Hardware, which is abbreviated as HW, refers to all physical components of a computer system, including the devices connected to it. You cannot create a computer or use software without using hardware. The screen on which you are reading this information is also a hardware.
What is a hardware upgrade?
A hardware upgrade refers to a new hardware, or a replacement for the old one, or additional hardware developed to improve the performance of the existing hardware. A common example of a hardware upgrade is a RAM upgrade that increases the computer’s total memory, and video card upgrade, where the old video card is removed and replaced with the new one.
Some of the commonly used hardware in your computer are described on the next page.