Chapter 2 Turning Data into Something You Can Use © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2000 Processing Hardware

Ch 2 FAQ© The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., CCI Is a megabyte exactly a megabyte? No, the hardware industry has rounded off the measurement for advertising purposes In reality, one megabyte is not a million bytes but amount of memory or disk space equal to 1,048,576 bits

Ch 2 FAQ© The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., CCI Processors and RAM Can I not just buy a faster processor and put it in my machine? Processors must use the same type of slot (slot 7, slot 1, slot A, for example) as the motherboard

Ch 2 FAQ© The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., CCI Processor Upgrade Compatibility The motherboard and BIOS must be compatible with the new processor The motherboard must be able to adjust to the new processor’s electrical requirements –switches may need to be changed on the motherboard

Ch 2 FAQ© The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., CCI Finally... RAM must be compatible with the CPU The computer or motherboard manufacturer has the information that you will require Check the manufacturer’s Web site for compatibility You can upgrade the CPU and RAM at the same time

Ch 2 FAQ© The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., CCI Is it cheaper to buy a new system than upgrade components? –Rule 1: Never upgrade or buy a new system during times that you absolutely need your computer –Rule 2: There is no easy answer. Always calculate costs –Rule 3: Plan on upgrades taking about three times longer than planned, if you do not do these often

Ch 2 FAQ© The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., CCI Do I Need That Speed? In general, processor speeds have outpaced business applications If you work on graphics, you will need a fast processor If you are a gamer, you may also need fast processor

Ch 2 FAQ© The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., CCI Main Memory Increasing RAM? Older Intel chips may not process well as memory exceeds 64 MG Motherboards with VIA and other chipsets do not have this problem

Ch 2 FAQ© The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., CCI Focus on PC Purchasing Research online evaluations of PCs performance, manufacturing support, and capabilities

Ch 2 FAQ© The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., CCI Power Supply Consider your needs and check the specifications Surge protectors UPS Consider time needed before shutdown

Ch 2 FAQ© The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., CCI Motherboard Review motherboard capabilities before purchasing a system Call the manufacturer if the information is not readily available –this will affect future upgrading –

Ch 2 FAQ© The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., CCI Microprocessor Intel and AMD are battling out processor bragging rights at both the low and high end of CPUs Determine limitations and differences before purchasing

Ch 2 FAQ© The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., CCI Compatibility Most software is backward compatible with new chips The older the hardware, the less likely that it will install easily and function completely in new systems