ETHERNET CABLE

Ethernet cable, a CAT5 or Category 5 is a description of network cabling that consists of four twisted pairs of copper wire terminated by an RJ-45 connector. Cat5 has a maximum length of 100m, exceeding this length without the aid of bridge or other network device could cause network issues. The picture shows an example of what a CAT5 cable may look like with the connector, as well as the other end of the cable with each of the wires it contains.

NETWORK

A network is a collection of computers, servers, mainframes, network devices, peripherals, or other devices connected to one another to allow the sharing of data. A excellent example of a network is the Internet, which connects millions of people all over the world. Below is an example image of a home network with multiple computers and other network devices all connected to each other and the Internet.

MICROSOFT OFFICE

Office or Microsoft Office is a collection or package of software programs developed and published by Microsoft. Office is used in the business and educational environments, for creating word processing documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. Although this collection is referred to as Office, it is more appropriate to include the version of Office, like Office 2003 or Office 2010.

DUAL BOOT

Dual-boot is a term used to describe a computer that utilizes two operating systems. For example, with a dual-boot you could have Windows 8 and Mac OS X on the same machine. The concept of installing more than two operating systems is referred to as a multi-boot. Some examples of software that assist with a dual-boot include Acronis Disk Director for Windows, Apple boot camp for Mac, and GRUB for Linux users. These programs allow users to pick which operating system they want to load as the computer is starting up

UBUNTU(linux) and WINDOW

Just like Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows 8, and Mac OS X, Linux is an operating system. An operating system is software that manages all of the hardware resources associated with your desktop or laptop. To put it simply – the operating system manages the communication between your software and your hardware. Without the operating system (often referred to as the “OS”), the software wouldn’t function.

Wednesday 12 April 2017

Computer - How to Buy?

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Computer - How to Buy?


This chapter gives the following information:
  • In this guide, we'll help you to buy a desktop on component by component basis.

  • As desktops are highly customizable, so it is better to learn about main parts and then go to manufacturer or retailer shop or site instead of looking at some specific model directly.

  • Popular desktop brands are Dell, Lenovo, HP and Apple.

  • Compare the desktops based on their specifications and base price.
Desktop

Monitor

  • Size - It is the diagonal size of the LCD screen. Larger the area, bigger the picture screen. A bigger picture is preferable for movie watching and gaming. It will increase productivity as well.

  • Resolution - This is the number of pixels on the screen. For example, 24-inch display is 1920x1200 (width by length) and 22-inch display which is 1680x1050. High resolution provides better picture quality and a nice gaming experience.

  • Inputs - Now-a-days monitors can accept inputs from cable as well apart from computer. They also can have USB ports.

  • Stand - Some monitors come with adjustable stands while some may not.

  • Recommended - 24 Inch LCD.
Flat Monitor

Operating System

  • Operating System is the main software of the computer as everything will run on it in one form or other.
  • There are primarily three choices : Windows, Linux, Apple OS X.
  • Linux is free but people generally do not use it for home purpose.

  • Apple OS X works only on Apple Desktops.

  • Windows 7 is very popular among desktop users.
  • Most of the computers come pre-equipped with Windows 7 Starter edition.
  • Windows 8 is recently introduced and is available in market.

  • Windows 7 and Windows 8 come in multiple versions from starter, home basic, home premium, professional, ultimate and enterprise editions.
  • As edition version increases, their features list and price increases.
  • Recommended - Windows 7 Home Premium.

Optical Drive (CD / DVD / Blu-ray)

  • Optical drive is the drive on a computer which is responsible for using CD, DVD and Blu-ray discs.

  • Now-a-days, DVD burners are industry standards.

  • DVD Burner can burn CD, DVD and play them.

  • DVD Burner is cheaper than Blu-ray drives.

  • Blu-ray drives can play HD movies but are costlier component.

  • Recommended - DVD Burner.
DVD Drive

Memory

  • RAM is considered as Computer Memory as performance of a computer is directly proportional to its memory and processor.
  • Today's software and operating system require high memory.
  • Today commonly used RAM is DDR3 which operates at 1066Mhz
  • As per Windows 7, 1 GB is the minimum RAM required to function properly.
  • Recommended - 4 GB.
Primary Memory

Hard Drive

  • Hard disk is used for storage purpose. Higher the capacity, more data you can save in it.
  • Now-a-days computers are equipped with 500GB hard drive which can be extended to 2TB.
  • Most hard drives in desktop operate at the standard performance speed of 7200RPM.
  • Recommended - 500GB.
Secondary Memory

CPU

  • Frequency (GHz) - This determines speed of the processor. More the speed, better the CPU.

  • Cores - Now-a-days CPUs come with more than one core, which is like having more than one CPU in the computer. Programs which can take advantage of multi-core environment will run faster on such machines.

  • Brand - Intel or AMD. Both are equivalent. Intel is in lead.

  • Cache - Higher the L1, L2 cache, better the CPU performance

  • Recommended - Intel Core i3 i3-3225 3.30 GHz Processor.
CPU

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Computer - Motherboard

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Computer - Motherboard


The motherboard serves as a single platform to connect all of the parts of a computer together. A motherboard connects CPU, memory, hard drives, optical drives, video card, sound card, and other ports and expansion cards directly or via cables. It can be considered as the backbone of a computer.
Mother Board

Features of Motherboard

A motherboard comes with following features:
  • Motherboard varies greatly in supporting various types of components.

  • Normally a motherboard supports a single type of CPU and few types of memories.
  • Video Cards, Hard disks, Sound Cards have to be compatible with motherboard to function properly

  • Motherboards, cases and power supplies must be compatible to work properly together.

Popular Manufacturers

  • Intel

  • ASUS

  • AOpen

  • ABIT

  • Biostar

  • Gigabyte

  • MSI

Description of Motherboard

The motherboard is mounted inside the case and is securely attached via small screws through pre-drilled holes. Motherboard contains ports to connect all of the internal components. It provides a single socket for CPU whereas for memory, normally one or more slots are available. Motherboards provide ports to attach floppy drive, hard drive, and optical drives via ribbon cables. Motherboard carries fans and a special port designed for power supply.
There is a peripheral card slot in front of the motherboard using which video cards, sound cards and other expansion cards can be connected to motherboard.
On the left side, motherboards carry a number of ports to connect monitor, printer, mouse, keyboard, speaker, and network cables. Motherboards also provide USB ports which allow compatible devices to be connected in plug-in/plug-out fashion for example, pen drive, digital cameras etc.
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Computer - CPU(Central Processing Unit)

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Computer - CPU(Central Processing Unit)


CPU consists of the following features:
  • CPU is considered as the brain of the computer.

  • CPU performs all types of data processing operations.

  • It stores data, intermediate results and instructions(program).

  • It controls the operation of all parts of computer.
CPU
CPU itself has following three components.
  • Memory or Storage Unit

  • Control Unit

  • ALU(Arithmetic Logic Unit)
Computer Architectures

Memory or Storage Unit

This unit can store instructions, data and intermediate results. This unit supplies information to the other units of the computer when needed. It is also known as internal storage unit or main memory or primary storage or Random access memory(RAM).
Its size affects speed, power and capability. Primary memory and secondary memory are two types of memories in the computer. Functions of memory unit are:
  • It stores all the data and the instructions required for processing.

  • It stores intermediate results of processing.

  • It stores final results of processing before these results are released to an output device.

  • All inputs and outputs are transmitted through main memory.

Control Unit

This unit controls the operations of all parts of computer but does not carry out any actual data processing operations.
Functions of this unit are:
  • It is responsible for controlling the transfer of data and instructions among other units of a computer.

  • It manages and coordinates all the units of the computer.

  • It obtains the instructions from the memory, interprets them, and directs the operation of the computer.

  • It communicates with Input/Output devices for transfer of data or results from storage.

  • It does not process or store data.

ALU(Arithmetic Logic Unit)

This unit consists of two subsections namely
  • Arithmetic section
  • Logic Section

Arithmetic Section

Function of arithmetic section is to perform arithmetic operations like addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. All complex operations are done by making repetitive use of above operations.

Logic Section

Function of logic section is to perform logic operations such as comparing, selecting, matching and merging of data.
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