1. XP Practical PC, 3e Chapter 17 1 Upgrading and Expanding your PC

2. XP Practical PC, 3e Chapter 17 2 Upgrading and expanding your PC In this Chapter, you will learn: –How to upgrade the processor in your PC –What affect adding RAM can have on the PCs performance –How to add more hard disk capacity –What other devices can be added or upgraded –What can be upgraded on a notebook PC –How to get technical support –About expansion devices, ports, cards and slots

3. XP Practical PC, 3e Chapter 17 3 Upgrading the processor in your PC When expanding a PC, you add components to increase functionality, but when upgrading, you replace a component with a new or better version. The motherboard provides only one specific slot for the microprocessor. Sometimes upgrading the processor is not cost effective and should be checked out carefully. You often do not gain enough performance to make it a good decision.

4. XP Practical PC, 3e Chapter 17 4 Upgrading the processor in your PC Two processor upgrades, a slot (left) and a Socket Connector

5. XP Practical PC, 3e Chapter 17 5 Adding RAM to improve performance Adding RAM can improve performance by providing faster data access and storage space for programs while they are running. There is less data transfer from disk if there is RAM space to hold it while it is being worked on. You can add RAM up to the limit of your microprocessor.

6. XP Practical PC, 3e Chapter 17 6 Adding RAM to improve performance Specifications to be considered when buying RAM are: –Speed – access time measured in nanoseconds (ns) –Capacity – The amount of data each module can hold measured in megabytes (MB) –Package – RAM chips come packaged onto memory modules which are either SIMMs, DIMMs or RIMMS –Type – today's memory modules are usually a type of DRAM (dynamic RAM) chips.

7. XP Practical PC, 3e Chapter 17 7 Adding RAM to improve performance Installing RAM SIMM DIMM

8. XP Practical PC, 3e Chapter 17 8 Adding more hard drive capacity Today’s software operates more efficiently with at least 300 MB of free space. If you want to supplement what your computer currently has, you can add a second hard drive. The new drive would connect to the enhanced integrated drive electronics (EIDE) slot on the motherboard.

9. XP Practical PC, 3e Chapter 17 9 Adding more hard drive capacity You can also connect to a small computer system interface (SCSI) connection if there are no available EIDE channels. You will also need a drive bay (shelf or compartment) to attach the new drive to. If no other options are available, you have the option of connecting an external hard drive unit using a parallel or SCSI connection.

10. XP Practical PC, 3e Chapter 17 10 Adding more hard drive capacity EIDE connections

11. XP Practical PC, 3e Chapter 17 11 Adding or upgrading other devices Your PC contains a variety of ports that allow for the connection of various external devices by cable connections. New devices can be added to these ports by simply plugging them in. The motherboard includes several expansion slots. Expansion cards such as modems or graphics cards can be plugged into these slots.

12. XP Practical PC, 3e Chapter 17 12 Adding or upgrading other devices The PC motherboard contains several types of slots: –AGP (accelerated graphics port) – accommodates special graphics cards for 3-D and accelerated graphics –PCI (peripheral component interconnect) – high speed data transfer for special sound, video or graphics cards. –ISA (industry standard architecture) – older technology, used for modems or other slower devices

13. XP Practical PC, 3e Chapter 17 13 Adding or upgrading other devices Expansion slots in the PC AGP slot PCI slot ISA slot

14. XP Practical PC, 3e Chapter 17 14 Upgrading a notebook PC Notebooks provide few upgrade options and virtually no access to the motherboard. Notebooks typically have multifunctional ports, slots or docking capabilities to add devices. The ports allow for such things as a mouse, full- sized keyboard, scanner, external monitor, etc. An infrared port also allows sending data to a printer without a cable connection.

15. XP Practical PC, 3e Chapter 17 15 Upgrading a notebook PC Notebooks usually have PCMIA slots that allow adding second hard drives, modems, CD-ROM drives, cameras, more memory, etc. Docking stations contain ports and expansion slots just like a PC. Docking the notebook gives you this increased capability.

16. XP Practical PC, 3e Chapter 17 16 Upgrading a notebook PC The array of ports on a notebook computer

17. XP Practical PC, 3e Chapter 17 17 Hardware – Expansion devices, ports, cards and slots Peripheral devices are the input, output and storage devices connected to your computer. Internal devices, like CDR drives or modems are inside the PCs case and use its power supply. External devices like printers or scanners have their own case and power supply. Some devices have both internal and external options.

18. XP Practical PC, 3e Chapter 17 18 Hardware – Expansion devices, ports, cards and slots Today's PC connectors 4 DIMM slots Slot connector for processor AGP slot 4 PCI slots 4 ISA slots 2 EIDE connectors 2 Serial ports Keyboard port Mouse port 1 Parallel port USB connector

19. XP Practical PC, 3e Chapter 17 19 Hardware – Expansion devices, ports, cards and slots Your PC has many types of ports, some device specific, many used for a variety of different devices. If you don’t have the needed external port, you can often add ports on an expansion card. You should always make sure you have the correct internal slot or external port available before you buy a new device.

20. XP Practical PC, 3e Chapter 17 20 Hardware – Expansion devices, ports, cards and slots Once a device is installed, Window’s plug and play software should automatically recognize it and help you install it. Some devices are hot pluggable, capable of being plugged in or unplugged while the system is running. Internal devices are never hot pluggable.

21. XP Practical PC, 3e Chapter 17 21 Hardware – Expansion devices, ports, cards and slots Expansion device chart

22. XP Practical PC, 3e Chapter 17 22 Getting technical support Getting help on the Internet

23. XP Practical PC, 3e Chapter 17 23 What do you think? Upgrade, reuse, recycle, or landfill? 1.If you did not have a computer, would you accept any free computer as long as it ran some basic software? 2.Do you think that your current school or business would accept a donation of 100 five-year old computers? 3.Do you believe that computer companies should take more responsibility for recycling the products they make?

24. XP Practical PC, 3e Chapter 17 24 Chapter Summary You should now be able to: –Upgrade the processor in your PC –Add RAM to improve your PCs performance –Add another hard disk –Add or upgrade other devices as needed –Understand what is upgradeable on your notebook –Get technical support –About the basic types of expansion devices, ports, cards, and slots