In this section, we explore the various hardware components of modern computers.
## Parts of a Personal Computer
### Central Processing Unit (CPU)
A Central Processing Unit (CPU) is the electronic circuitry within a computer that carries out the instructions of a computer program by performing the basic arithmetic, logical, control and input/output (I/O) operations specified by the instructions.
An expansion card is an embedded circuit card that can be added to the motherboard to augument a computer's capability. It can either add capabilities, ex allow for a new type of I/O port, or upgrade existing ones, ex. faster ethernet connection. The most common type of expansion card is a GPU, or a graphical processing unit.
Random-access memory (RAM) is a form of computer data storage which stores data and machine code currently being used. A random-access memory device allows data items to be read or written in almost the same amount of time irrespective of the physical location of data inside the memory.
Motherboard holds and allows communication between many of the crucial electronic components of a system, such as the central processing unit (CPU) and memory, and provides connectors for other peripherals.
