| Product: |
How to Build the Perfect Computer |
| Date: |
08/02/02 (957 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: You get a computer at the end of it, Great hobby, Can be cheaper than a ready built system
Disadvantages: Can take a lot of time
I have now made an update for this opinion. I have enlisted the help of another Dooyoo member to aid in this update. Juliemaker kindly agreed to read through the opinion and pick out anything that seemed a bit technical for a novice computer user. From the feedback I received, I have compiled a basic glossary of terms that I have attached to the end of the opinion and will add to if necessary. I hope this will make clear some of the wording that I used. I would like to thank Julie for her help with this task.
There is no definitive way to build a "perfect" computer, so this opinion will hopefully guide you gently through the task of building a computer in general. The reason I say this is because everyone has a different interpretation of the word "perfect". To some, the perfect computer is one with top of the range components, while others see perfection as a computer that never has a single crash.
My experience tells me that building a computer is extremely easy. I have problems getting the thing to work efficiently. The main thing is not to get worried about building the system. I can guarantee that if you are flustered before you even start, you will encounter problems as you go. It is not an exam. No one is going to laugh at you if you get something wrong. Treat this experience like a hobby. Building a PC can be just like building a model aeroplane.
I'd better get started then. I will go through this opinion as if I am building the PC on my table in the kitchen. I will start by the announcement to my mum that the kitchen is going to be cluttered with bits for a few days. This brings a tirade of abuse that we are always messing up her space. Take it from me, it is better to face the tantrum before you buy any bits. That way, she can't throw them across the room.
When she calms down about our intrusion and the estimated total price, I sit down and read a few magazines and check out the Internet. I
am not going to go into what particular parts you should buy, because the components that are best will depend on your needs and budget. It also allows me to write an opinion in the "choosing components" section in the near future. Briefly, you will need to have these parts to build your system and get it working:
Case,
Power supply (if not built into case),
Motherboard,
Processor,
Heatsink and fan,
3 1/2 inch floppy disk drive,
CDROM drive,
Hard disk drive,
Graphics/video card,
Memory (RAM),
Monitor,
Keyboard,
Mouse,
Power cables (if not supplied with case and monitor),
Operating system (Windows, Linux, etc),
A bootable floppy disk.
Those are essential items that are needed to start the computer and install your operating system. The following items are useful, but are optional at the time of building. I am splitting this into two lists in case you are on a tight budget. The following items can be added as and when required.
Sound card,
Modem,
Printer,
Scanner,
Network card (if you have another PC that you wish to link),
USB hub (Useful if you plan on buying lots of USB devices),
Any cables not supplied for above items,
Any other bits that take your fancy.
You now have your list of desired components and you have priced up your list. But hang on a minute... Aren't you forgetting something in your excitement? Do you have the tools to put it together with? There is one essential tool that you will use to build your PC, a cross head screwdriver.
I hope you didn't just go and get one out of the tool box. I don't mean the standard one, you will need an insulated electricians screwdriver. This will protect you if you forget to unplug the system after testing it. It also prevents any static electricity in your body being passed to the component.
This leads me onto another piece of e
quipment that is not vital to build a computer, but is a VERY wise investment. I am talking about an anti-static mat. This isn't a mat on the floor, it is a smallish mat that you put on the table and lay components on. There are two wires attached to this mat. You will clip one wire onto the computer chassis and the other has a wristband, which you wrap round your wrist. This allows any static in your body to go to ground rather than into your new components.
Finally, you might want to have a torch handy so you can see what you are doing when things start getting cluttered inside the case. One with a stand is good unless you have a very willing and patient son or daughter to point it over your shoulder for hours at a time.
I have now got my screwdriver and my parts (no smart comments), so I am ready to dive in and build my system... What, well spotted at the back there, I forgot to look at the manuals that came with the products. Of all the manuals to read, the most intimidating one will be the manual for the motherboard. I know of people who bought the bits for a PC, looked at this manual and gave up there and then.
I can say that a motherboard manual IS intimidating! I thought I heard gasps of shock there, as I didn't just say it's nothing to worry about. Just to reassure you though, it is only intimidating the first time you read one. After you have installed your first motherboard successfully, the following ones will follow the basic routine fairly closely.
Right... So you've had a cup of tea and flicked rather hastily through the manuals and maybe getting through half a tobacco field in the process (tut, tut if that is you). If you are ready we will move to the operating theatre (or kitchen table).
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STARTUP DISK
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Before you start tampering, if you are upgrading your system, f
irst create a boot disk. This will allow you to get to the Dos prompt and install your operating system when you have built the system. You can create a boot disk in Windows by clicking "start", "settings" and "Control panel". Then double-click on "Add/remove programs" in the control panel window. Select the "Startup disk" tab and follow the instructions.
I am completely baffled, as I cannot see a way of installing Windows from the CD onto a completely blank system without having a startup disk with CDROM support. I can only think that you will be able to create a startup disk if you are reading this, because you have a working system already.
If you are reading this from someone else's computer, get a boot disk from them, otherwise you will have to get hold of a copy of MSDOS on disks. Even in this day, DOS is a powerful tool. I still regularly use it to tamper with files.
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CASE & POWER SUPPLY
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I start by opening up the case by removing the side panel or lid (depending on whether you have a desktop or tower case). That is fairly easy. Be careful though, as some cheap cases are not finished well and can have very sharp edges. Once the cover is off, young children should be kept well clear. Having said that, it is an ideal opportunity for them to learn about computers as long as you supervise them, but it is probably not a good idea for them to touch. I spent many hours watching my dad tinker with computers when I was younger.
The first part to go into the case will be the power supply if it is not already in the case. I hope you have got your anti-static wristband on (I have). This will be very easy to fit. There are normally four screws that attach it to the case.
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UPDATE...
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Another omiss
ion... I completely forgot to attach the case cables to the motherboard. A SleepyDormouse pointed this one out to me. On the inside of the case, you will find several wires. They need to be attached to the sockets on the motherboard.
You will have to refer to the diagram of the motherboard to see where they go. The wires on the case are generally:
Power switch; this allows the motherboard to start when you press the power button on the front of the case. This cable norually goes from the power supply to the case and there is a micro-switch on the end that fits just behind the power button. The motherboard automatically powers up when the supply sends current to it.
PC speaker; this wire connects the internal speaker to the motherboard. It is the one that goes beep and not a lot else.
LED (light emitting diode); this cable connects the motherboard to the various lights on the front of the case. These lights are generally the power-on light and the hard disk activity light.
There maybe other cables depending on the case purchased. The wires just plug onto pins on the motherboard but the placement of the pins will vary from board to board.
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UPDATE ENDS
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MOTHERBOARD,
HEATSINK & FAN,
RAM,
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Before you do anything else, you will need to check the jumper settings on your motherboard. Some new boards have jumperfree modes and can be set up with the BIOS software, but many require some adjustments to prepare them for use. In case you don't know, I am not talking about a woolly jumper that you wear. A jumper is literally a pair of pins that can have a plastic "jumper" that will link them to connect the pins via a thin metal link.
Through the use of jumpers, you are in effect altering the circuits on the motherboard and forc
ing the electric current to pass through certain areas and miss others. You will need to follow the manual to set up the jumpers correctly, as there are so many variations. Most manuals have step by step diagrams to work by. The jumpers are used mainly to tell the motherboard the clock speed of the CPU and the voltage that should be applied to it. There are also jumpers to do things like set the speed of the fan. I hope I have explained this part clearly enough, but I cannot tell you exactly how to set your jumpers. If you get stuck, it is best to get someone who knows in. You must be certain that these settings are correct or you could fry your CPU. I'm not trying to scare you, just be aware that this is the most complex part of setting up the PC.
The next part is to fit the CPU and the heatsink and fan to the motherboard. You must handle the CPU with enormous care. The way it fits on will depend on whether you have an AMD or Intel chip. I have AMD systems, so I can only say for them. If you have a socket A motherboard and processor, the CPU is square but one of the corners has been taken off. Lift the lever on the motherboard. Line the cut corner on the CPU with the matching mark on the socket and the processor should just drop into place. Then just push down the lever again to secure the CPU.
Once the CPU is fitted, you can fit the heatsink. In fact, you can ensure that the fan is attached to the heatsink first. You just place the fan on the heatsink and use the supplied self-tapping screws to attach it to the fins of the heatsink. Now remove the protective strip from the bottom of the heatsink, which will expose the sticky coating and carefully place onto the processor and fit the clip, following any instructions for safe fitment. There is a two pin female socket on the cable fitted to the fan. This needs to be attached to the relevant point on the motherboard. You will need to look the fan power point up on the diagram. This is because t
he fan is turned on and off by the motherboard.
You can also fit the ram chip(s) at this point. I am going to use 168 pin SDRAM dimms as an example, as they are the present standard. You will see two notches between the pins at the bottom, so they are split into three uneven groups. All you have to do is align the groups of pins with the right size gaps and place in the slot. This type of ram can only fit in one direction, due to the uneven pin numbers so it is quite easy. Once placed, gently apply a little pressure with the fingertips to the top edge of the chip. The chip should slowly move into the slot and the retaining clips at either end should start to rise. You may find these difficult to push in, but start gently and slowly increase pressure. Once they click home, just flip up the retaining clips to secure them. If the memory doesn't go in at all, you will have to check that you have the right sort for your motherboard.
The different types of SDRAM look very similar but those two notches are placed fractionally differently, to define the voltage of the chip and whether it is buffered, unbuffered or EEC. I would recommend that you order RAM after you have bought the motherboard. Then go to www.crucial.com/uk. You will be able to select the correct memory by selecting your motherboard from the easy to navigate drop-down menus.
Now you can fit the motherboard. This is normally held in place with plastic or metal clips. It will depend on the case. Once the motherboard is in placed securely, look at the mass of cables that come from the supply. If you have an old AT style PC, there will be a pair of power cables that have 6 pin adapters on the end. The adapters also have clips that hold them on the motherboard. The adapters are next to each other on the motherboard but you have to get them the right way round. In my PC, the adapter with the yellow wire went on the right hand side as I look at it. The one with the white wire went
on the left, but you should check it against your manual. If you have an ATX PC (almost certain if you have bought all new parts), There is just a single power lead that will only plug in one direction.
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FLOPPY DRIVE,
HARD DISK,
CDROM
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Now the motherboard is in place, We can start adding the other parts. Before you start fitting, decide which bay you want to put each device in and make sure that the power cable will reach it. On a few occasions I have had to undo all the screws and move a disk drive. I will start with the floppy drive.
You will need to press out one of the 31/2-inch panels at the front of your case. Some cases have a disk slot already and you just line the drive up with it. Depending on the design, you will slide the drive in from the front or back until the screw holes align with the holes in the bay. If you have removed a front panel, ensure the front of the drive is flush with the front surface of the case as well. Then just do up the screws to secure it in place.
Now you must look for one of the smaller adapters on the power supply. It is a small flat shape adapter that has some springy metal slivers on it. Align the metal springs with the pins on the drive
And slide into place. This reminds me of a telephone socket without the big square case.
After fitting the power lead, you need to fit the data cable. This is the cable that allows data to flow from the drive to the motherboard. The adapters on each end of the cable are wide with two rows of seventeen pins. If you have bought the drive and cable new, the cable will have a twist worked into it. This is to aid you in putting it in the right way round. In my case, the twist was to my left as I look at the back of the drive. Then follow the diagram in the manual to fit the other end to the floppy port on the motherboard. You shoul
d use the end sockets to do this. There will be another socket two-thirds of the way along the cable. This is for attaching a second floppy drive in future.
The hard disk is a logical next step. You don't need to remove a front panel for this. Just slide it into a vacant 31/2-inch bay and secure with the screws provided. The power adapter for this one is a female five-pin plug on the power supply. This is rectangular in shape, but the bottom corners are rounded to ensure you fit it the right way up.
The IDE cable has a red line along one edge, It is on the right hand side for my drive, but there are to notches in the socket to ensure correct insertion. The other end is plugged into the PRIMARY IDE port on the motherboard. Refer to the manual to see where it is.
There is another socket in the cable, which allows you to fit another hard drive in future. Use the end one for this drive though. The one in the middle of the cable will define an attached hard disk as a "slave" but don't worry about this now. I will explain in the "Operating System" section.
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UPDATE...
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I knew I would omit something and csh69 has pointed out in the comments about jumper settings on the hard disk and CDROM.
On the back of each unit, there are groups of pins and there is a jumper clip on one pair. Look at the diagram on the unit or in the manual if there is one. It will tell you which pins to put the jumpers on to set the hard disk or CDROM as a master or slave device.
I will defend myself on the IDE cable issue though. My latest motherboard sets everything up in the bios and the manual tells me to put the cables in in the order I describe. Of course, this may differ on the motherboard you get, but I am going through the way that I set my system up. (There are just too many variables in motherboards to describe them all.
You can connect the CDROM
as a Primary Slave, but I prefer to put it on the Secondary port, to leave the rimary slave port free for a second hard disk.
The other comment about recommending a DVDROM Drive over a CDROM drive... This is purely a matter of personal choice and I had to fit a decoder card as well as the DVDROM in my other computer. For ease of installation and reliabilty for the beginner, a CDROM is the way to go (In my opinion). By all means upgrade later, but this way, you will have a CDROM to fall back on if you have problems with the DVD.
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UPDATE ENDS
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Now we move on to the CDROM drive. You will need to use a 51/4-inch bay for this. If you have bought a DVD player, the general fitting will be the same but there are more cables and a decoder card to sort. For now we will just fit the drive.
Press out a front panel and slide the drive in, then line up the drive and secure with the screws. The power adapter is the same as the one described for the hard disk.
Now we have to fit the IDE cable to it. This socket has twenty holes and a central ridge that means it can only be pushed in one way. Fit the socket in the drive and then refer to the motherboard manual again. For the CDROM, you have to attach the cable to the SECONDARY IDE port.
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GRAPHICS/VIDEO CARD,
(Optional) SOUNDCARD,
(Optional) MODEM CARD,
(Optional) NETWORK CARD
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With your drives attached, you can start fitting your hardware cards. I will start with the graphics card. Now unless you are a complete cheapskate you will have an AGP card. I would have to say that it is pointless going for PCI graphics unless the computer is just for word-processing. The AGP slot is normally a different colour to the PCI slots and is easily distinguishable, as there is only one AGP slot, while there
will be several PCI (or maybe even ISA) slots.
On modern motherboards like my Asus A7 Pro board, there is a safety tab at one end. DO NOT remove this tab unless you are using an AGP pro card. The standard card will slide about if the tab is removed and will cause damage to the card and motherboard.
To fit this and any other hardware card, you will have to push out metal plates in the case. These are fairly easy to push out, but be careful, as the edges are sharp and can give a nasty cut if you slip. By pushing out the plate, you make a space for the sockets at the end of the card to show through. In the case of the graphics card, you can then attach the monitor cable to it. More about that later though. In some cases, the plates are held in with screws. You should keep the screws to secure the card in place after removing the plate.
Align the pins on the card with the slot on the motherboard and press into place. When fitted, the ports and sockets on the card should show through the back of the case. Secure the card by screwing the metal tab on the card to the case.
For the sound card, modem and network cards that you may have follow the same process as above. Line up the pins with the slot and press into place. Then screw the tab onto the case. In the case of the sound card, you will have to attach a wire to the soundcard. There will be several pairs of pins on the sound card. You press the socket onto the relevant pins, then attach the other end to the socket on the CDROM drive. This cable allows you to play music CDs through your sound card.
If you have an old motherboard, you may have some ISA slots, but these have been phased out in favour of PCI slots.
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MONITOR
(Optional) PRINTER,
(Optional) SCANNER
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The monitor is very easy to set up with just two steps. Firstly, connect the pow
er cable up. The power cable can be one of two types. You will either get a power lead that you plug in a standard wall socket, or you will get one with a three-pin socket at the end that you attach to the power supply located in the PC case.
The other cable is attached to the graphics card. You will see a port on the back of the card that has three rows of holes. The port is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom. Just press into position, do up the screws on the socket if there are any and the monitor is ready to go.
Equally, all you need to do with the printer and scanner is plug them into the relevant port. This could be a Parallel (Wide with lots of pins) or a USB (Smaller without pins) port. Once you have carried out the installation of the operating system later in the opinion, install the drivers and they should be up and running fairly easily.
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KEYBOARD,
MOUSE
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The keyboard and mouse can be attached next. If you have an ATX case, you will need to have a PS/2 mouse and keyboard. PS/2 is the name given to the socket that attaches to the computer. In the old AT style cases, the mouse is attached to the 9-pin serial port and the keyboard attaches to a big round socket. The name for that escapes me at present. On modern motherboards, the mouse and keyboard ports are labelled so you will see which one goes where.
That is just about it. I recommend leaving the case open for now, just in case something needs adjusting but whatever you do, DO NOT put your hands in the case while it is switched on. Even ensure that the plug is switched off at the mains before touching anything.
The computer is now built. The next stage covers getting the thing to work. If you have just upgraded your system with a new card, the set up will be a lot easier. I will base the next stage on the assumption that you have started
from scratch with all new parts.
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OPERATING SYSTEM
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I have re-read this section just before posting. Think of the above sections as the building the computer op. The stuff below covers some very technical points that you will probably not need to touch on to get the PC going. I think I will write another opinion at a later date covering this subject in depth, but hopefully you will pick up a few bits and pieces from the following...
Firstly, insert the boot disk. Switch on the system, and as soon as you see the message "press delete to enter setup", do it. This will take you to the system BIOS.
The BIOS is basically a collection of commands that tell the motherboard to do. It is stored permanently on the motherboard. By playing with this, you have ultimate power over the operation or malfunction of the motherboard.
Many people would tell you not to go here unless you know what you are doing. This is a reasonable statement, but it is also rather harsh. I say that if you never even look at it, you will never know what you are doing. If you are really worried about messing up the computer, just look at the screens. There is an option to exit without saving, so you can look without breaking anything.
When you read through the manual, you should carry out the instructions on saving a copy of the BIOS onto disk. This way, even if you do mess things up, it will be possible to restore the old settings. Most new motherboards have a Flash writable ROM for the BIOS.
OK... You should now go through each option on the BIOS, checking it against the manual and selecting the option that suits your computer. If you are not sure about something, it is best to leave it. But for options like "Are you running a plug and play OS?" you would select yes if you have windows, but if you don'
t want to let windows to change settings that the BIOS originally selected, choose no.
Using the BIOS is literally a matter of common sense. I learned about the BIOS by looking at it and then gingerly changing the basic options. As my confidence grew, I started playing with more options and although I admit making a few mistakes, they are always fixable. The only things I have never touched are the CPU core voltages and temperature settings. These have always been set to "Auto" on my system and I know better than to mess with that.
With modern Jumperfree motherboards, it is possible to over-clock the processor just by typing a new number in the box. Seeing as this is a beginners guide, I will say don't try this. If you are seriously considering over-clocking, research the subject heavily on the Internet. There are tons of resources for this activity, but it gets very technical and will void the warranty on the CPU. In other words, If it gets fried, you are stuck. The CPU is labelled at that speed because that is the safest speed to ensure a long life. I have not tampered with my processor speed, but my brother reckons that I can over-clock my 900MHz Athlon to 1.2GHz with a better heatsink, but I am loathe to take that risk.
I bet you thought I had forgotten the bit I put earlier about Master and Slave settings. Well I did forget and came back to this just before posting the opinion. In the BIOS, you can set the disk drives to be Master or Slave devices. This basically allows the BIOS to allocate drive letters by priority. Hence, the Primary Master Drive will be C:, The Primary Slave will be D:, the secondary master can be D: or E: depending whether the Primary Slave has been allocated or not and the Secondary slave can be D:, E: or F:
You can confuse matters farther by partitioning the hard disk (splitting a disk into several parts). Partitioning is an opinion in itself. If you want to turn a 20GIG hard disk into
two 10GIG disks, e-mail me and I will go through the process with you.
Anyway, If you have gone through the motherboard manual and checked the BIOS, you can now restart the PC with the boot disk and let the procedure run its course. A menu will pop up asking if you want CDROM support. Select this option and MSDOS will start. I do not know what the Linux procedure is, but for Windows, you place the CD in the drive, Type D: and enter. Then type SETUP and enter. I was assuming that the CD was D: due to only putting one hard disk in. Follow the instructions.
CONGRATS, you are on your way to having a fully-fledged PC. Once Windows is installed, follow the instructions supplied with your Graphics card, etc to install the drivers. I cannot really go through this, because the process can be different for different brands. If Windows doesn't automatically set up your hardware, use the "Add new hardware" option in the control panel. Alternatively, double-click "system" in control panel, then select the "Device manager" tab and look for any exclamation marks next to hardware. If you see any, click the offending item and select "Properties". Then choose to install/update the driver as necessary from the CD or disk supplied with the hardware.
If you have any problems with this guide whatsoever, my e-mail address is on my profile page. I am always willing to help so get in touch. I particularly want you to contact me if you are confused about the BIOS part, because this can be very technical. Above all, building a new PC should be fun, not a chore. My father, brother and I have built six or seven systems over the last ten years and I love building new systems.
I await the comments eagerly, especially the ones pointing out bits I've missed. As usual I have given three stars, as this is a guide in general. I can't tell you if you should or shouldn't build a PC, that is your decision to
make.
Thanks for reading.
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UPDATE...
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Glossary of terms:
Startup disk.
This is a disk that you use to start the computer if you have a big crash and the computer stops working. The disk basically allows you to start the computer and go to the DOS prompt to attempt to fix the problem. You also use the startup disk if you wish to start the computer without running Windows. This function is generally only used by people who are fluent in DOS.
DOS.
DOS or MSDOS stands for Microsoft Disk Operating System. This is the operating system that was used on almost all PCs before Windows was created. Windows is basically a glorified version of DOS. When I say glorified, I mean that instead of typing a command on a black screen with a white-flashing cursor, now you can click an icon on the screen, and behind the pictures, Windows types that same command in for you. I am fairly fluent with DOS commands, as I have used computers over many years. Anyone who is new to PCs will probably never see this program but it is there, hiding behind the Windows in some form. It is one of the most powerful tools for managing disks and files that you are likely to find. I will go into more detail on this in a future opinion that I have just thought of.
CPU.
This stands for "Central Processing Unit". It is the chip that fits to the motherboard and processes all the noughts and ones that make up the programs and commands on the system. To put it another way, when you see a computer advert and they say that there is "Intel inside", they are saying that there is an Intel CPU on the motherboard.
AMD and Intel.
AMD and Intel are the manufacturers that provide us with CPUs to put on our motherboards. AMD actually stands for "Advanced Micro Devices". Sorry for the self plug, but I have written an opinion that goes over the rough
history of the two companies. It is called "Tell your Duron from a Durex and your Celeron from your Celery". If you are not sure which manufacturer is inside your computer, you should see the name somewhere on the first screen that appears when you switch on your computer. Alternatively (if you have Windows 98 or later), click "start", then follow the menu to "programs", "accessories", "System tools" and then click on "System Information". The information that appears will tell you the make of processor in your system along with lots of other useful facts and figures.
Heatsink.
This component is something that you attach to the processor. When your computer is running, the processor is processing millions of numbers a second. Inevitably, this makes the processor hot. The heatsink is a chunk of metal that sits on the processor and soaks up the heat produced. You then have a fan screwed to the top of the heatsink and this moves air over it to take away the heat and send it away in the air. Without this component, a processor can quickly overhead and break.
SDRAM, Unbuttered, ECC Registered, 168 pin, EDO, RDRAM, DDR.
All these terms relate to the memory chips that go on the motherboard. SDRAM, DDR, RDRAM and EDO are all types of memory. The first three are written in order of speed. SDRAM (Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory I believe) is the standard at the moment. DDR (Double Data Rate) literally handles data at twice the rate as SDRAM. RDRAM is really mega-fast but is also mega-expensive compared to SDRAM (hence I don't know what RD stands for). EDO is still around for those who work with really old systems. EDO is now obsolete in new systems.
ECC Registered relates to the type of memory. This type of memory contains "Error correcting Code". People who need maximum reliability at the cost of speed use it. ECC is not generally recommended to the a
verage home user due to the performance loss.
Unbuffered relates to the chips again. The majority of home users will require this type of memory. Buffered memory is used mainly in servers, where reliable data handling is essential.
SDRAM has 168 pins. Other types of memory have different numbers of pins and will therefore only fit in certain motherboards.
Memory is a huge topic. You can find a lot more info in the help section on www.crucial.com/uk. This web site has a large FAQ section and I guarantee that they can describe things better than me. (I certainly hope they can anyway).
3-1/2 or 5-1/4 inch floppy drive.
Floppy disk drives are referred to by size of the disk that is inserted in them. Back in the old days (about 10 years ago), There were really floppy disks. They measured 5-1/4 inches across and were made of very thin and bendy plastic. Then the modern 3-1/2 inch disk drive came along with the smaller and more robust disk that we know today. Look at your computer. I would be happy to guess that your present PC has one. The slot in the drive will measure 3-1/2 inches. If you happen to have an old Commodore computer in the loft, it will have an old 5-1/4 inch disk drive.
IDE and SCSI.
I have to admit that I am beaten here. I have always taken "as is" that you either have SCSI that is a little faster but more expensive, or the cheap and reliable IDE device. All I can do is suggest that you visit http://www.pcmech.com/index.htm and choose hard disks from the right hand menu. Scroll downward on the page and you should find an article about IDE versus SCSI.
AGP and PCI.
AGP stands for "Accelerated Graphics Port". Most modern motherboards have an AGP slot to take the graphics card. This type of card offers faster processing of graphics and alloys you to play games more smoothly. The alternative is the PCI graphics card. These are cheaper, but the graphics data gets chan
nelled through the processor and can slow the system to a crawl. PCI slots take all the other cards (modem, soundcard, etc). These slots are basically the link between the motherboard and your upgrades.
900MHz, 1.2GHz, etc.
I used these numbers a couple of times. MHz stands for Megahertz and GHz stands for Gigahertz. I am talking about the clock speed of CPUs with these numbers. I'll put it another way. 100MHz could be a Metro, while a 1GHz is in comparison a highly tuned sports car.
I will add to this glossary as and when I receive a question as to the meaning of something in the opinion.
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