OpenComputers

OpenComputers is a mod that adds programmable, modular computers. It was added in 1.2 for the modpack.

Computers

A computer, officially an OpenComputer (note the singular), is a small network of different components, typically confined within and connected to a case. All cases have two slots for RAM, a CPU socket, and depending on the tier, hard drive bays and expansion card slots.
Typically, a case is accompanied by a monitor and a keyboard.

Setup

To boot, a computer needs one of the following:

• Case
• Screen
• EEPROM (Lua BIOS)
• CPU
• GPU
• RAM
• HDD
• A floppy disk drive
• Keyboard
• IF Power

Once the hardware has been set up, you should put in a floppy disk saying OpenOS into the floppy disk drive. It should be green.
Once you have inserted the drive, press the power icon on the case, and then click on the screen. Once OpenOS has turned on, type install and then y. OpenOS should install.
Your computer has now been set up. If you wish to add extra components you can either put them in the case if it an item or connect them to the case through cables if it is a block.
Note that you will need better components for certain programs. For example, OC-Browser will require a tier 2 GPU, whereas MineOS will require tier 3.5 RAM, and a tier 3 CPU and GPU.
To install an app, follow its instructions.
To run an app, simply type its name in the console.

Components

A component is a modular part of a computer. Different components unlock different capabilities, and higher tiers typically offer more functions that their lower-tiered counterparts.

Internal components

Internal components are components that are inserted inside cases.

CPU

While it does not provide any callbacks or storage, the CPU is needed by a computer. In real life, a CPU provides all the maths required by the system, however, in OpenComputers, it enables the computer to access more components. If the number of components exceeds what is allowed by the CPU, the computer will not boot.
A tier 1 CPU can support 8 components, a tier 2 CPU can support 12, and a tier 3 CPU can support 16.

HDD

A hard disk drive, or HDD, is a component that is inserted into a hard drive bay (the top right and middle right slots in a case).
It provides persistent long-term storage for a computer, and is typically where files are written. A computer can technically boot without one, but it will only be able to read and perform I/O on either a Floppy Disk or EEPROM.
A tier 1 HDD has a capacity of 1 MB, a tier 2 HDD has a capacity of 2 MB, and a tier 3 HDD has a capacity of 4 MB.
A Floppy Disk is a removable HDD with a capacity of 384 KB.

RAM

Random access memory, or RAM, is how computers store information temporarily. It stores the data required to be loaded quickly. It is like a really fast HDD. However, unlike a HDD, RAM is volatile and thus will be wiped when the computer is powered down.
RAM comes in 6 tiers, with tier 1.0 being the lowest at 256 KB, and tier 3.5 being the highest at 1024 KB (or a megabyte).

GPU

The GPU, also called a graphics card or video card, is a component that is needed to display outputs. They can either be a discrete, seperate card, or integrated within an APU. Better GPUs have better output capabilities, including colour space and resolution.
Video in OpenComputers work by having a grid of "tiles". Each "tile" is the size of one character in Unicode or ASCII. Each "tile" can have a foreground and a background, the foreground being the colour of the character written to the "tile", and the background is any space not taken up by the character.

Data card

A data card allows a computer to compute more complicated tasks relating to data (for example, encryption or compression). It comes in three tiers, each supporting more data functions than the last.

Network card

A network card (internally referred to as a modem) is a component which enables computers to "talk" to eachother (transferring small pieces of data known as packets back and forth). They are the basis of the Elysian Port Network and Elysian DNS.
To communicate with eachother, two computers must open up to the same port to interact. For example, if machine A has opened port 123 while machine B has opened port 69, the two cannot interact, but if both machines have opened port 999, they can.
Network cards come in three tiers. Tier 1 works only through a wired connection through a relay and cable. Tier 2 works only wirelessly and has a maximum wireless distance of 16 blocks. Tier 3 Network cards will work both on wired and wireless networks, with a maximum wireless distance of 512 blocks. Wired networks have infinite range for as long as the cables are loaded.

Linked card

Linked cards come in pairs. They work like Network cards, except that they do not need to open a port, have infinite range, and will only work with a paired card. A linked card will instantly transfer packets to the paired card, regardless of distance, computer type, or even dimension.

Redstone card

Redstone cards are a component which provides the computer an API to interact with redstone signals. It can read and set redstone outputs to blocks adjacent to the computer.
Tier 2 Redstone cards allow to read and set redstone signals to modded and vanilla blocks, whereas Tier 1 redstone cards can only read and set to vanilla blocks only.

Internet card

An Internet card can download content from real-world websites like Reddit or GitHub onto the computer. Very helpful to download larger apps or files for OpenComputers.

See also

GitHub repo
Documentation