Computer hardware
physical components of a computer
Computer hardware, commonly shortened to 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.
By contrast, software is a set of written instructions that can be stored and run by hardware. Hardware derived its name from the fact that it is hard or rigid with respect to changes, whereas software is soft because it is easy to change.
Hardware is typically directed by the software to execute any command or instruction. A combination of hardware and software forms a usable computing system, although other systems exist with only hardware.
History
Some of the earliest computing devices date back to the seventeenth century. For example, in 1642, French mathematician Blaise Pascal designed a gear-based device called the Pascaline that could add and subtract. Then, in 1676, the stepped reckoner was invented by Gottfried Leibniz, which could also divide and multiply. Due to the limitations of contemporary fabrication and design flaws, Leibniz's reckoner was not very functional, but similar devices (Leibniz wheel) remained in use into the 1970s.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 14, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3966. The Library of Congress control number is sh85029505. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1642 and 1676.
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This entry incorporates text from “Computer hardware” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.