Computer hardware: what is a “chip”?

Self-tutoring about computers: the tutor reviews an age-old element of computer jargon.

When I was 8, nobody had a home computer; when I was 11, I knew one person who did. By the time I was in my teens, the home computer remained rare, but it was many families’ next purchase. You could play with home computers on display at the electronics store (typically in a mall), such as Radio Shack.

Computers brought their own jargon – “chip” and “microchip”, for instance. But what exactly is a “chip?”

I’d say a “chip” is an electronic device that is added on a motherboard. It can be replaced as well: it might be soldered in, or it might just snap into a slot.

When put in place on the motherboard, the chip will perform an expected function: a RAM chip will accept data for temporary storage, for instance. A certain ROM chip might cause the device to run a certain video game.

I don’t hear the word “chip” as much, in the computer context, as I did decades ago. I suspect that’s because with miniaturization, groups of chips have been integrated so that there aren’t so many on a computer motherboard these days. Yet, RAM chips, for instance, are still a thing.

This is all just my understanding.