Computer hardware

Computer hardware is the physical parts or components of a computer, such as the monitor, keyboard, computer data storage, graphic card, sound card and motherboard. By contrast, software is instructions that can be stored and ran by hardware

Computer hardware is the collection of physical parts of a computer system. This includes the computer case, monitor, keyboard, and mouse. It also includes all the parts inside the computer case, such as the hard disk drive, motherboard, video card, and many others. Computer hardware is what you can physically touch.

Definitions

A computer system consists of two major elements: hardware and software. Computer hardware is the collection of all the parts you can physically touch. Computer software, on the other hand, is not something you can touch. Software is a set of instructions for a computer to perform specific operations. You need both hardware and software for a computer system to work.

Some hardware components are easy to recognize, such as the computer case, keyboard, and monitor. However, there are many different types of hardware components. In this lesson, you will learn how to recognize the different components and what they do.

Relationship between Hardware and Software

• Hardware and software are mutually dependent on each other. Both of them must work together to make a computer produce a useful output.
• Software cannot be utilized without supporting hardware.
• Hardware without a set of programs to operate upon cannot be utilized and is useless.
• To get a particular job done on the computer, relevant software should be loaded into the hardware.
• Hardware is a one-time expense.
• Software development is very expensive and is a continuing expense.
• Different software applications can be loaded on a hardware to run different jobs.
• A software acts as an interface between the user and the hardware.
• If the hardware is the 'heart' of a computer system, then the software is its 'soul'. Both are complementary to each other.