cty85
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Before you create any threads to ask about computer terminology, please read this short FAQ
Computer Terminology:
CPU Central Processing Unit or the chip on the computer's motherboard that does arithmetic and logical operations, mathematical calculations and data transfer control operations
Common mistake: CPU is not the whole system, but just the chip that is on your motherboard
the correct word should be system unit
Mobo Motherboard is the printed circuit board that is screwed on to your computer's casing that interfaces with the memory, expansion cards and other devices to the CPU
Case Casing is the metal/plastic/cardbiard box that contains all the electronic components stored in your computer's casing
RAM Memory or generally refered to as Random Access Memory(there are other types like Static Ram, Dynamic RAM and ROM, but RAM is the most common) is a printed circuit board with special chips designed to retain data and instructions for the CPU to retrieve data from and place computed results in, and store data temporarily until it is ready to be archived in secondary storage
HDD, CDROM DVD ROM CDRW, DVDRW DVD RAM Blu Ray HD DVD Tape Drive
Storage Secondary Storage or Permanent storage is a medium by which bits and bytes of data are converted from their electrical signals to physical medium such as optical disks(cd, dvd blue ray etc)
Types include Hard Disks, Optical Media, and Magnetic Media as well as Solid State Devices
Expansion cards include Graphics Cards Sound Cards USB cards, Network cards, Physics cards, Tv Tuner cards etc are all focused into extending the function of the computer to other functions
Graphics Card, GPU GFX Card all refer to the class of expansion cards that connects via PCI, AGP or PCI Express slots on the motherboard to accelerate graphics content creation on a display device
Sound Card/Onboard Sound are chips/expansion cards that deal with the processing of data to produce an electronic signal that is converted to sound waves with speakers or earphones
RAID Redundant array of independent disks(requires 2 or more hard disks to run in several different modes
Crossfire: Multiple ATI GFX cards working in tandem to increase gfx performance(requires an ATI crossfire ready motherboard)
SLI Scalable Link Interface: Multiple Nvidiai GFX CArds working in tandem to increase gfx performance(requires an Nvidia SLI capable motherboard)
USB Universal Serial Bus connection built to connect multiple items
Firewire, IEEE 1394 a connection built for speed
E-SATA a type of external hard disk connection
PCI Express a type of slot that comes with newer motherboards
PCI Express 2.0 an upgraded pci express slot that comes on newer motherboards, x38, x48 and p45 have this feature
PSU Power supply unit is a box filled with electronic parts to supply the pc current through different connectors like the molex, sata power, 24pin power, 8 pin pci express, 6 pin pci express fdd, 4 pin 12v
About Hard disks
Why is my Hard disk size smaller than the one i bought?
Reasons:
Hard disk size is measured in decimal units, e.g. a WD 640 GB contains 640 Billion Bytes of space
BUT, the hard disk size is smaller than what is actually bought.
Assuming you have only one partition on the hard disk
Your computer reads Computer size in binary not in decimal, but computer hard disk sizes are made in decimal numbers
Thus 1 kilobyte of data is actually 2^10 bytes, not 1000 bytes
2^10 = 1024 bytes
1 mb ~ 1thousand kilobytes = 2^10 * 2^10 = 2^20 = 1024 x 1024 = 1 048 576 bytes, not 1 000 000 bytes
1 gigbyte ~ 1 thousand megabytes = 2^10 * 2^10 * 2^10 = 2^30 = 1024x1024x1024 = 1 073 741 824 bytes
So 640 GB or 640 Billion Bytes Decimal is actually 640 000 000 000 / 1024^3 = 596.046 GB
some space may not be allocated, as 8mb is unallocated when a new partiton is created, to be updated when i find out
About Ram
Timings, Latencies
Do i do low latency low frequency or high latency low frequency, maths intensive warning
This is the number of ram clock cycles required to complete a read, write and access operation, the last number is the timing required to do a combination of the above
Generally the shorter the latency, or ram timing, the faster the ram will be compared to valueram at the same frequency, but that taken into consideration, ram timing and frequency is interdependent, as seen in the following example
E.g. We have ddr 2 800 ram @ 5 5 5 15
Clock frequency is 400 since its ddr 2
clock cycle time = 1/400 000 000 = 2.5 nanoseconds
given the ram latency @ 5 5 5 15
it requires 5 clock cycles to complete one read, write or access cycle, depending on timing
or 5 x 2.5ns = 12.5 nanoseconds to complete one read, write or access cycle
e.g.2 we have ddr 2 1000 ram @ 5 5 5 15
Clock frequency is 500 since its ddr 2
clock cycle time = 1/500 000 000 = 2 nanoseconds
given the ram latency @ 5 5 5 15
it requires 5 clock cycles to complete one read, write or access cycle, depending on timing
or 5 x 2ns = 10 nanoseconds to complete one read, write or access cycle
Comparing this to the 1st example, the access timing for the faster ram(in terms of ram frequency) the time required to access the memory is shorter, thus bandwidth is inproved
e.g.3 we have ddr 2 800 ram @ 4 4 4 12
clock cycle time = 1/400 000 000 = 2.5 nanoseconds
given the ram latency @ 4 4 4 12
it requires 4 clock cycles to complete one read, write or access cycle, depending on timing
or 4 x 2.5ns = 10 nanoseconds to complete one read, write or access cycle
Comparing this to the 2nd example, at different timing/ frequencies, slower ram at tighter timings runs on par with fast ram with normal timings
comparing this to the 3rd example, at same frequencies different timing, the ram with the tighter timing will perform better than the normal ram @ normal timings
Frequencies
About CPU Frequency
Multiplier differences, Underclocking
Why does my cpu multiplier drop when i am not using my pc/idle?
This effect is due to EIST or Enhanced Intel Speedstep Technology and C1e or CPU enhanced halt
The same effect can be seen in AMD cpus, its called AMD's Cool and Quiet
This feature of some intel cpus is a power saving feature, intended to reduce power consumption when the user does not need it, reducing cpu multiplier reduces the system's overall speed for a good amount of power saved
This feature is not recommended to be turned off, as it helps to decrease overall system temperature and prolong cpu lifespan.
Turn it off if you wish, but you would be increasing your power consumption and thus place stress on the environment
Overclocking
What is overclocking and why should i overclock?
Overclocking is the process of increasing the running speed of a computer hardware component by increasing the frequencies, lowering the latencies(for ram) and increasing the running voltage of the hardware component
Parts that can be overclocked include: Graphics processor, Graphics and system memory(RAM) CPU(Central Processing Unit) and etc
Poor overclocking resulting from insufficient voltages to the required components, or general heat damage from overheated computer parts are the only side effects from overclocking(as a result, hardware component lifespan will be shortened from heat damage, excessive voltages etc.)
Operating System
I have 4 GIG of memory installed but i can only see 3+
Ram showing less than 4 GIG detected under 32bit Windows XP SP2 or earlier and Windows vista 32bit(PRe SP1)
When the first CPU was created, the memory bus was one of the ways the system was classified as, e.g. 4 bit memory bus supported 2^4 bits or 16 bits of memory
the 8086 CPU had a 16 bit memory bus and could address up to 2^20 bytes of ram or 1MB of ram
Now, most recent cpus can support up to 64 bits, with a higher width of the data bus
older cpus like the pentium 4(478pin) supported up to 2^32 bits of ram or 4096 MB or 4 GB of ram
Newer cpus can support up to 2^64 bits of ram or 2^32 squared or 16 GB sqaured or 16.8 million terabytes or 16.8 exabytes of ram(16.8 x 10^18 Bytes)
As such there are two types of Operating system, one is the x86 or 8086/80286/80386 etc or 32bit Operating system
there is a memory allocation limitation of up to 2^32 gigabytes, meaning the maximum amount of ram used by the operating system includes: GFX ram, RAID bios memory and lastly system memory(system ram)
But with a 64 bit OS, there is less of a limit, as the operating system is written to take advantage of the larger amount of memory space addressable
This cap is increased to 16 GB for Windows XP x64 and 64 GB for Windows Vista x64
Otherwise, normal users wont use more than 4 GB of ram in most applications, of which 8 GB is also becoming more common.
As such since most modern CPUs are 64bit ready, the best choice for a core 2, phenom or x2 CPU is a 64bit Operating system, which takes advantage of the 64bit processor architecture, 32bit apps are run in emulated 32bit, but take advantage of the increased memory allocation to allow for better system stability
The only drawback is some 64bit ready drivers are not readily available or digitally signed, of which installing in vista x64 requires disabling of driver signing enforcement on windows startup
Why are my bios settings resetting everytime i turn off the main switch?
Why can't i keep my cmos settings everytime i turn on the mains?
Problem: likely to be dead CMOS battery, locate the shiny battery the size of a 20cent coin and pry it out with a flat tip screwdriver, replace this battery with a new one, which u can buy from any local supermarket, get the right one, the model number is CR2032
Computer Terminology:
CPU Central Processing Unit or the chip on the computer's motherboard that does arithmetic and logical operations, mathematical calculations and data transfer control operations
Common mistake: CPU is not the whole system, but just the chip that is on your motherboard
the correct word should be system unit
Mobo Motherboard is the printed circuit board that is screwed on to your computer's casing that interfaces with the memory, expansion cards and other devices to the CPU
Case Casing is the metal/plastic/cardbiard box that contains all the electronic components stored in your computer's casing
RAM Memory or generally refered to as Random Access Memory(there are other types like Static Ram, Dynamic RAM and ROM, but RAM is the most common) is a printed circuit board with special chips designed to retain data and instructions for the CPU to retrieve data from and place computed results in, and store data temporarily until it is ready to be archived in secondary storage
HDD, CDROM DVD ROM CDRW, DVDRW DVD RAM Blu Ray HD DVD Tape Drive
Storage Secondary Storage or Permanent storage is a medium by which bits and bytes of data are converted from their electrical signals to physical medium such as optical disks(cd, dvd blue ray etc)
Types include Hard Disks, Optical Media, and Magnetic Media as well as Solid State Devices
Expansion cards include Graphics Cards Sound Cards USB cards, Network cards, Physics cards, Tv Tuner cards etc are all focused into extending the function of the computer to other functions
Graphics Card, GPU GFX Card all refer to the class of expansion cards that connects via PCI, AGP or PCI Express slots on the motherboard to accelerate graphics content creation on a display device
Sound Card/Onboard Sound are chips/expansion cards that deal with the processing of data to produce an electronic signal that is converted to sound waves with speakers or earphones
RAID Redundant array of independent disks(requires 2 or more hard disks to run in several different modes
Crossfire: Multiple ATI GFX cards working in tandem to increase gfx performance(requires an ATI crossfire ready motherboard)
SLI Scalable Link Interface: Multiple Nvidiai GFX CArds working in tandem to increase gfx performance(requires an Nvidia SLI capable motherboard)
USB Universal Serial Bus connection built to connect multiple items
Firewire, IEEE 1394 a connection built for speed
E-SATA a type of external hard disk connection
PCI Express a type of slot that comes with newer motherboards
PCI Express 2.0 an upgraded pci express slot that comes on newer motherboards, x38, x48 and p45 have this feature
PSU Power supply unit is a box filled with electronic parts to supply the pc current through different connectors like the molex, sata power, 24pin power, 8 pin pci express, 6 pin pci express fdd, 4 pin 12v
About Hard disks
Why is my Hard disk size smaller than the one i bought?
Reasons:
Hard disk size is measured in decimal units, e.g. a WD 640 GB contains 640 Billion Bytes of space
BUT, the hard disk size is smaller than what is actually bought.
Assuming you have only one partition on the hard disk
Your computer reads Computer size in binary not in decimal, but computer hard disk sizes are made in decimal numbers
Thus 1 kilobyte of data is actually 2^10 bytes, not 1000 bytes
2^10 = 1024 bytes
1 mb ~ 1thousand kilobytes = 2^10 * 2^10 = 2^20 = 1024 x 1024 = 1 048 576 bytes, not 1 000 000 bytes
1 gigbyte ~ 1 thousand megabytes = 2^10 * 2^10 * 2^10 = 2^30 = 1024x1024x1024 = 1 073 741 824 bytes
So 640 GB or 640 Billion Bytes Decimal is actually 640 000 000 000 / 1024^3 = 596.046 GB
some space may not be allocated, as 8mb is unallocated when a new partiton is created, to be updated when i find out
About Ram
Timings, Latencies
Do i do low latency low frequency or high latency low frequency, maths intensive warning
This is the number of ram clock cycles required to complete a read, write and access operation, the last number is the timing required to do a combination of the above
Generally the shorter the latency, or ram timing, the faster the ram will be compared to valueram at the same frequency, but that taken into consideration, ram timing and frequency is interdependent, as seen in the following example
E.g. We have ddr 2 800 ram @ 5 5 5 15
Clock frequency is 400 since its ddr 2
clock cycle time = 1/400 000 000 = 2.5 nanoseconds
given the ram latency @ 5 5 5 15
it requires 5 clock cycles to complete one read, write or access cycle, depending on timing
or 5 x 2.5ns = 12.5 nanoseconds to complete one read, write or access cycle
e.g.2 we have ddr 2 1000 ram @ 5 5 5 15
Clock frequency is 500 since its ddr 2
clock cycle time = 1/500 000 000 = 2 nanoseconds
given the ram latency @ 5 5 5 15
it requires 5 clock cycles to complete one read, write or access cycle, depending on timing
or 5 x 2ns = 10 nanoseconds to complete one read, write or access cycle
Comparing this to the 1st example, the access timing for the faster ram(in terms of ram frequency) the time required to access the memory is shorter, thus bandwidth is inproved
e.g.3 we have ddr 2 800 ram @ 4 4 4 12
clock cycle time = 1/400 000 000 = 2.5 nanoseconds
given the ram latency @ 4 4 4 12
it requires 4 clock cycles to complete one read, write or access cycle, depending on timing
or 4 x 2.5ns = 10 nanoseconds to complete one read, write or access cycle
Comparing this to the 2nd example, at different timing/ frequencies, slower ram at tighter timings runs on par with fast ram with normal timings
comparing this to the 3rd example, at same frequencies different timing, the ram with the tighter timing will perform better than the normal ram @ normal timings
Frequencies
About CPU Frequency
Multiplier differences, Underclocking
Why does my cpu multiplier drop when i am not using my pc/idle?
This effect is due to EIST or Enhanced Intel Speedstep Technology and C1e or CPU enhanced halt
The same effect can be seen in AMD cpus, its called AMD's Cool and Quiet
This feature of some intel cpus is a power saving feature, intended to reduce power consumption when the user does not need it, reducing cpu multiplier reduces the system's overall speed for a good amount of power saved
This feature is not recommended to be turned off, as it helps to decrease overall system temperature and prolong cpu lifespan.
Turn it off if you wish, but you would be increasing your power consumption and thus place stress on the environment
Overclocking
What is overclocking and why should i overclock?
Overclocking is the process of increasing the running speed of a computer hardware component by increasing the frequencies, lowering the latencies(for ram) and increasing the running voltage of the hardware component
Parts that can be overclocked include: Graphics processor, Graphics and system memory(RAM) CPU(Central Processing Unit) and etc
Poor overclocking resulting from insufficient voltages to the required components, or general heat damage from overheated computer parts are the only side effects from overclocking(as a result, hardware component lifespan will be shortened from heat damage, excessive voltages etc.)
Operating System
I have 4 GIG of memory installed but i can only see 3+
Ram showing less than 4 GIG detected under 32bit Windows XP SP2 or earlier and Windows vista 32bit(PRe SP1)
When the first CPU was created, the memory bus was one of the ways the system was classified as, e.g. 4 bit memory bus supported 2^4 bits or 16 bits of memory
the 8086 CPU had a 16 bit memory bus and could address up to 2^20 bytes of ram or 1MB of ram
Now, most recent cpus can support up to 64 bits, with a higher width of the data bus
older cpus like the pentium 4(478pin) supported up to 2^32 bits of ram or 4096 MB or 4 GB of ram
Newer cpus can support up to 2^64 bits of ram or 2^32 squared or 16 GB sqaured or 16.8 million terabytes or 16.8 exabytes of ram(16.8 x 10^18 Bytes)
As such there are two types of Operating system, one is the x86 or 8086/80286/80386 etc or 32bit Operating system
there is a memory allocation limitation of up to 2^32 gigabytes, meaning the maximum amount of ram used by the operating system includes: GFX ram, RAID bios memory and lastly system memory(system ram)
But with a 64 bit OS, there is less of a limit, as the operating system is written to take advantage of the larger amount of memory space addressable
This cap is increased to 16 GB for Windows XP x64 and 64 GB for Windows Vista x64
Otherwise, normal users wont use more than 4 GB of ram in most applications, of which 8 GB is also becoming more common.
As such since most modern CPUs are 64bit ready, the best choice for a core 2, phenom or x2 CPU is a 64bit Operating system, which takes advantage of the 64bit processor architecture, 32bit apps are run in emulated 32bit, but take advantage of the increased memory allocation to allow for better system stability
The only drawback is some 64bit ready drivers are not readily available or digitally signed, of which installing in vista x64 requires disabling of driver signing enforcement on windows startup
Why are my bios settings resetting everytime i turn off the main switch?
Why can't i keep my cmos settings everytime i turn on the mains?
Problem: likely to be dead CMOS battery, locate the shiny battery the size of a 20cent coin and pry it out with a flat tip screwdriver, replace this battery with a new one, which u can buy from any local supermarket, get the right one, the model number is CR2032
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