• Question: How are computers made?

    Asked by anon-267549 on 12 Nov 2020.
    • Photo: Sam Geen

      Sam Geen answered on 12 Nov 2020:

      Maybe someone here knows more details – it’s possible of course to build your own computer, but someone needs to make the chips first. Intel (a big company that makes processors) has a video about this, which has pictures of people making them in clean suits to stop dust getting in and destroying the chip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VMYPLXnd7E

    • Photo: Andreas Korn

      Andreas Korn answered on 12 Nov 2020:

      Let me take this as a general question. When we think of computers, we think of computer chips, but there are different types of computers, even mechanical ones!
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stepped_reckoner

      The basic building block of a computer is a switch. From basic switches we can build logic blocks (e.g. a switch that turns on or off depending on inputs, say an AND switches on if all the inputs are switched on).

    • Photo: Patrick Dalton

      Patrick Dalton answered on 12 Nov 2020: last edited 12 Nov 2020 4:13 pm

      There are three parts to this question:
      1. How do we make the components?
      2. What is the logic behind a computer?
      3. What parts is a standard modern computer made up of?

      1 and 2 are answered, so I’ll take number 3:

      Motherboard:
      This is the body of the computer that everything slots into. It connects all the other components.

      CPU:
      This is the core of the computer, it performs the calculations that run the computer. CPU stands for “Central Processing Unit”.

      RAM:
      This is the “short term memory” of the computer, where the computer stores data it is currently using. It’s only small and everything in it is deleted when you turn your computer off. RAM stands for “Random Access Memory”.

      Storage:
      This is usually a “Hard Drive” or “Solid State Drive”. These are slower than RAM but can store a lot more stuff, so this is the effective “long term memory” of the computer.

      GPU:
      Handles things like video editing, videogames and scientific modelling really well. This didn’t use to be included as often (the CPU would have handled the tasks) but is starting to become more and more prevalent. GPU stands for “Graphical Processing Unit”.

      There are a bunch of smaller components with more specific functions, but these are the main components of note in a modern computer.

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