Intel
and 
Motorola
CPUs These chips don't look like much from the outside but
if you flip the chip over you will see just how complicated they really
are.
Click on the picture to get a
bigger picture of the chip. 
The CPU rests on the "Mother Board." The mother board is the main interface between input, output devices and the CPU.
Mother Board Storage Devices are important to the processing of information. The CPU can handle only small amount of data at a time. The CPU utilizes cache as a temporary holding spot while it performs an operation. Cache assists the CPU in the manipulation process. Random Access Memory (RAM) also used for temporary storage of information. The difference between cache and RAM is the amount of information stored. RAM stores part or complete portions of programs and the manipulated data whereas cache holds only small parts of the manipulated data. Cache speeds up the CPU's ability to manipulate the data while RAM speeds up the CPU's access to the program and the remaining data. RAM and Cache both store information electronically which means the information di sappears when the computer is turned off or restarted.
RAM / Cache SIMM Without RAM, the CPU would have to access the computer's hard disk or floppy disk. Accessing these storage devices slows down the CPU because the computer has to convert the information from impulses stored on magnetic media to electrical impulses. The advantage of hard disks and floppy disks are their ability to store data after the computer is turned off. Hard Disk can also store large amounts of data for a small amount of money. Hard Disk drives storage capability ranges from as low as 10 Mega by tes (10 million bytes) to as large as 9 Giga bytes ( 9 billion bytes) as of this writing. Manufactures are working on devices that are capable of storing terra bytes (trillions of bytes) of information.
Hard Drive Inside 
Hard Drive from the outside Hard Drives get their name from the material that the data is saved on. Hard drives save the data on metal or ceramic ("hard") disks coated with a thin magnetic film. One or more of the disks (depending on the storage capacity of the drive) are spinning at very high speeds. Data is placed or read by small magnetic head that float over the spinning platters. The process is similar to the old record or cassette tape players. Hard drives use to be mounted inside or attached the outside of the computers but new technology allows hard drives to be removable (PCMCIA Hard cards, Bernoulli, ZIP or Syquest drives.) These portable drives store as little as 44 Mega bytes to as high as 1 Giga byte.
Double Density Floppy Disk
Floppy disks save data on thin film ("floppy") disks that are housed in plastic cases. Floppy disks come in different sizes but the two most popular sizes are 3.5 and 5.25 inches. Novices confuse the 3.5 inch disk as hard disk because of their hard outer shell when comparing the 5.25 inch disk whose shell is flexible. Because of its smaller size and durability, the 3.5 inch is quickly becoming the standard. The following table identifies the amount each disk can store.
| Size | Double Density | High Density | |
| 3.5 | 760 KB *(800 MAC) | 1.44 MB** | |
| 5.25 | 360 KB | 1.2 MB |
*KB = kilo bytes (1 thousand bytes) **MB = Mega bytes (1 million bytes)
