Processors

Central Processing Unit

At the center of the computer is piece of hardware known as the Processor. It is the brain of the computer. It does all the calculations with the data.

There are different makes of processors that work in different ways, and have different capabilities.

Generally the faster the processor, and the more data it can handle at the same time, the more it will cost.

Graphics Processing Unit

A Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) is a separate processor that’s only job is to work out what to draw on the screen.

Not all computers need one - some processor chips also have a graphics chip on them - but these are not very powerful, and will be fine for browsing the web, but not for playing FPS games or for editing video or for processing 3D animations.

GPUs come as a separate internal device that plug directly into the motherboard. For this reason they are also called Graphics Cards.

GPUs do not necessarily create a better picture than a CPU, but they do it faster than the CPU because they have been designed for that purpose and it is the ONLY job it is doing.

Graphics cards can be very expensive, and some computers have more than one if they want to run multiple monitors or do advanced graphics.

Sound Cards

The soundcard is an extra processor designed to process sound so that the CPU doesn't have to. Most computers will have a built in soundcard on the motherboard, but you can buy and install more powerful soundcards (e.g. adding support for 7.1 surround sound instead of just stereo sound).

Soundcards will often include synthesizers for creating sounds, but will always include a Digital to Analogue Convertor.