How To Build A Computer - Free Videos and Tutorials

Definitions:

Here are some pictures and definitions...if you get lost on a word just look up the meaning and refer to the picture..

Memory:

RAM: [r(andom-)a(ccess) m(emory).] A memory device in which information can be accessed in any order.

ROM: [r(ead-)o(nly) m(emory).] Memory hardware that allows fast access to permanently stored data but prevents addition to or modification of the data.

Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

The two most common types of computer ram are DDR and SDRAM. DDR is a more advanced type of memory and a bit more expensive. SDRAM is a little cheaper but also a little slower. Here are a couple of pictures of DDR and SDRAM.

This is what DDR or SDRAM would look like. It measures only a couple inches tall and about 5 inches long.

Video Card:

Video Card (Or "graphics adapter", "graphics card",
"video adaptor", etc.) A circuit board fitted to a computer,
especially an IBM PC, containing the necessary memory, video
memory and other electronics to provide a bitmap display.

Adaptors vary in the resolution (number of pixels) and
number of colours they can display, and in the refresh rate
they support. These parameters are also limited by the
monitor to which the adaptor is connected. A number of such
display standards, e.g. SVGA, have become common and
different software requires or supports different sets.

The two most common types of video cards are AGP and PCI. Your mother board will have a slot for one or the other and sometimes both. You will have to find out what type of slot it has (AGP or PCI). An AGP video card has a dedicated channel build into it. An PCI would be like driving a car across a state strait though in a strait line through the woods not knowing where you are and a AGP would be like taking the interstate. The cool thing is that with AGP you can have a 2x, 4x, or and 8x, which is like taking several highways at the same time.

CPU:

central processing unit
n. Abbr. CPU The part of a computer that interprets and executes instructions.

C.P.U. n : ( computer science) the part of a computer (a microprocessor chip) that does most of the data processing; the CPU and the memory form the central part of a computer to which the peripherals are attached [syn: central processing unit, CPU, C.P.U., central processor, processor, mainframe]

Here is a picture of a CPU (Pentium 4 Intel 2.0GHz 478-Pin CPU)...

The CPU measures about 2 inches x 2 inches. I would not encourage ever buying less than a Pentium 3. Pentium 4 is the latest and greatest right now.

Motherboard:

moth·er·board
n. The main board of a computer, usually containing the circuitry for the central processing unit, keyboard, and monitor and often having slots for accepting additional circuitry.

Everything attaches to the motherboard. When you build your computer it is easier to think about when you know that everything plugs into the motherboard except for the fans and that plug into the power supply.

Here is a picture of a motherboard (ASUS A7V8X motherboard)...

The motherboard can be many different sizes but is usually about the size of a legal pad.