Computer hardware refers to all the components within a PC. Originally, the term "hardware" referred to hard iron goods, but today it is also used as a term for all the physical components of electronic devices. Software, on the other hand, is generally considered the counterpart to hardware and refers to all forms of executable digital data on a computer.
PC hardware is constantly evolving and becoming more powerful and efficient with each generation. Moore's Law states that the complexity of integrated circuits doubles regularly within a certain period at minimal component costs, and this applies to PC components to some extent.
Significant performance improvements are evident between generations for processors, graphics cards, and other PC parts. Therefore, it makes sense to regularly upgrade your system with new hardware or completely rebuild it. This is not only due to the increased performance of PC components but also because of the continuously rising demands of software. Entertainment software such as games or applications for video editing or rendering, in particular, continually raise the bar.
A desktop PC, also known as a system, consists of at least six components, all of which influence the overall performance of the computer. If individual components have significant differences in performance, slow PC components can bottleneck fast parts. The most important components are:
When assembling a PC or a Gaming PC, it's important to understand the roles of the components and their performance levels.
The processor is the central processing unit (CPU) and is primarily responsible for the speed of the PC. The CPU provides data to the hardware and serves as the interface for the components of a PC system. Some processors come with an integrated graphics unit (iGPU), eliminating the need for a separate graphics card. Key features of a CPU include clock speed and the number of cores. A larger L3 cache memory provides more FPS in modern AAA games, as demonstrated by AMD Ryzen CPUs with stacked 3D V-Cache. The most common processors for gaming PCs come from the Intel Core series or AMD's Ryzen lineup and utilize modern processor sockets such as AMD's AM4 or AM5 platform or Intel's Socket 1200 or 1700.
The graphics card is the most crucial piece of hardware for gamers. The GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) is responsible for graphic computations in a gaming PC. Compared to integrated graphics units (APUs), dedicated graphics cards offer significant performance improvements. Gaming graphics cards handle not only pixel calculations but also, in some cases, physics calculations in games. Professional graphics cards also enable essential calculations in artificial intelligence (AI) and video rendering. Graphics memory (VRAM), especially in the form of fast GDDR6 memory, is useful for high-resolution textures. Common graphics card series for gamers include NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 4000 series and AMD's Radeon RX 7000 models.
The motherboard connects the various hardware components of a desktop PC. It provides the socket for the CPU, DIMM slots for RAM, and a PCIe slot for the graphics card. SATA is used to connect HDDs and SSDs or directly plug them into the M.2 slot on the motherboard. Motherboards come in different sizes (form factors) and configurations. The chipset is the control centre of the motherboard and must be compatible with the processor, just like the socket.
In the memory (or main memory, Random-Access Memory, abbreviated as RAM), data is temporarily stored that the computer needs for its current processing operations. The size of the modules, clock speed, and latency are important metrics for RAM. The capacity of RAM indicates the amount of available memory. A higher clock speed means faster memory access, while lower latency means shorter access times to memory. AMD's AM5 platform uses fast DDR5 memory, while Intel gives you the option of DDR4 or DDR5 RAM with socket 1700.
Hard Disk Drives (HDDs) and Solid State Drives (SSDs) serve as permanent data storage. HDDs offer large capacities at a low price, but with relatively higher access times. HDDs are magnetic storage devices, while SSDs have no moving parts, making them quieter. However, SSDs are generally pricier. HDDs and traditional SSDs are connected to the motherboard via SATA. With the M.2 slot and NVMe protocol, PCIe/M.2 SSDs can be directly connected via PCIe lanes, providing higher speeds compared to SATA. The current top-of-the-line options are fast PCIe 4.0 and 5.0 SSDs.
The power supply unit (PSU), also known as the power supply, provides power to the hardware. The two most important features of a PC power supply are power output and efficiency. Power output is measured in watts and should be sufficient to supply all components without being oversized, which could affect efficiency. Efficiency is measured by various standards such as 80 Plus or Cybernetics and indicates how efficiently the power supply operates under load. Thanks to the modern ATX 3.0 standard, power spikes can be better handled.
