A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations.

Components of Computer System: a. Motherboard - a very basic unit in any computer system. - the computer component to which all other internal computer components are attached.

b. CPU - central processing unit or CPU is the computer component responsible for running programs and applications on the computer. c. RAM - Random Access Memory or RAM is another vital computer component. - It is the storage media where a computer temporarily stores files and information that it can pull at random when running programs and applications. d. HDD - the hard disk drive or HDD stores computer files and data long-term.

The hard drive can store important system files like the operating system, program files and other data. e. Video Card - video card allows a computer to display images on the computer monitor. f. PSU - power supply unit or PSU supplies all computer components with power. -it converts the high voltages from an AC power outlet to lower voltages that are safe for internal computer components.
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g. Disk Drives - Disk Drives can be a floppy drive, CD drive, DVD drive or other possible file storage devices that are used in a computer. h. Monitor - The part of a computer that allows you to see what the computer is processing. i. Keyboard A keyboard allows a computer user to enter text commands into a computer system. j. Mouse - A mouse allows a computer user to use a point and click interface to enter commands.

the practical art of selecting and interconnecting hardware components to create computers that meet functional, performance and cost goals and the formal modeling of those systems. 3 main categories : a. Instruction set architecture or ISA. - is the code that a central processor reads and acts upon. - It is the machine language (or assembly language), including the instruction set, word size, memory address modes, processor registers, and address and data formats.
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b. Microarchitecture - also known as Computer organization describes the data paths, data processing elements and data storage elements, and describes how they should implement the ISA.[

c.System Design

-includes all of the other hardware components within a computing system.

These include:

Data paths, such as computer buses and switches Memory controllers and hierarchies Data processing other than the CPU, such as direct memory access (DMA) Miscellaneous issues such as virtualization or multiprocessing.

-is the brain of the computer(also known as

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central processing unit. It performs all executing instructions and processing of data. It varies in speed & capacity of memory registers, and data bus.

ALU(arithmetic logic unit) - is a digital circuit that performs arithmetic and logical operations. - The ALU is a fundamental building block of the central processing unit of a computer.

Data Bus - are wire attached to the system board that connects the components. - it transfer data between processor, memory and other external devices. Address bus - a computer bus (a series of lines connecting two or more devices) that is used to specify a physical address. Control bus - is part of a computer bus used by CPUs for communicating with other devices within the computer.

a hierarchical representation of the relationship between the access speed and capacity of various types of memory.

Comparison : High speed memory is expensive and low in capacity. Low speed memory is inexpensive and large in capacity.