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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]
By 1977 pre-assembled systems such as the Apple II, Commodore PET, and TRS-80 (later dubbed the "1977 Trinity" by Byte Magazine) [44] began the era of mass-market home computers; much less effort was required to obtain an operating computer, and applications such as games, word processing, and spreadsheets began to proliferate.
See also References External links A Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) A dedicated video bus standard introduced by INTEL enabling 3D graphics capabilities; commonly present on an AGP slot on the motherboard. (Presently a historical expansion card standard, designed for attaching a video card to a computer's motherboard (and considered high-speed at launch, one of the last off-chip parallel ...
On August 12, 1981, IBM released the IBM Personal Computer. [10] One of the most far-reaching decisions made for IBM PC was to use an open architecture, [11] leading to a large market for third party add-in boards and applications; but finally also to many competitors all creating "IBM-compatible" machines.
Packard Bell is a personal computer hardware brand which originated as Packard Bell Electronics, Inc., an independent American computer company founded in Los Angeles in 1986 by Israeli-American investors who bought the trademark rights to the historic Packard Bell Corporation from Teledyne; in spite of similarities in their names, Packard Bell has no connection to either Hewlett-Packard or ...
In practice, CPUs in personal computers are usually also connected, through the motherboard, to a main memory bank, hard drive or other permanent storage, and peripherals, such as a keyboard and mouse. Graphics processing units (GPUs) are present in many computers and designed to efficiently perform computer graphics operations, including ...
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The market for personal computers was dominated at the time by Tandy, Commodore, and Apple, whose machines sold for several hundred dollars each and had become very popular. The microcomputer market was large enough for IBM's attention, with $15 billion in sales by 1979 and projected annual growth of more than 40% during the early 1980s.