Can I Patent some Computer Hardware?

If I've come up with a design for some computer hardware that performs some often needed task that has some advantage over existing hardware or software applications (say in the areas of speed, cost, etc.), can I patent that hardware? If so, how exactly would I do that? It's going to involve a lot of Verilog code; is there some way to write that code that will make sure I get the rights to the product I produce? Would it be enough to add a comment at the start of each Verilog file that said:

(c) Kevin Simonson 2023

assuming I get this thing all coded in 2023? Would I need to do a patent search at some point? If I do, would I need a lawyer to do the patent search, and if so, how much can I expect that to cost?

I'm kind of just getting started with this thing, and I'm not entirely sure the right way to go.

Kevin S