February 2019

Different Types of Computer Systems

Computers have become a part of everyday life. Be it in schools, offices, banks, and other such public places, we use computers on a regular basis now. Even in the schools also, students are taught about computers, it’s type, software, hardware, and different computer programming languages also. It has made our life easier, as we can do many things with the help of a computer. From watching movies to playing games, from networking with friends to sharing pictures and videos with friends, from online shopping to online bill payments, and even the real-time processing, business transactions, banking, reservations, all of these are done with the help of computer systems only.

With time the computer systems have also evolved. As earlier, we used supercomputers. And these days we are using personal computers which includes desktop, laptop, and palmtop also. The size of the computer systems in becoming small but the technology is increasing. No one would have thought before that we will have portable computer systems also in the form of laptops and palmtops. Many people are still not aware of the different forms of computer systems. So, here we will share the info about the different types of computer systems.

Super Computers– Supercomputers are said to be one of the most powerful computers because of their fast speed. They need vast space and have really good storage capacity. However, these computers are very expensive in comparison with the other computers. As we just mentioned above that they require vast space, so you should also know that many of the supercomputers need a complete building for their installation. They are usually kept in a cool or air-conditioned room. When we compare the speed of supercomputers with a desktop or other computers, the supercomputers speed is much faster and quicker which can process any information in nanoseconds or picoseconds. These supercomputers are not used for general purpose or day to day use like chatting, or shopping, or playing games. It is used in the complex processes like determining the climate, examining space, monitoring the earthquakes, and many other such processes. The first Supercomputer was CDC 6600, which was designed in the year 1964, by Seymour Cray. Some other supercomputers are Tianhe – 2, IBM Deep Blue and PARAM 10000.

Mainframe Computer – These computers are known for processing millions of instructions and guidelines per second. However, they are not as quick as the supercomputers but are still known as one of the quick computers. They are also helpful in storing huge amount of data and information. They are very huge and are very expensive also. The mainframe computers are mostly used in the organizations which need to process huge data and have to store huge information like in the railway reservations, educational institutions, and other such places where there is the need of storing bulk information. Some of the examples of mainframe computers are IBM Z890 and Hitachi’s Z800. These are utilized in a lot of tech businesses and startup app companies. Many dating and hook up apps utilize mainframe computers to collect and analyze the data from their members.

Minicomputers – These computers are smaller in size in comparison to the supercomputers and mainframe computers. They do have good speed, but it is not as quick and good as the speed of supercomputers and mainframe computers. But these computers are less expensive than the above two types of computers. Mostly, the minicomputers are used for monitoring the manufacturing process or the production in any private organization. The operating system of minicomputers is quite difficult to operate. The minicomputers which are very powerful and effective are known as the Super Minis. The examples of minicomputers are Texas Instrument TI-990 and VAX.

Microcomputers – Microcomputers are also known as Personal Computers. In comparison with the supercomputers, mainframe computers, and minicomputers, the Microcomputers are the smallest computer systems. They also are cheapest in comparison to the above-mentioned computer systems. These are the computers which are used these days for different kinds of work and activities. These computers are used by most of the people in day to day life. They do have both primary storage and secondary storage. The input and output units are also present in the microcomputers. You can either place them on the desk or can even carry them with yourself as they are portable also. The microcomputer’s examples are PC or Desktop, Laptop, Palmtop, and Tablet.