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Switch2life asked:


WANT TO BUY A COMPUTER?

Having computer today is absolutely a necessity today for your office. Now a days computer allows you to operate your business from sitting at home. Thus saving your time spent in travel as well stress you go through. Or if you have kids then it becomes so much more important to buy a computer for you home. As kids today need as much knowledge and literacy in computer as possible for their brighter future or we can say for even their survival in cut throat competitive world.

Before starting on points to consider to buy a computer, I will like to say that there is every chance after buying a computer in month or so you will find that there are even faster and cheaper computers available in market. So just try and find fastest and best suitable machine with your budget. Because even if technology going to evolve everyday your computer not going to be a junk on table in one day.

Now when we start hunting for a computer, decide if you want to go with branded computer or assembled one. My suggestion will be assemble one as it will cheaper and you can select best components and assemble them together. Only negative point will be for servicing you have to contact different people for different components.

Configuration for computer:- (This will help you select your branded or assembled computer)

Processors (CPUs):

The CPU (Central Processing Unit) is the brain of your computer. In general, the faster the better. Processor speeds are measured in gigahertz (GHz), the fastest models available now is in the range of 4GHz, but this is for mean ******** machines. If you are in ******** animation, gaming industry you can go with it but it will be really expensive. For the basic everyday office or home use processors starting from 1.5 GHz, is good enough. Then you have to make choice between Intel core duo or AMD core duo. General assumption if you want to play games on your machines then AMD processors serves the purpose better. Or Intel is common in use and will be cheaper option than the AMD processor.

Memory (RAM):

Most computers now use a type of memory called DDR2. Some high performance one might use DDR3, but this is quite expensive. Avoid systems using DDR1 or SDRAMS as for the amount of memory go for at least 1GB of memory. Memory speed will have immediate impact on performance as well. More the memory faster the PC. When buying computer try to buy as few DIMMs as possible to allow for future memory upgrades if needed.

Hard Drives:-

Hard drives are where all your data is going to be saved so it is also a very important part of your computers. Now a days Hard drives going down on sizes and going up on storage space. You must have at least 250GB of hard disk. Almost all of them are running at 7200rpm now.

Optical Drives (CD/DVD):

Most of the systems now comes with DVD writer, CD writers are things of past now. And there is no need to make any adjustment in the budget. As for floppy drives, they are part of ancient history of PC’s, nobody use it anyway.

Motherboard:

Choice of motherboard will depend on the processor you have selected, it has to be compatible with processor. You have to take care that, the motherboard you have selected has onboard video graphic card, sound card as well as there is provision for external video card and sound card in case of high end use. The motherboard should allow you to add LAN card, Wireless LAN, Bluetooth, USB 2.0 connectors. And try to have as many USB connectors as possible as most of the Upgrades and Peripherals of computers use USB nowadays.

Cabinet:

This will have to be compatible with hardware you have selected. Ithas to have SMPS into it to power up the hardware. Then it has to as less bulky as possible and with arrangement for air ventilation so that your PC will be safe from overheating.

Monitors:

Monitor is also a as important part of PC as CPU is. Previously when LCD’s were really expensive people used to go with CRT, but now LCD is the option everyone goes for. If anybody think of CRT he goes for Flat Panel CRT. But LCD is still far better because it gives sharper picture, it is not bulky, it occupies lesser space, and it is easy on your eyes too. As for the size 17 inch is standard size now a days. Just take care to buy a monitor which should be capable of 1024 x 768 resolution, you might use most commonly 800 x 600 resolution. But it is always better to have provision.

Input/Output Interference Peripherals:

Keyboard and mouse has to be the first thing to buy as they will help you to communicate with you PC. There are wired and wireless Keyboard and Mouse available in the market so it will depend on anyone’s personal taste.

Then you can add “All in one printer” in your set up which will help you to print, scan, copy as well as fax your documents.

You will also need LAN card installed in your system to connect Internet. As modem is provided by Internet Provider nowadays so you don’t have to worry about it.

Then there will speakers to listen to music and movies, if you prefer to watch DVD’s on your PC then you can add 5.1 home theatre speaker set in your system.

If you want to use your PC for chatting then you need to have a Headphone with Microphone and Webcam of 2 – 3 megapixel.

You can also add TV tuner card to your PC to watch TV on your desktop computer.

Softwares:

After all the hardware in place you have to think about the softwares as they are essentially decides how you want to use your computer. There are two popular and user-friendly operating systems available in the market, WINDOWS and MAC. Windows has captured most of the PC market than the MAC. As it is more compatible to most of the softaware and it has been used by almost everyone it is better bet as it is lot cheaper than MAC, and it is only because of ‘Supply and Demand’ Rule. Don’t judge quality by there price difference. Although buying MAC is in thing now a days, it is somewhat style statement. As MAC’s other product Apple ipod and iphone becoming really popular. So it’s again personal choice.

Then there are various softwares available to enhance the use of your computer, there is MS OFFICE which contains MS Word, MS Excell, Powerpoint, Outlook etc. to help in your office and school, college work. Then there is Adobe, Corel, Macromedia’s softwares like photoshop, coreldraw, Flash, dreamweaver, etc. to help you with your artistic work.

After installing all the softwares don’t forget to install Antivirus software to protect your PC from Virus specially if you are using Internet.

So in Nutshell go and find suitable PC for yourself and enjoy the limitless possible things your PC can do for you.

Mojtaba Sadeghi asked:


Introduction:

When we are talking about dualcore processors , this question will appear in our mind that : What is the benefit of using from Dualcore processors? And With the growing of using of dual core processors, this question is more important than before. Will dual core processor be more useful for us?what is the advantages and disadvantages

of using dualcore processors? and what are the differences between Dualcore and dual processors?INTEL and AMD technology in dual core micro architecture. Which one is better?

I want to attempt in this paper to answer to these questions.

Definition of DualCore and compare with Dual Processor:

one of question for some users that they want to buy a high configuration system is if they want to have two processors in their computers. For video editing, huge graphic processing, multi-threading in applications, or a lot of multitasking the answer is positive. Then the second question becomes here: two separate processors or a single dual core processor ? Dual processor or Dual core ,which one is better for me?As we know computer manufacturers are trying to increasing the speed of processors.

However, size of duo, complexity and heat issues it has become increasingly difficult to make CPUs faster. To continue to improve performance, they reached to another solution. because having two Processors and of course one mainboard that support of hosting them is more expensive. Computer Architecture engineers created another

way: Using two Processors, Join them together in one chip. It can have the power and performance of two Processors but only one socket on the motherboard there is. This price will be cheaper , and allows for the power of two cores with a cost that is less than two separate Processors.

There are differences between brands mostly Intel and AMD that how they combined two cores in one chip, and the speeds they run each core that can directly affect how much is the performance from having a dual core Processor. Additionally, different types of programs get differing benefits and they use different types from dual core Processor that we will discuss about that in this research.

A dual core processor is exactly what that we say. It is two processor cores on one die

and like a dual processor system in one processor. AMD’s Opteron processor has been

dual processor capable since started. Opteron was designed with an extra HyperTransport link that we will discuss about that. HyperTransport Technology means a faster data connection that it can to transfer more data between two chips. It

doesn’t mean that the chip is faster by itself. It means this technology gives capability via the HyperTransport pathway for one chip to communication to another part.

As I explained a Dualcore Processor is a combination of two independent processors in a single package or a single integrated circuit (IC). A Dual Processor device contains two independent microprocessors and a quad core device contains four microprocessors as well. Cores in a Dualcore Processors will share a single coherent cache at the highest cache level that we say L2 Level cache, or may have

separate caches like current AMD dual-core processors. Each “core” independently

implements optimizations like: Fetching, Decoding, execution, pipelining, and

multithreading. A system with N cores is very useful when we have N or more threads at the same time . The technology is used in other technology areas in these days, especially those of embedded processors such as network processors In these

applications, multi-core processors with higher numbers of processing elements is using these days.

Section 2: Multi Processing

As a remind Multiprocessing is the using of two or more Processors in a computer system. OF course one of important issue is the ability of system for support more than one processor and the ability to allocate and divide the tasks between them.

Multiprocessing sometimes refers to the execution of various concurrent program processes in a system. However multiprogramming is very suitable to describe this concept, which is usually implemented in software, but multiprocessing is involve to describe the use of multiple Processors. Totally a system can be multiprocessing and multiprogramming , only one of them, or neither of them.

Section 3: Multi Thread Scheduling

One of question in Dualcore research is really how a computer knows when to use each core.The answer is that Operating system is responsible,because There is a part in the operating system that we call “scheduler” . Scheduler will order the Processor that which program should run at any time. This allows different programs can run at the same time, and processor can switch back between them if needed. When a lot of programs are running at the same time , a computer seems slow. If a dual-core

processor be available , the scheduler has twice Processor resource to work with that.

Normally this allows for some abilities like being able to run one core specifically for

a game, while using the other core to “background” things that keep the rest of the

system running. And sometimes both cores can work on the same program ,but if it designed to use advantage of dualcore that we call “multi-threaded”. However, it is important to note that if you are running a program and it is not “multi-threaded”, you will not get any benefit from more than one Processor or core.

Micro architecture of Processor resources divide to three types:

Replicated,Partitioned and shared.

Section 4 : Development

While manufacturing technology continues to improve, reducing the size of single gates become as a important issue. Some of this changing and physical limitations can create significant heat dissipation and data synchronization problems. The demand for more capable microprocessors with more efficiency causes CPU designers to use various methods of increasing performance. Some instruction-level parallelism (ILP) methods like pipelining are suitable for many applications, but they are not suitable for others. Many applications and programs are used to thread level parallelism(TLP) methods, and multiple independent CPUs is one method used to increase a system’s overall TLP. Increasing available space due to refined manufacturing processes and the demand for increased TLP are the most logic behind the creation of Dualcore Procesors.

Section 5: Two cores versus Sole core

There are three important definition and term that I want to explain about them in my

paper .pipeline, cache and bus. This is the most explanations of what is pipelining in CPU .

First we should know the data instruction set. A processor loads the instructions into a pipeline.It means The data will process sequentially one set after another set.

Shorter pipeline means that more job will be perform in pipeline per clock cycle.

However with a shorter pipeline the data will get faster balancing that is very important as well.This is the main reason that AMD can compete with higher clock INTEL processors.

If the processor needs to access and communicate with outside of the cache ,it should be through the bus to system RAM. Now if the CPU cache is running at the same clock speed as the processor itself. If it is a 3GHz processor then the speed limitation between cache and the processor is 3GHz. If the processor has to communicate and

reach out of the bus to main memory then it should comes slow down to that bus speed. I mean a bus speed of 600 MHz is five times slower than the 3GHz .

Section 6: Implementation

There are different ways between AMD and Intel dual-core technology. AMD claims that they had this plan the move to dual-core from 6 years ago.from that time the first Athlon64 and Opteron released. The benefit of the AMD technology is in the way that the two cores will communicate directly with each other. Intel in another side, put two of Pentium cores on the same chip, and if they need to communicate

with each other it has to perform through the mainboard.another issue is that Intel did not increase the speed of FSB or front-side-bus that as we know is the connection between the Processor and the mainboard.It shows they

switched to dual-core and it means that the processing power did double but the amount of bandwidth for each core did not. This issue a little create suspect on the Intel design, and some users believe that Intel prevents it from being as powerful as it can be. But Intel Designers continue to use faster system memory to keep information supplied to the processor cores. For example the highest-end Intel chip,

the Pentium Extreme Edition 955chip , it has a higher FSB speed, as well as having a larger 2MB per core cache memory and the ability to use Hyperthreading.

On the other hand AMD Company, didn’t use the old model of FSB. They use a new technology that we call HyperTransport to communicate with the Chipset and system memory, and they also moved the memory controller from the chipset to the

processor. By this new technology , AMD arrived to many advantage, especially with the move to dual-core processors. The latest generation of AMD solo core processor can use single channel or dual channel memory, but we should consider to that even though dual channel operation will double the memory speed, but it does not double

the actual memory performance for solo core processors. It shows that dual channel memory just provides more bandwidth than a solo processor core can use. However, with dual core processor all the extra bandwidth can be use.

Section 7: Advantages

In dual Processors at the same die have the cache coherency circuitry can that operate

much higher clock rate than is possible if the signals have to travel off-chip. It means

combining Two processors on a single die improves the performance of cache snoop or cache searching operations. That means the signals between different Processors travel shorter distances, those signals degrade less. These higher quality signals allow more data send and recieve in a specific time since individual signals can be shorter and do not need to repeat them.

Another issue is power consumption in hardware. A dualcore processor uses less power than two single-core processors or dual processors. The reason is that for increasing power required to drive signals external to the chip and because the smaller silicon process allows the cores to operate in lower voltages. The cores share some

circuitry, like the L2 cache and the interface to the front side bus (FSB).

Section 8: Disadvantages

As we learnt in Operating system and Computer Architecture totally Operating Systems try the best t use from available hardware for running the programs with maximize utilization mostly about Processor and RAM. Also, the ability of Dualcore processors to increase Software performance but it depends on the use of multiple

threads in application or program. For example, most of new video games will run faster on a 3 GHz singlecore processor than on a 2GHz dualcore processor in the the same core architecture. Because they are not capable of using more than one core at a time.

Another issue is about thermal. In a Dualcore Processor is more difficult to manage thermal than lower-density single chip processors. From an architectural point of view we can say sole core processor designs might be make better use of the silicon surface area than Dual processor design.in fact Two processing cores sharing in the same system bus and memory bandwidth will limit the real-world performance advantage. If a single core is close to being memory bandwidth limited, change to dual-core may only gives 30% to 65% improvement. And If memory bandwidth

doesn’t make any problem, till 90% improvement can be expected. It would be possible for a software or application that use from two processors for running faster on one dualcore processor if communication between the Processor was the limited by factor, which would count as more than 100% improvement.

Section 9: Power Consumption

As we know the policy of Intel company is to design not only fast processors but also very economical processors when they were attemping on the new Core architecture.

Therefore, they started new activity base on performance-per-watt. That’s why it is

interesting to look the power consumption of the new processors and compare it to the previous-generation processors based on older architecture.

For better conclusion I found a special utility to measure the maximum power consumption .It measured the current that goes through the CPU power circuitry. First , It measured the processors power consumption in idle mode.

The results are very diverse, as you can see, which is probably caused by too different

processor models participating. However, generally speaking, Core 2 Duo processors

can really boast the most economical performance in idle mode.

Section 10: Integral Characteristics of the Dual-Core Processors

Now I want to conclude my analysis of the new Intel processors performance and their features with those of other currently available dual-core CPUs with details for parameters that are indirectly connected with the performance rate.

For this reason , I decided to put an average performance chart for testing . We calculated this parameter as geometric mean of all normalized results obtained during this test session.

As we can see this chart again shows the better performance of the new Intel CPUs.

Athlon 64 Fx-62, can only compete with Core 2 Duo E6600, while Pentium Extreme Edition 965 cannot do competition even with Core 2 Duo E6400. From the performance view, Core 2 Extreme X6800, Core 2 Duo E6700 and Core 2 Duo E6600 on Intel Core microarchitecture won in this comparation.

Conclusion:

Actually we have made the most important conclusions about the performance,pricing and power consumption of DualCore Processors in this research. I just want to say once again that Intel company really did a great and excellent job with these processors on Core micro architecture.of course I don’t want to say that AMD lost this competition and market in the world. This company managed with different way

and policy for their technology and products.and as we know AMD let Intel take the high-end market, but the cheaper price of AMD causes the are still remind as a powerfull competitor for intel.Ans also let me say that Pentium D processor family that has lost quite a few of its

members will still remain in demand. Despite the high over heating and power consumption of the models in this family, they will still be a good choice for inexpensive or home systems.

As you can see, the move to dual-core is definitely a win for consumers. Since they

are more economy than dual processor computers, and they can give the same or better performance. It can be the standard for modern computer systems.

Harry Love asked:


Processors – The core of your system how to choose the one that’s best for you

There are a few things that you need to consider when looking at processors and when thinking about what processor would be best for your system. The things you need to look at are socket type. If you don’t know what socket types are, they are the pins located on the bottom of the processor, the number and pattern are what determines the type. Bus speed, or front side bus, this is the rate at which information moves from the processor to the motherboard, this will affect the overall speed of your computer. Other things to be considered are how to purchase your processor and if it’s compatible with your motherboard or the motherboard you are looking at purchasing.

Socket types and motherboards go hand in hand. The socket type has a hand in determining the motherboard and what socket types a motherboard can accept obviously has a say in what type of processor you can look at. Each processor you look at is going to tell you the speeds at which it can process data this is the bus speed. This is an important factor when choosing your processor. The faster the speed the more you can do with the processor because the more the processor can handle. Something that also needs to be considered the faster the processor the hotter it will get. Some of the higher end processors come with their own fans and are a good investment if you plan on using your computer heavily. Once you’ve determined the bus speed, the socket type, and if the processor you’re looking at is compatible with your computer it’s time to check out where to buy it. There are several options you can purchase it OEM or retail. Here’s a run down of the difference, OEM this is usually what happens when you purchase it without a box and no heatsink and fan. Retail is you simply purchase just the processor itself in a retail box with the manufacturers heatsink and fan. There can be some real savings either way depending on what you need and what you’re looking for. Another word on motherboard compatibility, older motherboards may not be able to handle the latest processor technology and visa versa making sure your processor is one that is going to work well with your motherboard is one of the most important factors that need to be addressed while deciding on your processor.

There are two main producers AMD and Intel each have their good points. Most people will have heard more of Intel, or have heard of the Pentium. AMD came into the market late but rivals Intel in quality for value. Intel does still have some edge as they produce the chipsets, which allows them to adapt faster to new technologies. However the AMD 64 and Pentium D are about equal so the choice of who to go with is up to you and your personal preferences and needs.

Now that you have the basics on choosing your next or first motherboard, you might want to check out some of these top manufacturers AMD or INTEL.

Jon Caldwell asked:


Cache and Temporary Internet Files can be one of the main reasons why we experience slow computers. Because according to a study “70% of website we visit, we do not return to.” In short these temporary files that your computer has downloaded from the site you visit will simply clutter your computer. And with the use of AtomicCleaner you can clean those files in just easy steps.

This Software also allows the users to clean up their cookies because every time you visit a site, the site leave traces on your computer for them to remember who you are and tell you when you last visited a site. But sometimes advertising companies make use of cookies to trace your activity on the internet, invading your privacy, and eventually slowing down your computer.

Lastly, it allows the user to erase all traces that your third party software such as Limewire, Bittorent and etc. leaves on your computer.

AtomicCleaner is a complete solution that will clean every unnecessary files that makes your computer slow, giving you great time using your without worrying of slow downs.

Windows has removed thousand of features in Windows Command Prompt that’s why you will need the help of TCC/LE. This software makes the command line easy to use, giving the user more power and flexibility.

You can replace your existing CMD.EXE with TCC/LE and add features such as extensive context online help, plug-ins, aliases for commonly used commands, a powerful command line editor, history recall, filename completion, popup command and directory on your system by entering only part of its name.

TCC/LE allows the user to copy, move, delete, or list multiple files with a single command. It also allows user to select and exclude files from any command by their date, time, size, and extended wildcards.

For those batch file users, you can use the extended batch language that includes subroutines, do statements, if then else statements, switch statements, error handling, more than 110 internal commands and over 240 internal variables.

So what are you waiting switch now to the free software that will give you many great features.

Crystal CPU ID is CPU utility software that allows the user to see the in-depth information about his processor. Crystal CPU ID has a real-time CPU clock and it is standalone meaning it doesn’t need to be installed. Crystal CPU ID supports INTEL & AMD processor. It has Intel Speed Step Control, AMD K6/K7/K8/GeodeLX Multiplier/Voltage Control, VIA CyrixIII/C3 Multiplier Control, Multiplier Management, MSR Editor/MSR Walker, Clock, Cache, System Clock, Multiplier, Feature Flags, CPUID, Process Rule, Code Name, Multi Processor, PCI Device List, Chipset/VGA information, BIOS Information, Chageable Dialog Font, and Changeable Wallpaper. It was engineered by Crystal Dew World in japan.

Fresh Diagnose is a freeware system utility program that allows the user to analyze and benchmark many kinds of hardware such as CPU, Hard Disk, Video System and etc. This software will help you find the trouble area. It was publish by Fresh Devices with the current version 7.82 and has a size of 1659 KBs that is easy to install. It has no requirement at all and has a user friendly environment. It is design for any kind of Microsoft Windows. Most of us don’t know what’s inside our CPU, Fresh Diagnose will help us identify it all. After installing the product make sure that you register the program as I said before it’s a freeware so the registration is free.

Roberto Sedycias asked:


Since it became commercially available back in the early eighties, notebooks called the attention of computer users because of its small size and portability. Not much of a commercial success back then, it only took a short time before the computer industry improved this item, up to a point that is now considered to be one of the best selling computer consumer products.

For one who intends to buy a budget notebook, he may have some difficulties in picking the right one, since there are several notebook manufactures offering so many models. Budget notebooks are in a class by itself with basic features but capable of delivering full solutions for computer related tasks.

For an easy guide to budget notebooks, check the following major manufactures:

SONY

Sony VAIO notebooks are fashioned products targeted to consumers who demand flexibility and power without compromise. It is expected to find features such as 15.4“ WXGA, duo core processor and 100 gb hard disk. Although not the cheapest of budget notebooks, it compensates the higher price by offering more technological features.

Most common features one can expect from Sony budget notebooks: 1 – Intel Core Duo Processor T2250 1.72 Ghz; 2 – Windows Vista; 3 – 1 gb DDR2 ram; 4 – Widescreen XGA display type; 5 – Intel graphics media accelerator 950; 6 – 100 gb SATA hard disk 5400 rpm; 7 – CD-RW/DVD rom; 8 – wireless lan 802.11 a/b/g; 9 – Modem and Lan port 10/100; 10 – USB connectivity; 11 – It weighs around 6.5 pounds; 12 – Lithium ion battery up to 5.5 hours; 13 – One year limited warranty. Price starts from U$ 929.00 and up according with optional accessories.

DELL

With features such as 15.4“ WXGA, duo core processor and ATI Radeon Xpress graphics, Dell budget notebooks offer a flexible combination of power, mobile productivity and entertainment at a good price.

Most common features one can expect out of these notebooks are: 1 – AMD Turion 62 X2 1.8 ghz/1mb cache processor; 2 – Windows Vista; 3 – 512 mb ram; 4 – Widescreen XGA display type; 5 – ATI Radeon Xpress 256 mb video graphics chipset; 6 – Up to 80 gb hard disk; 7 – CD-RW/DVD rom; 8 – It weighs around 6 pounds; 9 – 9-cell lithium ion battery; 10 – One year limited warranty. Price starts from U$ 549.00 and up according with optional accessories.

TOSHIBA

All Toshiba budget notebooks feature an 15.4“ diagonal WXGA display, DVD optical drive which reads and writes up to 11 formats, high speed wireless lan (802.11 b/g) for easy connection in networks.

Most common features one can expect out of these notebooks are: 1 – Intel Celeron processor with 1+ Ghz; 2 – Windows Vista; 3 – 512 mb ram; 4 – Widescreen XGA display type; 5 – Radeon Xpress 200M video graphics chipset; 6 – 60 gb hard disk; 7 – CD-RW/DVD rom; 8 – wireless lan but no Bluetooth connectivity; 9 – Modem and Lan port 10/100 mbps; 10 – USB and firewire connectivity; 11 – It weighs around 5 pounds; 12 – 4-cell lithium ion battery; 13 – Tv-out s-video; 14 – One year parts and labor warranty. Price starts from U$ 599.00 and up according with optional accessories.

HP

HP Budget notebooks with features such as 15.4“ display screen, AMD Sempron 3500+ and a sophisticated black resin finish, offer an attractive mix of style, mobility and performance.

Expected features one can find in this HP notebook category: 1 – AMD Sempron 3500+; 2 – Windows Vista; 3 – 15.4“ WXGA Widescreen; 3 – 512 mb ddr2; 4 – CD-RW/DVD rom; 4 – Wireless connectivity 802.11b/g wlan; 5 – It weighs around 7 pounds; 6 – Nvidia video graphics chipset with 256 mb; 7 – 6-cell lithium ion battery; 8 – USB, lan and modem port; 9 – Integrated stereo speakers; 10 – 60 gb SATA hard disk; 11 – Tv-out s-video; 12 – One year warranty in parts and labor. Price starts from U$ 569.00 and up according with optional accessories.

A while ago portable electronics devices were a luxury at an expensive price. Nowadays it became an affordable must have kind of product for lots of people. Notebooks are in this category for sure! And basic notebooks are the best option for those who are in a tight budget. So, if portability is a must for your personal or professional computer related tasks, waste no more time. Get yourself a budget notebook!

Roberto Sedycias

IT Consultant for PoloMercantil

This article is under GNU FDL license and can be distributed without any previous authorization from the author. However the author´s name and all the URL´s (links) mentioned in the article and biography must be kept.

Roberto Sedycias asked:


What is Quad Core Computer? Quad Core computer is essentially a speed demon that allows its user to play high-end video games, run computer programs, and rip DVDs at the same time!

The second generation quad core processor offers multitasking performance with greater energy efficiency. The performance that you get is that of 4 CPUs. Dominating the work of CPU on a single core the quad core CPU allows multi-tasking more easily. The high performance infrastructure application can maximize the virtualization efforts with efficiency. However, the high potential computing power of the processor with four cores can be gained by the use of software that is coded to be multi threaded. The brilliant concept of the software helps the processor work efficiently along with virtually increasing the running speed of the programs.

How to create your own QC Computer:

Buying a Quad Core Computer could be expensive; however, if you are running low on your budget you could build your own quad core computer for less than you can imagine. All you have to do is choose the essential components fit them in your existing PC to realize the speed and your dream QC computer. Here is what you have to buy for turning your home PC into a quad core speed demon.

Motherboard: The choice of motherboard depends on certain things such as whether you choose an Intel or an AMD processor, or what type of graphics cards you use. You need to decide on a motherboard on the basis of your requirements.

CPU: When it comes to the CPU, you are left with two choices, i.e., Intel Version and AMD Version. If you want to go economical, AMD Phenom 9500 can help you save some money which can invest in good graphics cards.

Memory: Choosing the memory is a tad bit tough as you have to balance between price, quality and speed. You can go either with Patriot DDR2-1066 or choose DDR2-800 OCZ Gold Edition RAM which is available in a dual channel 2GB kit.

Hard Drive: Hard Drive decides speed of a quad core computer. While choosing hard drives, focus more on the speed factor than size. You can count on 250GB SATA2 Seagate drive. It won`t let you down.

Video Card: You can`t imagine a gaming rig without good video cards. Whether you choose nVidia or ATI, both offer excellent options. If you want to maintain a perfect balance between price and performance, Saphire Radeon 3870 with 512MB of video memory could do the trick for you.

DVD Drive: Choose a burner that works well for you. Since they are not too costly, you shouldn`t hesitate to invest in a good DVD drive for your self-made quad core computer.

Case and PSU: Choose a case that will endure load and allow air out of it. The good news is most of the cases come with a power supply. Also look at the cooling feature as well. You can go with the Antec Sonata III case that is availabe with an Earthtech 500 Watt PSU.

Cables: Usually, cables come with the motherboard. However, you can check the manufacture`s website to be sure if they are a part of the motherboard box. In case you don`t find cables in the box, you might need an IDE cable for your DVD drive and also SATA cables for each hard drive.

Windows Vista: It doesn`t really matter if you already have a home premium version, you would do well to order 64 bit version if you want to empower your quad core computer with 4GB RAM capacity.

Felix K asked:


Motherboard is the foremost computer part that you should consider when assembling a PC. It is popularly called the heart of the computer since all components are connected to it. Basically, it relays information from and to all components. So when you assemble a PC, buy the motherboard first.

Buying a motherboard can be easy and convenient since they are already sold at a motherboard online store. All you have to do is list all your motherboard requirements and conveniently shop at a motherboard online store. If you’re unsure of your motherboard requirements, below is a rundown of the usual requirements.

1. Size. A motherboard is available in different sizes. If you are buying a motherboard to replace an old defective one, then be sure that you buy the same size as your old one; your motherboard may not fit inside your existing computer case. But if you are buying a motherboard for a new assembly, then the size factor will depend on the components that you wish to install.

2. Processor Type and Socket. The motherboard socket is where the processor is plugged-in. It used to be that processors such as Intel and AMD were able to share the same socket. But now, after a few years of improving processors, each brand of processor has its own socket type determined by the number of pins on it. Basically, you won’t be able to transfer from one brand of processor to another without replacing the motherboard as well. Even though replacing motherboard can be easy through a motherboard online store, the price tag can always cause a pinch. So if you want to avoid the unnecessary expenses of replacing a non-defective motherboard, carefully choose a processor that will match your CPU needs and use.

3. CPU components. The CPU components that should be specifically considered when buying a motherboard are: hard drive, memory and power supply. Memory cards are continually advancing and as they advance, their sockets advance drastically as well. The DDR for instance, the most commonly used memory card has 184 pins while the newly released DDR-2 has 240 pins. In the memory card market, the older version is usually phased out when a new version is released. So naturally, when your older version of memory card needs replacement, you may also need to replace the motherboard. This can be very frustrating especially if your motherboard does not have any defects. Therefore, to avoid being in this kind of situation, buy a motherboard that is compatible with the recent memory card versions.

The hard drive has more or less a similar story with memory cards. There are two types of hard drives available in the market: ATA and SATA, ATA being the older version and SATA the recent version. Recent versions of motherboards support both types but there are already quite a number that support only SATA. Manufacturers of the latter type may be anticipating an ATA phase out, so you may want to go with their anticipation. But just to be on the safe side, buy a motherboard that supports both HD types.

As CPU components advance, their power supply requirements advance as well. The typical motherboard power supply pins are in 20s and 24s. Moreover, newly launched processors, such as those from Intel and AMD, have separate power supply pins to support their high clock speed. So when you buy a motherboard for a new CPU assembly, consider the power supply requirements of your components.

Tim Childree asked:


When browsing through different notebook computer models, you are guaranteed to encounter the “Intel Core 2 Duo” or the “AMD Turion 64 x2″ labels. These labels indicate dual-core processing technology for mobile computing. Multi-core processing is the buzz-word of the day, but what does it mean for you?

Mobile Dual-Core Processors

Mobile dual-core processors refer to a processor system consisting of two independent processor cores combined in one integrated circuit (IC) or, as industry professionals say, in a single die. Basically, mobile dual-core processors place two central processing unit (CPU) cores in one processor. Dual-core processing was first applied to desktop computing and home console gaming, but it was quickly adapted for mobile computing. As expected, AMD and Intel both have numerous mobile dual-core processing options available.

Dual-core processors have a different architecture than twin- or double-core processors. Dual-core processors refer to a processing system where two processors are integrated in one IC die. On the other hand, twin-core processors refer to a processing system where two independent processors – each on its own die – are directly plugged into the motherboard.

Each of the processors in a dual-core processor has a built in cache (Level 1 cache) so each has its own potential for speedy and efficient recovery and processing of frequently used instructions. More than that, however, there is a Level 2 cache, in the same IC board, which the two processors share in Intel’s Mobile Core 2 Duo chipsets (either 2 or 4 MB); In AMD’s Turion 64 x2 chipsets, each of the two processor has a dedicated 512 kb cache per core. The L2 cache is the processor’s backup cache in case the L1 cache is not enough.

The Benefits of Mobile Dual-Core Processing

The foremost advantages of dual-core processors are speed and efficiency. Instruction processing and data retrieval are handled by two processors, so more processing speed can be achieved without overheating either processor. The fact that the two processors have their own easily accessible L1 cache also assures more speed. Furthermore, especially in the case of the Intel Core 2 Duo where the L2 cache is shared, full L2 cache memory can be quickly utilized by either one or both processors as the need arises.

In a nutshell, a notebook computer which has a dual-core processor is assured of fast and efficient processing performance with a greatly reduced risk of overheating. Multi-tasking is much improved. Dual-core processors also consume less power than twin-core processors.

One other benefit of dual-core processors in notebook computers is the possibility of lighter and smaller notebooks that can approximate desktop PC performance. Since two processors share one IC die, one can enjoy the benefits of dual-CPU processing without having to deal with extra bulk.

It is important to note that users of older programs will not see any benefit from their dual-core processors if they only run one program at a time. Older programs were not designed for dual-core processing, so they are only able to take advantage of a single core. A dual-core processor still gives considerable advantages in multi-tasking, however, as each core is able to handle a different program, speeding up multi-tasking considerably when compared to a single-core computer.

As time goes on, more and more software developers are developing their products with dual-core processors in mind, so users will see more and more benefit out of their dual-core processors in the near future.

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