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When purchasing or dealing with computers, you will want to familiarize yourself with the correct terminology. This makes you look more competent, especially when shopping. A clerk is less likely to take advantage of someone who appears to have a good understanding of computer terms. Motherboard, Processor, Memory, Video Card, Hard Drive, Motherboard, CD, Modem, Ethernet, Sound, Printer, Monitor
Motherboard - The foundation of your computer is called a motherboard. This motherboard fits along the side of your case and many of the other components are attached to it in one way or another. The motherboard contains the paths through which the other components speak to each other. A good mother board is essential for a user wanting good performance and upgradeability. Look for the speed of the Front Side Bus. “This computer has a 133 Front Side Bus”
The Big Three -
Processor, Memory Hard Drive Processor (CPU Chip) The processor does the majority of thinking. It takes the input you give and determines the outcome. A faster processor produces a faster outcome. (generally) Liken the CPU chip to your brain. Measured in Megahertz or Gigahertz "This computer has a 3 Gig(ahertz) processor (3000 megahertz)"
Memory – The memory is the second biggest determining factor for the speed of your computer. The memory remembers the information the processor is thinking about. Liken the memory chip to your memory. The better/faster your recall, the better and faster you can make decisions. Measured in Megabyts (Megs) “An additional 256 Meg of memory would help your PC run faster”
Hard Drive – The hard drive is where information is permanently stored. When you turn your computer off and back on, the CPU and the memory are cleared. The hard drive retains permanent information and then puts that information into memory when the CPU tells it to. (games, documents, windows etc) Measured in Gigabytes (Gigs) “A 120 Gig(abyte) hard drive stores a lot of information”
Video Card – Sends pictures to monitor. For most office tasks, a low end video card is fine (8-32 Meg). For those who want to play high end games, often a computer should be built with as good a video card as one can afford (32-256 Meg). People who “just want to play games” need good video cards and lots of memory. Video cards are measure by the memory capacity. “A 256 Meg video card is the best video card we offer in our computers.”
Ethernet card (LAN card) - This item comes in two flavors. Wired and wireless. Either of these enables you to connect your computer to a network (The internet is a network also) you can share files or printers and communicate through a network. Some examples of this are email, pop up communication programs, sharing documents or data. Being able to print from a printer connected to another PC in the same room or across town.
Sound Card – The sound card produces the sounds we hear the computer make. These also come in a very wide variety. Measured In bits 16, 64, 128, etc
CD – CD’s come in several flavors also. CD – Reads CD’s, play games, reads information. CDRWs store up to 750Meg of information per CD. Also plays like a standard CD. DVDs play movies. Divers can burn several Gigs of information to a disk for storage and backups.
Modem – The modem is what your computer uses to place outgoing or receive incoming calls. Faxes and dial up Internet are some of the most popular uses for a modem. Measured in speed – kilobits per second. FCC regulations dictate that 56k is as fast as they will ever get. Monitors - The monitor will be the component you will own the longest. It should last you two to three computers. It comes in many varieties. They are measured by size – 15, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, inches and up. They are also measured by quality. The lower the dot pitch, the clearer the visual quality. If you are going to spend a lot of time in front of the computer, spring for a larger monitor 20” or two smaller monitors.
Printers - Printers come in three basic styles. – Measured in Pages per minute PPM and dpi (dot per inch) Laser – Expensive – Prints in black or color. Very much like a copy machine. It prints one page at a time and is faster than the other types. Toner refills run $60 to $150 or more. Toner lasts a lot longer than ink based printers. Plan on spending $300 to $5000 or more for a good laser printer
Inkjet - These printers print with ink. They are the cheapest printers available. The manufacturer often makes more off the ink than the printer. Cartridge prices vary between $25-$65 for a full set of cartridges. (Usually one color per cartridge). The lifetime of an inkjet printer is the shortest of all the printers.
Dot Matrix – The Dot Matrix printer will never be obsolete. They are used in many offices today for printing multipart forms. They are expensive to purchase $200-$400 but the ribbons are usually very cheap. You can print for months off a $5.00 ribbon. They are slow and noisy.
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