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ISYS100

ISYS100. PC Hardware – ‘buying a pc’. Buying a Computer. Software Expansion Cost Hardware Status – Consider the power of Apple in today's market. “What do I want the computer for?”. What Computer to Buy?. Word processing/spreadsheets/Power Point : $429 --- Intel Dual Core 2.6G

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ISYS100

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  1. ISYS100 PC Hardware – ‘buying a pc’. Hardware 2010

  2. Buying a Computer • Software • Expansion • Cost • Hardware • Status – Consider the power of Apple in today's market. • “What do I want the computer for?” Hardware 2010

  3. What Computer to Buy? • Word processing/spreadsheets/Power Point: • $429 --- Intel Dual Core 2.6G • Gigabyte G31M-S2L Motherboard 1GB DDR2 800 Memory Integrated Video Card Integrated 6 Channel Audio 160GB SATAII 7200RPM Hard Drive 20X DVD Rewriter (Dual Layer) ATX Mid Tower Case PSII Keyboard & Optical Mouse Power Speakers • Basic office machine: • $559 --- Intel Core 2 Duo 2.8G • Gigabyte G31M-S2L Motherboard 2G DDRII 800 Memory Integrated Video Card Integrated 6 Channel Audio 160G SATA2 7200RPM Hard Drive 20X DVD Rewriter (Dual Layer) ATX Mid Tower Case PSII K/B & Optical Mouse Power Speakers   Hardware 2010

  4. What Computer to Buy? • Running games: • $999 --- Intel Core 2 Duo 2.8G • Gigabyte EP43-UD3L Motherboard 2GB DDRII 800 PC6400 Ram Nvidia GF9400GT 512M PCI-Ex Integrated 8 Channel Audio 320G SATA2 7200RPM Hard Drive Multi Internal Card Reader 20X DVD Rewriter (Dual Layer) Digital High Definition TV Turner ATX Mid Tower Case MS Multimedia K/B & Optical Mouse Power Subwoofer Speakers (2.1) 19" WideScreen LCD Monitor • Playing new games: • $3049 --- Intel Core i7 2.93G • Gigabyte EX58-DS4 Motherboard 3 x 2GB DDR3 PC10600 Ram ATI HD4870 1GB PCI-Ex Creative X-Fi Xtreme Audio S/C 2 x 500G SATA2 7200RPM Hard Drive Multi Internal Card Reader 20X DVD Rewriter(Dual Layer) Antec NINE HUNDRED Gaming Case MS Wirless K/B & Optical Mouse Creative 5.1 Subwoofer Speaker 22" Widescreen LCD Monitor For web surfing/email add cable/ADSL modem and broadband connection Hardware 2010

  5. Off the Shelf or Custom • An off the shelf computer comes as an all in one unit • Many different suppliers • Hewlett Packard • Dell • IBM/Lenovo • Acer • Toshiba • etc Hardware 2010

  6. Advantages • Less to think about • Wide availability • Not dependent on dealer (a store like Dick Smith for example) • warranty Hardware 2010

  7. Disadvantages • May not be what you want • Problems with expansion/upgrade • Big company syndrome (pay for the name) Hardware 2010

  8. Examples of Desktops www.dse.com.au Hardware 2010

  9. Anyone for Apple? www.dse.com.au Hardware 2010

  10. Examples of Notebooks www.dse.com.au Hardware 2010

  11. How about something small and light  Net Books • A Netbook is a new type of laptop computer, defined by size, price, horsepower, and operating system. They are small, cheap, under-powered, and run either an old or unfamiliar operating system. • Netbooks run either Windows XP Home edition or Linux (not only is Linux unfamiliar to many, but the versions of Linux on Netbooks are not the mainstream popular distributions). They do not run XP Professional, Vista, or OS X. www.news.com.au Hardware 2010

  12. What are Slate Computers? For some, a slate is a lighter, slimmed down tablet without a dedicated physical keyboard and other extra components (as opposed to, say, a convertible tablet which looks very much like a laptop when the folding keyboard is out). For others, it's less computer and more portable media player, like the Archos 9 or even the Apple iPad. Hardware 2010

  13. Custom Built • Pick a supplier • Choose your components Hardware 2010

  14. Components • CPU/Fans • Memory • Monitor • Keyboard • Mouse • DVD/CD • Motherboard • Card Reader & Floppy Disk • GraphicsCard • Sound Card • Hard Drive • Speakers • Power supply • O/S Hardware 2010

  15. CPU • AMD or Intel? • Celeron/Sempron vs P4/Athlon • Do you need 64 bit? • For the home computer price rules • How much speed to you want to pay for? • But don’t just look at the raw numbers • The chips aren’t identical, pay attention to the benchmarks • On a performance basis Intel is better value now Hardware 2010

  16. CPUs • CPU/Processor Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 (3GHz/45nm/1333FSB/6MB) LGA775 - $235 • i7 CPU is the latest CPU from Intel • CPU/Processor AMD AM2 Athlon 64x2 Dual Core 6000+ (3.0GHz/2MB/89w) - $109 • Phenom II is the latest CPU from AMD Hardware 2010

  17. Fans • Computers need cooling • Fans • Water based systems • Powerful PCs may have 4-5 fans or more • case • CPU • Motherboard • graphics card • power supply Hardware 2010

  18. Motherboard • Make sure it is compatible with your choice of CPU • Not just AMD vs Intel, but what connection • AMD Socket 939, AMD Socket AM2+, Intel Socket 775 etc • A cheap/nasty motherboard means an expensive CPU is a waste • Check the CPU manufacturers website for recommended boards Hardware 2010

  19. Motherboard • Each motherboard will support only a particular type of CPU • The chipset of the motherboard determines what it can support and how fast it can run • Bus speed (particularly front side bus or FSB speed) determine how fast the communication with memory is • For Intel systems measured in MHz • Typical speeds are 800,1066,1333,1600 MHz • For AMD measured in mega transfers per second MTs • Typical speeds are 1600, 2000, MTs Hardware 2010

  20. Gigabyte GA-P31-DS3L for Intel Socket 775 - Core 2 chips PCI-e Slots PCI slots CPU mounting Heatsink Memory Slots Hardware 2010

  21. Inbuilt Sound and Graphics • Some motherboards have in-built sound and graphics (watch for motherboards that claim AGP/PCI-e but have no slot) • Intel graphics always integrated • Nice and cheap • difficult to expand and built-ins often low range components • Are getting better Hardware 2010

  22. Expansion Slots • Your computer may need extras • Sound card • Video card • Network card • These go in expansion slots Hardware 2010

  23. Expansion Slots • These go in PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) slots, except for the graphics card, which goes in the PCI-e (PCI-express) slot • So make sure your motherboard has a PCI-e slot and 3-6 PCI slots if expansion/upgrade is an issue Hardware 2010

  24. Buses, Ports, and Peripherals • Information travels between components through groups of wires called buses. • Buses connect to storage devices in open areas in the box called bays. Hardware 2010

  25. Buses, Ports, and Peripherals • Buses also connect to slots inside the computer as well as • sockets on the outside of the computer called ports. Hardware 2010

  26. Buses, Ports, and Peripherals • Slots and ports also allow external devices called peripherals to be added to the system (keyboard, monitor, and mouse). Hardware 2010

  27. Memory • More is always better • Microsoft says you need 512MB bare minimum for vista, with 1GB preferred (lies… ask your lecturer) • You may as well have at least 1GB for a general home computer, 2GB for a graphics or other high-end machine • 4 GB is becoming quite the norm. • Or more • I’m always suspicious about manufacturer minimum specs… Hardware 2010

  28. Memory • Terminology can be very confusing • SIMM • DIMM • SDRAM • DDRAM • RDRAM Hardware 2010

  29. Memory • These days it’s all DDR (double data rate) • This is a development of SRDRAM and uses DIMM (Dual In line Memory Module) • Come in sizes from 512MB to 2048MB • The motherboard will have a number of slots, which determine the maximum memory you can have Hardware 2010

  30. DDRAM • DDRAM (or DDR SDRAM) is Double Data Rate SDRAM • Quicker again, but also has to be supported by motherboard • Transfers data on the rising and falling of the clock signal, rather than once per clock signal as SDRAM does Hardware 2010

  31. DDR-2 • DDR-2 is the current standard, with basic DDR on the way out • Data bus in DDR-2 works twice as fast by having memory cells running at half the clock speed • DDR-3 is also available and faster again (and more expensive, we’ll not for long!) Hardware 2010

  32. RDRAM • RAMBUS Dynamic RAM • Was used in P4 motherboards • Expensive • Intel dropped it Hardware 2010

  33. Memory Speed • Measured in MHz or PC • Needs to match motherboard FSB speed • Easy for MHz • Divide PC by 8 (so 6400 gives 800) • Unless it’s already been divided – as in PC133 Hardware 2010

  34. Memory Speed • Another important factor in memory speed are the latencies • You may see a series of 4 numbers in describing memory, such as 3-4-3-9 and measure clock cycles • Obviously, the lower the better but this is not really comparable across technologies (DDR to DDR2 to DDR3) Hardware 2010

  35. Latencies • CL: CAS Latency. The time it takes between a command having been sent to the memory and when it begins to reply to it. It is the time it takes between the processor asking for some data from the memory and it returning it. • tRCD: RAS to CAS Delay. The time it takes between the activation of the line (RAS) and the column (CAS) where the data are stored in the matrix. • tRP: RAS Precharge. The time it takes between disabling the access to a line of data and the begin of the access to another line of data. • tRAS: Active to Precharge Delay. How long the memory has to wait until the next access to the memory can be initiated. From www.hardwaresecrets.com Hardware 2010

  36. Monitor • Bigger is always better • For today’s computers always get at least a 19” screen • CRT or flat screen? • Flat screens are now affordable. • But they have lower refresh rate than CRT • CRT’s are less then $30 now (Refurbished) • See it in action before you buy!!! Hardware 2010

  37. Keyboard and Mouse • Many to choose from • I like optical mice, but not for everyone • Again, try before you buy! Hardware 2010

  38. Hard Drive • Need at least 200GB unless you will only be dealing in text • Despite Windows vista saying 40GB minimum • IDE/SATA vs. SCSI • Home user only needs IDE/SATA • Size is not the only factor – there is also rotational speed • 5,400rpm is the minimum but really only for external or notebook drives • 7,200 rpm standard for desktops • 10,000 and 15,000 rpm becoming affordable Hardware 2010

  39. Graphics Card • Currently two main designs • Nvidia GeForce • ATI Radeon • Only need a high end card for animation/game playing Hardware 2010

  40. Nvidia vs. ATI • GeForce 6 and before is obsolete • A 8400/8500 and most of the remaining 7xxx series card are only for the very budget conscious • For gaming get a 8800GT (or 8800GTX if you have lots of money) • 9xxx and before are obsolete, as are X series cards before about X1500 • The X3850 and X3870 represent good value for money in the mid-range gaming market Hardware 2010

  41. Quality • With graphics cards you get what you pay for • Get hold of comparative benchmark information before you decide Hardware 2010

  42. CD/DVD • CD – only takes CD • DVD – both CD and DVD, but often slower for the same price • "X" - Speed relative to base CD. • Refers to kilobytes (KB) per second to which music is listened. 1x = 150KB per second. Hardware 2010

  43. Sound card/speakers • Need to consider how many speakers you want • Can have a few -> • Then buy a sound card that will support that many Hardware 2010

  44. Power Supply • Often overlooked, but if you are going to get a machine full of extras you need a good, reliable, power supply with sufficient wattage • 500+ Watts Hardware 2010

  45. O/S • Never be too eager to get new version of MS Windows • Wait at least 6 months after release, for the next version • MS Vista Home Premium 64 bit ($163.55) (OEM) • MS Vista Ultimate ($258.05) (OEM) • Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate - Retail DVD ($678.25) • Windows 7 – coming soon! Hardware 2010

  46. USB • Universal Serial Bus • Universal connection for whole range of devices • Mice, keyboards, joysticks, scanners, printers • Make sure your computer has at least 2-4 Hardware 2010

  47. Other Terms • OEM – Original Equipment Manufacturer • IDE - Intelligent Drive Electronics or Integrated Drive Electronics • SATA - Serial Advanced Technology Attachment • RAID – Redundant Array of Independent Disks Hardware 2010

  48. What Would I buy? Intel i7 Extreme 3.2GGigabyte EX58-DS4 Motherboard3 x 2GB DDR3 PC10600 RamATI HD4870 1GB PCI-ExCreative X-FiXtreme Audio S/C2 x 500G SATA2 7200RPM Hard DriveMulti Internal Card Reader20X DVD Rewriter(Dual Layer)Antec NINE HUNDRED Gaming CaseMS Wirless K/B & Optical MouseCreative 5.1 Subwoofer Speaker22" Widescreen LCD Monitor • $2980 Hardware 2010

  49. Total • $2900 • You will need another $400 - $600 for MS Vista and Office. • And labour costs, to build it • You would also want a ADSL/Cable modem (~$100-150) Hardware 2010

  50. To game or not to game • A far superior machine to the all but one of those listed earlier (and it was a dedicated gaming machine) • but more than twice the price of the economy model • Do you really need the performance? Hardware 2010

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