Have you ever wanted to know what the individual parts are that make up a computer and what their importance are? Maybe you have purchased a DELL, HP, or COMPAQ PC before and wondered if you could build one better for the same price? I hope to answer some of the questions below.
The Case
The computer case, or tower as some people call it is the "box" that holds everything inside. Some of it's main roles are:
- Keeping everything organized
- Minimize dust and debris from collecting on components
- Minimize static discharge from shorting out components
Some people choose a case based on a certain look or design. This includes cases with a window to display the inside components or maybe a small portable case that can be carried around to what is called a "lan party".
There are a few different types of cases that are common to home users. These are the: Mini Tower, Mid Tower, and Full Tower. The Mini is the smallest with dimensions that can vary slightly but are roughly about 17.5" long, 6" wide, and 14.5" tall. The Mid is the most common and can vary slightly in dimensions but are roughly about 18.5" long, 7.5" wide, and 16.5" tall. The Full is the largest and can also vary, but a rough dimension could be about 22.5" long, 8.5" wide, and 21" tall. For a simple home user the standard "mid-tower" is all one needs.
Now that you know the sizes you are probably wondering what is the differences other than that. Well a larger case has a few advantages over smaller ones such as additional room for more components. For instance you could add additional hard drives to support your ever growing picture, music, and video collections.
What about functionality? What should you look for in picking a case? The most important thing to look for in a case is airflow. If air is unable to flow through your case your components will heat up and possibly shorten their life span. You need to find a case that has good front to back airflow. Other than this, it is really up to your taste and what you would like to see.
The Power Supply
This is THE most important piece of hardware in your pc. This gives all of your components life and if something goes wrong can bring those same components death. The things to consider when buying one are:
- Make sure you have enough wattage for your components
- Choose a good brand name such as Antec, Corsair, OCZ, Thermaltake, etc
- Choose one that has a minimum of a 80 Plus Certified rating for power
Just because you purchase a 500 watt power supply does not mean it will use 500 watts all the time that it is turned on. Your computer will only use what it needs. Getting one with a minimum of an 80 Plus Certification means that 80% of the power that it pulls from the wall will be used by your computer so your only losing 20% of that power. On average a normal home computer will use about the same amount of energy as having a couple lights on in your house, about 200 watts or less. This could of course could vary significantly depending on your setup.
The Processor (CPU)
The CPU is what does most of the work for your computer. It is essential to choose one that fits your needs and possibly your wants. There is such a large difference in pricing for this particular part depending on what you want so it is important to weigh all of your options.
Will you just be surfing the internet, checking email, etc.? If so, choose a very inexpensive one such as a low end dual core from AMD or INTEL like a Sempron or Celeron. If you do any moderate gaming you may need a higher end dual core or possibly even a tri or quad core. If you plan to do any video editing or processing you might want to get a high end Intel quad core.
All of the different types of processors take different types of motherboards. AMD's current motherboard socket types are AM2, AM2+ and AM3. AMD's current AM3 processors will work in AM2+ and AM3 socket motherboards. INTEL currently has sockets 775, 1156, and 1366. None of INTEL's current processors are compatible with any other socket than it was designed for. So make sure you pick a processor that will fit in your motherboard.
The Motherboard
The motherboard is the second most important part in your computer. The rest of the components in your pc are dependent on the motherboard you have. The CPU you choose will have to fit into a specific socket type as described previously. The hard drive and CD/DVD drives will have to have the same connections as the board. You can also choose to use a video card built into the motherboard along with sound or choose to have them separate. Although most motherboards sold currently have audio built in.
If you do not plan to play any games other than ones such as solitaire or chess then you can get away with using a video card that is embedded on the motherboard. If you plan to play games that are graphic intensive then you will probably need at least one dedicated video card. If you plan to have multiple video cards you need to make sure that your motherboard supports the multiple card configuration that you choose. For instance ATI graphics cards work together in what is called "Crossfire", while nVidia cards work together in what is called "SLI". AMD motherboards are only compatible with Crossfire and of course nVidia is only compatible with SLI. INTEL, however does have motherboards that are compatible with both, but not all.
Most motherboards that are manufactured today are setup to use SATA connections for disk drives. This includes hard drives and CD/DVD drives. Still almost all motherboards today will come with one IDE ribbon cable connection for backwards compatibility.
The Video Card
While alot motherboards come with what is called "onboard video" it is really only useful for normal everyday tasks such as email, web surfing, creating and editing office documents, and some are powerful enough to watch high definition movies. Having a separate or what is called a discrete video card will allow you to choose one that more closely fits your needs. For instance if you play the latest and greatest games at their highest settings then you would want to get the top of the line card or a multi-card setup. If you play a game that is a few years old or don't care about playing games at their highest settings, you just want to play, then pick a mid-range card.
Multiple card configurations are an affordable way to get top of the line performance without the associated cost of a top of the line card. Be aware though that not all games work smoothly with multi-card setups so you may want to research that before you make the investment.
One more thing to be aware of is the dimensions or size of the card(s). Some are quite long and many are dual slot cards. This means that you may lost a PCI or PCI-e x1 slot next to the video card because of it's size.
The Audio Card
Almost every motherboard today has what is called on-board audio. Most of them are pretty decent in sound quality for the average consumer. If you especially picky about sound quality or just plan to turn you pc into a home theater system then it is best if you went with a separate sound card. My limited knowledge about some of the specifics on good sound cards keeps me from giving any relevant information on which ones to choose so you will have to do some legwork to find the one for you.
One thing to take notice of when purchasing a sound car is to make sure that you have an available slot to put it in. Some sound cards now come in the PCI-e x1 slot configuration as well as the old PCI standard. There is a difference between the two and they are not compatible with each other.
The Hard Drive(s)
Depending on a few different factors, this piece of hardware can affect the level of performance of your computer. A few of these factors are listed below:
- Spindle Speed - this is the speed at which the hard drive spins and can include 5400rpm, 7200rpm, and 10,000rpm speeds.
- Cache - This is the amount of memory that the hard drive has to store frequently accessed data. Obviously the larger the better and sizes can include 8MB, 16MB, 32MB, and 64MB.
- The connection type - The different connection types include IDE or what may be referred to as PATA and current SATA connections.
- Type of Hard Drive - There are currently two different types of hard drives. These are the conventional mechanical types and the newer Solid State Drives or SSD's.
We will start with the different variations of the more common mechanical hard drives used by most consumers today. Most people look at the size of the drive as the determining factor in purchasing a new hard drive. Is it big enough to hold my files? You should really look at the specifications of hard drives to help you determine which one is best for you. The 5400rpm drives are usually quieter and use less power but also suffer a performance loss. The 7200rpm drives are the ones used most commonly by consumers today and for the most part offer the best price/size/performance. If you need more performance you can go with a 10,000 rpm hard drive or try using two or more drives in what is called a RAID array. If you choose a 10,000rpm drive you will sacrifice space for the increased speed. If you choose to go with a RAID setup you get both the benefit of speed and space.
There are a few different types of RAID that most consumers can use. These are RAID 0, RAID 1, and RAID 5. If using only two drives you are limited to RAID's 0 and 1. RAID 0 uses both drives to spread the information between the two of them so that both and read and write at the same time. The benefit is speed, but the drawback is that if one drive goes bad you cannot recover any information from the second. RAID 1 essentially mirrors the information between the two drives so that if one goes bad you can just switch to the other with no loss of information. The drawback to this is that it has to write everything twice and therefore you sacrifice speed. If you have at least three hard drives your best option is to use RAID 5. This takes the benefits of both RAID 0 and 1 and combines them together. You get the speed and the peace of mind that if one dies, all is not lost. One thing to keep in mind about a setup like this is that it is best to have all of the drives the same for best performance. The very minimum is that they must be the same size or larger.
Next we will discuss the Cache. This is similar to the memory or RAM in your computer. It simply stores frequently accessed data or buffers it between the main memory of the computer and the mechanical hard drive components. The larger the cache, the more data that can be stored the faster it is.
The connections for hard drive also help in determining the performance of your computer. The current SATA drives are much faster than the older IDE drives. Currently there are two versions of SATA, I and II. SATA II is simply double the amount of bandwidth of the previous generation of SATA. This simply means that twice the amount of data can flow between the hard drive and the other components.
Finally the different types of drives. We have discussed most of what makes up the more common mechanical drives so I will not go straight into the newer Solid State Drives or SSDs. An SSD is a hard drive that is composed of memory chips that are similar to those that are used in thumb drives. These drives are significantly faster than mechanical drives, however they are limited in size and cost considerably more. These will someday become the standard I have no doubt and our old mechanical hard drives will go the way of the floppy.
The RAM or "Memory"
RAM is probably the number one component in a PC that helps to determine the performance. There is a widely known saying that you can never have enough memory in your machine. This is essentially true but there is a point at which filling up your machine with as much memory as it will hold will not give any performance benefits. There are some general guidelines to follow. For Windows XP 32bit versions you would typically want 2GB or RAM. For Windows Vista 32bit versions you would want at a minimum of 2GB, but preferably 3-4 GB. The same goes for Windows 7. Purchasing 2 x 2GB sticks of RAM is usually the best option.
Now 32bit operating systems cannot use more than 4GB or RAM, actually the number is lower than that and closer to 3.2GB, however for simplicity's sake let's just say 4GB. If you use a 64-bit operating system you can use much more and I would recommend using anywhere from 4GB up to 8GB depending you how many applications you have open at a time and really what programs you use. To be honest, 8GB of memory for a home user is probably unnecessary, but I bet some of you out there could benefit from it.
There are numerous different types of RAM and the best option for you to find out which one to buy is to take a look at what your motherboard supports. Some even have compatibility issues even when it is the correct memory for the motherboard, so do your research.
Conclusion
I think that is it for now. This has gotten pretty lengthy and I have left quite alot out for the sake of it not being overly boring but I would be willing to go into more detail in future blogs if anyone has any requests. Please comment and let me know if I can clarify anything or if I just simply got something wrong.
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