CLASSES OF DIGITAL COMPUTER

Super Computers

When we talk about types of computers, the first type that comes to our mind would be Super computers. They are the best in terms of processing capacity and also the most expensive ones. These computers can process billions of instructions per second. Normally, they will be used for applications which require intensive numerical computations such as stock analysis, weather forecasting etc. Other uses of supercomputers are scientific simulations, (animated) graphics, fluid dynamic calculations, nuclear energy research, electronic design, and analysis of geological data (e.g. in petrochemical prospecting). Perhaps the best known super computer manufacturer is Cray Research. Some of the "traditional" companies which produce super computers are Cray, IBM and Hewlett-Packard.

As of July 2009, the IBM Roadrunner, located at Los Alamos National Laboratory, is the fastest super computer in the world.

Mainframe Computers

Mainframe computers can also process data at very high speeds vi.e., hundreds of million instructions per second and they are also quite expensive. Normally, they are used in banking, airlines and railways etc for their applications.

Mini Computers

Mini computers are lower to mainframe computers in terms of speed and storage capacity. They are also less expensive than mainframe computers. Some of the features of mainframes will not be available in mini computers. Hence, their performance also will be less than that of mainframes.

Micro Computers

The invention of microprocessor (single chip CPU) gave birth to the much cheaper micro computers. They are further classified into

• Desktop Computers
• Laptop Computers
• Handheld Computers(PDAs)