What are peripheral and internal devices?

We categorize computer devices into the following categories:

• Peripheral Devices

• Internal Devices

Peripheral devices

A **peripheral device** is an auxiliary device that connects and works with the computer for input, output, or storage. An input device provides data and an output device transmits the data processing results.

Peripheral refers to an external piece of a computer hardware device.

A few common examples of input, output, and storage devices are as follows:

A few other examples of peripheral devices include touchscreen (input), microphone (input), scanner (input), webcam (input), projector (output), computer display (output), and modem (input/output).

Internal device

An **internal device** processes data or executes a program. The term 'internal' describes a device installed *inside* the computer, unlike the external peripheral devices. For example, RAM is an internal device, whereas a keyboard is an external device.

A few common examples of internal computer devices are as follows:

A few other internal devices include a sound card, fan, motherboard, network card, power supply, etc.