Description of Desktop PC Terms
Case/PS
There are 4 main choices in case styles: Desktop,
Mini-Tower, Mid-Tower, and Tower.
Desktops are designed be on a desk, with the monitor on top
of the case. This usually places the monitor too high,
however, and does not allow for proper cooling of the CPU.
Mini-Towers are designed to be the smallest enclosure that
can hold all your components, and be placed out of the way.
Mid-Towers are designed for expansion, and for those that
like a little more presence from their computer. Tower or
Full-Tower cases are for servers where many hard drives and
other components need be placed inside the case, or for
those who require a looming presence from their computer.
For a typical system, 300 Watt power handling is adequate,
more is better. Use power supply recommended by AMD or Intel
as appropriate.
Also known as storage. This is where the computer puts
programs and information for permanent storage. Always buy
as much as possible. The trend in software has been toward
larger and larger application suites, so a good rule of
thumb would be to think of the largest amount of storage you
will need, then double that. Though on most systems, you can
always add a second hard drive later if need be.
A faster hard drive can speed up many tasks on your
computer. In general, hard drives that spin at a faster RPM
rate are faster overall. The other main factor in a hard
drive's speed is the time it takes to find a given piece of
data, also known as "access time". A hard drive with a lower
access time will usually be faster.
3.5" 1.44MB is standard. Floppy disks are used for backups,
transfers between computers, and software distribution. They
should never be used as primary storage as they have failure
rates hundreds of times higher than hard drives.
Zip Drives are another removable media drive. They perform
the same function as floppy drives, but the disks can hold
about 70 times more information. Their failure rate is much
better than floppy drives as well, but they are still less
reliable than a hard drive, so they too should not be used
as primary storage.
CD-RW drives can function like floppy drives in most
systems. In addition, the disks written with CD-RW can be
read in most newer CD and DVD drives. They hold about 450
times more than a floppy when used as a backup device, and
about 350 times more when used in the same manner as a
floppy drive. Their failure rate is highly dependent on
thier physical condition and care.
DVD+RW and DVD-RW are competing standards for rewritable DVD
media. Both format's write-once media (DVD+R and DVD-R
respectively) are generally compatible wtih older DVD
readers, but they are not compatible with each other. At the
time of this writing, DVD+R media was cheaper and more
readily available. Many DVD writers can also read and write
CD-R and/or CD-RW.
This is necessary for loading many software titles, and can
usually be used as an audio CD player as well. The x rating
(e.g. 12x) is a measure of how fast the CD spins compared to
an audio CD player.
New CD-ROM drives are starting to use constant angular
velocity mechanisms (audio and older computer mechanisms are
constant linear velocity). Therefore the data can be read
faster at the edges of the disk as compared to the inner
tracks. These newer drives will give either give a speed
rating at the inner and outer tracks (e.g. 12-24x) or will
give the outer track speed only (e.g. 20x Max). However,
there is no standards body for CD-ROM drive naming, and
several manufacturers add a few to the x rating. Access time
and transfer rate are the most important aspects of CD-ROM
drive. Lower is better for access time, higher is better for
transfer rate.
This is your primary feedback from the computer. Larger
monitors are easier to read, and higher resolution monitors
give you more places to put your multiple windows.
Most monitors are listed similar to this: 17" 1280x1024
.26mm
The first number is the diagonal tube size; the viewable
size will be about an inch less than this.
The second number is the highest resolution that can be
viewed at 60Hz vertical refresh. 60Hz vertical refresh is
the same as a TV, but long term close viewing at this
refresh rate bothers many people. It's a good idea to get a
monitor rated one resolution bracket above where you really
want so that you can view your chosen resolution at 72Hz or
greater, the ergonomic standard for monitor refresh rates
set by VESA. The resolution brackets are:
1600x1200
1280x1024
1024x768
800x600
640x480
The manufacturer might list a vertical refresh rate such as
1280x1024@72Hz instead, which would be fine for 1280x1024.
Another thing to remember about resolution is that it's
impractical to view higher than 1024x768 on a 15" monitor or
1280x1024 on a 17" monitor unless you put your nose 2" from
the screen.
The last number is dot pitch and is a rough indicator of the
quality of the tube. This number is the spacing between
individual phosphors of the same color on the surface of the
tube. Lower spacing is better, as small details will show
better. .28 dot pitch is about the largest one should go on
a standard mask monitor. For Trinitron or stripe mask
screens, .26mm is the largest one should go since the
stripes are rectangular and the measurement quoted is across
the short side of the rectangle.
A new type of monitor that you might consider is the flat
panel display. This is essentially a laptop monitor that
has been put into a stand-alone case for use with desktop
systems.
Advantages to this type of display are:
-
Much
lighter
-
Much
thinner
-
"Digital" models have very sharp images, esp. with text
-
No
flicker
Disadvantages are:
-
Higher cost per screen size (though this is falling)
-
"Digital" models require special video card
-
Only
one built-in resolution. Other resolutions look odd.
-
May
be a few "stuck" pixels, just like a laptop
Video Card
The video card can play a large role in the performance of
your system. If you're looking for a good card, the two most
important factors are chipset and amount of RAM.
The chipset of the video card is the card's brains. There
are many out there and they all perform differently. It's
best to look for at least a 64bit processor and some
multimedia extensions built in to the card. The chipset of
a video card is more critical for game applications than
business applications.
The amount of RAM determines how large an image you can
display at a given color depth. 4MB is a common
configuration, but for 3D effects, 8 MB or more would be
useful.
You can usually look on the box of a video card to find out
what combinations of video resolution, colors, and refresh
rates it supports.
The keyboard, like the case and the mouse is a matter of
personal preference. If possible, try out any prospective
purchase first, or at least a very similar setup.
Sound Blaster compatibility is important if you wish to play
games. For Windows system sounds or multimedia, any 16-bit
audio card will do. For musical composition, a general MIDI
(GM) wave table synthesis card is a must. Newer systems
should use PCI based sound cards. Newer games are taking
advantage of 3D audio effects, which are aided by cards with
3D audio support.
This is a matter of preference. Powered speakers tend to
sound better than those driven by the sound card's
amplifier. Three-speaker systems with a subwoofer tend to
sound better than two-speaker systems.
The mouse, like the case and the keyboard, is a matter of
personal preference. If possible, try out any proposed
purchase first, or at least a very similar setup. MS Mouse
compatibility is a plus.
This is the program that runs all the other programs you
use. Windows operating systems have recently started to
include many common applications as well.
If you connect through an Ethernet port, this is a must have
item.
This provides network connectivity over the phone. 53/33.6
thousand bits per second (v.92 download/upload) is the
fastest speed currently available.
Many modem alternatives are emerging. These include ISDN,
xDSL, and cable modems. These new technologies are all
faster and generally more expensive than a traditional
modem. Contact your local phone company or cable provider to
see if they are offered in your area.
One year is standard. More is better.
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