Just like any other profession or career, IT folk (often referred to as "Computer Geeks") have their very own lingo for certain parts, events and methods. All too often, us Geeks , quiet wrongly assume that the person we are talking to understands everything thats being said to them. Thinking back into the distant past I still see a persons face looking at me as though i was talking a foreign language. Well in respect we do, but maybe not int he traditional sense.

In this article I will aim to explain some of the common names and terms for parts (components) within a computer, so that next time when your talking to someone who is more technically minded, you aren't being left behind.

A computer system consists of a few parts in order to make it work. But these parts are easily split into two categories, "Hardware" and "Software". Hardware is the physical aspect of a computer, where as Software is all to do with programs and code which give the hardware instructions. Now I know this sounds daunting, but realistically it is no different to you being given instructions on how to get to a place or how to operate an electrical item.

Software then is a collection of programs and code, for example Microsoft Windows XP is software. Another example of software would be Microsoft Word or even the games you buy in shops to play on your computer. Now software can be broken down into other categories (just like hardware) but in the interests of keeping things simple we will leave it as just software for the time being.
When you experience problems with a computer there is normally a high liklehood that it is software related. Often software have issues, which are more commonly referred to as bugs. The creators of software then release updates in order to fix these bugs, but then this often leads to introducing one or two new ones.

Moving onto hardware, the box (known as the Tower or Base Unit) as previously mentioned consists of several parts.

These are;

• CPU (Central Processing Unit)
  
  The CPU is in effect the computers brain. Instructions are sent to the CPU to process, and it does so no matter how stupid or daft that instruction may be or seem. Although in effect being the brain within the computer it has no concept of right or wrong and only exists to process intrstructions and information. There are 2 main manufacturers of CPU's, Intel and AMD, each offering their own selection of CPU's.
  A common name around the market place at present is the Intel Pentium Core 2 Duo or even the Intel Pentium Core 2 Quad. To the normal user this may not mean too much, but I will endeavour to explain the differences in more detail.
  
  Originally we had the Intel Pentium, now be this 2, 3 or even 4 they all shared 1 common factor. This was that they all had a single core to them. This meant that the CPU could only process one single instruction or peice of information at a time. There was a time where by increasing the frequency (Speed) of the CPU would in actual fact speed up your computer, but this is limited as the CPU could still only process that one single bit of information at a time.
  
  We werethen introduced to the dual and Quad core era. The core 2 duo CPU type has two cores and so in effect would be able to process information at twice the speed of a single core. And again the core 2 quad CPU type has 4 cores meaning it can in effect process four times the amount of informationat once than that of a single core CPU.

• RAM (Random Access Memory) aka Memory
  
  Ram is very often a misunderstood part of a computer. I say this is people dont quiet know what the purpose of RAM is. When you use software, be this Microsoft Word, Paint or by playing a game, it stores temporary information to the RAM which then sits there waiting to be processed. Now this sounds a little slow, but it is actually the opposite.Because you could be working on and using any number of software applications at once the computer will process information by order of importance as opposed to the order by which you wanted to do something. Thus access to this information becomes random.

• HDD (Hard Disk Drive)
  
  The HDD is where all the information on your computer is stored on a more permanent basis. Imagine if you will having a filing cabinet inside of your computer. Now I mentioned that RAM was a misunderstood part of the computer. This is because often RAM is referred to as memory and people associate memory with storing information. So when told that the computer has 2Gb memory (RAM) I often got the response "Well thats not a lot is it". At this point I would have to explain the differences between the RAM and the HDD. But now you know .

• Graphics Card or Video Card
  
  The graphics card (also known as a video card) is basically what generates the pictures and images you see through your screen. Graphic cards come in two major varieties, onboard and dedicated. Onboard (or integrated) graphics can help cut down on costs when building and buying a computer, but there are some drawbacks also. As the graphics are onboard it needs memory in order to process the images and so shares the RAM with the rest of the computer. As more and more games come out needing more graphics these days these onboard graphics use more and more.The downside is that all other software then has less RAM to use in order to do what it needs.
  
  Dedicated graphics on the other hand do add a little more cost to your system, but in return comes with its own dedicated memory. This way when processing graphics, the graphics card does not need to use any of the RAM and so any software or games you use have more to work with.
  
  There are other up sides and down sides to both solutions but again in the interests of keeping this article simple, these are left for another time.

• Network port (NIC or Ethernet)
  
  Back in the days of dial up internet a must have feature of almost any computer was a modem, which would be used to connect to the internet. As we have now been using broadband for in excess of 6 years it is rare to find a new computer with such a device in it.
  In its place a common device now is the network port (also known as NIC or Ethernet) which instead is used to connect to a router for internet access.

• CD(RW) Rom, DVD(RW) Rom, Blueray
  
  Any computer on the market will have one of the above installed. The use and function of each in a normal manner is relatively straight forward. Other than being able to play CD's, DVD's or Blueray discs these devices are used in order to install software to your computer and even create information, music or movie discs.
  One factor to note (although rare to find a computer without at least a DVDRW in) is that a DVD Rom is a normal DVD drive which does not permit you to create discs. If wanting to create discs it is commong practice to note the "RW" after the CD, DVD titles and even BlueRay.

• Interface Ports
  
  Each computer will come wtiha  number of interface ports, each of which will be used for a specific purpose. Some of the older types of interface ports are known as PS2 connectors, Paralelle, Serial port.
  
  A port that has been around for some time now and is still going strong is the USB port. Originally starting out as USB 1.1, but now running as USB 2, it is one of the most useful and most used connections on a computer to date. USB is a versatile connection which can be used to connect a vast range of devices, such as printers, speakers, webcams, keyboards, mice, lights, and the list goes on. My rule of thumb really is that if a PC only has 2 or 3 USB ports it isnt worth buying (although strictly speaking you are able to extend these) as you will find yourself running out sooner than expected.
  
  Other current day connections found on a PC are, eSata, Firewire, 5.1 sound (and higher), optical sound and a couple of others.