"Personifying" a computer

[hawaiims]

I'm trying to explain to my mom how each component in a computer interacts to each other, what they do etc.. In layman's terms, how would you explain it? 

I'm trying to personify a computer to explain it in simple terms

 

Here's what I got so far:

 

CPU is the brain, it commands everything and is crucial

Motherboard is like the nerve system. Your brain (cpu) uses it to communicate with other components and vice versa.

 

How else can you explain hwo a computer works (the other components and all) ? And feel free to link me to a page that will help me explain how a computer works to a n00bie like mom. 

 

 

[NInety]

The GPU is the thing that allows you to see. Sound card is your ear drum. Power supply is your stomach. Exhaust fans are your butt. Intake fans are your mouth/nose hole on your face. RAM is just temporary storage for Biology class and the HDD is for permanent storage (Math class).

[bobhays]

PSU is the heart, it supplies power (i know in the body it's eating food, but it just works) or blood to the entire body.

 

The mouse and keyboard are like nerves that send signals to your brain and it reacts accordingly.

 

the hard drive is the long-term memory, RAM is short-term memory

[Vitalius]

CPU - You. The brain part that thinks.
Motherboard - Central Nervous System
RAM - Short term memory
Hard Drive - Long term memory
Solid State Drive - Faster long term memory
Graphics Card - Visual section of Brain, AKA Imagination or the Eyes
PSU - Stomach/digestive system, and heart/lungs AKA Vital Organs
Case - Body that houses it all.

[aidenrelkoff]

The GPU is the thing that allows you to see. Sound card is your ear drum. Power supply is your stomach. Exhaust fans are your butt. Intake fans are your mouth/nose hole on your face. RAM is just temporary storage for Biology class and the HDD is for permanent storage (Math class).

power supply should be the heart cause with out it you die

[paulsterio]

I don't think personifying a PC is the best way to explain how a PC works. If you're looking at ways of explaining each component, I would just stick to trying to outline what they do. 

 

The CPU is where the mathematical calculations on the computer occur. RAM is what the CPU uses to store information for fast access, this data is cleared every time the computer is turned off. The hard drive is where information is stored for future access and it is persistent, meaning that when power is lost or the computer is turned off, the hard drive keeps its data. The GPU is what draws what you see on screen, so the CPU will tell the GPU in mathematical terms what to draw and the GPU will then draw the picture out and sending it to the monitor. The motherboard provides the infrastructure for the components. The PSU takes power from the wall (AC) and converts it into a form of power the PC can use (12V, 5V DC). 

[jscho]

power supply should be the heart cause with out it you die

 

Well, you'd die without any organ... Or maybe not function properly

[Vitalius]

Well, you'd die without any organ... Or maybe not function properly

*Vital organ

Your eye is an organ. Testicles/ovaries are organs. I could go on. 

But Vital organs (At least 1 of either kidney, Liver, Lungs, Heart, etc.) are required to live. 

[jscho]

*Vital organ

Your eye is an organ. Testicles/ovaries are organs. I could go on. 

But Vital organs (At least 1 of either kidney, Liver, Lungs, Heart, etc.) are required to live. 

 

Touche, though that's kinda what I mean't

[JustTooDank]

I don't know how I would go about personifying computer parts, but one analogy I use to explain the difference between storage and memory is this:

Your desk space is the RAM. The larger the desk space (more GB), the more things you can have on it that are right in reach(running at the same time). Your drawers and cabinets are the HDD. This is where your files are stored. Going here to access your files takes a little longer, but there is more space. When you reboot your computer, you are taking everything on the desk and putting it in a drawer. Over time, these drawers can become a bit unorganized (fragmented), which makes it a little slower to access the files. Organizing these files (defragging) will not necessarily make your computer faster, but it will put things where they go and make them easier to find.

[aidenrelkoff]

*Vital organ

Your eye is an organ. Testicles/ovaries are organs. I could go on. 

But Vital organs (At least 1 of either kidney, Liver, Lungs, Heart, etc.) are required to live. 

weird how 2 of the 3 none-vital organs you listed are the sexual reproductive ones . Can we function with half a brain?

[Vitalius]

weird how 2 of the 3 none-vital organs you listed are the sexual reproductive ones . Can we function with half a brain?

Yes. That's why I didn't list it under VItal Organs. I just didn't think of it because I don't label it an organ. It probably is, I just don't imagine it as one because I can't give it a single function.