There are so many different computer components out there today, and the market for computers moves at an extremely fast rate. You may be a computer expert or a first time user. Either way it doesn't matter, there will most likely always be something to do with computers that you are unsure about. This page provides some basic information about computer components.

Antivirus

Keyboard

Operating System

Case

Memory

Printer

CD Writer

Memory Card Reader

Processor

DVD ROM

Modem

PSU

DVD Writer

Monitor

Sound Card

Firewire

Motherboard

Speakers

Floppy Disk Drive

Mouse

TV Card

Graphics card

Network Card

USB Card

Hard Disk

Office Software

Warranty

Processor

The processor/CPU (Central Processing Unit) is the brain of your computer. The CPU is a piece of etched silicon that does some very powerful things. It co-ordinates the real work of your computer, telling all the peripheral devices what to do and how to act. The speed of a processor works in megahertz (MHz). One thousand megahertz is equal to one gigahertz (GHz). Therefore a 3.2ghz Intel processor will run at 3200mhz.
Many people believe that the faster the processor, the faster the PC will be. When choosing your processor speed, rather than throwing all your eggs in one basket and spending your budget straight away, choose a more balanced system:

Example 1: Intel Pentium 4 3.0ghz with 512mb DDR memory and a well balanced motherboard.
Example 2:Intel Pentium 4 2.6ghz with 1024mb DDR memory and a well balanced motherboard.

Which computer will be faster? For gaming or demanding use we would go for example number 2. It may work out to be a cheaper option, but having double the amount of RAM will allow for more programs to be open at once, better stability for gaming and a more responsive computer.

What is the difference between AMD and Intel? Which processor route should I choose?

The answer - there is no real answer. Each processor available has its advantages and disadvantages. We can only offer you our advice, in which we will try our best not to include any bias.

Firstly, you have to decide whether you are looking for a performance computer, a basic computer for general use, or an extremely powerful computer.

I want a performance computer
I want a basic computer
I want an extremely powerful computer

I want a performance computer.

You have two options - an Intel Pentium or AMD Athlon 64.

Intel Pentium processors have a higher clock speed than Athlon 64 processors. They also have a large cache and they make use of a technology called Hyper Threading Technology. This generally means that Intel Pentium processors are very good at number crunching, encoding videos and all round multi-tasking. The type of customer (based on our own findings) who generally chooses and Intel Pentium processor will be looking for a computer for video editing, photo editing and number crunching tasks.

AMD Athlon 64 processors have a slightly lower clock speed than Intel processors. They have a large cache and make use of Hyper Transport Technology. The type of customer (based on our own findings) who generally chooses and AMD Athlon64 processor will be looking for a computer for gaming, movies and home entertainment.

Nevertheless, both processors will perform all the tasks mentioned here to a very competitive extent. You will find that the more people you ask about processors, the more confused you will become. This is because you will hear so many different conflicting stories as to which processor to choose. The only real way to decide which processor is best for your needs would be to search the internet yourself for reviews on the processors around your subject area. For example, if you want to play Doom 3 on your computer, search for processor reviews on Doom 3.

I want a basic computer.

You have two options - an Intel Celeron or AMD Sempron.

An Intel Celeron Processor will have a higher clockspeed than an AMD Sempron processor and a large Front Side Bus. The type of customer who generally chooses an Intel Celeron processor (based on our own findings) will be looking for a computer for internet usage, emails, office and light gaming.

An AMD Sempron processor has a low clockspeed compared to the Intel Celeron processor and a smaller cache. However, these two processors perform very closely to each other. Have a look at this review here. The type of customer who generally chooses an AMD Sempron processor (based on our own findings) will be looking for a computer for internet usage, emails, light gaming and light photo editing.

I want an extremely powerful computer.

You have two options - an Intel Pentium Extreme Edition or an AMD Athlon 64 FX.

An Intel Pentium Extreme Edition processor has a fast clockspeed, a "super-sized" Front Side Bus, and Hyper Threading technology. This processor will be bale to handle anything you throw at it. The type of customer who generally chooses an Intel Pentium Extreme Edition processor will be an extreme gamer or professional business man/woman, looking for a computer to aid his/her business, which is usually in video or imagery.

An AMD Athlon 64 FX processor has a slower clockspeed than an Intel Pentium Extreme Edition processor, but a "super-sized" cache and Hyper Transport technology. The type of customer who generally chooses and AMD Athlon 64 FX processor is an extreme gaming enthusiast.

Needless to say, both these processors will perform every task with ease, and we can not pick out one processor over the other.

Memory (RAM):

RAM (Random Access Memory) is vital to a computer system. The more RAM your computer has, the more information that can be processed simultaneously.
All your programs, games and applications that are currently in use are stored in your RAM, and so the more RAM you have inside your computer, the more applications you can run.

But how should you determine your RAM requirements? As time passes by applications are getting more powerful, which usually means that they will require more RAM. In order to work out your RAM requirements we recommend that you gather all of your applications together and check their minimum RAM requirements. Then simply make sure you purchase enough to cover everything - and don't forget to give yourself a bit extra to make your computer future-proof as well!

Besides the amount of memory you can have in a computer, you can also have faster memory in a computer. DDR memory currently ranges from PC2100 (266mhz) to over 500mhz.

Motherboard:

The motherboard, like it suggest in its name, is the mother of all boards in a computer. Just about every component in a computer system will somehow connect to the motherboard. It is therefore important to make sure that your computer has a powerful and reliable motherboard. Motherboards have several features built into them, which include controllers, chips, buses and so on. We have included a few definitions of individual parts of a motherboard to help you along your way:

PCI PORTS
Motherboards have a number of PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) ports . You put items such as the modem, network card, USB card, TV card etc into these ports.

USB PORTS
USB (Universal Serial Bus) ports are ports on your computer that allow you to connect peripherals such as the printer, scanner, webcam, external cable modem, mobile phone, portable hard disk and much more to your computer quickly and fast. It is therefore recommended to have a large amount of USB ports so in the future you can add components quickly and easily.

AGP PORT
An AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) port is where you connect your graphics card to. An 8x AGP port is the fastest currently available.

ATA
ATA (Advanced Technology Attachment) is a disk drive implementation that integrates the controller on the disk drive itself. There are mainly 3 tiers to this: ATA 60, ATA 100, and ATA 133. Basically an ATA hard drive will talk to the rest of your computer via an ATA cable which connects to your motherboard. Most computer these days have 4 IDE ports via 2 IDE channels which connect via the ATA interface.

IDE PORT
An IDE port is what you would connect your optical drives, or hard drives to. Each IDE cable has 2 connectors for connecting a device.

SERIAL ATA (SATA) (Serial - Advanced Technology Attachment)
SATA is a serial interface. The speed of the interface for the current phase is ATA 150, ultimately being envisioned to rise to 600 megabytes/sec (ATA 600). Existing ATA drives use a 64 bit wide bus to communicate with the IDE drive. To do so requires a wide, flexible ribbon cable. One of the main problems with the ribbon cable is that, with multiple disk drives (HDD's, CD, and DVD), the Ribbon cables begin to block the airflow through the chassis, impeding cooling. SATA solves this problem by replacing the ribbon cables with thin cables containing two differential cable pairs. In addition, SATA promises a higher speed interface for the future. Another reason for the SATA is that it reduces the number of traces on the motherboard as the connector has significantly fewer pins than the parallel ATA. With Serial-ATA there is no master/slave configuration, and therefore you can easily and hassle free add or remove hard drives. Additionally, with a Serial ATA card you can add additional hard drives. This breaks the barrier of only being able to add 4 IDE devices with parallel ATA. You could, if you needed the storage, have say 4 hard drives as well as a CD writer, DVD writer and DVD ROM.

FSB
FSB stands for Front Side Bus:- The speed of the front-side bus is the basic clock speed of the motherboard. Many system components, for example the processor, the PCI and AGP buses, all run at speeds derived from the front-side bus speed. In general, a faster front-side bus means you will have higher processing speeds.

HYPER THREADING TECHNOLOGY
Hyper threading technology brings increased performance to computer users in two ways: using multithreaded software or using software in a multitasking environment. Software applications that have been written to use multiple pieces of code called “threads” view the Pentium 4 processors with HT Technology as two processors. HT Technology allows the processor to work on two separate threads at the same time rather than one at a time. In addition, applications can benefit in a multitasking environment - operating two or more different software programs at the same time when run under operating systems such as Windows XP. Both ways add up to extra performance and less waiting for the computer user.

PARALLEL PORT:
 

This is the port for connecting older printers to so that you don't have to buy a new printer when upgrading your pc.

PS/2:
This is simply a connector for the keyboard and mouse.

USB Card:
On our system builder you can choose to have a USB card in addition to the USB ports provided with the motherboard. This will make your computer more future-proof for expanding using USB devices and allow you to connect more devices at once. You can also choose to have a USB HUB, which basically plugs into one of your existing USB ports on your computer, and creates 3 additional ports (4 in total). You could have a USB HUB sat on your desk which will allow you to quickly connect USB devices without having to connect them to the unit itself.

Hard Disk
The hard drive is where all the information on your computer is stored. To decide what size hard drive you will need, you need to consider that for example an 80GB hard drive is 81,920 megabytes. Confused? Data in volume is called bytes:

1,024 Byte = 1 Kilobyte (KB)
1,024 Kilobyte (KB) = 1 Megabyte (MB)
1,073,741,824 Bytes = 1 Gigabyte (GB)
1 Gigabyte (GB) = 1,024 Megabyte (MB)

To safely install Windows XP on your computer you need approximately 5 gigabytes of space. A massive computer game may take up 1 gigabyte of space, but usually games only take up a few hundred megabytes.
Most programs range from 5 to 500 megabytes, and therefore the average computer user will struggle to use up 80gigabytes of hard drive space. However, if you download movie clips, music and install lots of games, and you may find you will need a 120gb or larger hard drive to cope with everything.

RPM
RPM (Revolutions Per Minute) is the speed that your hard drive rotates. The more revolutions per minute a hard drive rotates, the more data it can copy/move within the given period of time. A 7200rpm hard drive can copy/move data faster than a 5400rpm hard drive.

RAID
A dictionary definition: What is RAID? - RAID "(Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks) is a method whereby information is spread across several disks, using techniques such as disk striping (RAID Level 0) and disk mirroring (RAID level 1) to achieve redundancy, lower latency and/or higher bandwidth for reading and/or writing, and data recoverability."

RAID 0: Striping
RAID level 0 refers to striping data across multiple disks without any redundant information.
Striping can be used to enhance performance in either a request rate intensive or transfer rate intensive environment. Unfortunately. striping reduces the level of data availability since a disk failure will cause the entire array to be inaccessible.

Advantages:  High performance   No cost penalty - all storage is usable
 
Disadvantages:  Significantly reduced data availability - all data is lost if one hard drive fails.

RAID 1: Shadowing/Mirroring/Duplexing
RAID level 1 refers to maintaining duplicate sets of all data on separate disk drives. Of the RAID levels, level 1 provides the highest data availability since two complete copies of all information are maintained. If one of your hard drives fail, you will have an exact copy of all your data on your other hard drive, meaning that you can carry on working as normal without having to restore lost files. You could see it as having a permanent automatic back-up of all your data. Even if one hard drive fails, you can then use the other hard drive to create a new RAID array and so in theory (unless you have an electrical surge, or both hard drives fail simultaneously) you can never be caught out when you turn on your computer one day to find that your hard drive has failed, because you always have a backup.

Advantages:   Excellent data availability  Higher read performance than a single disk

Disadvantages: Expensive - requires two hard drives (if you order 2 x 160Gb, you will only have 160GB total storage space and not 320GB)

Summary
RAID 0 requires two hard drives. Data is written to both hard drives (part of the data on one hard drive, and part of the data on the other) to give faster write times and also faster read times. Hard drives act as one drive - e.g. one large 320GB hard drive consisting of 2 x 160GB hard drives. However, if one hard drive fails, the array will be broken and all data will be lost.

RAID 1 requires two hard drives. Data is written to both hard drives simultaneously (files are written in full to each hard drive) and therefore you will have an automatic back-up should your hard drive ever fail. However, this security comes at a cost - two hard drives are required and you can only fill one hard drive, (as the other will be automatically filled as you go along) but for some people the added security is well worth the extra cost.

CD Writer/CD ROM:
A CD Writer/CD ROM is an optical drive which allows you to read, write and re-write data onto a compact disc. For example if the speed of a CD Writer is 52 x 32 x 52 this means that you can read CD's at 52 speed, re-write CD's at 32 speed and write CD's at 52 speed.
 

There are also CD Writer/DVD ROM combo drives available which are basically as above, but with a built in DVD ROM also
 

DVD ROM/CD ROM:
A DVD ROM/CD ROM is an optical drive which allows you to read both CD's and DVD's. If you do not have a DVD drive in your computer you will not be able to watch DVD movies, or read DVD's.
 

DVD Writer:
A DVD Writer is basically a drive that can do everything. A DVD writer can read DVD's, write DVD's and re-write DVD's. It can also read CD's, write CD's and re-write CD's. It is still recommended to have another optical drive though, as you can then copy discs easily and quickly.
 

Graphics Card:
A graphics card is vital to a computer. Although most people know what the purpose of a graphics card is, you can still easily get caught out when choosing the right graphics card for your system. Not only do you need to look our for a graphics card with a decent amount of memory  but you also need to look for a graphics card with a powerful GPU (graphics processing unit). Just like when you are looking for a new computer, you will be looking for a powerful processor and a large amount of RAM, you need to look for a graphics card with a powerful processor and a large amount of RAM. For example:

• 256mb RADEON 9200

• 128mb RADEON 9800

• 256mb RADEON 9800 PRO

Which is best? The RADEON 9800 PRO is the best, followed by the 9800 and then the 9200. Even though the RADEON 9800 only has half the memory of the RADEON 9200, the GPU on the 9800 is much more powerful, and in a gaming experience the game will be more realistic and more responsive. It will be a totally different experience

DVI
DVI (Digital video Interface) is a digital connector for a digital monitor - the future of all monitors eventually. A graphics card with DVI enables users to choose whether they want to connect a normal monitor to it, or a digital monitor through the DVI connector. It is especially good for the latest digital TFT monitors.

TV-OUT
The TV Out feature provides an alternative display device besides your normal CRT/TFT monitor. Since a TV Set usually has a larger screen and lower resolution, the display on the TV Set is best suited for business presentation or games requiring a low resolution.

Sound Card:
In order for your computer to produce sound, it will need to have a sound card/sound device installed. The onboard sound is usually enough for most computer users, but if you are:

• a serious gamer

• a musician

• a music/film editor

• a serious music lover

• someone who already has surround speakers

it might be worthwhile purchasing a creative soundcard. Otherwise, you will probably be fine with the onboard sound, in that you will not notice a difference in sound quality.

Modem:

In order to connect to the internet, 99% of people either connect via a 56k modem, ADSL modem, or cable modem. If you are unsure of how you connect to the internet look at the computer you are on now, did you have to dial up to connect via your telephone line? If the answer is yes you will most likely connect via a 56k modem and you will need a modem in your new computer. Otherwise you will probably not need a modem in your new computer.

Network Card:

A network card (usually onboard) allows you to do the following (and more...) :

• Network a computer

• Connect to the internet via broadband

• Connect a laptop or other device to a computer

All our computers come with this facility and there is no extra charge for this as this facility is onboard.

WIRELESS NETWORKING

Wireless networking is now available on all our computer systems. To allow you to use your computer in a wireless environment, you will need to ensure that you select a wireless network card in your new computer. The wireless network card will allow you to search out wireless networks available to you and connect to these. All this can be configured using your operating system or by using the software provided.

Setting up a wireless network connection

It is very easy to set up a wireless network in your home, but how successful your wireless network is depends on several factors:
 

Floppy Disk Drive:

A floppy disk drive allows for the usage of the continuingly obsolete 1.44mb floppy disks. We are still shipping all our computers with floppy drives as they still have many uses. All our computers must come with a floppy drive.

Case:

The computer case is an important part of any computer. You will have to ensure that your case can fit all your hardware in (we will do that for you don't worry) and also that it will allow for sufficient cooling of your hardware (again we will do that for you).

Memory Card reader:

A memory card reader is a device that allows you to connect flash memory and other such memory to a computer for fast access and modification. If you have a digital camera you may wish to purchase a memory card reader to transfer your photos quickly and without having to use a program to do so.

Power Supply (PSU):

A PSU is the Power Supply Unit for your computer. The average PSU nowadays ranges from 350W up to and above 600W. If you are ordering a powerful computer, for example a processor of 3.2ghz or above, we seriously recommend you choose a silent power supply unit with advanced CPU cooling fan. They may add a small amount to you order, but it will make your computer super quiet instead of fairly noisy.

Each component in your computer uses a proportion of your power supply's power output capabilities. As a rough guide, the following components use:

As you can see, the minimum power supply you should have in a computer is approx. 350W from doing a little maths, but if you're willing to spend that bit extra, you can get a silent power supply with a silent cooling system. From what our customer say, once they go silent they never go back.

Operating System

• Windows XP Home

• Windows XP Pro

Windows XP Home and Windows XP Pro include Service Pack 2

99% of people will want Windows XP over Windows 2000.

What is the difference between Windows XP Home and Windows XP Pro? Click Here to find out...

Firewire: (also known as "IEEE" or "1394")

Firewire is a 1995 Macintosh/IBM PC serial bus interface standard offering high-speed communications. Firewire can transfer data between a computer and its peripherals at 400 Mbps.

It is most commonly used for camcorders, external hard drives, and networking and is faster than USB 2.0 over sustained throughput. If you don't currently use firewire it is most likely that you will not need to use it in the near future, but we will leave that decision down to you as to whether or not to purchase a firewire card. Basically, if you are planning on purchasing a firewire device you will need to purchase a firewire card.

Monitor:
We sell both CRT and TFT (flat panel) monitors.
A display screen made with TFT (thin-film transistor) technology is a liquid crystal display (LCD) monitor. A TFT monitor is only a few inches deep compared to a CRT monitor, which has a large behind area containing the tubes for the display.
 
Flat panel displays are revolutionising the way people look at their computers. Thin, light, space-saving, brighter, flicker-free, low power consumption, and better for the environment… these monitors are the wave of the future.
CRT monitors are better for gaming as they have a higher refresh rate. The fact that TFT monitors have a lower refresh rate can make then appear ghostly when viewing fast moving images. If you are a heavy gamer, choose a CRT monitor or 19 inch TFT monitor (has a higher refresh rate).

Keyboard:
We sell keyboards and keyboard and mouse combos where you get a matching keyboard and mouse. The Logitech Deluxe desktop is very professional, where as the cheaper combos are more value for money. Our internet keyboards have hotkeys, such as email, internet, and programmable buttons for quicker access of applications.

Mouse:
We sell various mice on our website, being optical mice, wireless mice, and standard ball mice:

• An optical mouse does not have a ball that can get clogged up and cause it to malfunction.

• A wireless mouse allows for the freedom of having no wires.

• A ball mouse offers value for money with nice ergonomics.

Speakers:

You can choose speakers to match your soundcard:

• 120W speakers for the onboard soundcard.

• 5.1 speakers for a SoundBlaster 5.1 soundcard.

• 7.1 speakers for a SoundBlaster Audigy 2 ZS 7.1 & Platinum Pro soundcard.

Printer:

Used for presenting the information you create using your computer. Either from Office applications or graphics applications. Print out Word documents, Excel Spreadsheets, Photos, Cards or posters.

Antivirus:

Office Software:
We sell various types of office software to complement your home or office computer:

Office 2003 Professional:
Includes :

• Word 2003

• Excel 2003

• Outlook 2003

• PowerPoint 2003

• Access 2003

• Publisher 2003

• Outlook 2003 with Business Contact Manager

Office 2003 Basic:
Includes :

• Word 2003

• Excel 2003

• Outlook 2003

Office 2003 Small Business Edition (SBE):
Includes :

• Word 2003

• Excel 2003

• Outlook 2003

• Publisher 2003

TV Card:
A TV Card allows you to receive television, radio and teletext through your computer (depending on which TV card you purchase). Therefore you can stay up to date and save space as you will not need a television in the room. You can enjoy live TV in a resizable window or full screen on your PC. In addition, you can even hook it up to your home video entertainment system through the additional AV and S-Video input.

Warranty:
We offer a standard return-to-base warranty which allows you to return the computer to us if it were to develop a fault.

We offer telephone support during normal working hours.

For further information and current prices, please contact Trevor Stanford on (01482) 325576 ext 118