Computer terms can be very confusing. The power of different computers are generally measured by the speed and capacity of three components: the hard drive, the RAM, and the CPU. Many of us have heard these terms before, but far fewer know what these terms mean or how they affect the performance of the computer. There is an analogy I like to use to make these terms more simple to understand, called the Office Analogy.
Imagine a man working working in an office, with a desk full of papers and a filing cabinet full of more papers elsewhere in the room. If he wants to edit or consult one of his papers, he needs to make sure there is enough room on his desk for it, walk over to the filing cabinet, find the paper, and bring it back to the desk. If his desk is full, he cannot start working on any new papers without first moving some papers back into his filing cabinet.
In this scenario, the hard drive is represented by the filing cabinet. The hard drive is where all of the information on the computer is stored when it is not being used. In order for the computer to access information that is stored on it, the information must first be moved from the hard drive to the RAM, similar to the man walking to his filing cabinet to bring it back to his desk.
The RAM, or Random Access Memory, is represented by the size of the man’s desk. The size of the desk limits how many different papers he can work on at once, and if the desk is filled, he cannot start working on any more. Similarly, the RAM inside a computer is a place where all of the data is stored for any applications that are in use. If your RAM becomes filled up, the computer will start to slow down, and you and won’t be able to open any new programs without closing some other ones first.
Finally, we come to the CPU, or Central Processing Unit. It is a common misconception that the tower for a PC-type computer is referred to as the CPU. The CPU is actually a small component inside all desktops and laptops, about one square inch in size. The CPU is the component that actually processes the information once it has been loaded into the RAM. In our office scenario, the CPU is represented by the man. The speed at which he can complete his work is determined by how intelligent he is.
I have been using this analogy to help people understand how to compare computer specifications for severaI years. I hope this will help to unravel some of the the mystery surrounding computer components for some of you.