A Level IT - 2.1 Hardware

Physical components

• Software

• Hardware

Storage devices with no moving parts

• Magnetic

• Optical

• Solid State (flash)

Optical Storage

• HDD

• CD / DVD / Blu Ray

• SSD

Storage that accesses data sequentially

• Hard Disk Drive (HDD)

• Magnetic tape drive

• Memory Card

• RAM

Devices used to show the results of processing by a computer

• Input Device

• Output Device

• Storage Device

Temporary storage of files and open programs

• Magnetic tape drive

• Optical storage

• Hard disk drive (HDD)

• Solid State Drive (SSD)

• RAM

Devices used to enter data or commands

• Input Device

• Output Device

• Storage Device

Ideal for creating portable backups of large amounts of data, such as servers

• Magnetic tape drive

• Optical storage

• Hard disk drive (HDD)

• Solid State Drive (SSD)

• RAM

Best printer for text

• Laser Printer

• Dot Matrix Printer

• Inkjet Printer

• Plotter

Very fast but expensive storage, ideal for OS, programs and some files

• Magnetic tape drive

• Optical storage

• Hard disk drive (HDD)

• Solid State Drive (SSD)

• RAM