge amount of heat
produced by the CPU (especially high speed CPU) during its
operations. 4
 It also holds a slot for the main memory, a slot for video or
graphics card and a backup battery.

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 CPU
(Central
Processing
Unit)

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 CPU
The CPU is a hardware component responsible for all operations
that is carried out in the computer’s system which is why most
computer users refer to it as the brain of the computer and it is
held on the motherboard by a slot. The CPU or processor has
two main components which are the control unit (CU) and
the arithmetic logic unit (ALU). The CU extracts instructions from
the memory and executes them in order to control input and
output devices while the ALU carries out the arithmetic and
logical processes. The speed of a processor is measured
in megahertz(MHz) or gigahertz(GHz).

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 CPU
 The CPU is a hardware component responsible for all
operations that is carried out in the computer’s system which
is why most computer users refer to it as the brain of the
computer and it is held on the motherboard by a slot.

The CPU or processor has two main components which are

the control unit (CU) and the arithmetic logic unit (ALU).

The CU extracts instructions from the memory and executes

them in order to control input and output devices while the
ALU carries out the arithmetic and logical processes.
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The speed of a processor is measured in megahertz(MHz)
or gigahertz(GHz).

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 RAM
(RANDOM
ACCESS
MEMORY)

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RAM
RAM is the main memory of the computer system whose
main function is to store data temporary. It allows data to be
accessed easily by the CPU based on the fact that data is
accessed randomly (in no specific order). It also speeds up the
computer’s operations because of its ability to allow random
access to data.

The bigger(not in physical shape but in capacity) the RAM, the

faster the access to data by the CPU. RAM is volatile, meaning
it works or stores data while the computer is still running and
loses all data when the computer goes off.

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RAM is volatile, meaning it works or stores data while the
computer is still running and loses all data when the computer
goes off.
The RAM in combination with the CPU and the hard disk is the
computer’s major source of speed. A computer can use more
than one RAM depending on its user’s preference but limited to
the number of memory slots on the motherboard.

A computer can use more than one RAM depending on its

user’s preference but limited to the number of memory slots on
the motherboard.

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Hard Disk or
Hard drive

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The major storage device of the computer system

 Unlike the RAM that stores data temporary, the hard drive
stores information, files and other documents permanently as
its main function and also allows the retrieval of data but it
is non-volatile(data is not loss when the computer goes off).

Operating system and application software (apps) are installed

on the hard drive. The amount of data a hard drive can hold
depends on its capacity. The capacity of the hard drives I have
seen so far ranges from 20gigabytes(20GB) to 2terabytes(2TB).

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Computer Fan

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Basically, computers come with two fans in the system unit or
chassis, sometimes three. One CPU fan, one case fan and
sometimes, one hard drive fan. A manufacturer can also decide
to put in more than one CPU fan or case fan.
 During operations by the computer the CPU produces a lot of
heat and heat could always cause damage to your computer,
that is why the CPU fan is put in place to keep the CPU under
the required temperature.

The case fan is to keep the system unit cooled. The CPU is not
the only source of heat but the environment around the
system unit especially when temperature is been raised very
high by sunshine.
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 The hard drive does not produce as much heat as the CPU so
in some system units you may not even see the hard drive fan
but some also do have. Therefore, all computer fans’ prime
function is to cool down and maintain a conducive
temperature within the system unit for smooth operations.

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CD-ROM/
DVD-ROM
Drives

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 Compact disc(CD) and digital versatile disc (DVD) are storage
devices onto which certain amount of audio files, data and
other computer files can be stored.

 Videos can also be stored on them as well. CD-ROM can hold

about 700MB of data while DVD-ROM can hold about 4.7GB of
data.
CD and DVD drives’ functions are to read whatever data has
been stored on CDs and DVDs respectively. A DVD drive can
read a CD but a CD drive cannot read DVD.

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Power Supply
Unit (PSU)

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Just as any electronic device needs electrical power to function,
so as the system unit’s components. But the components do not
work with the power from your wall socket so the computer
power supply unit receives the alternating current (AC) and
converts it to a controlled direct current (DC) for the components
to function.

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Floppy Disk
Drive

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 This is an internal hardware component in the system unit
positioned closer to the CD-ROM drive and its main function is
to read and write from or on a floppy disk or diskette.
Though a lot of the modern computers are manufactured
without a floppy disk drive but the old computers still have
one and can be used.

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 The USB ports allow the computer user to connect USB
items to the system unit to be explored, the power
button is used to turn on the system unit, cables are used
to connect the components to each other, video or
graphics card and sound card enable the computer to
play videos and sounds respectively.

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Thank You!

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