What are the inner workings of my computer?

Many people enjoy disassembling gadgets to explore how they function. However, just because you can take something apart doesn't mean you can successfully reassemble it. Even if the device is put back together, there's no assurance that it will work as expected. It's wiser to leave such tasks to experts. This is especially true for computers, where improper handling can lead to major issues.

Computers can be intricate, fragile, and even hazardous. Yet, this doesn’t stop our curiosity about what’s inside. For this reason, we at Mytour took it upon ourselves to disassemble a seemingly innocent computer for scientific exploration. We selected an IBM laptop, which not only contains the usual components of a computer but also organizes them in a highly compact form.

Although desktop computers are larger than laptops, the components inside them are almost identical. They may appear somewhat different due to the need for more space in desktops, but they serve the same functions as those in a laptop. One major difference is that desktop computers often allow users to swap out parts using card slots, whereas laptops typically have integrated cards that are non-replaceable.

We’ve categorized the components into two key groups: the 'brains' and the 'guts.' The 'brains' of the computer involve all the elements responsible for processing data, while the 'guts' consist of other parts that make the computer functional but aren’t directly involved in data computation.

Let’s start with some laptop neurosurgery. In the next section, we’ll take a closer look at the computer’s brains.

The Computer Brain

At the core of the computer’s brains is the motherboard. The motherboard serves as the physical base for many other components inside the machine. It’s a large printed circuit board that facilitates connections and allows different parts to communicate. Motherboards come in various shapes and sizes — a laptop motherboard is likely to differ from a desktop PC motherboard.

The brain of a computer is a microprocessor, also known as the central processing unit (CPU). The CPU is a complex chip packed with millions of minuscule transistors. Its main function is to execute the computations required for the computer to operate — the transistors in the CPU work together to process data. In a way, the CPU serves as the computer's decision-making center.

Another essential element in computers is memory. The primary types of memory are read-only memory (ROM) and random access memory (RAM). ROM allows computers to read data, but not write new information. RAM, on the other hand, enables both reading and writing of data. Without memory, computers would be unable to retain any information between processes, rendering them effectively stateless and unable to execute complex tasks or store useful data.

Many desktop computers offer the option to expand RAM capacity. The user can simply open the computer and insert additional RAM chips into the correct motherboard slots. However, other devices are designed as sealed units, restricting any changes to the hardware and leaving you with whatever memory configuration the system was built with.

A crucial component called the Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) works in close coordination with the CPU. BIOS is a specialized type of ROM. Think of the CPU as the brain of the computer, while BIOS is the spine. BIOS's job is to manage the communication between the computer’s software and its hardware components, ensuring that they work together seamlessly.

The motherboard, CPU, ROM, RAM, and BIOS are the backbone of most computer functions. They manage the allocation of resources to applications, ensuring that everything runs efficiently. They also handle input from external devices like keyboards, mice, and other accessories that help us interact with the system.

Your computer contains many more components than you might realize. In the next section, we will dive deeper into the inner workings of a computer.

Other Computer Parts

Curious about the inner workings of your computer? The core components of a computer can be divided into five distinct categories:

The power supply is responsible for delivering electricity to the various components inside your computer. When you connect your computer to an electrical socket, electricity flows through the cord into a protected unit that houses a transformer. The transformer then adjusts the incoming electricity to the correct voltage needed for the various parts of your system. If you're using a laptop, some of that power is also used to charge the laptop's battery. When unplugged, the battery provides the necessary power for the device to operate.

In addition to the power supply, computers have a small, always-on battery known as the CMOS battery. This battery helps preserve the information stored in the complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS), which is a special chip that maintains data about your computer’s hardware. It also powers the system clock, which is why your computer can keep accurate time even when it's powered off or unplugged.

The drives in a computer are the essential components for storing and retrieving data and applications. Most computers feature a hard drive, which could either be a set of thin platters that use magnetic recording to store information or a solid-state flash hard drive that has no moving parts. In either case, the hard drive enables you to save information and applications directly to your computer.

Older computers were equipped with floppy disk drives. In addition, some relied on optical drives like CD-ROM or DVD-ROM, which allowed users to read and write to media storage devices such as compact discs and DVDs.

Modems are devices that enable computers to connect with other systems. They share similarities with wireless cards, which are radio transceivers that transmit and receive data using specific radio frequencies.

Sound and graphics cards are fairly straightforward. They allow your computer to generate sound or display images. However, not all cards are equal — some support a wider range of software formats than others. Graphics cards, in particular, come in many different configurations.

Cooling systems usually consist of heat sinks and fans. Overheating can seriously affect a computer's performance, sometimes even causing failure. Heat sinks absorb heat and channel it away from vital components, while fans help to expel heat. Some systems use more sophisticated liquid cooling, which relies on tubes filled with water to absorb and carry away heat from critical parts.

And that's it. These are the main components found inside a typical computer. Now, there's no need to disassemble one to see its parts. We’ll just have to see if it still functions once we put everything back together.