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Graphics and video cards 101: The PC with a view
These kids and their new-fangled video machines. What is the difference between a video card and a graphics card?
Everyone has to have the latest hardware, within a certain price range. Truthfully, Internet and email are all that most computer users care about. The dirty little secret is that computers several years ago performed both tasks very well, long before your current computer was a gleam in a geek's eye. You don't need all that power, graphics, and muscle for just Internet and email. I can do all that on my iPod Touch, so why do I even need a PC?
If your PC is used for more than just surfing and firing off emails like you are Rambo with a send button for a gun, you may be a gamer, a graphic designer or photoshop nut, not to mention one of the other 408 high end uses for a computer. For many of them, you need a graphics card, sometimes called a video card. We break down what you need to know about this strange animal in this feature.To graphics card or not to graphics card...
Profile pages: HDMI, VGA, DVR, NVIDIA, GPU, ATI, SLI, CPU, S-Video, Coaxial cable, DVI, PCI, PCI Express, VRAM, OTA, TV Tuner, PCI-X
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Power supplies 101: The juice in a computer breakfast
Your computer doesn't run on solar power or telekinesis, at least not yet. So what powers the beast within?
When you plug in your computer, it just works (we hope), but under the hood, the power supply is what does the heavy lifting, converting the power from the 110V outlet in your house to all the voltages each component needs. Yep, it's a metal box with wires, but there is a bit more to it. You know we're obsessed with gadgetry; the power supply is our latest fetish. Here's how it works.
Profile pages: Antec, SLI, OCZ, Corsair, Ultra, Cooler Master, Thermal Take, TruePower, ATX
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Computer cases 101: More than just a PC guts container
A PC case is an art piece, a cooling system, a fashion statement and even a night light.
PC cases come in all shapes and sizes. The purpose of a PC case is universal in that all cases are meant to hold your PC's innards. That is no big surprise, but there is more to a case than you might think. There are essentially two classes of cases, mass-market cases (usually boring) and after-market cases (more theatrical).
If you have a mass-market PC, you will have a very generic case that basically holds your PC. Most of the time these cases are embossed with the logo of the manufacturer, but don't really have any other distinguishing characteristics. The after-market or specialty cases are more involved and usually have many unique features. Anything from internal and external lightning to decorative inlays and artistic paint jobs, and everything in between. There are several types of cases, having to do with the type of motherboard it was meant to hold. Some are made from steel, aluminum, plastic, plexiglass, and other materials. Some are compact, while others are monsterous and meant to be displayed as a piece of conversation-starting art. Let's take a look at some of the wild and wooly offerings available for dressing up your PC.
Profile pages: USB, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Gateway, Liquid Cooling System, Thermal Take
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PC 101: An overview of the components inside your computer
Save money and empower yourself by getting familiar with your machine; let's take a look at what's under the hood of your PC.
When you buy a PC, you care about what it can do, how fast it can do it, and if it is worth the money. Usually it doesn't matter what is inside your computer — at least until you need to upgrade it later. If you've ever been curious about what goes on inside your computer's case, allow me to introduce you to our PC component friends.
Profile pages: Blu-ray, DVD, USB, SATA, Power supply, RAM, LAN, IDE, processor, HD audio, optical drive, motherboard, video card, Expansion slot, PCI, Ethernet (IEEE 802.3), PCI Express, NIC, FSB (front side bus)
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RAM 101: Why you need more of it
The slowest part of your computer is not the processor. A lack of memory is often to blame, and here's why.
Random Access Memory is not when you can think of an answer sometimes but not others. It is the memory chip in your computer that holds the information currently running on your PC. For example, if you load up Microsoft Word, your web browser, Tiny Timmy's Transylvania Adventures, or anything else, the ones and zeros that make up that program get shoved into your computer's RAM (memory) to be accessed randomly (thus the "random access" part of the name) to give you what you want. The little known secret of computer performance is that the memory, not the processor, is usually to blame for a system slowdown.
All computers will only accept a certain type and amount of memory, so you need to make sure you know what type and how much your machine can handle. This is a major consideration when buying a new PC, so be sure you ask what the maximum upgradeable memory is, which makes your PC (and your investment) last longer. Another consideration to be aware of is how many memory slots your computer has. Each slot has a maximum as well, so it is always good to know to determine your optimal RAM configuration. In lieu of a knowledgeable salesperson, many websites offer free "memory configurators" to help you find out what kind and how much memory you need.
Profile pages: GPU, Megabyte, RAM, Gigabyte, TB (Terabyte), Kingston, Crucial, OCZ, Corsair, Kilobyte
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Peripheral Connections 101: USB and Bluetooth standards
USB 1.1, USB 2.0, Type A, Type B, Bluetooth, EDR, A2DP, what's the difference? Find out how to tell what you need when hooking up your peripherals.
Nearly every computer has to connect to a peripheral, or in some cases, 19 peripherals. There are many different types of connectors and connections. Knowing which cables and sockets your peripherals and PC will help you get what you want. You don't want to spend 4 hours at the store talking to the sales guy to figure it out, do you? In this guide we break down the various flavors of USB and Bluetooth, two of the primary standards for peripheral connectivity.
Profile pages: USB
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Solid state drives 101: Why should you care?
The next storage technology to take the world by storm is here; we run down the basics of solid state drives.
Welcome to Solid State Drives 101. Solid state, this is everyone, everyone, solid state. Is it hot in here? Solid state drives will replace traditional hard drives as the technology of choice. Why? Sit down, drink your tea, and we'll get right to it.
Profile pages: Apple, Microsoft, Samsung, Toshiba, SSD, Intel, SanDisk, Apple MacBook 2008, Apple MacBook Pro 2008, Apple MacBook Air
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Solid state drives 101: Why should you care?
The next storage technology to take the world by storm is here; we run down the basics of solid state drives.
Welcome to Solid State Drives 101. Solid state, this is everyone, everyone, solid state. Is it hot in here? Solid state drives will replace traditional hard drives as the technology of choice. Why? Sit down, drink your tea, and we'll get right to it.
First of all, we must note that traditional hard drives are not perfect, and because we humans are never satisfied with anything, we felt the need to develop something better. This is known as progress. If you've been intimate with the innards of a hard disk, you will know that they consist of a set of read/write heads and a bunch of platters (silver shiny disks) which contain the data stored. Hard disks are very prone to error if your kids think your laptop is a shot put or other projectile, since those read/write heads are hovering above the platters at a very tiny fraction of an inch, so close that looks like it is touching the disk to the naked eye. They can last a while, but a lot of factors can limit the life of your drives. Heat, dust, electrical surges, prolonged vibrations, magnets, and too much Rock Band in the vicinity can all limit or end the life of a hard drive. With the amount of data flying in and out of a hard drive these days at record speeds -- can you say Bit Torrent? -- even when your PC is idling and downloading during the night, hard drives never get a break, until they break. Data is increasingly important in our knowledge-based world, so reliability is paramount, not to mention keeping up with the Joneses.
While thinking about the next big idea in storage, companies like Samsung, SanDisk, and Intel have been developing a few ideas that will fix these classic problems with hard drives, or at least make them better short term while the bigger guns are being built. The first new storage idea of note is the hybrid drive. The theory is that if you can use non-volatile flash memory (similar to a USB thumb drive) to take the load off the hard disk for the most frequent and intensive tasks, you will extend the life of the overall drive. It is a terrific achievement especially when coupled with perpendicular recording technology, but solid aims to take over the job from even the barely released hybrids.
What is solid state drive technology?
The USB stick or thumb drive you probably carry around to work, family gatherings, or if a geek, on dates and DMV waiting lines is the basic idea of a SSD drive. Storage manufacturers are packaging the flash memory a little differently, to fit in a PC enclosure with a power cable instead of a USB enabled package. The real benefit isn't the connection type or how the system interacts with the drive, it is the drive's physical composition that brings all the awesomeness. Solid state has no moving parts and it is non-volatile, meaning it retains information when turned off, just like a flash drive. It relies on power to positively or negatively charge a cell, so there is no spin-up of the drive platters, because there are no platters. SSD offers the best of today's reliability, durability and overall value in storage systems, far more than hard drives.Solid state technology comes in a few flavors. They are primarily Single Level Cell (SLC) or Multi-Level Cell (MLC). The key differences of these methods of storage are that Single-Level Cell stores data using a single voltage which provides faster transfer speeds at a higher manufacturing cost and lower power consumption with higher cell endurance and longevity. Multi-Level Cell -- as you might imagine -- is the exact opposite sporting multiple voltages, lower cost, slower transfer speed, and a higher BER, or Bit Error Ratio. Although the difference in technologies may not be readily apparent when you're actually out there buying a new drive, we are obsessing here, so go with it.
Beyond the distinction of SLC or MLC, there is much techno-babble to explain how the technology actually works, including a method of information transfer called quantum tunneling. Suffice it to say that it is complicated, but it works. The many ideas bundled together that make SSD work provide much less concern about environmental factors, heat, dust, etc. because those no longer have anywhere near the same detrimental effect. In fact, the military and those serving in the military have used solid state drives for a while now, albeit the expensive government-subsidized kind.
SSD drive pros and cons
Pros:- Not affected by
vibration, humidity, air pressure, temperature - Much faster seek time, due to no drive spin-up -- nearly double that of traditional drives
- Virtually zero sound, making it much quieter
- Based on non-volatile flash memory so computer boot-up time would be a thing of the past
- The Non-Volatile Memory Host Controller Interface (NVMHCI) Working Group is already working to foster standards and develop an API
- Should be available via the PCI Express bus resulting from NVMHCI's work
- Better security, since file portions are not left behind when erasing
Cons:
- More expensive, averaging about $9 more per gigabyte
- Negatively affected by magnetic fields or electrostatic discharge
- Can lose data if power is severed during data transfer
There is no question that the price will need to decrease before too many drives go out the door for businesses and consumers, as well as some other unique challenges that will need to be addressed before widespread adoption truly begins, but all in all SSD offers a lot of positive improvements for our future and is getting a lot of attention.
Who is leading the SSD charge?
Initially, Toshiba and Samsung had developed a 1GB SSD chip in 2005, and later the same year, Samsung churned out the world's first 2GB chip. Intel, Microsoft, and other big names have joined the fray to help the fledgling new technology come to fruition. In early 2008 SanDisk released their 12GB and 32GB chips, which started to gain more traction for the spec. One of the most notable inclusions of SSD in a consumer product thus far is Apple's sexy new MacBook Air, that optionally comes with an SSD drive clocking in at 128GB for an extra $800 or so. The price has already come down some from the 64GB model they announced mere months ago. Additionally, Apple recently announced that their new line of both MacBooks and MacBook Pros will have optional SSD configurations as well.
SSD is on the rise and will likely be the next big thing in storage. With faster data access, non-volatile storage, increased durability and reliability, less noise, and less maintenance of failing hard drives, SSD technology has a lot to offer. Not to mention the freedom to rock out as hard as possible without nearby fragile drives hampering your style. SSD is here to stay and we couldn't be happier. It has us completely obsessed.
Profile pages: Microsoft, Samsung, SSD, Flash memory, Intel, SanDisk, Solid State Drive, Thumb drive
- Not affected by
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