PCs have become a staple in every home. Without PCs, you will find it
hard to stay connected and to even do the work required of you in
school or in the office. With so much PC packages being shoved to our
throat every time we go to department stores and computer shops, you’ll
really get quite confused on what you really need and what PC package
will fit your budget and lifestyle. To help you through this dilemma,
here is a brief backgrounder of the parts of PCs that you should get to
know.
Processor.
This is one of the three primary components of your PC. The processor
is the part that determines how fast your computer process information.
Intel is still the leading brand in processors but competitors such as
American Micro Devices (AMD) are slowly catching up, offering cheaper
alternative. In shopping for a processor, one should consider the
following:
Clock speed – this will show the number of instructions that a
computer can execute in a second. This usually comes after the brand
name. Processors nowadays are already set at the gigahertz range.
Cache memory – this stores the data that were previously
accessed. This simplifies the work of the computer as it would not take
twice as long to access information already stored in memory bank.
Without a cache memory, much of the work will fall on the RAM (Random
Access Memory).
Operating temperature – some processors easily heats up. Before
buying, make sure that you have asked about the operating temperature
just in case you need to buy additional fans or put the computer in an
air-conditioned room.
RAM (Random Access Memory).
RAM serves as the temporary memory of the PC, containing information
that are needed for the computer and the programs to function. In
addition to processors, RAM also determines the speed of the computer.
The higher the RAM, the faster the computer is in accessing information
and responding to commands.
Motherboard
This is where all the parts of the PC’s CPU (Central Processing Unit)
are attached. Some motherboards already have videocards and soundcards
embedded on it while others don’t. what is important however is to
choose a motherboard that is compatible with your RAM and processor.
Incompatibility of PC hardware can cause major problems and may even
lead to the breakdown of your computer.
Hard drive.
This is the part where you store all the information in your PC.
Picture a floppy disk with much much larger storing capacity. The hard
drive serves as the permanent memory of your computer. Here you install
all your programs and save all the documents that you need. It is also
important that you buy a hard drive with really big capacity especially
now when people are so used to storing multimedia files that may use up
a lot of hard drive space.
Video cards
This is the part of the computer which determines the quality of the
multimedia images that you will view. The higher the memory of the
video card, the better is the picture quality and the colors. Also,
video cards are also responsible for how fast multimedia images are
accessed. This is especially needed if you use your computer for
multimedia activities such as watching a movie or playing video games.
