What to look for when choosing Computer Hardware

Computer Hardware Overview

Computer hardware - Upgrading or building computers no longer need be the solely domain of the professional. I have been building computers now for at least ten years and it is easier now than ever before. Today's systems self configure better than those of old.

It is however important that before you start to build from all of the individual pieces of computer hardware, that you have an idea of the job and specification of each part so that it fulfils your requirements.

This section gives an over view of all of the computer hardware found inside the typical home computer. Links are provided to more in depth pages for each computer hardware item.

When planning a computer, a great place to start is with a good computer hardware supply outlet, and there is no easier way of doing this than on the internet. Take a tip from me and go to a site where you can easily view price and specification. The advantage here is that you will be looking at the current range of hardware available.

Buying all of your computer parts at the same time will help compatibility. Some times upgrading very old computers with new parts can be problematic.

Computer Case
The computer case is just a metal box and its job is to support all of your computer hardware. A case is normally supplied with a power supply unit (also known as a PSU) and as a minimum you require one capable of supplying around 300 watts of power. Today's faster processors and if you fit lots of expansion cards, warrants a large power supply.

The most common case that you are likely to come across when you build a computer of your own is an ATX case. They come in the desktop or tower format, desktop being the flat type that you can place your monitor on, and tower being the tall types that sit on the floor. There are very few desktop cases about, the market now being ruled by the tower case. Tower cases come in generally three sizes – mini, midi or maxi, ranging from tiny to very large. For the home computer the midi size case makes the most sense by not being over big but giving enough room for expansion. ATX refers to the physical layout and type of electrical interface used and as such an ATX computer motherboard will fit inside an ATX case. Also look out for a case that has a power supply approved by Intel and AMD.

A spin on the standard set up is the "Bare Bones System". This is a case with a built in motherboard and its design makes for a very small, stylish, powerful computer with certain restrictions on size and number of expansion cards supported. Be sure to take a look before you commit money to the project.

Click here for more on the computer case. What's inside and how the hardware fits.



Motherboard
The motherboard is the basis of the computer system and there are probably more varieties of these than anything else to do with your computer. This is the container for your computer hardware.

These days they can be purchased with on board everything - graphics, sound, modem and Ethernet adaptor just to name a few. Or if you prefer you can buy one without and populate it with graphics and sound cards of your choice.

There are a vast variety of motherboards but some have the reputation of giving faster performance for a given processor than others. It is well worth reading the computer monthly magazines to determine which motherboards are the best.

Your motherboard choice must be capable of supporting the processor that you intend using.

There are a lot of factors involved in choosing a motherboard. Click here to read more.



CPU/Processor
CPU or Central Processing Unit is the computer hardware heart of your computer system. It does all the calculations that make your computer work.

Currently they are available from two manufactures – Intel and AMD. Clocking speeds of the processors have reached beyond a staggering 3GHz.

What you need to be looking for, as a minimum, is a processor with a clock speed, or equivalent performance, in excess of 1.2 GHz (AMD processors are listed with an equivalent performance figure to Microsoft although they are clocked slower). My recommendation would be for a processor clocked at probably around 2 GHz or even slightly higher as the price drops.

Different types of processor come with different socket arrangements and need to match this as well as match the performance to the motherboard.

AMD or Intel. Athlon Durron Pentium Celeron - all are explained. Click here.



Computer Memory
Computer Memory is another extra of computer hardware that is plugged into the motherboard. This stores all data in current use and buffers data from the hard drive. When the processor needs its next bit of information (no pun intended), this is where it comes from.

There are many varieties of memory but the only two that need concern you are SDR and DDR. Guess what – the type of memory that you choose needs to match the motherboard.

The latest motherboards now support DDR computer memory. This is a whole lot faster, but again make sure that the clocking speed is also compatible with your motherboard.

The minimum amount of memory that a modern system should have is 128 Mb, but anything up to 512 Mb or more should be considered to enhance performance.

Read more on memory including RAMBUS. Click here.



Drives
Computer Drives are required to make the system usable. The hard drive is a fast mass storage device for data and your programs. As a capacity of 20 Mb is now probably the size of the smallest hard drives being made and I would certainly not settle for anything smaller than this and would myself be looking at one of 40 Mb capacity. Hard drives exceeding 100 Mb are now common place.

A floppy drive, although of ancient piece of computer hardware and of miniscule storage capacity, should still be installed in your system as drivers are still sometimes supplied on a floppy disc. The capacity of a floppy disc is a paltry 1.4 Mb. The other drives to consider are the optical CD/DVD readers or writers, and you will have to choose these bits of computer hardware dependent on what you intend doing with your machine. A good spec now is for a DVD ROM and a separate CDRW. That is a DVD reader and a separate CD re-writer.

Click here to read more about disk drives both optical and magnetic



Graphic and Sound Cards
The final piece of computer hardware required to make the base computer usable is a graphic card and sound card. These may well be available as part of the motherboard. However the best graphics cards and sound cards come in the form of expansion cards that plug into the motherboards PCI socket. For graphics cards the names ATI and Nvidia come to mind and for sound cards the Creative SoundBlaster range are probably the ones to go for. Click my links below to find out more about either graphics cards or sound cards.

The ins and outs of Graphic Cards. Click here.

The ins and outs of Sound Cards. Click here.



And Finally
That just about sums up the basic computer hardware that forms your computer. Into this you need to plug a monitor, mouse and keyboard to make a usable system. Click the links below to find out more.