Human computer interface is how the user actually interacts with the computer itself. If the computer software/hardware is too difficult for the user to understand then it wouldn't be taken well by the customers and the community. There are many different ways that the user can interact with the computer such as they keyboard, the mouse, sketchpads, etc. This then begins to go into the subject of ergonomics which means that all the components feel comfortable in the users hands. For example if the keyboard layout was different to the standard "QWERTY" then it would be difficult for the user to learn which keys are where which could be frustrating at times. Finally human computer interface can be how the user actually perceives the information given to them from the computer screen. When computers were made accessible to everyone this "made everyone in the world a potential computer user, and vividly highlighted the deficiencies of computers with respect to usability for those who wanted to use computers as tools."
Quote: https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/book/the-encyclopedia-of-human-computer-interaction-2nd-ed/human-computer-interaction-brief-intro
Graphic Processors:
A Graphic Processor Unit otherwise known as a GPU. This piece of hardware is designed to have the purpose of briskly changing/modify the memory so that images that are displayed on the screen can run smoothly whilst still looking impressive, "the GPU is used primarily for computing 3D functions." This means that these graphic processors are mainly for consumers who play video games as they want the graphics to be the highest quality as possible without the game lagging or of low quality as they want the best experience for the money they have paid.
Display:
"A display is a computer output surface and projecting mechanism that shows text and often graphic images to the computer user". A display screen is used to output the information that the device is giving to the user in a clear and understanding visual way, when packed the display otherwise known as the screen/monitor has to be connected to the device giving the information out in code form which is then sent via cable to the display which decodes the information and turns it into words or images. Displays can be worse or better than others as there are many factors that are involved with displays such as colour capability, resolution and size. Colour capability is as straight forward as it seems, this depends on what colours the display is actually capable of displaying/creating, 8-bit, 16-bit, 24-bit, etc (the higher the number the more colours can be displayed). Resolution refers to how clear the image on the screen is, if the image on the screen is very pixelated then the resolution will be incredibly low but the higher the resolution then the image on screen will be more in-depth/HD. Size is also straight forward as this just how large the screen is, however the larger the screen then the resolution will have to be higher due to the amount of pixels that will be on screen at one time.
Game Storage Medium:
"A storage medium is any technology (including devices and materials) used to place, keep, and retrieve data." There can be many different types of storage that people could use all with their advantages and disadvantages depending on the technology used, what you are storing on this memory unit and the memory capability of the device. One form of storage is a flash drive which is otherwise known as a USB is usually used to store small amounts of data depending on the memory capability but it is also used to transfer data from one place to another very easily.
The main type of storage used in consoles and PC's is a hard drive, although much larger in size compared to the flash drive. This hardware can store vast amounts of memory with the current Xbox One having a 500GB hard drive stored inside, these are needed due to everything that is needed to be stored/downloaded as consoles and PC's aren't just about games anymore but a wide variety of activities (TV, apps, etc).
The newest form of storage that is used is the Cloud which gives the user a limited amount of storage they can use before they have to pay for extra storage. The biggest advantage of this system is that you can access this drive on any platform which has incorporated the Cloud and this is happening more often.
Connectivity:
"A generic term for connecting devices to each other in order to transfer data back and forth. It often refers to network connections, which embraces bridges, routers, switches and gateways as well as backbone networks." In gaming connectivity is usually about how well your device can connect to the internet via your router, the better the connection then the quicker games/apps will download and games will run more smoothly, however this isn't the case for every game/service. With games such as Battlefield 4 and Destiny the companies who develop those games have their own severs set up with you will have to connect to, these are usually spread out all over the world but depending on with server you get connected to it could cause things like "rubber-banding" and "lag". Most likely to be seen on PC games you can check your connection to other players or to the server easily as it is represented by your "ping". The lower the ping number the better your connection will be to the game. With games like Call Of Duty your connection relies on the game choosing a host with a good connection, however this doesn't always work as this game is international and if you live in the UK and the host of the game is from America then your connection will be terrible compared to theirs which is when the term "host advantage" was created.
Central Processing Unit:
"The central processing unit (CPU) of a computer is a piece of hardware that carries out the instructions of a computer program." The CPU is more or less the brain of a computer as it tells every program what to do and when do this. Depending on what you are using the CPU for it may have to have better technology inside the CPU. For example if you wanted to use your computer/laptop for gaming then you would need a more advanced CPU as you want every instruction to be carried out as quick as possible, so that there is no "input lag" when pressing keys and you would also want the 3D animations to be processed quickly. A CPU is made up of 3 different components, the first component is the arithmetic logic unit which preforms all the algorithms/mathematics and logical operations inside the computer. The second component is the control until which basically tells everything else in the computer what to do (tells the arithmetic logic unit to preform calculations). The last component is the cache which stores the any instructions that are needed until they are retrieved from another component.
Memory:
"Computer memory is any physical device capable of storing information temporarily or permanently." The memory unit in a computer is straight forward, this is the component that stores every piece of information on the computer and everything that you download onto the computer. Memory units can have a wide range of storage from GBs (Gigabytes) to TBs (Terabytes) depending on what you will be storing on the computer. Things such as games and updates that come alone with them periodically usually need quite a lot of memory space.
Sound:
"Vibrations transmitted through an elastic solid or a liquid or gas, with frequencies in the approximate range of 20 to 20,000 hertz, capable of being detected by human organs of hearing." Is the technical term for sound but when relating sound to games there are many different variations. The first one is mono-sound which is when every sound is divided equally between the two channels (left and right) so that each ear hears the exact same sound as the other. The next is stereo-sound which is when sound is split between the channels depending on where the sound is actually coming from, for example this type of sound would be used for the game CS:GO because if there was an enemy walking up to the left of you, only your left ear would hear this helping to determine the position of the enemy. The final one would be surround sound which is when you would have speakers places all around the room, it is similar to stereo-sound except it is a full 360 degrees of sound, mostly used for when you want a truly real experience with the game you are playing.
Interface Devices:
"An interface device (IDF) is a hardware component or system of components that allows a human being to interact with a computer". When talking about computer hardware there are 3 main interface devices that are used by everyone, the first is the display screen as this actually allows the user to visually see what they are doing on the computer and responses that their actions have. The second device would be the keyboard as every key causes the computer to respond in a certain way depending on which key the user has pressed, this means that the user is interacting with the computer and telling it what to do via this device. The final device would be the mouse as this lets the user to command which programmes are open, which webpage tab they want to be on, etc, the mouse is basically the navigation system to the user. In gaming the display allows the player to see what is going on around then so they can react to an event that happens, the keyboard allows the player to move around, use abilities, jump, ec. Finally the mouse allows the player to look around in a full 360 degree view if he game has this mechanic, it also allows the player to aim and shoot a gun if it was that genre of game.
Power Supply:
"A system that converts AC current from the wall outlet into the DC currents required by electronic circuits. A computer power supply converts AC into multiple DC voltages." There isn't much to say about the power supply as it is straight forward. Electronic devices need an electric current to work and the power supply exchanges the electric currents from the source and imports it into the device. With a PC the voltages have to split because every component needs a different amount of power to work to its full potential and if you give the same voltage to everything then you would overload most components most likely causing an electrical fire.
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