Everyone uses computers, but not everyone knows what a computer is made of and what makes it fast or slow. So we are going to dive into a high level overview of what components make up a computer and some of the factors, or bottlenecks, that can cause a computer to be slow.
Motherboard
Surely you have heard the word "motherboard" sometime in your life. But it may not have been clear exactly what that is. You may have heard that it is a crucial piece of a computer. And it is! The motherboard is the main circuit board that sits in your computer and connects every component to every other component. The motherboard has all kinds of ports and connections (depending on the one you get) for every type of component you can think of. I won't go into detail about these ports as they greatly vary based on how new your motherboard is or what you plan to connect to it. But the long story short is that every computer contains some sort of motherboard and everything else uses it as a home base to communicate. A good motherboard can allow components to communicate faster, but if your components are slow, then having a better motherboard may not make a difference.
Check out the link below to see what a basic motherboard looks like!
CPU (Central Processing Unit)
Another popular component of a computer, the CPU, or Central Processing Unit, handles pretty much all of the normal mathematical calculations that need to happen every second to keep your computer functioning. Practically every single action you perform on your computer touches the CPU in some way shape or form. Many other components use the CPU to do the "smart" work that needs to be done. Activities like opening and using applications (Chrome, Microsoft Word, etc.) and even actions like moving or clicking the mouse are processed by the CPU to decide how the cursor on the screen should move and what action should be performed based on where you clicked. Since everything uses the CPU to function, it is clear that the CPU is one possible place to find a bottleneck. If the CPU is not good enough, everything that you do on the computer could be slow. We will go into a little more detail about the main factors that make a CPU good or bad:
# of Cores
Cores are the main unit of a CPU. Computers nowadays have anywhere from 2 to 64 cores, but most of the ones that the average person will use will have about 2-4, maybe 6 cores. Each core can do its own work, so the more cores that your CPU has, the more things it can do at once because more cores = more "threads" (see below for threads explanation).
# of Threads
Threads are not a physical component, but the amount of threads that a CPU has is based on the # of cores. Usually a CPU has 1 thread for every core, but with higher end CPU's, there are sometimes 2 threads per core. So you might get 4 threads for a lower end 4 core CPU, but on a higher end 4 core CPU, you might get 8 threads. The more threads, the more multitasking that can be done. The most basic case for this multitasking is when using multiple applications at the same time. Each application can be given its own thread and can be run simultaneously. If you are running more applications than the # of threads (which is normal for many people), then the applications will begin to share threads. If too many applications are open and sharing these threads, it can cause slowdowns. So it makes sense that with more threads, you can do more at once without being slowed down. And since these threads are based on cores, it makes sense that with more cores, you will usually see better performance.
CPU Frequency
The CPU frequency refers to how quickly the CPU can perform calculations on each thread (see above). The higher the frequency, the faster the CPU. High frequency will result in more performance per thread. This is important because depending on how you use your computer, it could be better to get a CPU that has more cores or it could be better to get a CPU with higher frequency. Usually both of these things go up as you get into higher end CPU's, but not always, especially for laptop CPU's since these also have to consider the impact that increased core count and frequency might have on battery life.
Recommendations
If you are choosing between Intel CPU's (i3/i5/i7/i9):
- i3's are good for light usage
- i5's usually have a higher frequency and/or core count than i3's
- i7's generally have around the same frequency and core count as i5's, but usually have something called "hyper-threading" which allows them to have twice as many threads as the amount of cores (see # of threads for info on this)
- i9's are better for more high-end workstations used by computer professionals and/or high-end graphic designers (i9's are not usually required for normal computer usage)
A CPU looks like a small square and there is a place for the CPU on the motherboard. See the below link for what a CPU looks like. Some popular brands of CPU are Intel and AMD.
RAM (Random Access Memory)
The reason for this fairly complex name is unimportant to understand what it does. It also has a slot on the motherboard (see motherboard images in earlier section). The RAM (often referred to as "Memory") comes in "sticks" and is the one of the fastest forms of storage. But this isn't the kind of storage you would use to store your family photos. It is actually wiped clean whenever your computer is turned off! It is almost always temporary storage. The RAM is used by the CPU to store results to calculations and other data that it needs quick access to in order to process what is going on in your applications. You don't usually need a lot of RAM. Usually about 8-16 GB will do. But if you run out of RAM because too many applications are open at once, then the CPU will begin to store this quick access data on other types of general purpose storage (we will discuss these later - the place where you do store those family photos). Since general purpose storage is much slower, storing these quick access pieces of data (that may be used millions of times per second) on general purpose storage can slow down your computer tremendously.
General Purpose Storage
So, we have a couple of different types of storage in computers. We have RAM and we have general purpose storage. General purpose storage is often what people are talking about when they say how much "memory" something has, even though that is somewhat incorrect because usually the word "memory" should be reserved for RAM. General purpose storage space is what you would see on an iPhone pricing sheet or what might be considered "storage space" when purchasing a laptop. Usually you will see general purpose storage in the range of 50 GB to 10 TB. This kind of storage is long-term and is generally used for anything and everything that you might want to save, including documents, pictures, videos, movies, and music. Even your operating system (Windows, MacOS, etc.) is stored on this kind of storage. Usually storage isn't a real bottleneck, but that being said, your operating system runs on this storage so it can only go as fast as the storage that it's running on. Not all general purpose storage is created equal. And you'll find that faster storage comes at a cost. Hence why RAM is so expensive (because it is really fast). Oh and guess what the storage is connected to...that's right! The motherboard! You're catching on!
Hard Disk Drive (HDD)
Hard Disk Drives (HDD) are usually among the slowest medium of storage and also the cheapest. Most people have these in their laptops and home personal computers. They get the job done, but are very slow. Since this type of drive contains an actual spinning disc inside of it, accessing data on the HDD is limited by the physical limit of how fast the disc inside can spin. If your operating system is installed on HDD (which it probably is), then you may have slow startup times, application install times, and shutdown times. If you can afford it, then you should always have your operating system installed on a Solid State Drive (SSD). This is often an option when you purchase a new computer.
Solid State Drive (SSD)
Solid State Drives (SSD) are actually just more sophisticated flash drives. Have you ever used a flash drive before? Those little sticks that you probably save small documents or pictures on? SSD's use the same type of technology in those little guys, but on a grander scale. There are no moving parts (unlike the HDD) so SSD's are fast...really fast. This is the preferred medium for storage, but it can come at a hefty price tag. There are a couple of types of SSD (the biggest difference is the way they connect to the motherboard), but all you really need to know is that this type of storage is way faster than HDD's and if it fits your budget, then it is definitely preferred.
Google Images - SSD
For a visual reference, below is a chart that compares the different types of storage:
For a visual reference, below is a chart that compares the different types of storage:
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| Fig. 1 - Generally, faster storage components cost more per GB, so they tend to be available in smaller storage sizes. |
Power Supply
This one is easy. It's a big block that helps to regulate power to all of the components in your computer. You obviously need one that can handle the amount of power being consumed by your computer, but there isn't a whole lot that is flashy about them (besides some of the warranties that can cover you pretty well in case they fail).
Cooling System
Cram a bunch of high power hungry computer parts into a little enclosed area. It gets hot...like really hot! And the only reason everything in there doesn't start melting is because of the real team player, the cooling system. Cooling systems can be lots of big fans and metal blades, or they can be liquid based (water, nitrogen, etc.). They can become very elaborate...and pricey. Usually fans are chosen because they are cheap and effective. Sometimes noisy, but effective nonetheless. However, the thermal mechanisms that are used to regulate temperature are beyond the scope of this post, so I won't go into details. Even the cooling system is connected to the motherboard because it needs to know when to turn on and off.
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Optional Components
The components that we have discussed so far are the required pieces that make up the basics of a computer. However, there are many more components that can add additional functionality to a computer and may be necessary for certain uses.
GPU (Graphics Processing Unit)
GPU's, sometimes referred to as "graphics cards," are necessary to play games and run other graphically intensive applications, such as drawing and modeling software. GPU's are also the main hardware required to "mine" cryptocurrency (that's a whole different topic for me to write about). GPU's have many of the same components as CPU's but they behave differently, and this varies based on the graphics card that you have. Usually Popular brands are Nvidia and AMD. Graphics cards have outputs that you can use to connect to a monitor (via an HDMI or DisplayPort cable). If you don't have a graphics card, then the monitor would be connected to the motherboard because usually the CPU can handle minor graphical rendering (like displaying your screen, etc.).
Sound Card
Sound cards are usually unnecessary as motherboards are usually sufficient to output a decent amount of sound configurations (stereo, surround sound, etc.), but sometimes people want to do more fancy things or better sound which can require a sound card.
Google Images - Sound Card
Google Images - Sound Card
WiFi/Bluetooth Adapter
A WiFi or Bluetooth adapter will allow your computer to connect to the a wireless router for wireless internet and allow it to interact with Bluetooth devices, such as certain mice and keyboards, and headphones. Many motherboards come with these functionalities built-in. If internet browsing is the only slow thing on your computer, then it's possible that you're internet speed could be the issue. This is solved by calling your internet service provider and upgrading your "bandwidth."
That just about sums up this overview about the parts of a computer. I hope you learned something about these components today, and if you have any questions or want me to go into more detail about anything, let me know in the comments!
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