Weeks 7: Peripherals(All The Extra Gadgets)

Hi there Hubber's, over the last several weeks we've spent a great deal of time talking about all the components and devices a computer needs to run for custom configurations.

I started these week by week articles to - get some extra use out of an old PC - encourage you to not only learn about the hardware involved but also to encourage you not to be afraid of opening your computers case. A lot of people don't have this sort of knowledge about computers and all the pieces of the puzzle that go together to make a computer what they are.

I hope that I have shed some light on this subject for those of you that didn't just want to throw a perfectly good PC away that either needed very little work, or a bit of upgrading to get the use out of it you wanted.

PC's are complicated machines to the uneducated, I started out not knowing why a PC worked but was so interested in finding out I went and found information - like I've tried to do here - but found it to be too confusing in the beginning. This lead me to write easier to digest articles explaining what each component does without over complicating it.

To finish off I will briefly go over some of the obvious devices you need for a PC and should have if you already own a PC:

Keyboards

These are used to input characters into software, they can also be used to preform special short cuts, for example with windows 7 you can press the windows start button+tab to switch between different windows that are open. Alt+tab does the same thing but not cool looking as the other hot key.

There a few different types of keyboard and some come with integrated features like touch-pads.

There are some for specific configurations such as gaming keyboards, these have added buttons for extra in game features.

Some are wireless to help with cable management these will of course cost more than your standard wired keyboards, there are loads of keyboards out there and all perform the same basic tasks.

The Mouse

There was a time where mice weren't even used, but with the advancement of Operating Systems the combination of mouse and keyboard came about. The mouse is used to move a pointer around the screen and interact with applications.

Again there a many types, older mice used to have a ball for moving the cursor on screen, these got replaced and optical mouses were developed.

More expensive mouse's use a infra-red laser for sensitivity adjustment know as DPI(dots per inch), the higher the DPI the more sensitive your mouse actions are. Like keyboards some have more buttons for extra functionality and can be wireless.

Monitors

These are pretty essential otherwise you can't see what your doing, most screens today are LCD or LED which provide great definition, before LED/LCD there were older, heavier and bulkier monitors known as CRT monitors.

Monitors come in different sizes measured in inches, they also come with varying refresh rates; 50Hz, 60Hz and 120Hz are among the most common. For some systems you can use more than one screen if your Video card supports the feature.

Finally you have all your extras that may prove useful;

Gaming headsets for communication or video chatting.

Webcams.

You can expand your USB slots using a USB hub.

You can get external HDDs and memory sticks for extra storage or backup.

You can also buy card readers for reading media on SD cards.

There are also printer scanner combos for making copies of documents.

You can also get different speaker set-ups, like studio speakers for audio editing, surround sound speakers for home theatres or just basic speakers for listening to music and watching videos.

I hope these articles have been helpful to you all, I also hope they have given you a better understanding of what runs your computer on the inside. I hope you are more confident in opening your PC and handling your components.

Keep coming back to read more articles and if you have any problems you want answers to feel free to Like The I.T. Hub Facebook page and I will help best I can. Also share my posts if you think they will help others.

Thanks for reading!

Milan Tomic

Hi. I’m Designer of Blog Magic. I’m CEO/Founder of ThemeXpose. I’m Creative Art Director, Web Designer, UI/UX Designer, Interaction Designer, Industrial Designer, Web Developer, Business Enthusiast, StartUp Enthusiast, Speaker, Writer and Photographer. Inspired to make things looks better.