Big Bad Guide to Computer Components

Here is a normal guide on the components of the computer, what they do, and what commonly happens when they get damaged/malfunction.

Computer Case:

Ddr2 Ddr3

This is probably what 75% of the population in the world with a computer only see. They most likely never open this thing up and nothing else but see what makes their computer work. There are several dissimilar sizes of computer cases. The main two any way are Mid-Tower and Tower. Tower being nearby twice the size of a Mid-Tower and able to pack a lot more stuff into it. There are also "portable" cases that just look like big blocks.

A computer case can have several dissimilar uses depending on the capability of the builder and the design. A few things it is used for are:

Protecting your hardware!

Cooling your hardware!

Providing easy entrance to your motherboard and other components, such as the back of the computer with all those nifty plugs and holes? Yeah when you plug something in back there it hooks up to either the motherboard or components such as graphics cards, sound cards, etc.

So the computer cases main function is basically to ensure that your hardware does not get damaged, and makes it easy for population who do not know much about computers to easy hook all the components up and make it run.

Power contribute Unit (Psu)-

Probably one of the most important parts of your computer (well they are all important) and provides power to your motherboard, graphics card, and all things else that needs power in your case. Most population only know the power contribute as the thing you plug the cord in to get power from a socket to the computer. They also have a nifty fan next to the plug!

Low capability power supplies often come with a case, any way you can always upgrade to a higher capability brand such as Corsair or Pcp&C.

A power contribute has a slew of cables for connecting to dissimilar things such as the motherboard, disk drives, case fans, graphics cards etc.

Now the most important things you need to look at when you purchase a power contribute is the brand and the amount of Watts it puts out. As long as you get a brand that is 1st-3rd tier you should be fine. As for figuring out how many Watts you need to power your computer, check out a power contribute calculator straight through Google.

Motherboard (Mobo):

Now this is the most important part of any computer. If the motherboard breaks, your best of buying a whole new computer unless you have customized it yourself. Motherboards contain a slew of connectors and slots and when you put your first computer together it might be a slight intimidating not knowing where to plugin things.

Modern motherboards at minimum contain the following:

[*]A main socket where you insert the Cpu which is then commonly covered over with a large heat sink and/or fan.
[*]Slots where the systems memory is located (Ram).
[*]A chip-set which forms an interface in the middle of the Cpu's front-side bus, main memory, and peripheral buses.
[*]Non-volatile memory chips containing the system's firmware or Bios for when you start up your computer
[*]A clock generator which acts as a timer to synchronize the computers dissimilar components together.
[*]Expansion card slots, such as those for Video or Sound cards.
[*]Main power connector, which receives electrical power from the Psu and distributes it to the Cpu, chip-set, main memory, and sometimes the expansion cards, unless of policy they are provided their own power by the Psu.

It is crucial to always keep your motherboard cool, either straight through a heat sink and fan, liquid cooling, or additional case fans. The hotter your Mobo gets, the shorter its life is and the more likely it is to die. If your motherboard dies, you will observation as your computer will not be able to function. If, any way you observation problems with a lot of your hardware at once (such as graphics messing up, as well as keyboard and mouse not working) then most likely there is a qoute with your motherboard.

Central Processing Unit (Cpu):

The Cpu is the brains of the computer and performs its operations. If you observation that your computer is running slow, a outdated or bad Cpu could be the problem.

On laptops and desktop computers, the Cpu is housed in a singular chip known as a microprocessor. Motherboards and Cpu's are designed for each other, so do not try to put a brand new Cpu into a 4 year old motherboard, it will not work! If you ever open up your computer, most likely you will not see your Cpu, all you will see is a large heat sink and a fan. The heat sink commonly looks like a big block of thin metal sheets stacked closely together. The idea is to generate the largest surface area inherent in the smallest amount of space to dissipate the most heat possible.

As technology has grown over the years, there have been more and more advancements in Cpu power, originally having only one core, but now the newer versions contain as many as 4. The more cores you have, the more power you are able to crank out of the microprocessor. Multi-core processors also have the multithread capability (they can use applications that specifically maintain working all 2 or 4 cores of the Cpu). 64 bit versions of operating systems are specifically designed for multi-core Cpus

Random entrance Memory (Ram):

Random entrance Memory (which I will refer to as Ram) is a form of computer data warehouse that stores temporary data in any order to be accessed at any time regardless of its bodily location and either or not it is linked to the former piece of data.

The type of Ram hierarchy goes as follows

Ddr3 > Ddr2 > Ddr

Pretty straightforward eh? You can commonly tell what type of Ram your computer has by the date it was built. If it was built very recently and is a high capability computer then it most likely has Ddr3 Ram, if it was built a few years ago or is a regular computer built today then it most likely has Ddr2. If it is a very old computer then it most likely has Ddr Ram.

Ram comes in several dissimilar stick sizes, fluctuating from 512mb stick to 2gb stick and soon to be 4gb sticks. The more Ram you have, the faster your computer will run. any way make sure that you do not put to much in, as it will be a waste of money, and your Cpu might act as a bottleneck so that that extra Ram goes to no use.

A few important numbers other then the main type of Ram are its Data Rate (measured in Mt/s, or millions of transfers per second), Command Rate (Also known as Clock Rate, measured in Hz), and the Cas latency (usually 4 sequential numbers).

Generally the higher the Data Rate and Command Rate (which is commonly half of the Data Rate) the better. Cas latency, which measures the delay time in the middle of the memory controller and memory module, is commonly best when it is a low number.

If you are unsure how these names and numbers would enumerate to quality, just make sure to get Ram from a good brand. Some of the best contain Corsair, Crucial and Kingston.

Graphics Card:

Ahh the graphics card, probably the most sought after and customized part of the computer. Most low end computers do not contain a graphics card, but rather an embedded graphics chip in the motherboard. I would avoid these computers at all cost, because most likely you will be unable to play contemporary video games.

The two major illustrated chipset manufacturers are nVidia and Ati. any way there are nothing else but hundreds of graphics card manufacturers. Some of the well known ones are Bfg, Sapphire, Xfx, and Evga.

The ideal graphics card for you all depends on your need for it and your price range. Also you need to make the decision for nVidia or Ati, I personally prefer nVidia any way Ati is just as good. Both companies seem to match their cards shot for shot, making sure one does not blow away the other. Rather then go into a in-depth decision of graphics card comparisons, I belief I would link you to a great record on tomsharedware. They always do very good in-depth reviews of graphics cards.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-geforce-price,2323.html

Hard Drive:

Well, hard drives are probably one of the most basic parts of a computer, they are used to store files, programs, etc.

Types of warehouse Drives:

Hard Drives - These simply contain one, or multiple, rotating disks. These can range in warehouse from low Gb to 1.5-2Tb drives. They also come in dissimilar speeds, which consequent how fast your able to entrance stored data. The regular speed is 7,200 rpm, but faster and more high-priced drives can reach higher than 10,000 rpm.

Besides the warehouse space and drive speed, it is also important to get your drive from a good manufacturer, because salvage a few bucks getting it from a bad business can mean hard drive failure a few years, or months, down the road. Western Digital, Seagate, Hitachi and a few more are dependable brands.

Solid State Drives - No attractive parts, no rotating disks, much faster, much more expensive.

I can't say much about Ssd's here, since I have never owned one. Although they come in smaller warehouse sizes and are much more expensive, I have heard they are amazingly fast compared to regular hard drives. They also have a lower life span however.

I am mental of getting one for a new netbook, just to make it as fast as inherent in the smallest container. If your looking for max speed on your computer, put your Operating theory on a Ssd, and it will scream.

Note: There are also external and flash drives, but those are not part of a computer, and they are easy to use anyway!

Optical Drives:

Pretty simple, they are used for Cd/Dvd/Blue Ray reading. If the drive has a Rw or +Rw tacked on the end of it, it means it can both read and write Cd/Dvd/Blue Rays.

Big Bad Guide to Computer Components