Compare hardware and software

Computer hardware is any physical device used in or with your machine, whereas software is a collection of code installed onto your computer's hard drive. For example, the computer monitor you are using to read this text and the mouse you are using to navigate this web page is computer hardware.

Computer hardware is any physical device used in or with your machine, whereas software is a collection of code installed onto your computer's hard drive. For example, the computer monitor you are using to read this text and the mouse you are using to navigate this web page is computer hardware. The Internet browser that allowed you to visit this page and the operating system that the browser is running on is considered software.

All software utilizes at least one hardware device to operate. For example, a video game, which is software, uses the computer processor (CPU), memory (RAM), hard drive, and video card to run. Word processing software uses the computer processor, memory, and hard drive to create and save documents.

In a computer, the hardware is what makes a computer work. A CPU processes information and that information can be stored in RAM or on a hard drive. A sound card can provide sound to speakers, and a video card can provide an image to a monitor. All of this is hardware.

On that same computer, software can be installed and allow a person to interact with the hardware. An operating system, like Windows or macOS, is software. It provides a graphical interface for people to use the computer and other software on the computer. Once an operating is installed additional programs can be installed that allows the user to perform more specialized tasks such as creating documents and pictures.