Printable Computer Parts Crossword — Free Medium Puzzle

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🖥 Twenty-four computer parts are hiding in this grid. Read the numbered clues, then fit each answer into the squares where it crosses the others — a full word bank is printed below to help. The answer key sits at the bottom; fold it backward along the dotted line before you start.

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Computer Parts

Crossword · Puzzle No. 81 · ThePuzzleSolver.net

Medium

A themed criss-cross crossword. Every answer is a piece of computer hardware. Use the clues and the word bank to fit all 24 terms into the interlocking grid.

					1					2
	3
			4									5
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		7
							8
9			10

						11
	12
						13
								14
15		16		17
							18				19

							20

								21

	22

Word Bank — use each once

ANTENNA · AUDIOCARD · CARDREADER · CPUFAN · DESKTOP · DVDBURNER · ETHERNET · HARDDRIVE · JOYSTICK · KEYBOARD · KVMSWITCH · LAPTOP · MEMORY · MONITOR · MOTHERBOARD · MOUSE · PCISLOT · POWERSUPPLY · PROCESSOR · RAM · SSD · TOWER · USBSLOT · VIDEOCARD

Across

1 Device that lets several PCs share one keyboard, monitor and mouse

4 Stick controller favoured by flight-sim and arcade gamers

7 Short-term working store the CPU reads from; RAM is the main type

8 Optical drive that can write discs, not just read them

9 The display screen you look at

12 Little rod or stub that picks up the Wi-Fi signal

13 Random-access ___, a computer's fast working memory

15 Add-in board that drives the graphics (a GPU on a card)

18 Point-and-click desk companion

20 Full-size computer that stays put on or under a desk

21 Solid-state drive: fast flash storage, no moving parts (abbr.)

22 The main circuit board everything else plugs into

Down

1 Keys, but no lock. Space, but no room. Enter, but you can't go inside. What am I?

2 Traditional storage device with spinning magnetic platters

3 Long expansion connector on the motherboard for add-in cards

5 Unit that converts wall AC into the DC voltages a PC needs (the PSU)

6 Port where you plug in a thumb drive or mouse

10 Tall, upright style of computer case

11 Slot that reads SD and microSD memory cards

12 Expansion board that handles sound (a sound card)

14 The CPU — the chip that does the computing

16 Standard for wired networking, usually over an RJ-45 cable

17 Cooler that bolts onto the processor to stop it overheating

19 Portable computer with a fold-down screen

✂ fold backward along this line to hide the solution ✂

Solution hidden on screen — it prints automatically.

Solution

How to Solve This Criss-Cross Crossword

A criss-cross (also called a word-fit) is a friendly cousin of the newspaper crossword: the answers still interlock where they share a letter, but a printed word bank means you are never left guessing in the dark. Here is a reliable way in:

Start with the longest answers. Motherboard and Power Supply are eleven letters each, so there are very few places they can go — place them first and the grid quickly takes shape around them.
Count letters before you write. Every slot is a fixed length. Match a clue's answer to a slot of exactly the right size, then confirm the crossing letters agree before committing in pen.
Let the crossings do the work. Once a few words are down, each shared square gives you a letter in the answer that crosses it — often enough to pin a word without even reading its clue.
Cross words off the bank. Since each of the 24 terms is used exactly once, striking them out as you go narrows every remaining choice.

New to grid puzzles? Our complete guide to solving crosswords walks through clue-reading and fill strategy from the ground up.

About This Puzzle

Every answer here is a real piece of a computer — from the processor and RAM at the heart of the machine to the keyboard, monitor and mouse you touch every day, plus the expansion cards, ports and cooling that hold it all together. Solve it and you have named just about everything inside and outside a modern desktop. Watch for 1-Down: its clue is an old riddle you may recognise from our homepage.