Date: 26/9/2025
Now that code has just become AI-driven and most developers just rely on AI tools to write code for them, it is becoming more important to learn what your code does and how it works with the hardware of your computer. So here is your guide to what your hardware does and why you should learn it.
RAM stands for Random Access Memory; it is your computer's short-term memory. Your computer uses it to store data for things that are running right now as it has the fastest access time. If your computer runs out of RAM, it will start using your hard drive, but it will be much slower. It is faster as it is made of chips that can be accessed randomly and doesn't store any data when power is removed. It is the part of your computer that has the fastest access to the CPU.
CPU stands for Central Processing Unit; it is the brain of your computer. It does all of the calculations and runs all of the code except for graphics unless it has integrated graphics (technically it can do graphics but it is not very good at it). It is made up of cores that can run code in parallel and threads that can run multiple tasks at once. To put it simply, it is the brain of your computer.
GPU stands for Graphics Processing Unit; it is similar to a CPU but is specialized for graphics. It is pretty much a CPU but it has a lot more cores and is designed to do graphics calculations. It also has its own RAM called VRAM (Video RAM) that is used to store data for graphics.
A motherboard is quite simple: it just connects all of the parts of your computer together and routes data and power between them.
A hard drive is your computer's long-term memory; it stores all of your data and files. It is much slower than RAM but it can store data when power is removed. It is made up of platters that spin and a read/write head that moves across the platters to read and write data. It is much slower than RAM as it has to wait for the platters to spin and the read/write head to move.
An SSD is just a faster version of a hard drive; it uses flash memory to store data. It is much faster than a hard drive as it has no moving parts and can access data randomly like RAM but can store data when power is removed like a hard drive.
Power Supply Unit (PSU) is what powers your computer; it converts the AC power from your wall to DC power that your computer can use. It also regulates the voltage and current to make sure that your computer gets the right amount of power. It is important to have a good quality PSU as a bad one can damage your computer and sometimes even catch fire.
These are the basic parts of a computer and how they work together. This is just a basic overview and there is a lot more to learn about each part like clock speed, binary, and architecture. But this should give you a good understanding of how your computer works and why it is important to learn about hardware as a software developer.
-Pro_the_Pro