3/10/20091Nancy Evans, CIT 112

 Motherboard  Processor  Power supply  RAM  Hard drive  Tower  Keyboard/mouse  Monitor  CD/DVD ROM  Video card  USB ports  Operating system* Hardware components needed to turn on a computer so that software can be added and the computer can be used: Is anything missing from the list? * = Operating system is not hardware, but knowing which operating system will be used is essential 3/10/20092Nancy Evans, CIT 112

 What operating system do you want to use?  XP, Vista, Linux, etc.  Identify your wants/needs  Gaming, light office work, ing/internet searching, etc.  Determine your budget $$$$  Identify issues (such as compatibility)  Sketch out a plan, make some notes  Brands you’ve heard about, things you’ve heard folks talk about, questions you have 3/10/20093Nancy Evans, CIT 112

 Operating system may dictate hardware choices  Compatibility issues  Example: Is amount of RAM or type of processor limited by motherboard?  How find out about compatibility? ▪ Research ▪ Experience ▪ Not a beginning level skill/knowledge 3/10/20094Nancy Evans, CIT 112

 Pick some components ▪ Do not spend a lot of time finding the “right” part yet ▪ Do not worry about compatibility yet  Sketch out, visualize how the components will physically connect ▪ Make notes of anything you think in regard to “rightness” of parts, compatibility ▪ But, do not worry about compatibility yet  Research your parts online ▪ Forums ▪ Reviews  Ask around, talk with friends, co-workers  Do not trust any one source at face value ▪ Check a minimum of 3 different types of sources ▪ Want at least 2 of 3 saying same thing  Still, do not worry, you are just learning and beginning ▪ But, do not spend your hard earned $$$$ until you have more experience Turn worry into curiosity 3/10/20095Nancy Evans, CIT 112

 Have a goal in mind for your end product  What do you want to learn, get out of this project (besides just meeting minimum requirements)  As you search, your goal (parameters) may change  That’s fine and good to expand what you want to do but have a plan and modify it – don’t let things get to broad and need to include everything (you’ll get overwhelmed) 3/10/2009Nancy Evans, CIT 1126

 Example, I have all my components but I just realized I need the wires to connect parts  Example, what about ports, slots, etc.? I’m almost done and just thought about wanting/needing to expand in the future (having room to grow or upgrading)  Oh no! What do I do??!!! I don’t want to start over 3/10/2009Nancy Evans, CIT 1127

 Do not start over  Consider what your new discoveries/questions affect  In our examples, it’s the motherboard ▪ What if I’ve already picked my motherboard but don’t have one that allows for upgrades/growth like I now think I want? ▪ Remember, this project is a learning process so tell me about it ▪ Tell me that you got to this point and considered another motherboard would be better; don’t redo the project with another one, add a section into your output where you tell me this ▪ I want to see that you are processing info as you go, that you are learning; that maybe at first you didn’t pick the “right” component, that along the way you considered something different with new info you gathered ▪ Reflect on it and add it to your write up 3/10/2009Nancy Evans, CIT 1128

 “Motherboards have come a long way in the­ last twenty years. The first motherboards held very few actual components. The first IBM PC motherboard had only a processor and card slots. Users plugged components like floppy drive controllers and memory into the slots. Today, motherboards typically boast a wide variety of built-in features, and they directly affect a computer's capabilities and potential for upgrades.”PCprocessorfloppy drivememory 3/10/2009Nancy Evans, CIT 1129 Wilson, Tracy V., and Ryan Johnson. "How Motherboards Work." 20 July HowStuffWorks.com. 10 March 2009.

 ( board.htm) board.htm  Written in 2005 – keep that in mind because we know technology changes rapidly  I consider it a good source to get some basic conceptual ideas flowing for you with explanation that is in that computer layman realm that we talked about 3/10/2009Nancy Evans, CIT 11210