How to Identify Parts Inside a Computer

Learning to identify the components within your computer will make you a more tech-savvy individual, improving your ability to communicate with IT and other computer specialists. Understanding the various parts and pieces of a computer is not difficult—it only requires a bit of memorization and familiarity to become comfortable referring to your computer’s components in everyday speech.

Things You'll Need

• Phillips screwdriver

Instructions

1. Turn off your computer and unplug it.

2. Remove the screws on the back of the case and pull off the side panel.

3. Look for the fan on the top half of your motherboard. This is the processor fan covering the CPU.

4. Look near the processor fan for small chips plugged in to the motherboard. These are the system memory, or RAM, chips.

5. Look in the top section of the back of the case to locate your power supply--it is the box into which the external plug is connected.

6. View the bottom half of your motherboard to see your PCI cards. These include your graphics card, audio card and network card.

7. Look in the front of your case. Near the bottom is a small rectangular device into which two cables are connected. This is your hard drive.

References

• PC Mech: Build Your Own PC