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Personal computer. An artist's depiction of a 2000s-era desktop-style personal computer, which includes a metal case with the computing components, a display and a keyboard ( mouse not shown) A personal computer, often referred to as a PC, is a computer designed for individual use. [ 1] It is typically used for tasks such as word processing ...
Computer hardware. PDP-11 CPU board. Computer hardware includes the physical parts of a computer, such as the central processing unit (CPU), random access memory (RAM), motherboard, computer data storage, graphics card, sound card, and computer case. It includes external devices such as a monitor, mouse, keyboard, and speakers. [ 1][ 2]
The history of the personal computer as a mass-market consumer electronic device began with the microcomputer revolution of the 1970s. A personal computer is one intended for interactive individual use, as opposed to a mainframe computer where the end user's requests are filtered through operating staff, or a time-sharing system in which one large processor is shared by many individuals.
A computer lab with desktop PCs with flat-panel monitors. A desktop computer (often abbreviated desktop[ 1]) is a personal computer designed for regular use at a stationary location on or near a desk (as opposed to a portable computer) due to its size and power requirements. The most common configuration has a case that houses the power supply ...
A more interactive form of computer use developed commercially by the middle 1960s. In a time-sharing system, multiple teleprinter and display terminals let many people share the use of one mainframe computer processor, with the operating system assigning time slices to each user's jobs. This was common in business applications and in science ...
In computer science and computer engineering, computer architecture is a description of the structure of a computer system made from component parts. [ 1] It can sometimes be a high-level description that ignores details of the implementation. [ 2] At a more detailed level, the description may include the instruction set architecture design ...
The IBM Personal Computer (model 5150, commonly known as the IBM PC) is the first microcomputer released in the IBM PC model line and the basis for the IBM PC compatible de facto standard. Released on August 12, 1981, it was created by a team of engineers and designers at International Business Machines (IBM), directed by William C. Lowe and ...
Such systems may constitute personal computers (including desktop computers, portable computers, laptops, all-in-ones, and more), mainframe computers, minicomputers, servers, and workstations, among other classes of computing. The following is a list of notable manufacturers and