Hard Drives are needed to store things that you want to keep on your computer in. So that you can use it again, it writes out information that can be re-used time and time again. It is a large piece of equipment that has a disk and an 'arm' inside it. An SSD is a new, more modern version of the Hard Drive which is also lighter. Because it is so much better, it is a bit more expensive.

An Optical Drive is a device that reads and writes CDs, DVDs and blueray. It is inside most computers and laptops as well as gaming devices like Xboxes, PS3s, Wii and others. It is, however, unknowingly going 'out-of-business' because more and more things are being downloaded from the internet.

RAM stands for Random Access Memory

The RAM is the extra storage space that helps your computer to run faster. If your computer needs lots of applications open at the same time then the RAM helps your computer to hold information temporarily. Ram also stores little things like copy and pastes.

The Motherboard is the 'base' to the computer. It is what all the devices that are in the computer are connected to. It has a fan to cool the devices down. It also connects to the RAM (See Above)

and the Hard Drive (also above).