Hardware

Computer hardware refers to the physical devices or components attached to a computer. It is unlike computer software or data that can be frequently changed, modified or erased on a computer. Hardware components are not often replaced. These components are fixed in their respective ports and can only be replaced by computer hardware engineer/technician.

Computer hardware is entrenched inside a steel covering, therefore, it is embedded and not visible to the end users. There are different types of computer hardware that are designed by different manufacturers such as Intel, Dell, Lenovo, HP, Acer, Asus, IBM, AMD, Toshiba, A4 Tech and Matrox.

The computer has many hardware without which computers cannot do what they are known to do. The basic hardware of the computer is a motherboard, processor, RAM, wireless modem, soundcard, power supply, video display card, hard disk and storage device. Hardware devices can be classified into four distinct categories:

Hardware Device	Function
Processing devices	Process received data and interpret instructions into usable information
Storage devices	Store data and information for future use
Input devices	Input raw data
Output devices	Disseminate processed data and information