Computer 101: What is a Computer Motherboard Really?

A lot of topic has been discussed about this one major component of the personal computer. Then why create one and add more to the confusion? There are so many articles out here that adding this one might only make things more complicated. We based on my fifteen years of experience building and repairing personal computer, the computer motherboard is more than just connection, and circuit. To me it is the central focal point of all things in a personal computer. In this article we will go in depth regarding how a motherboard works in real life environment and how it is affected by inside and outside forces not just parts and function or this works like this and it is connected to this and that. There are already a lot of those kind of stuff in the internet just some research and it will pop-up.

For anatomy that computer motherboard can be compared to the human skeletal system. But why, well for one the bones in our body is the one responsible for keeping up all that is you and me. Yup there is the muscle but without the bones we will all look like a big lump of a mass bulging on the ground. The motherboard is more that just connection it is a means of communication between devices and different system integrated or added in the motherboard. To generalize all electronic devices has a main board inside each and everyone of theme. From the newest smart phone, tablet, laptop, Television and more each and every one of these items has a main board inside them. Those lines that we saw in every motherboard are more than just line of connection there are the line of communication.

PCI Slot

Dual CPU Slot

Let’s take a closer look what are the different system that connect and communicate with each other and with the motherboard. On top of the list is the mighty brain of the computer, the central processing unit or CPU also known as processor or micro processor. These device is the one that process all the information being used by all the separate system inside the computer and is connected via the motherboard. The processor communicates via the motherboard to all the other system in the computer while it also processes all the information for all the different systems. Another such different systems in your computer are the hard disk drive unit. It is a complete system that is connected also to the motherboard via the cable like the older IDE cable and the newer SATA cable. Lets take a look at these two different system, while the processor is the brain the hard disk drive is the main permanent storage of all types of information used in the computer. The processor’s job is to process information but what happen after processing all those information. Where are all that process information goes too? Or what happen to information before and after being process by the processor?

IDE Cable

SATA and Power Cable

Well before being process all information stays in the hard disk drive and after being process it comes back to the hard disk drive. Yup that why the hard disk drives is the main permanent storage of all types of information being used by the computer. Ever notice I keep adding the word permanent to all storage word that because there are two types of data storage in computer, one is the permanent type while the other is the temporary type. But why do we need a temporary type of data storage since all our information and data is important? Well yup that is correct all the information and data that we put inside the computer is important that why we used computer to almost anything today. It’ likes this temporary information and data is what we call the ones being use at the moment. Let’s say the user is going to watch a movie stored in the computer, the file of that movie is stored permanently in the hard drive. In order for that movie to brought to the screen of the computer it needs to be process by the process and then sent via the motherboard to the memory or RAM to be stored temporarily and than sent via the graphics card to be process or converted to analog signal for displaying in CRT type screen or process then displayed to an LCD or LED type screen.

RAM

Ops we mentioned three things there, the Memory, graphics card and screen. If the hard disk drive is the permanent storage facility inside the computer then the memory or RAM is the temporary holding area for the information and data while that data is being use by the computer or while we watch the movie it is temporary stored in the memory. This is one reason why we need a larger amount of memory so that while playing a movie it would continue to play properly and we enjoy watching it. Compare to a movie which barely plays on because the computer does not have enough memory capacity to store and play it correctly. So why happen to the data stored in the memory? Well all the information and data store in the memory is erase or deleted after we turn-off the computer. Yup that what happen if we turn off the computer then the data stored in the memory is erase. But the data in the hard drive is not even if we turn the computer of that information or data is still stored there. That why there is permanent and temporary storage of data. To be continued………

What is a Computer Motherboard Really Part 2?

Computer 101: Automated USB Virus Scanner

Virus sources comes in many form, one major sources of virus that infect your computer, laptop or tablet is through the use of  Universal Serial Bus based drive or commonly called flash drive, flash disk among other terms used to describe a small rectangular stick of a memory house in plastic or metal that be used to plug in to almost any computer related devices. There are two reasons why the flash drive has become very useful in today activity. One it is very small and since it is small it is very easy to carry, it can be placed on almost any type of pocket in your jeans and bag or you could choose to it as a necklace around your neck as you move around. Another reason is that it can contain a lot of files like documents, mp3, video, and picture because of it's design capacity into it. From 1 gigabytes to 8 gigabytes or more, they sure come in handy. Also another that makes this device very attractive to use is it price. Depending on what currency your using almost all cost is very low compare to the benefits that it can bring.

Imagine carrying a thousand song in a very small device and that device can be plug-in to a player that automatically plays the song inside it without having to press any button or just pressing a single button for manual play. Now where do viruses come here? The very characteristic of the flash drive that can be plug in to all computers is the same usefulness that the virus uses to spread itself from computer to another computer. Let's say we have a clean flash drive and we plug it in on an infected computer without knowing that the computer is infected with a virus. It is then detected by the computer and is added to its system. Then once we transfer a file which is infected to the flash drive then we also create a scenario for that virus to infect our file once we activate the file that is infected. Another way of infecting a flash drive is as soon as the auto-run of the computer open the flash drive the virus immediately copies itself into the auto run files of the flash drive thereby spreading itself faster when we plug our infected flash drive into other computer or laptop. Remember not all anti-virus software can detect harmful scripts is a flash drive or from the internet. 

The best way to solve this problem is to install a USB port virus scanner. The function of this flash drive virus scanner it to scan automatically all flash being detected by the computer. If a computer has ten USB port it will be scan as soon as a flash drive has been detected on one of those USB port. USB virus scanner is very easy to install and requires small amount of memory to function. Once it is installed into the system of the computer it will always be active and on guard. We can verify this by expanding your task to see the icon of the installed USB port scanner. Remember folks this is an added layer protection for your main computer or laptop where we keep most of our original files and important documents. Together with the anti-virus installed in your computer the USB port scanner main task is to check every device that your attach to your computer especially flash drive. Having them installed is more safer than just relying on your trusted anti-virus software. We do not need to buy them there free USB port scanner available in the internet just search in the web to your favorite search engine and they appear instantaneously. Remember it better to safe than sorry.

How about you what do you think, care to share?

Computer 101: What is a Video Card?

A video card or video graphics adapter is a computer hardware device that processes all the things that can be seen via the monitor or LCD device. It processes all those binary information and output them through the monitor of LCD which the user can see. Back in the early days of the computer the video cards cannot completely process all those information that need to be seen by the user. The main processing is still done via the CPU or the Central Processing Unit of the computer. All the video could do is to output the data via the monitor and with the help of the bigger memory built in them it can make the output a lot nicer compare to a standard size memory amount of a built in video card.

In those early days most stand alone video card can have a memory capacity of 2, 4, 8, 16 and 32 megabytes of memory while the high end video card can have as much as 128 or 256 megabytes of memory. Also early types of video cards do not have a GPU or Graphics Processor Unit. This early GPU comes only with the high end type and since they have GPU, it has its own cooling fan attach on top of it.

The same is still true for today’s latest video card, most of them have those GPU for faster processing and they can also have a large amount of memory installed. This is the standard video of today they can have up to 1 gigabytes of memory. For high end graphics application such CAD/CAM processing and video rendering, CGI rendering and all other professional application the video has evolve in such a manner those they can be compare to a regular desktop computer in terms of pricing and characteristics. Objects that need to be manipulated and edited via software that requires the video card to let the editor see and work on the finer detail of the images, they can response faster and better to the application that uses them. They let the graphics editor or designer to see all the aspect of the image that they are working on.

Image via Wikipedia

High end video card has more power and characteristics to offer compare to conventional video cards that has a standard GPU and amount of memory installed in them. Another application of a high end video card is in gaming. People who plays games that uses heavy graphics processing needs high end video cards or else they would not be able to appreciate the game they are playing. There will be a lot of contortions and graphics folding and drag which would lead to hardware crashes because the hardware cannot handle the needed amount of graphics they the software is trying to feed it. LAN games which would require several computers link together would slow down because the video cards cannot cope up with the intense amount of bits being use by the software.

Image by marklinkphoto via Flickr

Okay which choosing the right video for your need make sure to read the box and information that pertains to that video card. Gone are the days that only large amount of memory and a GPU is the main requirement in buying a Video Card for your system. Remember every hardware in your computer must work together for you to have an enjoyable use of your computer. You may buy the very latest in this video card but if it will not cooperate with the rest of the hardware and software in your computer than that video card is called trash become it wasted money and time. So read and check all the information before your buy one for upgrade or replacement.

Computer 101: Three Features to Consider when Choosing a Smartphone.

When I got my first Smartphone in 2007, a N70 Music Edition I was a very happy fellow. I quickly explored it and tinkered with all the features it cold offered from downloading free app to taking picture and video with it camera and playing games with it, listening to music via the built in radio and stored music on it, I was having fun with it. Since then the smart phone has evolve so much that today model is far more fun than it was back then. I say fun because one can do a lot with today’s Smartphone than way back then although it is only four years have gone by.

Today I reach the point of thinking of getting a new Smartphone to replace my old phone, although my old phone is still working fine, I’m thinking of getting a new model so that I have the more than with it compare than the first time. More application to tinkered with, bigger and more pictures, video to shoot and a whole of other stuff to do and play. Now I have selected three general feature of a Smartphone that I would look for in buying a new model to replace my old one.

The first general feature that my new smart phone would have is a big memory. This should not be a problem for most new phone today because most of them come with a standard 8, 16 or 32 gigabytes of internal memory. Why is this choice, well it simply means the bigger the memory the more application I can put in it. More pictures and video to snap off without worrying it going to be full. Also more music to put in and listen to, from the 80’s, 90, and the present of course, we’ll probably more from the time when I was a teen or in my twenties. I love to listen to that music over and over again because they bring me back to a special time of my life. That music always evokes nostalgic moment. Simply put it, I need my new Smart Phone to have to have a bigger memory than the current standard size of capacity.

The next feature I would like my new smart phone is to have a five mega pixel and up lens camera. Why is this important, well I like to take pictures of my family, friends, event and places that I do not have the time to see again. To have that special moment clearly photograph and store for me to view them again and again. Also more important is the moving images that i always take on special occasion with my family.  Special occasion with my family is very important to me. I like to go back to that moment again and again thru those video.

The third and certainly not the least that my new smart phone should have is it should great whenever I play music with it, you see I love listening to music, music from my early teen days. Those old music has been a part of my life ever since and it would be very much fun for me to listen them over and over again is a very nice sounding way. The output sound of a device is one contributing factor on how music would be likened by a person who would listen to them. The better the sounding the smart phone when I play my favorite music on it the better. To some this may be trivial things but hey this is how I like my new smart phone to have.

Computer 101: The Random Access Memory (RAM)

Ever heard of the term RAM or Random Access Memory, If have used a computer then chances are you have heard of it.  How about the following, SIMM, DIMM, DDR and many others, well they may sound different but when we asked an ordinary person on the street, they won’t know what those terms will mean. Simple put it the SIMM, DIMM and DDR have something in common, they are all RAM.  Now what is RAM and how does it work? Well let’s put it this way, without the basic RAM or memory, your high tech devices will not work, those devices include, computers, laptop, phones, and the like that need a specific minimum amount of memory to function properly. The RAM or memory has one important feature that makes it very useful and has been adapted to all almost computer based devices. The size or the amount or space for the data that can be created on a small package.

Take a look at today’s latest Smartphone and gadget. Most of them have more RAM than high end gaming computer and to think that they smaller devices compare to a regular size computer. Most high end phone has 8, 16, or 32 Gig of expandable memory installed on them. The actual size of the memory package for these devices has become much smaller compare to a memory for a regular desktop computer.

Now how does a memory work, let’s take a regular desktop computer for example purposes. Let’s say that this computer has 1GIG of memory installed in it. Now this 1 gig of memory space may be compose of 2 or more memory module package just like in the fast or for new memory module package the 1 gig memory amount is now contained within a single memory module or package. Who uses the memory amount inside a computer? Well there are a lot of users who need the memory for them to work properly. All computer software needs the space provided by the memory to work properly. Computer software includes the Operating system and the Application program.

The operating system like windows, MAC or any other OS is the first to use the memory space available to it. In pact it manages the memory space available so that not one application program has the monopoly of using the memory space. The operating system warns the user if the available memory is not enough for multiple programs being run simultaneously by the user. It’s like this, if the memory is near capacity a warning will be given and additional program will no longer be permitted to work. The OS will ask the user to close program not being use to make way for other program to use the memory resources vacated by the previously closed program.

To cope with this problem, the most common solution is add more memory module to increase the  amount space available in a particular computer so from 1 gig it can be expanded to 4 gig maximum for 32 bit system. Wait a minute what is that? Yes there is a limit to how many can be added to a regular computer notice the maximum slot available for most computer in the 32 bit architecture is 2 up to 4 slots per motherboard. This was by design way back when it was costly to produce a memory module. They design it thinking the limit for the 32 bit architecture will not be reach yet. But since the computer technology development and evolution is very fast, the 64 bit which is use initially for big business is being push for use on the regular market.

Now let’s go back to the memory, there’s a saying the bigger memory the better yes this is true, but this will also cost a lot. The more memory a computer has the more the number of program it can use simultaneously. And for single program user the more memory the faster the program will run and work for you. Example of this when playing your favorites games, or watching a movie on your computer, or listening to music while typing a document, or using editing software that requires a lot memory to work fast and effectively. In the end it’s all about what you require will determine how much memory amount you will need to satisfy that requirements.

Computer 101: Parts that Affects the Over-All Computer System Performance. Part-2

Another part that directly affects the over-all performance of the computer is the amount of memory installed in relation with the software requirement of the user. For most standard computer the minimum amount installed should be 2 Gigabytes but this is only for standard user. This amount of memory my vary depending on the software requirements of the user. For any professional user that uses software intensive application then it should be more than 4 gigabytes. Another type or requirements is for the gaming industry. Games that needs vast amount of memory should have more memory preferred for it. The more memory there is available for the software the better. Remember the Operating system like MS Windows or MAC OS first and foremost is the first who uses this memory to function properly.

Each of this Operating System software requires each minimum memory requirements to function properly. All software requires being loaded into the memory to before being able to function normally. To verify the amount of memory installed into your computer, use the DXDIAGNOSTIC Tool or just check the system information of your computer via the control panel or by accessing the properties of the my computer and viewing the system information.

Another parts that contribute to the overall performance of the computer is the bus speed of the motherboard and the seek time of the hard disk. For the seek time I have already mentioned this on the older post on this blog. For the system bus it is where the data travel from one component to another during the processing of information. It all starts from the input to the processing to the output. The bus is like a road or system of road wherein the data is the put into a carrying signal that acts like a vehicle the data is the person going from one place to another. In order for them to reach its intended destination they must use the road or system bus. Wider system bus or more data it can handle in a given cycle the faster the information is process the better. Simply put it if a slow bus rate is use to transfer huge amount of data for each given time then you have a slow processing function and a slow output even if you have a fast processor, large amount of memory and fast hard drive. The same is true with all the other aspects they must be all fast in order to complement each other for the over-all performance of your computer.