Internet & IT Technology Solutions

Archive for July, 2009

There are many fancy add-ons for computers, but the basic components of the computer are simple and universal. If 1 of these main components is missing, it’s not a computer.

The 4 essentials of every computer system are: a motherboard, a Central Processing Unit (CPU), memory, and a hard drive. These components are installed in a case to which are attached a monitor, a keyboard and a mouse. That’s your basic computer.

Mother WHAT?

The motherboard (”mobo” for short) is the foundation. Everything attaches to the mobo — the CPU, memory, hard drive, monitor, mouse, keyboard, add-on cards, and even additional peripherals like printers, scanners, and speakers. The motherboard is like the nervous system and skeleton of the human body — it provides support for the internal components and also passes information between the computer parts.

CPU

If the motherboard is the nervous system, then the CPU is the brain. Most of the mathematical manipulations that make computers operate are done by the CPU. Other components may also have their own processors, but their results still have to be passed through the CPU.

The speed of the computer is usually measured by the speed of the CPU. Even though other factors also affect overall speed, the CPU rating is generally seen as the single most important measure of performance.

Modern CPUs are usually rated between 2.0 GHz and 3.0 GHz, although each passing month will see increasing performance. This measurement refer to the number of calculations the processor can make in 1 second. The higher the number, the faster (better) the computer.

Have you ever wondered why your computer becomes slow over time even it is the most up-to date version? Do you know that when you delete files or uninstall programs, empty spaces are left in your hard drive? These free spaces are like discontinuous blocks which is the main cause your computer’s misbehaving.

When you install a program, your computer will find the first available free space. If this space is not big enough to store the data, the rest of it will be dotted over every empty space in your hard drive. And when you want to access this program, your computer will check every possible location to collect every single pieces of it. No wonder it takes longer than you have first bought it.

Anyway, there are solutions to address this problem. One of the most effective methods is defragmentation, which is also highly recommended. Follow the steps and they will help you optimize your computer’s performance.