What Is the Hardware in a Computer System?

A computer's motherboard is a vital piece of hardware.

Hardware is a category of computer equipment, as distinct from software, that includes all the physical components of a computer system. The word hardware in fact applies to all physical electronic devices, not just to those in personal computers.

Hardware vs. Software vs. Data

While software refers to the programs installed on a machine and data refers to the information that software is designed to manipulate and interpret, hardware refers to the computer's solid, physical components. Software and data do technically exist physically, but only as data written onto various kinds of storage devices--not as objects that can be held in a person's hand.

Common Hardware

The average computer contains a central processing unit, or CPU; a power supply (often equipped with a cooling fan); physical memory or RAM, attached to the motherboard that also cradles the CPU; storage hardware, like hard disks or CD-ROM drives, connected to the motherboard via storage controllers; a graphics controller that creates and transmits visual data to the monitor (itself a piece of hardware); and interface controllers, which connect the computer to external devices (in older computers these were usually pinned serial ports; now they're more frequently USB plugs.)

Firmware

A third, and sort of nebulous, type of "ware" is firmware (so named because it's midway between soft and hard.) Firmware refers to the data and programs that are pre-installed on a piece of hardware by the manufacturer and that don't disappear when the hardware is powered off. The BIOS, a set of instructions that tell a computer how to start up, is written into the computer's ROM chip and is thus considered firmware. The interface software installed on small devices like MP3 players or cell phones is also considered firmware, even though, strictly speaking, it neatly meets the definition of software.

Adding Hardware

A lot of hardware takes the form of cards--circuit boards designed for a particular function, like graphics or sound production, which can be attached to an empty controller slot on a computer's motherboard. Adding or removing cards isn't the easiest thing you can do with a computer, but most manufacturers try to make the process as easy as possible.

Creating Hardware

Generally speaking, building hardware is more difficult than writing software. Writing a program that instructs a computer to do something only requires learning one of the innumerable languages designed to make instruction easier. Some of these languages are designed for very casual programmers or specific purposes and can be extremely intuitive. Building hardware, on the other hand, requires a much more detailed understanding of what exactly goes on inside a computer, as well as all the special equipment that goes along with electronics work.

References

• OpenProjects: Hardware Definition
• Netgear: Defining the Terms Driver, Firmware, Hardware, Software, and Utility