The Purchase of a PC Your Name Goes Here

5 Components Microprocessor Internal Memory (RAM) Auxiliary Storage Input Units Output Units

Microprocessor Brain of the computer Current chips for PC Intel (Celeron, Pentium III and Pentium IV) AMD (K-6 and Athlon) Which do I buy? Pentium IV or Athlon for graphic intensive programs K-6 or Celeron for business and Internet browsing

Internal Memory (RAM) Temporary (erased when power turned off) Measured in bytes 1 Byte = 1 character (8 bits) 1 Kilobyte = 210 (~1,000 bytes) 1 Megabyte = 220 (~1,000,000 bytes) 1 Gigabyte = 230 (~1,000,000,000 bytes) Need 64 - 128Mb of RAM Want to keep multiple programs & data files in memory Graphic intensive programs demand a lot of memory

Auxiliary Storage (Permanent) Floppy Disk Most common is 1.44Mb LS-120 disk is 120Mb High Capacity Removable Storage Zip disks (100 or 250Mb) Jaz Disks (1 or 2Gb) Hard (Fixed) Disk Most common are 10 –30Gb

Auxiliary Storage (Continued) CD-ROM (650Mb) Recordable devices also available DVD drives (4.7Gb-17Gb) ROM and RAM Higher capacity than CD Tape Units Used for large, unattended back-ups

Input and Output Units Keyboard Mouse Trackball Scanner Joystick Pens Ink Jet B/W or color Smears Lasers Highest quality output

Modems/Network Cards Fax/Modem Cable Modem DSL Modem Network Cards 56Kbps/V.90 Cable Modem Uses TV cable DSL Modem Voice and Data on same line Network Cards

Additional Devices Multimedia Other Devices CD ROM or DVD Sound Card Speakers Other Devices Scanner Camera

Purchasing Decisions Local store versus mail order Magazines Internet Use credit card to double warranty 30-day price guarantee Don’t forget the software Windows 98 (included) or 2000 Microsoft Office (check the version)