General Hardware: Expert Guides and Resources

Whether you want to build a basic, mid-range, or high-end PC, make sure you have the necessary components and follow some general commonsense rules for easy assembly of your PC. Once you have your PC together, get to know the beep codes your computer will make and what they mean.What you need to build a basic PCThe basic, no-frills model PC will cost you the least to build.

Your computing experience is made up of interactions with hardware and software. The hardware is all the tangible computer equipment, such as the body of your laptop containing the hard drive, keyboard, and touchpad for pointing at and clicking on items onscreen.The software is what makes the hardware work or lets you get things done, such as writing documents with Microsoft Word or playing a Solitaire game.

If you want to build a first-class computer — a PC that does advanced computational work (like video editing), plays the latest computer games, and has high-quality video — then here’s the equipment you'll need to build this power user’s dream: Computer Component What to Look For Case Full-tower model; dual or triple fan CPU/motherboard The fastest doggone Core 2 Extreme Edition or Athlon Phenom processor available; PCI and PCI-Express slots System RAM 2GB to 4GB Hard drive One SATA drive, 500GB minimum Optical Drive 16x dual-layer Blu-ray/DVD recorder Floppy drive One 3.

When you’re ready to put your PC together, keep these things in mind when you’re handling and connecting the computer parts to make assembly quicker, easier, and safer: Give yourself plenty of elbow room and adequate lighting. Ground yourself on a metal surface before handling any components. Don’t start without all the parts and components.

The basic, no-frills model PC will cost you the least to build. This type of computer is great for word processing, Internet e-mail, keeping track of finances, and simple applications that don’t need lots of memory or a fast computer. Here’s a list of equipment you need to build an entry level PC: Computer Component What to Look For Case Standard “pizza-box,” ATX minitower, or desk-top model; single fan CPU/motherboard Intel Celeron or AMD Sempron; PCI slots System RAM 512MB Hard drive One EIDE drive, 120GB minimum Optical drive 16x internal DVD drive Video card Standard 128MB PCI/AGP adapter Sound card PCI audio card Monitor 17-inch LCD Ports At least four USB 2.

If you’re looking for a computer to browse the Web, e-mail, use simple desktop publishing software, or work with more advanced productivity programs (like spreadsheets and scheduling applications), then a standard model PC is for you. Here’s the equipment you'll need to build this PC: Computer Component What to Look For Case ATX minitower model; dual fan CPU/motherboard Intel Core 2 Duo or AMD 64 Athlon X2; PCI and PCI-Express slots System RAM 1GB Hard drive One EIDE or SATA drive, 240GB minimum Optical drive 16x internal DVD recorder Modem 56 Kbps v.

If your computer starts beeping, don’t worry; your PC is trying to tell you something. Here’s a guide to those PC beeps and what they mean: Number of Beeps What Your PC is Telling You Single short beep Normal boot Repeating short beeps Problem with power supply or motherboard Repeating long beeps Problem with

If you’re switching to a Mac from a PC, you don’t have to discard all your old PC equipment and buy new. In fact, you may even be able to connect your PC’s keyboard and mouse to your new Mac. When deciding whether you can use a keyboard or mouse you already have on your Mac, here’s the short version of the story: A two-button scroll-wheel mouse with a wire coming out of it that has a USB connector — a flat rectangular metal plug about the size of a fingernail — at the other end is worth keeping.

Consider adding ports to an older PC. Although adding or upgrading ports doesn’t speed up your computer, you can connect a wider range of external devices if you have additional ports — and those devices are likely to run faster, transferring data to and from your PC at many times the rate of your pokey old serial ports and parallel ports.