General Hardware Articles

Cheat Sheet / Updated 02-25-2022

Whether you want to build a basic, mid-range, or high-end PC, make sure you have the necessary components and follow some general commonsense rules for easy assembly of your PC. Once you have your PC together, get to know the beep codes your computer will make and what they mean.

Article / Updated 06-23-2017

Your computing experience is made up of interactions with hardware and software. The hardware is all the tangible computer equipment, such as the body of your laptop containing the hard drive, keyboard, and touchpad for pointing at and clicking on items onscreen. The software is what makes the hardware work or lets you get things done, such as writing documents with Microsoft Word or playing a Solitaire game. Think of the hardware as being like your television set, and think of the software as being like the shows that you watch on it. The hardware on your laptop consists of A central processing unit (CPU), which is the very small, very high-tech semiconductor chip (integrated circuit) that acts as the brains of your computer. The CPU is stored in your laptop along with the other nuts and bolts of your computer. A monitor, which displays images on its screen similar to the way your TV screen displays programs. Your computer monitor shows you, for example, the Microsoft Windows 8.1 Desktop, a video you watch at an online entertainment site, or a document in a software program. Today, some laptops sport touchscreen monitors, which allow you to use your finger on the screen to provide input to the computer. A keyboard, which is similar to a typewriter keyboard. In addition to typing words and numbers, you can use a keyboard to give the computer commands such as selecting text or objects, copying, and pasting. A touchpad, which you also use to give your computer commands, but this little device offers a more tactile way to provide input. You move your laptop cursor on the screen by using a built-in pointing device, which might be in the form of a touchpad, or a small button. Slide your fingertip around the touchpad. This moves a pointer around onscreen. You position this pointer on an onscreen button or menu name, for example, and then click the left or side of your touchpad which causes an action. You can also tap and drag your fingertip to select text or an object to perform an action on it (such as deleting a file or making a line of text bold). You also have the option of attaching a physical wireless mouse to your laptop; a small transmitter which you place in a USB port on your laptop enables the mouse input. A webcam and speakers, and probably a microphone, are likely to be built in to your laptop. A webcam allows you to produce video images you can share during video phone calls and instant messaging sessions. Speakers play back sounds, and a built-in microphone allows you to record audio files. Ports to attach peripherals, such as a printer or scanner. Your laptop comes with slots where you plug in various peripherals (additional hardware). The type of port you’ll use most often is called a USB port; it’s a small slot useful for plugging in small sticks called flash drives on which you can store data, or devices that typically sport a USB connector (such as digital cameras and smartphones). Software (also known as programs or applications) is installed on your laptop hard drive, which resides in the laptop casing. Here are a few basics about software: You use software to get your work done, run entertainment programs, and browse the Internet. For example, Quicken is a financial-management program you can use to balance your checkbook or keep track of your home inventory for insurance purposes. Some programs come preinstalled on your laptop; you can buy and install other programs as you need them. Computers have to have an operating system installed to be of any use at all because an operating system runs all the other programs. Also, some programs are included with your operating system — such as WordPad, a simple word processing program. But you’re not limited to pre-installed software. You can purchase other software or download free software programs from the Internet. For example, you can find Skype (a free program that enables you to make online phone calls using your laptop) in the Windows Store or on the Internet and install it on your laptop yourself. You can uninstall programs you no longer need. Uninstalling unwanted programs helps to free up some space on your laptop, which helps it perform better. Software programs called utilities exist to keep your laptop in shape. An antivirus program is an example of a utility used to spot and erase computer viruses from your system. Your operating system (such as Windows 8.1) also includes some utilities, such as Disk Cleanup to free up wasted space on your hard drive or the Windows Defender program. Windows Defender protects your laptop from unwanted intrusion by malicious programs called spyware.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

When you decide to buy a new video card, you need to make sure that the video card fits your motherboard and has the chipsets that you want. Also look for these video card features and specifications while you shop: Onboard random access memory (RAM): Today’s video cards typically have anywhere from 64MB to 512MB of memory. Buy a card with as much onboard RAM as possible. More RAM equals higher resolutions with more colors on-screen. Driver and standards support: Any PC video card should fully support the Microsoft DirectX video standards. Gamers will also appreciate robust OpenGL support (an open video standard used in 3D action games). Maximum resolution: The higher the resolution a card can produce, the more your monitor can display. Video capture and TV output: A card with these features can create digital video footage from an analog TV signal and transfer the image you see on your monitor to a TV, VCR, or camcorder. TV tuner: A card with a built-in TV tuner can turn your PC into a TV set. You can use a traditional antenna or connect the card to your cable or satellite system. Multiple monitor support: Many new video cards allow you to connect two monitors to one card. You can either see two separate desktops or make the two monitors into a seamless desktop. MPEG hardware support: A video card with built-in encoding and decoding features can really speed things up when you’re working with MPEG files.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

When you aren’t using your laptop’s modem, you can turn it off or disable it. That way, the laptop isn't supplying power to a device that you don't use. The easiest way to do this is to click the Power Management tab in the modem's Properties dialog box. Choose the option labeled Allow the Computer to Turn Off This Device to Save Power. On your laptop, the Allow the Computer to Turn Off This Device to Save Power option may be dimmed so that you cannot check it. This means that your laptop's hardware is unable to manage the modem's power. All hope isn't lost: You can still disable the modem's hardware permanently. Just click the General tab in the modem's Properties dialog box. At the bottom of the modem's Properties dialog box, on the General tab, is the Device Usage option. From the drop-down list, choose Do Not Use This Device (Disable). That tells Windows to ignore the modem, which means that you save power and that you cannot use the modem to connect to another computer or to the Internet or to send a fax (unless, of course, you enable the modem).

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

If you want to add a sound card to your computer, or upgrade the sound card that it already has, you have several options. A number of specialized PC sound cards are available for the discriminating audio connoisseur: An MP3 card: If you’re an MP3 wizard with a hard drive’s worth of MP3 digital audio files, you’ll appreciate one of these specialized audio cards. An MP3 card contains a hardware encoder/decoder, which speeds up your PC’s ripping (the process of creating MP3 digital audio files from existing audio CDs) and MP3-playing performance. A 24-bit card: For the absolute best in audio reproduction, go for 24-bit audio (that’s 192 KHz, for you audioheads), which is far superior to the sound produced by virtually all audio CD players. These cards can also support DVD audio, feature front-panel controls that fit in an open drive bay, and carry a built-in FireWire port — which is just the whipped cream and cherry on the sundae. A surround sound card: These cards are specifically designed for 3D environmental audio within games and for full Dolby surround sound support when you watch DVD movies on your PC. Naturally, you need more than two mundane speakers from a discount store to enjoy the full effect — which is why a premium set of speakers is usually included with these cards.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

Peripherals are externally hooked up to your computer. Your actual PC, itself, is nothing but the console (or tower). Everything else is considered a peripheral. To do much of anything with a PC, you’ll need at least a few peripherals. Hooking up primary peripherals The following peripherals are found on most PCs: Keyboard and mouse: Set up the keyboard right in front of where you’ll sit when you use the computer, between you and where the monitor goes. The mouse lives to the right or left of the keyboard, depending on whether you’re right- or left-handed. The PC keyboard plugs into the keyboard port on the back of the console. The mouse plugs into the mouse port. Note that the two ports look identical but are different. Monitor: Set the monitor atop your desk, generally back away from where you sit, to accommodate room for the keyboard. The monitor plugs into the VGA, or graphics adapter, jack on the back of the console. The plug goes in only one way. Network: Plug the network, or Cat 5, cable into the network jack on the back of the console. This is how you connect your PC to a network, or how you connect to a broadband modem. Printer: Set up the printer where it’s within arm’s reach of the console. To get the printer and console talking to each other, you need a cable, either a USB cable or the traditional printer cable. When you’re blessed with a wireless printer, keep it close enough to the console to ensure that it’s in range of the signal. USB: USB devices plug into the USB port — any USB port. The USB cable may be attached directly to the gizmo, or you may have to use (or buy) a separate USB cable. Using secondary peripherals Secondary peripherals are for more specialized applications or hardware. These secondary peripherals include audio, FireWire, joystick, modem, S-Video, serial, and wireless connections.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

Postpone a CPU/motherboard upgrade as long as possible. Upgrade your motherboard and CPU only after you exhaust the other possibilities. A major CPU/motherboard upgrade involves a some serious computer surgery and has some possible negative consequences: A CPU/motherboard combo is one of the most expensive upgrades you can make to your computer. First consider upgrading random access memory (RAM) and your video card. Adding RAM and a faster video card is (usually) cheaper than upgrading a CPU/motherboard combo. And, depending on the types of applications you run, the RAM/video card upgrade might provide a better performance boost than using a new CPU and motherboard. A side benefit is that the longer you postpone a CPU/motherboard upgrade, the more of a performance jump you get when you finally take the plunge. A CPU/motherboard combo is one of the most difficult upgrades to install. To facilitate this upgrade, you have to take out every adapter card and unhook every wire and possibly even disassemble parts of your case — and then do it all again in reverse. A CPU/motherboard combo has dependencies. No matter how fast your new motherboard-and-CPU combo might be, it still depends on your existing adapter cards — including video, sound, modem, and port cards — to take care of putting (respectively) video on your monitor, sound in your speakers, and Internet data in your browser. You might have to scrap your existing memory modules and power supply. Using a new CPU/motherboard combo might force you to dump all the memory modules you’ve collected over the past few years and that low-rated power supply.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

A second, or spare, battery can extend the battery life of your laptop. When your primary battery becomes discharged, insert your spare battery to keep using your laptop. One option you probably ignored when you bought your laptop was getting a spare battery. This item is a must for someone who is seriously on the road or in a remote location, where a long time is spent away from the power socket. Before you use a spare battery, ensure that it’s fully charged. If your laptop has some type of quick-swapping ability, when the power gets low, you can just eject your laptop’s original, spent battery and quickly insert the spare battery. But be sure that your laptop can survive such a transplant before you attempt it! Perform a test swap in a noncritical situation, just to be sure. If your laptop doesn’t have the ability to hot-swap batteries, just turn off (or hibernate) the laptop when the original battery is nearly spent. Remove the old battery, insert the fresh one, and then turn the laptop on again. Keep the following points in mind: If you plan on pulling this trick often, get a laptop that supports hot-swapping batteries in the first place. Label the batteries with a Sharpie so that you don’t get the two (or more) batteries confused and accidentally insert a dead battery. You can buy a spare battery from your dealer or from stores that sell extra batteries, such as iGo or Batteries.com. Be wary of generic batteries! Always try to get a manufacturer’s (or manufacturer-approved) battery for your laptop. Get anything less, and you run the risk of setting your laptop ablaze!

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

You can expand your PC internally by adding additional circuitry boards. Those boards, or expansion cards, plug directly into expansion slots on the motherboard (as shown in this figure). So, you can expand your computer system by adding options not included with the basic PC. Here are the types of expansion slots your PC may have: PCI Express: The best type of expansion slot to have in your PC is the PCI Express, also written as PCIe. Without boring you, the PCI Express type of expansion slot communicates with the motherboard, and therefore with the microprocessor, both quickly and efficiently. PCI: The PCI slot is the most common form of internal expansion for a PC. Some PCs have a mixture of PCI and PCI Express slots. If so, go with PCI Express when you have that option. AGP: This type of expansion slot was specifically designed to deal with graphics adapters. In fact, AGP stands for Accelerated Graphics Port. Older PCs may sport this expansion slot, but the best video cards use PCI Express. ISA: The most ancient type of expansion slot is the ISA, which stands for (get this) Industry Standard Architecture. That’s because it never really had a name until another, better type of expansion slot came along. ISA slots hang around to be compatible with older expansion cards.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

The memory card is the most recent form of permanent computer storage technology. The general term memory card applies to all the different types of solid-state storage devices. These memory cards vary in size from a stick of gum to a poker chip, albeit a rectangular poker chip. Like other storage media, memory card capacity is measured in bytes. Smaller-capacity cards store a few megabytes, although 256MB seems to be the smallest memory card available now. Top-price memory cards can hold up to 8GB of data! To read a memory card, your PC must come equipped with a memory card reader. Most modern PCs come with a combination card reader, a series of four separate slots into which each type of memory card can be inserted. Older PCs can use a memory card reader peripheral, which attaches to the PC by using a USB cable. You can find six main types of memory cards: CompactFlash Memory Stick MultiMediaCard (MMC) Secure Digital (SD) SmartMedia xD Keep the following points in mind when considering memory cards: A memory card isn’t the same thing as a flash drive. Both devices are similar in that they’re solid-state, but a flash drive connects to the PC by using a USB port, not a memory card slot. Flash drives are also known as thumb drives because many of them are about the same size as a human thumb. Technologically, memory cards exist in the weird space between traditional computer RAM and disk storage. The memory cards themselves lack the high capacity of disk storage. Therefore, they won’t be replacing the PC’s hard drive any time soon. And although memory cards do not require electricity to maintain their contents, they’re still too slow to replace traditional computer memory (RAM).