Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E4500 (2.20GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB)
1GB DDR2-800 SDRAM Memory
250GB SATA, 7,200 RPM 1.5Gb/s Hard Drive
NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT
Many people looking at the information above would probably have trouble understanding what it all means. Buying a computer can be a daunting task. Especially if you are not sure what it is that you are buying. Plenty of people go online or to a store and purchase a PC and trust a salesperson or choose a computer without knowing what each component means. You wouldn’t trust a dealership or a salesperson to pick out your car for you. You wouldn’t buy a car without knowing simple facts like the horsepower, transmission, interior, miles per gallon, etc. A general knowledge of the components of a PC is essential when investing hundreds or thousands of dollars into a new PC.
I will help decode the computer specifications listed above, and give details about the major components of a PC. First I will describe the function of the component, then I will explain the speed/capacity ratings for each component, and finally I will clarify what the component means for you.
Processor – The processor, or CPU (Central Processing Unit), is the brain of the computer. All operating systems and applications depend on the CPU to process data for them. This means that a more powerful CPU can allow a computer to run faster. Here is a list of processor you may see:
Intel® Core™ 2 Quad Q6600 (2.4GHz, 8MB L2 Cache, 1066 MHz FSB)
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E4500 (2.20GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB)
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7250 (2.00GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB)
AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 6000+ (3.00 GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 800 MHz FSB)
Let’s dissect these descriptions of processors. Intel and AMD are the two main competing manufacturers of processors. Core™ 2 Duo and X2 both mean that there are two cores, whereas Core™ 2 Quad means that there are four cores. The Intel processors currently use the letter Q for desktop quad core, E for desktop dual core, and T for laptop dual core. 6600, 4500, 7250, and 6000+ are processor numbers given by the manufacturer, and are not necessarily indicative of the actual speed. Finally in parenthesis are the clock speed, amount of cache, and front side bus speed. Confused yet? Even a seasoned computer technician can find this all overwhelming and confusing.
Let’s make it a lot easier. It is difficult to compare these CPUs, because one is a quad core, one is designed for a laptop, and the 2 desktop dual core models are from different manufacturers. Which processor is faster? That is a difficult question to answer without testing the processors side by side. A benchmark is a series of standard tests that are run on a CPU and measure its performance in those tests. CPUBenchmark.net has benchmark averages for hundreds of CPU and offers a more accurate (though not perfect) gauge of a processors power compared to other processors. A fast CPU can make all the difference in speed, but the CPU is not the only component that determines how fast or efficient your computer will run.
Memory – Memory, also known as RAM (Random Access Memory), provides temporary storage for data and applications. All running application use a certain amount of memory (even when they are running in the background), and this can vary depending on what the application is doing. Let’s take a look at some RAM specifications:
1GB DDR2-800 SDRAM Memory, ECC
2GB PC2-6400 DDR2 SDRAM
3GB Dual Channel DDR2-800MHz, NON-ECC
4GB DDR3 SDRAM 1067MHz
Memory is a lot easier to understand, because the speed and type of memory does not vary between manufacturers. 1GB means that there is 1 Gigabyte of storage in the memory, while 4 GB offers 4 times as much storage in memory. DDR2 SDRAM and DDR3 SDRAM are the type of memory. DDR3 is faster, but DDR2 is currently the standard, because DDR3 is still very expensive. The 667, 800, 1067MHz is the transfer rate…the higher the number the faster the memory moves data. In order to translate PC2-6400 to MHz all you have to do is divide by 8…6400/8 = 800Mhz. ECC, or error correcting code, can correct errors in memory, but is not essential. Finally, dual channel means that the memory can be accessed with double the speed.
The most important factor here is the size of the memory. More memory prevents swapping (using the hard drive as additional memory, extremely slows down a PC), allows multiple applications to run together, and ensures that you can meet the minimum requirements for applications. All the other information is pertinent to the speed of the RAM, and once again more is better. Faster memory means a faster overall PC.
Hard Drive – The hard drive is where the operating system, application, and files are stored. More hard drive space means you can store more applications and files.
250GB SATA, 7,200 RPM 1.5Gb/s Hard Drive
160GB SATA, 10,000 RPM 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
80G 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
Once again the number before the GB tells you how much you can store on the hard drive. SATA is the current standard for hard drives, while the 1.5 or 3Gb/s are also standard transfer speeds describe that how fast it can transfer data. Faster RPM means that hard drive can access data faster. Laptops have physically smaller hard drives that are offered in smaller sizes and lower RPMs.
A larger hard drive is preferable if you are planning to fill it with applications, music, video, games, and other data. Faster transfer speeds and higher RPM drives means a faster hard drive, but more RPM comes at an extra cost and smaller hard drive sizes.
Video Card – Video cards, or graphics cards, handle the visual output to a monitor. They are essential to run intensive video editing, 3D applications, and gaming. Graphics cards have their own separate processor that can render 3D graphics. Casual users generally can care less about the graphics card, but hardcore gamers will want the latest and greatest video cards. Let’s take a look at some graphics card examples:
ATI Radeon 3800
ATI Radeon 2400
NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX
NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT
ATI and NVIDIA are the two main companies that make graphics cards. Many graphics cards are built into the main board and are more than sufficient for most people. Radeon is a chipset used by ATI and GeForce is a chipset used by NVIDIA. The numbers are not comparable between the manufacturers. NVIDIA and ATI generally use the first number to represent the generation and the last 3 to describe the performance of the card. Therefore, the Geforce 9800 is 9th generation and the enthusiast high performance model, and the 8600 is 8th generation performance model. 8800s can outperform 9600s, so the generation is not the only number that matters. ATI uses lower numbers, but the new numbering scheme is much like NVIDIA. The first number is the generation last 3 denote performance…800+ = high-end, 600+ = performance, and below 600 is budget.
http://ati.amd.com/products/index.html
http://www.nvidia.com/object/geforce_family.html
Conclusion
These four components of a computer are the main factors that determine the speed of computer. It is important that if you plan on playing a certain game or use a certain piece of software that you make sure that the recommended requirements of that application are met by the computer you are buying. Here is a list of system requirements for Windows Vista for example: Vista System Requirements. Many applications are now more demanding (especially games). Remember that in order to get more performance you have to pay more money. At a certain point extra performance is not worth the money if you are on a budget. Paying a little extra for more hard drive space or more RAM is almost always worth it. Extremely high-end processors and video cards should be only for the serious gamer or seriously demanding applications.
Tags: AMD, ATI, Benchmark, Computer Specifications, CPU, GeForce, Hard Drive, Intel, Memory, NVIDIA, Processor, Radeon, SATA, Vista
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