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> **Possible Duplicate:**  
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> [What do you call the main component of a computer system?](https://serverfault.com/questions/8524/what-do-you-call-the-main-component-of-a-computer-system) 
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I have a hard time talking to our techs when I want what I call the "tower" serviced (even though the stickers would indicate the box's orientation was supposed to be horizontal, but instead to save space the box is oriented vertical.

So depending on the tech, I would get terms like "base", "cpu", "desktop", "beige box (even though most HP are gray)", etc.

So what is the industry term for the box that contains all the hardware?