Types Of Computers

Types Of Computers

1. Supercomputers

   • -the fastest and most expensive computers in the world.
   • -cost over a hundred million pounds to build and very few organisations can afford to purchase one.
   • used by governments such as the military, security services and the weather office etc
   • they generate so much heat that they need to be housed in specifically designed rooms with environmental controls and air conditioning systems.

2. Mainframe Computers

   • -are large, powerful computers that can carry out many different tasks for many different people at the same time.
   • slower than a supercomputer but they are far less expensive. They may cost around 4 million pounds to purchase.
   • can execute billions of instructions per second and can process large amounts of data simultaneously.
   • usually connected to a large number of peripherals e.g. printers, terminals, disk drives etc.
   • Used in banks , airlines , police , insurances companies etc

3. Personal Computers

   • Modern PCs are very powerful and are now relatively inexpensive. You will find very similar machines both in the home and office environments.
   • PCs can carry out millions of calculations per second and can store large amounts of data - typically anything from 120GB to 1TB.
   • Personal computers tend to be set up and left in one place, they are not intended to be mobile or carried around with you.
   • Useful in editing videos , creating musics/videos , Accessing the Internet for research , designing etc