The Foundation Of How A Computer Runs

By Author: Tony Farinholt
Total Articles: 12
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Very few people understand how computers work even though they are included in nearly every device. Learning the logic behind a computer system is a great way to understand how these systems work and begin constructing some new knowledge bases. Computers are actually much less complicated than many think, but there are a couple of key ideas that one must grasp to fully comprehend the workings of a system.

The portion of the computer that decides its overall speed and processes information is the CPU. Much like the mind, the processor has many different levels of memory and is the place where data is processed. Today’s processors have numerous “cores” which are actually just multiple processors included in one unit. There are three different levels of cache memory that are used similar to system RAM, but with faster access to the processor and system itself. To prevent from needing to reprocess information again and again, the cache will hold frequently processed info to provide it much faster. The level 3 cache will generally be more plentiful but be slower, whereas the level 1 cache will be quicker with ...
... less storage space.

The system RAM is the next phase of memory, but serves a slightly different function than cache. The RAM is where programs are “loaded” to when starting for much faster access than the hard drive can read. Most programs would not be able to properly operate if they were basically left on the hard drive and the program used that instead of system RAM for high speed access. A hard drive is still necessary because the nature of RAM is to lose all of its information once the computer system is turned off.

A hard drive's only job is to store permanent information on the computer system for storage. While the other bits of hardware are not necessary to make the system work, they typically provide a needed operation. A network card is crucial to provide high speed usage of a network and access to shared Internet. While data centers need to have many Cisco GLC-T or other SFP transceiver modules to operate efficiently, most home systems get away with using one single Ethernet port per system for communication. Ordinarily a sound card and video card need to be installed to create a picture to see and sound. There is also the motherboard which consists of many connections and processors to do certain tasks and hook everything together.