Posts Tagged ‘motherboard’

Reuse Computer Parts

Tuesday, July 20th, 2010

Reusing computer parts has a lot to do with the green lifestyle, but it’s hard to decide exactly how to proceed with every type of component.





The main principle is that a non-defective component should be used as long as possible, a period that is variable from component to component, because obviously there comes a time when a specific component is just not sufficient anymore. In the case of the hard drive, development was very fast in the past few years.

We have come a long way since the experimental refrigerator-sized 2.52GB hard drive from the 70s. Capacity, speed and power consumption have improved to a level which seems hard to beat. 2TB size, ~100MB/s average transfer rate and ~5Watt power consumption make the hard disk the second most power efficient component is the whole system, right after the DDR3 memory modules that need around 3Watts per module. The smallest and cheapest new hard disk available today may be enough for any operating system for up to 5 to 10 years, if we look at the evolution of space requirements in the past. Windows 7 requires around 16Gigabytes of hard disk space, Windows 8 most likely won’t require much more. Hard disk speed isn’t an issue, if you have enough RAM installed on your system.

For example an old fashioned LGA775 Celeron D 2.8GHz processor with 2-3GB of DDR1 memory can still handle flawlessly the most demanding version of Windows 7, when it comes to everyday office and home programs, although it was launched way back in 2005. With an appropriate graphics card it may also run some of the latest games with medium graphic detail settings.

The motherboard has a somewhat shorter lifespan, no matter how sufficient its speed still is. It includes most of the sensitive components of the computer system like ports (that have to withstand the user’s abuse, sometimes even electric shocks), voltage regulators and filters for the processor, slots (that also face some serious strain when expansion cards are installed)…etc. Motherboards most likely last around 3-5 years in a system in perfect, functioning condition. It’s not amongst computer parts that are worth reusing after a major system upgrade.

When you’re looking to reuse a processor, things get a bit complicated. Usually in 3 years or so the efficiency of a processor falls drastically, even if you bought a top processor back in 2007, today you’ll find that speed at half the price and also with increased efficiency. It’s not recommended to reuse computer parts like the processor and graphics card (that’s also basically a processor with a short life, because cheaper and more efficient ones appear on the market in every 1-2 years).

Although the computer case is a passive part of the computer system and may last many generations, it usually comes with an installed power supply that is not so durable. The cheapest power supplies work within optimum parameters for up to 2-3 years, after which they should be replaced with new ones even if they still seem to function properly. More professional power supplies (with prices above $100) should work perfectly for up to 5-7 years, assuming that you stay with upgrades under the maximum power consumption allowed.

Monitors are computer parts that are frequently reused. Some users still can’t give up their good old CRT because of its good picture quality and colors, no matter how much it hurts their eyes and how much power it uses. A 21” CRT from the year 2000 consumes 150-300Watts of power, while the latest 24” FullHD LED monitors need only around 20Watts to display a much bigger and sharper image. While monitors may work up to 10-15 years, they are not worth keeping more than 3-5 years, because cheaper and much more efficient models become available such a period of time.

Of course these are only some general conclusions, there may be some special brand computer systems out there that can be used and reused for up to 10-15 years, what’s your experience?

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in computer parts | No Comments »

What Parts Make Up A Computer

Saturday, March 20th, 2010

In order for a computer to work properly, it has to contain some basic parts. A microprocessor, internal memory, data and command bus and external memory; all these components are mounted inside a computer case.





The microprocessor - it represents the brain of the computer, the coordinator of all the operations that are made. A microprocessor contains inside areas in which it can save data of short lengths. These locations are named registry, and each registry has a special name (AX, BX, etc.). From all the registry, there is one which has a special role, and that is the IP registry (Instruction Pointer). The microprocessor is connected to the other computer parts through the data bus and command bus.



The internal memory – physical, it is made out of more integrated circuits with a role in keeping the information, which have an exterior aspect that resembles with the microprocessor. The microprocessor can write or read data from the memory. Reading requires obtaining the saved information, and the writing consists in the submission of information in memory. The internal memory is made out of more parts with equal sizes, which are named memory spaces. The memory spaces are numbered in order starting with the value of 0 (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.). These tags which are put over the memory spaces are named memory addresses.



The data bus and command bus – even though the name is pretentious, these buses are nothing but a bunch of wires (copper tracks on a printed circuit board). Of course, on the command bus are running the commands, and on the data bus are running the transferred data between the computer’s components. All the devices which are different than the microprocessor or the internal memory are named peripheral. The screen, the printer, are named output peripherals because the data are coming out of the internal memory and go to the devices. The keyboard is a input peripheral because the data are running backwards, from the exterior into the internal memory.



The external memory – is represented by magnetic disks, which have the property to read and write information of the magnetic support. The external memory usually has a bigger capacity than the internal ones. In the external memory are saved more programs and their corresponding data. The external memory is made out of hard drives and floppy disks. The hard drives are usually mounted inside the computer case and can be detached from the computer only by the removal of the case. The flexible disks are introduced in a particular space, are used as long as are needed, after which can be removed easily. Thanks to the constructive module, the hard drives have a very large storage capacity for the information and a very high writing speed. The hard drives are used for massive data saving or for fast program running. The flexible disks, with a smaller storage capacity, are used to transfer data between computers or to keep some important information into a safe place.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in computer parts | No Comments »

Discount Computer Parts And Accessories

Wednesday, March 17th, 2010

The computers have really evolved in the last decades, and today they had become really complex devices, with advanced technologies included and a great role in our lives. So many domains are directly related today with the computers, and so many of us are doing our work on the computer so we can’t even imagine how the world would be today in 2010 without the computers. But the development of the entire device called computer, was possible thanks to the evolution of each separate component. All of the small components and accessories had evolved, making the overall product (the computer) also to be better and better.




Today we can buy a new computer just how it was made by the producer (in one piece), or we can buy separate components and accessories and make our own personalized computer. You can simply go at a store that is specialized in computers and with the help of the shop assistant you can make your own unique computer, based on your day to day computer activities, and the amount of money you have available for spending. Some stores are even offering discount computer parts and accessories, so that’s why it is important to always search for the best deal.

First of all you should choose a motherboard, which is the main component on which all of the other small internal components are placed. There are many models of motherboards available, from big producers such as Gigabyte, Asrock or MSI and if you are not a computer specialist you should let the seller choose the appropriate motherboard for you. Then you must choose a processor, and here the best producers are Intel and AMD. Each of these companies offers many kinds of processors, and the ones that are really popular today (and also good) are the Dual Core processors. Since you have so many internal components that are working for you really hard, they might get hotter, and that’s why you also need a cooler for your computer. It doesn’t matter which one you choose, as long as it fits with the other components and as long as it does its job.




You definitely need a device to store all your information, and that’s why it is necessary to have a hard drive in your computer. Some of the best producers of hard drives are Western Digital, Samsung and Seagate and each company offers many types of hard disks. The more GB it has, the more space you will have to store all your data. And also if you want the hard drive to work really fast, especially when you are copying files, you need to choose one with a high number of rpm.



To be able to do all your tasks in the same time and as fast as possible you also need to have a good RAM memory. The best producers here are Kingston and Kingmax, and the more GB of RAM memory you have, the better your computer will work. Another important internal component is the video card, and good producers of video cards are: Galaxy, Gigabyte, MSI and others. The more MB or GB of memory your video card has, the better will be for you. These days most of the videos and movies come in a High Definition format, so you might want to search for a video card that has this feature. You might also need a sound card and a network card, but today most of the new models of motherboards have these features already included on them.

The next part you might want to choose for your computer will be the optical drive. Almost nobody is using a floppy disk today, so you won’t need this anymore. And even the CD-s are out of date, and most of the people are using DVD-s. So you might want to choose a DVD drive that is capable of both reading and writing DVD-s. The DVD-s will hang on for a few more years, but the Blu-ray discs are the future in this domain. So if you want to be prepared for those times, you can already buy a Blu-ray disc drive for your computer.

These are about all the internal components that you need, and finally to cover all of them you need to choose a computer case. There are some with interesting shapes and colors, but if you want you can choose a simple and classic one.

And of course now you have to choose the external components. First of all you will need a monitor, a keyboard and a mouse because these are indispensable for a computer. Then you can choose some computer speakers or headphones depending on your preferences and also other accessories such as: webcam, microphone, printer, scanner and others.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Computers, Hardware topic | No Comments »

Pictures Of Basic Computer Parts

Monday, March 8th, 2010

Inside any computer you will find some basic parts. The basic parts are the minimum required for a computer to function properly in any application. So we have the outer case, the motherboard, the microprocessor, the video card, the memory, the network interface card, the hard drive, the sound card, the floppy disk drive and the optical drive.




You will be provided below with a list of computer parts, each with its description and descriptive picture in order for you to understand better which is which and what is does.




Let’s start with the motherboard, which is one of the main parts without which the computer cannot work. It’s practicaly the support for the other parts which are attached to it, and it’s main role is to create the links between all the pieces you have in your computer.



Followed by the processor, or the microprocessor which is the central unit of information processing of a computer, which coordinates the system and which physically presents as an electronic chip. It controls the activities of the whole system and can process the user’s data. It’s the main element of a computer system; the chip, that is placed on the motherboard is very complex, and can reach up to millions of transistors. The microprocessor insures the data and instruction processing, both from the operating system as the ones from inside the user’s applications; it reads, process and control the applications and executes or supervises the information transfer and controls the general activity of the other components that make up the system.



The video card, or graphics accelerator card, is an expansion card whose function is to generate and output images to a display

The RAM, or the Random Access Memory, is the generic name for any type of memory that can be:

- random accessed, offering direct access to any of its location or address in any order, even randomly;

- implemented on electronic chips (and not on magnetic or optical devices as the hard disks or CDs).




The network interface card, or LAN adapter, is an expansion card designed for allowing the computers to connect to a network of computers.



The hard drive, or hard disc, is an electro-mechanical device for data storage or saving. Data saving is done on a magnetic surface on the rounded metallically cups.



The sound card, or the audio card, is a computer expansion card that facilitates the input and output of audio signals to and from a computer under control of computer programs.



The CD-ROM, or the Compact Disc Read-Only Memory: is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains accessible data to a computer for data storage and music playback. The CD-ROM doesn’t allow the computer to write anything to a CD.

The Floppy Disk Drive, or floppy drive, diskette drive, 3.5 inch drive, 5.25 inch drive, reads data from and writes data to a small disk. The most common type is the 3.5 inch drive followed by the completely 5.25 inch drive, among other sizes.

So now you know how basic computer parts look like and what are used for. We hope this information has been useful and has answered your questions and doubts about computer parts.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Computers | No Comments »

What’s Inside Of A Computer

Saturday, March 6th, 2010

The computer, also know as: computing machine or computing device, data processor, electronic computer, information processing system, is a data and information processing machine, according to a list of instructions known as programs. The computer that are free programmable and can process any kind of data / information are named general purpose computers. The actual computers are not only data processing machines, but devices which facilitates the communication between two or more users, for example: using text, numbers, images, sound or video, and all at once – multimedia. The science of information processing with the help of computers is named Computer Science. The technology necessary for its use is called Information Technology or IT. In principle, any computer which has a minimum set of functions may perform the functions of any other computer, whether it is a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) or any supercomputer.




The computers today come in many shapes and sizes. Probably the most familiar is the personal computer and it’s portable version called laptop, notebook or netbook; but the most widespread form is the embedded computer.

Inside any computer there are many parts such as:




The motherboard: a complex hardware component on which are fitted all the other hardware components of a computer, or any other electronically device.

The processor: or the microprocessor is the central unit of information processing of a computer, which coordinates the system and which physically presents as an electronic chip. It controls the activities of the whole system and can process the user’s data. It’s the main element of a computer system; the chip, that is placed on the motherboard is very complex, and can reach up to millions of transistors. The microprocessor insures the data and instruction processing, both from the operating system as the ones from inside the user’s applications; it reads, process and control the applications and executes or supervises the information transfer and controls the general activity of the other components that make up the system.

The RAM: or the Random Access Memory, is the generic name for any type of memory that can be:

- random accessed, offering direct access to any of its location or address in any order, even randomly;

- usually implemented on electronic chips (and not on magnetic or optical devices as the hard disks or CDs).

The sound card: or the audio card, is a computer expansion card that facilitates the input and output of audio signals to and from a computer under control of computer programs.

The video card: or graphics accelerator card, is an expansion card whose function is to generate and output images to a display

The network interface card:  or LAN adapter, is an expansion card designed for allowing the computers to connect to a network of computers.

The hard drive: or hard disc, is an electro-mechanical device for data storage or saving. Data saving is done on a magnetic surface on the rounded metalically cups.

The CD-ROM: or the Compact Disc Read-Only Memory: is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains accessible data to a computer for data storage and music playback. The CD-ROM doesn’t allow the computer to write anything to a CD.




These are the main parts of an ordinary computer. A computer can be upgraded with any other device such as: TV-tuner, 5.1 sound card, other hard discs, CD-RW, floppy disc, etc. So now you know what’s “hidden” inside a computer.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Computers, Hardware topic | No Comments »