A modern PC is both simple and complicated. It is simple in the sense that over the years, many of the components used to construct a system have become integrated with other components into fewer and fewer actual parts. It is complicated in the sense that each part in a modern system performs many more functions than did the same types of parts in older systems.

There are the components and peripherals necessary to assemble a basic modern PC system:

• Motherboard

• Processor

• Memory (RAM)

• Case/chassis

• Power supply

• Hard disk

• Keyboard

• Mouse

• Video card (GPU)

• Monitor (display)

• Speakers

Motherboard

The motherboard is the core of the system. It really is the PC; everything else is connected to it, and it controls everything in the system. The motherboard is at the center of what makes a PC work. It houses the CPU and is a hub that all other hardware runs through. The motherboard acts as a brain; allocating power where it’s needed, communicating with and coordinating across all other components – making it one of the most important pieces of hardware in a computer.

Processor

The processor is often thought of as the "engine" of the computer. It's also called the CPU (central processing unit). The CPU (Central Processing Unit or processor) is responsible for processing all information from programs run by your computer. The ‘clock speed’, or the speed at which the processor processes information, is measured in gigahertz (GHz). This means that a processor advertising a high GHz rating will likely perform faster than a similarly specified processor of the same brand and age.

Memory (RAM)

The system memory is often called RAM (for random access memory). This is the primary memory, which holds all the programs and data the processor is using at a given time. Random Access Memory, or RAM, is hardware found in the memory slots of the motherboard. The role of RAM is to temporarily store on-the-fly information created by programs and to do so in a way that makes this data immediately accessible. The tasks that require random memory could be; rendering images for graphic design, edited video or photographs, multi-tasking with multiple apps open (for example, running a game on one screen and chatting via Discord on the other).

Case/chassis

The case is the frame or chassis that houses the motherboard, power supply, disk drives, adapter cards, and any other physical components in the system.

Power supply

The power supply is what feeds electrical power to every single part in the PC.

A power supply unit, commonly abbreviated as PSU, does more than just supply your computer with power. It is the point where power enters your system from an external power source and is then allocated by the motherboard to individual component hardware. Not all power supplies are made equally however, and without the right wattage PSU your system will fail to work.

A modern computer will generally need a PSU that’s rated between 500W – 850W to effectively power all hardware, although the size of the PSU will depend entirely on the power consumption of the system. Computers that are used for highly intensive tasks such as graphic design or gaming will require more powerful components and thus will need a bigger PSU to cater to this additional need.

Without the right amount of power, components won’t be able to run effectively and the computer might experience crashes or simply fail to boot at all. It’s recommended to have a power supply that more than covers your system usage. Not only do you guard yourself against system failure, you also future-proof yourself against needing a new PSU when you upgrade to more powerful PC components.

Understanding your computer and its hardware components can prove very useful when the time comes to upgrade or replace any parts, or when building a computer. Should a problem arise with the internal workings of your computer, you will have a better understanding of the importance of each component, the need for them to be in good working condition and how to go about solving any issues.

Hard drive

The hard disk is the primary archival storage memory for the system. The hard drive is a storage device responsible for storing permanent and temporary data. This data comes in many different forms, but is essentially anything saved or installed to a computer: for example, computer programs, family photos, operating system, word-processing documents, and so on.

There are two different types of storage devices: the traditional hard disk drive (HDD) and the newer solid state drives (SSD). Hard disk drives work by writing binary data onto spinning magnetic disks called platters that rotate at high speeds, while a solid-state drive stores data by using static flash memory chips.

Keyboard

The keyboard is the primary device on a PC that is used by a human to communicate with and control a system.

Mouse

Although many types of pointing devices are on the market today, the first and most popular device for this purpose is the mouse.

GPU

The video card controls the information you see on the monitor. This is more often called the Graphical Processing Unit or the GPU.

Especially important for 3D rendering, the GPU does exactly what its name suggests and processes huge batches of graphic data. You will find that your computer’s graphics card has at least one GPU. As opposed to the basic on-board graphic capabilities that PC motherboards supply, dedicated graphics cards interface with the motherboard via an expansion slot to work almost exclusively on graphic rendering. This also means you can upgrade your graphics card if you want to get a bit more performance from your PC.

Not only this, but modern GPUs fulfil a broad computational workload beyond just rendering, making them an extension to the central processing unit.

Monitor

The display device of your PC.