Part 1

What are all those abbreviations and gibberish that are connected to every PC you see? Here is part 1 of a quick rundown of the basic pieces to help you understand what it all means.

* RAM (Random Access Memory) - Also memory, main memory or internal memory. This is the main working area of the computer and not to be confused with the main data storage area known as the hard disc. RAM is measured in bytes (generally 8-bits or 1 character), kilobytes (1,024 bytes. Abbreviated as KB, kB, Kbyte or kbyte), megabytes (1,048,576 bytes. Abbrev. MB) and gigabytes (1,073,741,824 bytes. Abbrev. GB). The numbers are slightly odd because of the base 8 system stemming from the 8-bits per byte. RAM is temporary storage where computation variables and information are stored while programs are running and doing something.

The more RAM a computer has the more information it is able to store and access quickly allowing programs to generally run more quickly. As the name states, there is no sequence to where data access and storage are done, it is random as opposed to sequential storage like a CD, DVD or floppy disk. Since RAM has no moving parts access times are normally measured in milli- or nanoseconds (one-billionth of a second). RAM is generally sold on circuit boards that are commonly called 'sticks of RAM' and can contain several Gigabytes per stick.

Major Manufacturers of RAM include Kingston, Corsair, and PNY.

* HDD (Hard Disk Drive) – Hard Disk, Internal storage, hard drive, internal hard drive, data storage. A mechanical unit that utilizes magnets to store and read data on spinning metal platters. This unit is where all your data, programs and temporary files are stored. Originally measured in kilobytes nowadays hard drives span hundreds of gigabytes in size and have a much greater data access speed. Drives come with varying spin speeds, rated in rpm (revolutions per minute) and interfaces which include SATA, SCSI, RAID and IDE.

RAID (redundant array of inexpensive disks) is a way to use multiple hard drives in order to replicate data and keep it safer. It is more often used in server environments than in desktop computing. SCSI (Small Computer System Interface) or ‘skuzzy’ is a standard for data transfer and communication and is used with not only hard drives but scanners, printers and optical drives as well and is most often used in RAID.

IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics) has been the standard in most desktop environments since the early 1990s. It is characterized by wide ribbon cables with 40-pin connectors. In 2003 SATA (Serial Advanced Technology Attachment) was introduced and allows for far faster data transfer and SATA 1 (first generation) transfer data, under optimal conditions, at 1.2 Gigabits per second though they are rated at 1.5 Gb/s. One Gigabit is 125 megabytes. Enhancements have been made to the design and the newer standard protocol is rated at 3.0Gb/s but under optimal conditions will only read about 2.4Gb/s with future drives expected to rate at 6.0Gb/s with 4.8Gb/s actual throughput. SATA is evident in the 7-pin data cables and 15-pin SATA power cables.

SATA 1 also supports up to 10,000 rpm disk speeds while fibre channel (FC) supports up to 15,000rpm (FC will be discussed in a future article). Most of the drives on the market today spin at between 4,200rpm and 7,200rpm with top speeds in servers and high-end workstations reaching 15,000rpm.

Major Manufacturers of hard drives include Western Digital, SeaGate and Maxtor

* CPU (Central Processing Unit) – Main processor, processor. The central piece of the digital computer, the component that processes all data and instruction. This is the ‘brain’ of the computer, the piece that reads the program and the data then manipulates and outputs the results. Normally these are rated in terms of Hertz, Megahertz or Gigahertz or cycles. The CPU generally locks into a socket on the system board of the computer. Most CPU have internal memory built into the unit to assist with calculations. The frequency of the processor does not always mean that the processor will perform better than another one as has been shown by numerous benchmark (a series of standard tests and trials used to determine the relative performance of processor) tests. In the last couple years processors have emerged that are ‘multi-core’ meaning that there is more than one processor embedded into a CPU, for example a dual core is two individual processors integrated into one microprocessor unit for parallel thread processing (in other words, each processor can work on something independently of the other) however many programs will need to be re-written in order to fully utilize the power of this design.

Major Manufacturers of CPUs are Intel and AMD

Tech Specs 2 of 3