What is hardware? - Definition | Hardware Types | Examples

In today's post, you will know what is hardware and how many types are there? If you are interested in Computer, then you must have heard about these two words Hardware and Software.Because it is both the main computer parts, without these the computer has no existence. This is exactly the same as a person without body and mind.That is why if you understand the functionality of these parts of the computer, then you can easily solve the basic computer problem.

The definition of hardware and its function is completely different from software. But it is also true that it is not without any other use. Actually, hardware does one kind of work of computer and software is of another kind,therefore in the absence of one, the other is no longer of any use. So let's start this post and know with examples,what is hardware.

What is Hardware -

Physical elements of computer that we can see and touch are called "Hardware". For example Keyboard, Mouse, Monitor, Printer, Motherboard, Ram etc. are all computer hardware. In fact, hardware is a collective term used to describe computer parts.The hardware is usually directed by the software to execute any commands or instructions.

Computers do not exist without hardware. Because only a computer can be completed with these. A simple example of this is that the screen in which you are reading this article right now, whether it is a computer or mobile phone, its screen is a hardware.

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Computer hardware is divided into two main parts:

➤ Internal Hardware - Internal components that are not usually visible to us as they are present inside the computer case. To see them, we have to open the computer. The list of internal hardware is given below.

Motherboard
RAM
Central processing unit (CPU)
Drive
PSU (Power Supply Unit)
NIC (Network card)
Heat Sink (Fan)
GPU (Graphical processing unit)

➤ External Hardware - External components, also called peripheral components, are associated with computers from outside.
These include Input and Output Device, the list of which is given below.

Monitor
Mouse
Keyboard
Printer
Speaker
UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply)

➤ Types of Hardware :

You have already realized that computer hardware refers to the physical parts with which a computer is built. We have given you many examples of this above. You may have seen this many during the example. That is why they are divided into different category. The computer hardware below is classified into four different categories, which will make it easier for you to understand them.

1. Input device :

Under this comes the hardware device, which performs the task of sending data to the computer. It is through this that users make contact with computers and get them done. Overall, by using them, you are able to control and interact with computer. The easiest example of this is your keyboard, it allows the user to input alphanumeric data and commands into the computer. Think if the keyboard was not part of it, would you have been able to use the computer. There are many computer hardware under the input device, some of the main examples are given below.

Mouse
Keyboard
Scanner
Microphone

2. Output device :

In this, the computer hardware comes, which works to make the computer data accessible or user friendly. For example, computer screen which we call monitor. The monitor is the main output device of the computer. It works to convey any data to you. That is, whatever instruction you feed in the computer, its output is visible to you through them. Through the output device, the computer is able to communicate with the user and other hardware device. Some examples of these are given below, which by reading you will understand the output device better.

Monitor
Printer
Touch Screen
Speaker
Headphones

3. Processing device :

When you send data to a computer through a keyboard or another input device, it passes through an intermediate stage before being sent to a data monitor or an output device. This is the stage where raw data is converted into information. Processing device is the hardware of the computer that handles this intermediate stage. They are also called internal memory devices.

Below are some prominent examples of this.

Motherboard
CPU (Central processing unit)
GPU (Graphics processing unit)
Network Card

4. Storage device :

It is the computing hardware that performs the task of maintaining and storing data. Storage device is one of the core components of any computer device. It stores almost all the data and application on the computer. For example, a standard computer has many storage devices including RAM, Cache and Hard disk.

➤ There are two types of storage device in a computer.

i. Primary Storage Device -

This storage device is used to hold data temporarily. They are very small in size. Due to
which it is internal to the computer. The primary storage device has the fastest data access speed. These include :
Ram and Cache Memory.

ii. Secondary Storage Device -

These devices have large storage capacity. In addition, it stores the data permanently (permanently). It is present inside or outside the computer. The main examples of these are optical disk drive, hard disk and USB storage device.

Conclusion :

We hope that by reading this article, you will have come to know what is Hardware and how many types are there? In this post, we have tried to share with you the complete hardware information. How right is this attempt, please tell us in the comment.