How to choose monitor

Are you looking for a computer monitor? Monitors are your window into the computer - everything that happens in your software and applications happens via the monitor. It is hence very important to choose a good monitor to go along with your new PC.Traditionally, CRT (cathode ray tube) monitors have been used for desktop computers. However, these days, LCD (liquid crystal display) monitors are selling like hotcakes.It's easy to see why: LCD monitors are easier on the eyes, have very crisp image quality and yes, they're sexy and cool. Laptops also use LCD screens - so we're slowly beginning to see CRT monitors being phased out.Which type you choose depends on your requirements. If you're a graphics professional, you may prefer a CRT monitor because they are said to show more realistic colors.
However, the latest high-end LCDs can also give equal color quality. If you with text most of the time, a LCD is a good choice because the various pixels that you find on a LCD will have nicely defined edges. This gives sharp and focus letters on the screen.To help you choose a monitor that'll meet your needs, this article will step through the factors to consider when buying a LCD or CRT monitor.
 

LCD Monitors
Let's first look at the various factors you need to think about when purchasing a LCD display Panel SizeIn an LCD monitor, the panel size reflects the viewable area you can use. Again, the measurement is made diagonally from one corner of the screen to the opposite corner. LCD panel sizes now range from 15 inches up to 23 inches.
Native Resolution
An LCD panel display always has a certain native resolution. Usually you can go lower than this resolution but the image will appear blurry. If you need to change your monitor resolution quite often, then a CRT monitor may be a better bet. LCD native resolutions currently range from 1024 by 768 to 1600 by 1200.
Viewing Angle
One problem specific to LCD monitors is the fact that you cannot see what is displayed if you move off to the side of the monitor too much. A greater viewing angle is therefore typically better - especially if you need to show presentations to others on the LCD screen very often.
 
CRT Monitors
Now let's take a look at some things you need to look out for when purchasing a CRT display.
Tube Size and Viewable Area
The tube size and viewable area of a CRT monitor is of utmost importance. The tube size helps you judge how much room you'll need for the monitor on your desk. It is expressed in inches measured from one corner of the monitor to the opposite corner. The viewable area (also measured diagonally) indicates how much you'll be able to see on a screen. The viewable area of CRTs can range from 15 inches all the way up to 22 inches.
Tube Type
You'll need to think about tube type as well. Traditional CRTs have curved screens, while newer models usually have flat screens. Flat screens improve clarity and reduce glare, so you should think of getting one if you want to reduce eye strain and fatigue.

Maximum Resolution and Refresh Rate
A CRT monitor's maximum resolution can range from 1024 by 768 at 75 Hz all the way up to 2048 by 1536 at 70 Hz. For normal home use, 1024 by 768 at 75 Hz is sufficient. Try to ensure your CRT monitor supports refresh rates above 70 Hz - anything below 70 Hz can result in screen flicker and cause eye strain.
Dot Pitch
The dot pitch of a CRT monitor helps you determine how sharp a picture will be - these can range from 0.24 mm to 0.28 mm. A smaller dot pitch number often indicates a sharper image. Of course, to the untrained eye, the differences in image quality due to dot pitch may not be discernable. Hence, the dot pitch may not be an important consideration if you're not too concerned about the finest details in your screen images.
 
Conclusion
I hope the above has helped you understand what factors to look out for when buying a LCD or CRT monitor. One thing to always remember when buying a new monitor - don't throw away your old one! Re-use it for an old PC or give it to a friend who needs one. By not dumping that old monitor, you'll certainly help to save the environment. Until next time, happy shopping for that monitor of yours!

DFI LANParty LT X48-T2R

Manufacturer: DFI
UK Price (as reviewed): £158.88 (inc. VAT)
US Price (as reviewed): $279.99 (ex. Tax)

It’s been a while since we last looked at a DFI board, but we’ve always been plagued by relatively poor availability of the products in the UK. However, we’ve recently seen the channel distribution grow in the UK – something that’s partly due to a few new people joining DFI in Taiwan.

And despite remaining on a relatively small scale in the consumer channel, the company goes from strength to strength – releasing great board after great board. Unfortunately, we missed the company’s P35 range in Q3 last year but we'll be sure to jump on the P45 boards as soon as they are available.

In all honesty, we have a bit of a love-hate relationship with DFI’s motherboards here at bit-tech. While all of us in the office (and some outside) have owned and certainly used DFI boards at some point in our lives, they have bounced between sheer grief and stress and elation. Personally, I have a lot of fun since they're always a learning experience with every new BIOS, however our resident memory expert, Ryan Leng, despises them since they tend to cut the memory support so wafer thin, it gives the poor guy nothing but headaches.

We talked to DFI at CeBIT this year and as ever they seem as psyched up about their new products – the LANParty range is still kicking strong, especially its new(ish) addition: the LT range. This still has the UV sockets and black PCB like all the other LANParty products, but it’s a bit more board-focused so you get less box extras – nothing changes on the hardware front though.

The LT X48-T2R is no exception, this has to be the only board we’ve had where you literally have to build it yourself before you use it. The north bridge heatsink, designed by Thermalright, is so tall it simply couldn’t fit upright in the box so you have to pop it on personally.

We opted for the DDR2-based T2R version because, even though the X48 is predominantly designed for DDR3, given the epic depth of BIOS options that leave you feeling like a three year old sitting a University maths exam, it should be the perfect combination.

We're not getting caught up in a wave of DFI fanboyism though – is all this just a very niche appeal and do you have to have a degree in electrical engineering and a 4GHz Oscilloscope to actually know what you’re doing? Or is it simply a case of learning the ropes and having lots of fun? Let’s find out…

DFI LANParty LT X48-T2R Feature List

    * Supports socket 775 Core 2 Extreme, Quad, Duo, Pentium and Celeron processors between 800MHz and 1,600MHz FSB.
    * Intel X48 Northbridge
    * Intel ICH9R Southbridge
    * Four 1.8V DDR2 memory slots supporting up to 8GB memory at 667MHz to ???MHz in dual channel
    * Bernstein Audio daughterboard featuring the Realtek ALC885 7.1 channel, High-Definition premium audio codec that’s rated at 106dB DAC and 101dB ADC
    * Marvell 88E8052 and 88E8053 PCI-Express Gigabit Ethernet controllers
    * Two PCI-Express 2.0 x16 slots supporting ATI CrossFireX technology
    * One PCI-Express x16 slot (x4 electrical)
    * One PCI-Express x1 slot
    * Two PCI slots
    * Eight SATA 3Gbps ports – six from ICH9R supporting RAID 0, 1, 10, 5 and JBOD and two from JMicron JMB363 PCI-Express SATA 3Gbps chipset supporting RAID 0 and 1
    * One IDE socket from JMicron JMB363
    * VIA VT6307 IEEE1394a Firewire controller supporting two ports – one on the rear I/O and one via motherboard pin-outs
    * 12 USB 2.0 – six on the rear I/O and six from motherboard pin-outs

DFI LANParty LT X48-T2R DFI's LANParty LT X48-T2R DFI LANParty LT X48-T2R DFI's LANParty LT X48-T2R





Box Contents

    * Four UV green SATA cables
    * One UV green floppy cable
    * One UV green IDE cable
    * Two molex to four SATA power adapters
    * DFI – Thermalright northbridge heatsink
    * Metal rear I/O shield
    * DFI Heat-minator thermal paste tube
    * Bernstein audio module
    * Manual and Driver DVD

DFI LANParty LT X48-T2R DFI's LANParty LT X48-T2R DFI LANParty LT X48-T2R DFI's LANParty LT X48-T2R
Click to enlarge

The SATA and IDE/floppy cables are not quite as luminous as they appear—that’s our flashes doing a number on them—but they are certainly reactive and fit within the theme of the board.

Only four SATA connectors are supplied for the eight sockets though, and none of the board sockets feature cable clips like those that Gigabyte, Abit and a number of others feature for their 90 degree connectors – this means that after several plug-ins and removals, the plastic wears and they fall out much easier.

The manual is pretty good for the board layout, but avoids and of the software or more importantly the BIOS, absolutely. I understand the BIOS can change quite often and there’s considerable third party influence – more so than any other manufacturer, but being left essentially blind out the box is pretty harsh.

The LT is designed to be an essentials package and that’s what you get. While part of us would want everything for £160, the value has been put into the substantially sized north bridge cooling which is really a genuine value add for everyone. It’s for people who already have a ton of kit spare and since DFI also offer more comprehensive packages from the LANParty (UT) ranges, we find it hard to fault it on the fact it does what it says on the tin, we just wish for a few tweaks like we mentioned above.

Random Access Memory

Introduction
As we have all been looking for faster memory modules, we thought we had reached the end of the DDR-3 cycle but low and behold the DDR3-2000 gives us hope for that much more speed within the same set of computer parts. Seeing that 6gb memory modules are here and super fast it is now time to think about upgrading that system.... AGAIN!

Overview
First of all,  This computer ram is similar to the Corsair Dominator GT computer memory, but has a different kind of cool design to it. They only have a 2 fan cooler, which is the normal these days. If you are looking for something new and exciting besides 6gb of memory then this computer ram has what you need.
G.Skill Perfert Storm review shows Cas-7 has been a nice marketing feature because it makes it easier to reach DDR3-2000 without too much harm to your computer system. This works a lot better with Intel's technology, but can still be done by a decent overclocker.
The overall look of this ram memory shows that the G.Skill Perfect Storm review is correct in its terminology. G.Skill likes to show off and have cool graphics and the like. However, the cooling plates on each ram are of high grade, but the fins used for the Corsair Dominator GT would be a better choice. If you are one to keep quiet then you should see about adjusting the fans that cover this computer ram set? You could adjust the speed by adding a controller, but that will take some electrician work if you are knowledgeable.
I particularly like the fact that G.Skill boasts a lifetime warranty. When you have a computer ram like this. You will want a lifetime warranty because who knows how long it will take your crazy overclocking skills. It will definitely be one of the strongest to last over time, but it's still a computer part. All computer parts will fail eventually.

Conclusion
G.Skill is one of the fastest of the DDR3-2000 computer ram because of the Cas-7, but OCZ also has this as well, but does not have the correct level of cooling. The winning percentage compared to the rest of the computer ram in this area was not as huge as you would like it, but it is still a win. When you throttle down you will find that other cheap version will start to beat this computer ram, but who wants to go slower?

Arctic CPU coller

Arctic Cooling is one of the more well known manufacturers in the PC hardware industry, especially when it comes to smart cooling solutions. The company also manufactures power supplies and computer cases. The Swiss mark may be most known for the VGA coolers; "Accelero Xtreme" and "Accelero Twin Turbo" which are available for more or less all the medium to high end graphics cards on the market.
Today I will take a closer look at a CPU cooler from Arctic Cooling which has been given an overhaul and has been released under a secondary revision, the "Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2". This cooler excels in two ways; first: it's really cheap and second: it's compatible with a real long list of platforms including Intel's and AMD's newest sockets.
  

Here are the specifications of the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2:
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2
Compatibility - INTEL Socket 1366, 1156, 775
AMD Socket AM3, AM2+, AM2 and 939
Construction - 3 Heatpipes double and 42 aluminum laminate
Dimensions - 104 xs 58 xs 126,5 mm
Fan size - 92 mm
Fan speed - 900-2500 RPM (it has PWM)
Air flow - 45 CFM/77 ms ³ /h
Max. Capacity - 130 W
Type of bearings - Dynamic Fluid
Weight - 520 g
Guarantee - 6 years

FIRST IMPRESSIONS
The "Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2" comes in a 100% see through plastic box which lets you see all the details of the cooler. The included accessories are: a printed manual and two different setups of brackets and screws for installation either AMD or Intel systems No separate tube with thermal grease is included, instead it has been pre applied to the copper base of the cooler. The thermal grease used is the Arctic Cooling MX-2.

IN DETAIL: 7 ARCTIC COOLING FREEZER PRO REV.2
The Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2 is a tower type cooler of relatively small dimensions. It's one of the few CPU coolers compatible with the new 1366 and 1156 sockets from Intel. The cooler is made of 42 aluminum plates and the base is made of pure copper as are the three heatpipes.
In the following images you can see how the three heatpipes goes from the base to the top of the cooler.
The 92mm fan is pre fastened by Arctic Cooling but it is easy to remove for those of us interested in doing so.
The rotating speed of the fan is from 900 to 2500 rpm. It has a 4 pin PWM connector which is great because it allows us to control the rotation speed by software or alternatively the speed can be automatically controlled by the system, adapting the speed to the overall needs of the system.
The base is made of copper and it comes with a pre applied layer of the Arctic Cooling MX-2 thermal grease. As you can see from the images below I have removed it to check out the finish of the base plate. Although the base hasn't got the mirror effect the polish is still quite good, far better than that of its closest competitors.

INSTALLATION AND TESTS OF 7 ARCTIC COOLING FREEZER PRO REV.2
I did this test on an Intel system. The anchorage system could not be simpler but I am more a fan of using a back plate together with classic screws because I feel it gives me a better feel for how tight the cooler is fastened.
In order to put some pressure on the cooler I overclocked the E6400 CPU to 3.0GHz (375Mhz x8) and to 2.66Ghz (333Mhz x8), increasing its voltage up to 1.4 V. Here are the components in the test setup:
Test equipment
Processor - Intel Core 2 Duo E6400, 2.13 Ghz
Cooler - Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2
Motherboard - DFI Lanparty JR P45 T2RS
Graphics card - nVIDIA GeForce 8800 320 GTS Mb
Hard disk - Seagate Barracuda 7200,12 500 GB
Memory - Kingston 800 HyperX DDR2 2×1GB (4-4-4-12)
Power supply - Tacens Exchange of shots II 600
I used the software OCCT 3.0.1 to cram out the max of the system during 20 minutes. I did measurements of the temperature both before and at the end of this stress test. The room temperature was around 15 ËsC and the fan was PWN regulated during the test, i.e. the rotation speed of the fan was controlled by the system and adapted by the system load.
Here are the results of the test:
As you can see the from the graphs, the performance of the cooler is quite good. I don't expect you will find a cooler with a better performance/price ratio on the market.
I wouldn't recommend using this cooler for extreme overclocking but it does handle moderate overclocking excellent.
I was impressed by the low noise generated by the fan even at higher rotations speeds.

CONCLUSIONS
Normally you expect that if a product has a higher price, than either the performance or the quality is higher. Arctic Cooling is trying to tell us otherwise with the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2. The Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Rev.2 turns out to be a great cooler, with spectacular finishing and a performance superior to many of its competitors.
Anyone looking to replace the Intel stock cooler with something else will do well to check out this cooler. It not only offers a great performance but what is really remarkable about it is the price level at around $30 (18EUR).

Intel core i5

When it comes to excellence in processor performance, Intel continues to pull all the stops with its newest entries into the market. Launched in early September, 2009, the Intel Core i5 processor is one of Intel's recent innovations, which offers smart performance with a speed boost. This processor delivers solid performance for day-to-day applications, not to mention its ability to increase speed as required for the more demanding tasks. And already, it's being touted as the mainstream version of Intel Core i7.

Mobility

Intel Core i5 processor will power an ultra thin laptop to boost not only your performance, but your style as well. You can now indulge in a much faster, smarter and thinner laptop than before, in an ultra-sleek design and with enhanced battery life. A thinner laptop weighs less and is more portable, therefore allowing for greater mobility.

Performance

Intel Core i5 Turbo Boost Technology allows for automatic speeding up of the processor when the PC requires extra performance, thus giving you smart performance with a speed boost. This feature is however only available in select models of the Intel Core i5 processor-based systems.

Intel Hyper-Threading Technology features 4-way multi-task processing which enables each core of the processor to handle 2 tasks simultaneously, thus delivering the performance required for smart multitasking. No matter how many applications you are working with at the same time, you and your PC will not be slowed down at all.

Intel HD Graphics technology is included to provide excellent visual performance for rich color, sharp imaging, as well as life-like video and audio. You can now enjoy your movies and internet videos in high-definition, get full Microsoft Windows 7 support, as well as play popular game titles. You can do all this without the need for an extra add-in video card as this is all built-in.

Laptops powered by Intel Core i5 processor and featuring 4g WiMAX wireless technology can deliver great smart performance from internet speed which is four times faster than 3G.

Compatibility

Intel Core i5 processors are used to power ultra thin laptops such as the Sony VAIO Series, HP dv4, Dell Inspiron 15R, Toshiba Satellite L500, HP Pavilion dv4i Series, CyberPower Xplorer X5, Sager NP7652, ASUS N61JV, CyberPower Xplorer X5 and the Lenovo ThinkPad T Series.

Security

Intel Core i5 is optimized for a number of security-related technologies including MacAfee security, WinZip file compression, the Bit Locker in 64-bit Windows 7, as well as PGP security. This will come as a relief for laptop owners, seeing as an estimated 12,000 laptops get stolen each week from airports alone.

Some more Features

• Intel Core i5-700 and i5-600 processor series with Intel Turbo Boost Technology;
• 4 processing threads;
• Up to 8 MB of Intel Smart Cache;
• Intel HD Graphics on Intel Core i5-600 processor series; and,
• 2 channels of DDR3 1333 MHz memory.

Intel has long been recognized as the leading name in cutting-edge performance processors, and the Intel Core i5 very well lives up to this reputation.

Choosing a computer case

Choosing a desktop computer case is not as easy as it seems. A lot of people think it is just a metal box where you just chunk all the computer parts inside. In fact, choosing a good computer case requires knowledge of the size, internal space, motherboard support, power supply rating and etc. The following guide shows you how to choose a desktop computer case. Size of casing
The size of the casing determines how much space you need on your desk to place the PC. If you have a small desk with limited space, you might consider the smaller mini computer case. If space is not an issue, then you can go for the tower casing where there are more functions.
Internal space
If you are adding a lot of computer parts to your system, you might consider getting a tower case. A small, crammed up case will increase the heat generation and result in the overloading of the power supply.
Motherboard support
A micro-ATX case (micro tower) can only support motherboard of the micro-ATX form factor. If you have a motherboard of ATX size, get a mid tower or full tower computer case.

Tip: A mid-tower or full tower case supports both the Micro-ATX and ATX motherboard whereas the micro tower case only supports micro-ATX motherboard.

Power supply
Most of the desktop computer cases come with power supplies. If you add a lot of computer parts to your system, you will need to get a power supply with higher power rating to support the system. Here’s a quick guide on the power consumption of each parts:

Computer Parts	Watts
Motherboard	15-30
Low-End CPU	20-50
Mid To High-End CPU	40-100
RAM	7 per 128MB
PCI Add-In Card	5
Low To Mid-Range Graphics	20-60
High-End Graphics	60-100
IDE Hard Drive	10-30
Optical Drives	10-25

Do your own calculation and select the power supply closest to your need.
External USB and firewire support
Some of the desktop computer cases come with front USB, audio port and a firewire port support. This is surely a very convenient feature and should add in your consideration when choosing a computer case. I remember buying a cheap computer case without any front USB and firewire port, only to find that I have more USB devices than all the port available. I have no choice but to buy an extra multi-port USB adaptor and all the wiring makes my desk very messy. A good lesson learnt from here. Never compromise quality with cheaper price.
Cooling
If you add a lot of computer parts into your system or you are an overclocker, then you need to choose a computer case with good cooling system. A good computer case allows multiple fans to be installed and also openings to improve the heat dissipation. For more detail on cooling system, read the article on "Liquid Cooling System"
External feel
A computer case is no longer just a plain box. Nowadays, computer cases are well designed to create the ‘feel’ for pc enthusiasts. Some of the pc enthusiasts I know even modify their computer case (also know as Case Mod) to create the kind of "special feel". If you are interested to case mod, check out Xoxide.com for mod details.
Conclusion
The few points above are sufficient to help you choose a desktop computer case. If you are into overclocking or an avid gamer who owns high-end parts, you definitely have to get a computer case with good cooling system and high power supply. For daily usage, any case that is above $100 is considered expensive.

GeForce GTX 580

This is simultaneously the best kept and the most talked about secret in the business right now. The GeForce GTX 580 - it's been rumored to be everything from dual GF104 chips to a new monster concoction of epic proportions. Just about all the rumors got it wrong until concrete evidence began to disseminate through the leaky pipes of the supply chain. Even then, as the specs began to bubble up to the surface, most people came to the wrong conclusions.

It all started back in the March/April time frame, around when NVIDIA launched their first part built on the well-hyped Fermi architecture, the GeForce GTX 480. Reviews were mixed; it was the fastest single GPU on the planet, no questions asked. It was a tessellation monster and its scaling in games, up to 3-way SLI, was incredible. It was a great advance for gaming computers.

But it was also hot and loud. And that was compounded by the press using open-air test beds to test the GeForce GTX 480 - which meant the card had to do all the work in moving air over its hot components without the assistance of a well-ventilated chassis.

In fact, it is proven that the heat-stack vertical design of the MAINGEAR SHIFT custom built pc aided the GeForce GTX 480 in such a way that it was dramatically quieter in 3-way SLI than an identically configured Corsair 800D chassis that has terrible airflow.

The GeForce GTX 580 is a fully-realized GF100 with all 512 shaders. It has higher memory bandwidth, and a higher core and shader clock. And it does all of this while drawing less power and at half the noise level. It's the last two features that will blindside everyone. Once the specs made it from the rumor department to accepted, on-line "fact," everyone began to speculate that it would sound like a hair dryer and draw the power generated by a flux capacitor. And require 1.21 jiggawatts and 88mph to go back in time.

In reality, NVIDIA designed a wicked vapor chamber a la ATI Radeon 2900XT, threw out the exposed gigantic heat pipes, and managed to tweak the design to draw less power, all while delivering around 20% more performance.

I was fortunate enough to get to test out a MAINGEAR SHIFT with both 2-way GTX 480s and 2-way GTX 580s and can show you some numbers. So let's get started.

By now you may have heard the numbers, and recently the rumored specs have solidified into the truth. Yes, it has 512 shaders. Yes it is clocked at 772MHz and delivers 192.4GB/s of bandwidth.

Here's what we shoved into a SHIFT for this test:

Core i7 970 @ 4.135GHz
6GB of DDR3 2000MHz memory
Rampage III Formula
128GB Crucial RealSSD C300
And all the rest.

In comparison to the Nvidia 480, you see anywhere from a 10-20% increase in performance. There is plenty of reason to get excited about this though. Dual GTX 580's consumed about 40 watts less than dual GTX 480's. And you would not believe how much quieter they are. It is striking. Unfortunately I didn't bring a SPL meter with me, but NVIDIA reports it's about 50% quieter. I do not doubt for a second that is an accurate assessment. I was floored.

Can you see Billy Mays selling this thing? "THE NEW NVIDIA GTX 580 IS FASTER. IT'S QUIETER. IT USES LESS POWER! AND BEST OF ALL, IT'S THE SAME PRICE. THAT'S RIGHT FOLKS, THE ALL NEW GTX 580 IS NOT ONLY THE WORLD'S FASTEST SINGLE GPU ON THE PLANET, IT'S THE SAME PRICE AS THE GTX 480! BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE. BUY THE GEFORCE GTX 580 AND GET FREE(!) SUPPORT FOR CUDA. FOR 3D VISION. FOR PHYSX! ALL OF THESE COME BUNDLED IN THE NEW NVIDIA GTX 580 GRAPHICS CARD!"

OK, so maybe it's only me. But either way, this bad boy is replacing the GTX 480 in my book, ASAP. EVGA also offers a Superclocked version for those of you who still want "MOAR POWAH!"

Chris Morley is the Chief Technology Officer of MAINGEAR, an innovative high performance custom pc builder. Chris has pioneered creation of and personally designed award-winning computer products and is an authority in the custom built pc and computer product reviews sectors. He is a contributor to numerous computer and tech-related blogs and continues to enjoy being a vibrant part of the tech enthusiast community.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5631415

How to choose motherboard

How to choose the best motherboard for you ? This article important for you before you buy a motherboard to build you computer. Are you confused by the vast array of motherboards out there? Choosing a good motherboard is one of the most daunting tasks when building your own computer. All your system's components eventually connect back to the motherboard, so if you choose an inappropriate board, your system is going to have problems.

Personally , I feel the motherboard is one component you shouldn't scrimp on - buy the best you can afford. I've seen many otherwise good PCs bogged down by a bad motherboard.

This article will help you choose a good motherboard - read on to learn about the various factors to consider when purchasing one.


What's Your Processor?
First and most important thing to consider when buying your motherboard - what CPU or processor are you using? Motherboards are made differently, not all motherboards will support all CPUs. What CPU you select will determine the type of motherboard you get.

For example, if you want to use an Intel Pentium 4 CPU, the motherboard you select must be able to support that brand and model of CPU. The motherboards are also designed to support specific speeds for a CPU, so make sure it can support the speed of the processor as well.


Choose Your Chipset

What is a chipset? Well, chipsets are the main controllers on the motherboard - they allow the CPU to interface with the various components and expansion cards installed.

When choosing your chipset, always bear in mind the type of memory supported by the motherboard. Make sure that the board supports the type and amount of RAM you need. Generally, choosing a chipset that supports high speed memory will allow your system to perform better.


Expansions Slots and Connectors

If you intend to various peripherals to the computer, then the number and type of expansion slots and connectors is important. By default, most motherboards these days have USB 2.0 ports incorporated into their design. If you do a lot of video capturing and editing, you'll also want to have a Firewire (IEEE 1394) port. If you intend to buy expansion cards, make sure the board comes with an ample number of PCI slots.

Do You Need to Overclock?

If you want to overclock your CPU (though I don't particularly encourage it) - you should ensure you get a motherboard that supports overclocking. You'll want a motherboard that has a wide range of adjustments to CPU settings, including CPU voltage and bus speeds.


Other Features

These days, most motherboards have a whole host of extra features loaded into them. These can include things such as on-board Ethernet, audio, a RAID controller or even graphics. I find such features very handy as they help you save money - you need not buy additional expansion cards.


Conclusion

In short, make sure you do your homework when purchasing a motherboard. Go to the motherboard manufacturer's website and read about its products. Download the motherboard manual and see if its well documented.

At the risk of sounding biased, I've always preferred ASUS motherboards. However, its all up to you. Consider what features are important to you and go get your motherboard. As I said earlier, don't scrimp on the motherboard. Its one of the most important PC components, so get the best you can afford.

source : http://www.build-your-own-computers.com

Hard Disk Drive

Hard Disk Drive

(Also known as Hard Drive or HDD)

        A hard drive is the standard device for storing information on a computer. It stores data on disks known as platters that contain circular tracks with a magnetic surface. Modern hard drives use several platters spinning at high speeds to access (Read) and store (Write) data, this is done by an arm, which positions read/write heads in the right tracks to modify data. Think of it as a very advanced record player. Hard drives are, in general, known for their high storage capacities, low cost, and good over-all read and write speeds. Compared to solid state drives, they are large, consume more power, make more noise (SSDs are completely silent), and are slower than recent SSDs.

        There are several factors that contribute to the performance of a hard drive, the most important is the spindle speed followed by platter diameter, areal density, and buffer size. this allows for more data to be transferred in the same amount of time. Higher speeds also allow for lower access times, since less time is spent waiting for the right section to be reached.

Form Factor

        There are several common sizes for hard drives. A 3.5 inch form factor, (Usually 4 in by 1 in by 5.75 in) is the standard size for desktops is. This standard fits into most any hard drive bay in common desktop cases. The other common size is 2.5 inch hard drives (Usually 2.75 in by 0.374 in by 3.945 in). These are seen in most laptops  occasionally slightly higher hard drives, around 12 mm, are used for high capacity hard drives. There are also smaller 1.8 inch hard drives for ultra portable computers, but these are being replaced by SSDs now days.

        Note- You might have noticed that a 3.5 or 2.5 inch hard drive does not actually have dimensions of 3.5 or 2.5 inches, this, refers to platter diameter, not actual physical size.

Storage Capacity

        Modern hard drives have a wide range of storage capacities. Simply, storage size is determined by the storage capacity per platter, and how many platters there are. The key factor is areal density, which allows for platters with higher capacities to be made, increased areal density allows for hard drives to be faster as well, more on that later. In general hard drives have between 1 and 5 platters, more platters allow for more storage, but hard drives with more platters consume more power, make more noise, and tend to have a higher risk of failure. Typical hard drive sizes range from 120 gigabytes to 2 terabytes, for desktop hard drives, and 60 gigabytes to 500 gigabytes for laptop hard drives. Often times a hard drive may have a lower capacity than one would get if they added up the density of the platters, for instance a 640 GB hard drive might have 3 platters capable of storing nearly 250 GB each, manufacturers often don't use all parts of a platter, so that the fastest sections are used (Near the outer edge) and the inner sections are disabled, this allows for higher performance, as well as being able to fit into a ideal size range to sell a hard drive.
       

Spindle Speed

        Spindle speed is measured in rpm, rotations per minute, the higher the speed the better the performance of the hard drive. Higher speeds are important as this allows for more data to be transferred in the same amount of time. Higher speeds also allow for lower access times, since less time is spent waiting for the right section to be reached. Spindle speed for desktop computers is usually 7,200 rpm but slower hard drives are offered at 5,400 rpm. There are also high-end 10,000 rpm models, most notably the Western Digital Raptor series, which offer the best performance possible, but have significantly lower capacities (300 gigabytes is the max), and cost more than a comparably sized 7200 rpm hard drives. On the laptop side of things, most hard drives are 5,400 rpm. However, there are also slower 4,200 rpm hard drives and also some 7,200 rpm hard drives, available for a price premium. It is also important to note that higher spindle speeds result in higher power consumption.
      

Platter Diameter

        Platter Diameter is very important for hard drive performance. Since the outside of the hard drive is moving much faster than the inside, the larger the diameter of the platter, the faster a hard drive will be. For instance, a 3.5 inch 7,200 rpm hard drive will perform better than a 2.5 inch 7,200 rpm hard drive. This is one of the main reasons for performance decreases in laptop hard drives compared to desktop ones.

Density

        The density of a hard drive is often difficult to find in its most effective form, gigabits per square inch, however general assumptions can be made about a hard drives density and how it affects performance. The best gauge of density is a hard drives age, newer models of hard drives will have higher densities than older ones, and therefore, perform better since data is packed together more tightly and takes less time to cover. The corollary of this is a hard drives size, a hard drive with a larger storage capacity will likely have a higher density. However, this is where platters become important again, as two hard drives may have the same storage capacity, say 1 TB, but one may have 5 platters of 200 GB each, and the other have 3 platters of 333 GB each. The second one has a higher density and thus will have better performance.

Buffer Size

(Also known as Disk Cache)

        Modern hard drives contain embedded memory for storing recently accessed data, as well as dealing with commands sent to the hard drive. Buffer size varies from 8 mb up to 32 mb in curent hard drives. Large buffer sizes result in a slight improvement in performance although it is negligable when comparing similar hard drives. It should still be considered however.


source:knol.google.com/k/hard-disk-drive-hdd#

Tips memilih RAM

Memory premium seperti Corsair Dominator, OCZ reaper, Team Extreme, A-Data Extreme jika di perhitungkan akan lebih mahal dari pada memory dari produsen Visipro atau Vgen.Tetapi jika Anda membandingkan 2 jenis memory yang dilihat dari merk tersebut dengan mencoba masing2 dari RAM tersebut,akan sama juga rasanya.Kenapa?dimana letak perbedaaanya?
Yang membedakan kinerja dari masing-masing RAM tersebut adalah jenis chip yang digunakan.jadi,para produsen membeli chip tersebut dari produsen lain dan membuat atau me-relabel chip tersebut.Intinya ada kemungkinan juga merek berbeda seperti Apacer, Visipro, Vgen, dll mempunyai chip yang sama.
Perbedaan kinerja pada saat standar tidak akan terasa,mungkin hanya akan terasa pada saat benchmark memory.Tetapi pada penggunaan sehari-hari tidak akan terasa perbedaan kecepatannnya dengan memory standar value seperti Visipro value, Vgen value dll. Untuk value RAM kebanyakan yang beredar di pasar menggunakan IC (chip) Samsung dan Hynix(Hyundai).Nama chip dengan mudah dilihat di atas IC yang menempel di memory
Mungkin akan lebih susah untuk mengetahui nama chip pada beberapa memory premium,bisa di sebabkan karena memory tertutup heatsink dan beberapa diantaranya tidak mengijinkan pembukaan heatsink-nya (alasan garansi).
Memilih RAM yang mempunyai kinerja bagus tidaklah dilihat dari mereknya,atau bentuk fisik dan harganya.Kalau harga RAM sampai 1 juta sekalipun dengan heatsink macem-macem dan bentuk yang terlihat sangar tapi dijalanin default,bukankah itu sia-sia? Punya RAM jutaan dengan heatsink macem-macem tapi chipnya Hynix atau samsung juga sama aja dibohongi.
Yang perlu diperhatikan adalah karakteristik dari chip yang dipakainya,itulah yang akan menentukan kinerja dari RAM.Dan perlu diperhatikan juga,bahwa kinerja seluruh RAM apabila dijalankan default adalah sama.Bedanya pada saat benchmark default,itupun juga dengan point terpaut sedikit.Jadi percuma dong kita membeli RAM bagus tapi dijalanin default.Kualitas RAM yang biasanya dilambangkan dari harga-nya dapat dilihat dari kemampuannya untuk berjalan di timing ketat dan juga frekuensi tinggi (overclocking).
Jika anda angan ingin membeli RAM,silahkan menyesuaikan dengan kebutuhan anda.Jika keperluannya untuk pemakaian sehari-hari (default),jangan memaksakan diri untuk membeli RAM yang menggunakan chip sangar(bagus),yang masuk dalam kategori Overclocking Edition.Anda bisa menggunakan RAM yang value kan lebih hemat.Tapi jika ingin digunakan untuk tujuan overclocking, silahkan membeli RAM yang chipsetnya bagus,dan didukung pendingin heatsink,kipas sekalian kayak produknya corsair.Catatan,jangan terpengaruh Heatsink untuk membeli RAM.Semoga bermanfaat……
sumber : kompikita.web.id

Tips memilih VGA eksternal

Saat ini VGA Card sudah beragam jenisnya, dari jenis slot sampai pada kecepatan, pendinginan maupun merk yang menjadi daya saing penjualan VGA Card saat ini.
Nah, karena banyaknya merk dan tipe membuat orang kebanyakan malah bingung, bagaimana memilih VGA Card yang diharapkan akan bekerja jauh lebih baik yang disesuaikan dengan ukuran kantong.
saya kasih tips untuk memilih VGA Card.
1. Perhatikan motherboard anda, apakah support VGA Card atau tidak? dalam artian ada slotnya, bisa slot AGP, PCI ataupun PCI-e,
Klo ada perhatikan slot apakah itu, nanti slot tersebut akan menjadi acuan pada pilihan VGA Card agar sesuai dengan slot yang ada. Nah bagaimana bila slot lebih dari satu? Maka gunakan yang paling canggih diantara pilihan slot yang ada:
Nie urutan dari paling canggih: PCI-e x16, PCI-e x8, PCI-e, PCI, AGP
Coba dech liat slot yang paling canggih dimotherboard kamu yang mana, trus jadikan acuan untuk mencari VGA Card pada tahap selanjutnya,

Besar kapasitas memory sebuah VGA, biasa pembeli menyebutkan 1GB atau 512 MB.Tapi perlu di jelaskan tidak selalu 1 GB itu lebih baik dari 512 MB.
Chip apakah yg di inginkan, saat ini di pasar terdapat chip ATI atau NVIDIA. berdasarkan pengalaman kami untuk bekerja, Ati lebih baik dalam bidang gambar dan NVIDIA lebih baik dalam bidang video editing dan lebih banyak compatible kepada semua game.

Perhatikan Kecepatan Memory Clock, BIT dan Kapasitas Memory pada spek VGA Card yang ada di Toko Komputer:
Intinya jeli sebelum membeli . Lalu hubungan antara kecepatan memory clock, BIT dan Kapasitas Memory pada spek
Contoh Kasus:
- VGA A RAM 1Gb DDR3 64bit
- VGA B RAM 512 Mb DDR3 128 bit
- VGA C RAM 256 Mb DDR3 256bit
Menurut anda mana yang tercepat??? VGA A? Ternyata yang tercepat adalah VGA C….
Loh kok bisa, padahal VGA C khan cuma 256MB?????
Jawabnya begini nie:
BIT= Lebar Jalur Data, semakin lebar semakin cepat (asumsi dalam kehidupan sehari2 dech, mana cepat jalan di gang atau bypass?)
Perhitungannya:
Anggap dari ketiga contoh VGA td memiliki kecepatan memory clock yang sama yaitu misal 1000 MHz, maka:
- VGA A = (1000 x 16) / 8 = 2000 atau 2GB/detik
- VGA B = (1000 x 128) / 8 = 16000 atau 16GB/ detik
- VGA C = (1000 x 256) / 8 = 32000 atau 32GB/ detik
Nah dari hasil tadi ketahuan khan kekuatan transfer data VGA C jauh lebih cepat (32GB/detik), 2x kecepatan VGA B, dan 16x kecepatan VGA A.
Lalu kapasitas memory untuk apa? Kapasitas Memory VGA yang besar hanyalah berfungsi dan menandakan VGA tersebut telah suport untuk resolusi tinggi….tapi kan monitor yang kita pake resolusinya gak gede-gede amat………kalo Monitornya segede TV LCD baru kita pake yang RAM VGA nya yang gede
Jadi intinya sekali perhatikan pada besar BIT, Memory Clock dan Kapasitas Memory VGA.