Almost everyone nowadays have their own PC or know how to use one. It has become a very essential tool to everyday life. But as common as the PC has become, there are still a lot of people who do not know the main components that make up the PC. To help people know their PC better, here are some of the main parts of the common home computer that they should know about:

Monitor. This is the primary device used for displaying information from the computer. The monitor is simply the TV-like screen that you look into when using the computer.

Keyboard.The keyboard is the primary device that is used for entering information into the computer. Aside from letter and number keys, the keyboard usually also has other shortcut and function keys available that help make certain useful commands more readily executable with a touch of a button.

Mouse. The mouse is the primary device for navigating and interacting with the computer. The mouse directs an arrow on the monitor that you can guide anywhere on the screen and has an executable button to carry out a certain command.

Motherboard. This is the main circuit board inside the computer that all the other internal components connect to. The CPU or Central Processing Unit and the computer memory are usually located somewhere on the motherboard. Other computer systems and components may be found directly on the motherboard. There are also other essential components that are connected to it by way of a secondary connection such as a sound card which can either be built into the motherboard or connected to it through a PCI cable.

Power supply. This is simply the electrical transformer that regulates the electricity and provides the power that is used by your computer.

Hard disk. The hard disk is the large-capacity permanent storage unit of your computer that is used to keep essential and important data and files such as programs and documents.

Operating system. This is the basic software program that allows the user to interface with the computer and manages its software and hardware resources. It allows the computer to operate and function according to a set of commands and allows the user to use it more conveniently and efficiently.

Sound card. This is the component used by the computer to record and play audio by converting analog sound into digital information for the computer and then back again for the speaker to recognize.

Graphics card. This is the computer component that translates any image data into a digital format that can be effectively displayed on the computer monitor.

Disk Drive. This computer component usually connects a removable storage device into the computer interface. A removable storage device allows you to add new information to your computer or save computer data that you want to bring with you to a different location. There are different storage devices available today:

Floppy disk – this is the most common form of removable storage device used today. Floppy disks are extremely inexpensive and an easy means to save files and computer information not more than 2.5 MB.

CD-ROM or CD-ROM (compact disc, read-only memory)- this is the widely accepted storage format for the distribution of commercial software today. CD-R(recordable) and CD-RW (rewritable) are now also available which can be used to record and store data and other computer files of up to 4GB.

DVD-ROM - DVD-ROM (digital versatile disc, read-only memory)- this is a newer and upgraded version of the CD-ROM. Similar to a CD-ROM, it is capable of holding much more information and may be of better quality than its early counterpart.

Flash memory cards – this new type of storage device provides fast and permanent storage for your files. Based on a type of ROM that is also known as electrically erasable programmable read-only memory or EEPROM, flash memory cards provide a faster way of storing data although they can be more expensive than floppy disks or Cd's.