Hardware and software, the CPU and the fetch–execute cycle, and the memory and storage hierarchy.
A computer system is hardware (physical parts) controlled by software (programs).
Hardware
- Input devices: keyboard, mouse, scanner, sensors.
- Output devices: monitor, printer, speakers.
- The CPU (central processing unit) processes instructions. Key parts: the control unit (directs operations), the ALU (arithmetic and logic), and registers (tiny fast storage).
- CPU performance depends on clock speed, number of cores and cache size.
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