One of the great strengths of the PC platform, that has led to its overwhelming success in the marketplace, is its modularity. Most PCs are made up of many different individual components, which can be mixed and matched in thousands of different configurations. This lets you customize the PC you either buy or build to meet your exact needs.

External view of a complete, modern PC system.
(Micron's New Millennia MAX)



This section discusses some of the major components of a typical, modern PC. Some PCs have some of these combined into one physical unit, but inside, somewhere, you'll find most if not all of these pieces. (Most modern PCs also have components not listed here; I'll be expanding this later on to include more device types.) This section is an extremely summarized short form of the Systems and Components Reference Guide.