Computer Hardware - Guide to the PC Hardware

Have you ever been amazed at how fast computer hardware advances everyday? When any single product hits the shelves, it instantly becomes obsolete, because the company is most likely already working on some new ideas to use on brand new products to be sold in a few months. And those brand new products being created will also become obsolete, because scientists and engineers continually strive for newer circuits, energy efficiency, or any other ideas.

Since the last few months of 2007, the memory industry has been delving in more and more into DDR3 computer memory. DDR3 memory is, well, faster than DDR2 for one. It also costs A LOT more than the current DDR2 800 to 1200 computer memory.

So, what did I mean by the “computer memory race”? Well, for me, this is more of a race between companies, where companies are competing for that place on the podium for being the first to sell the fastest RAM at the lowest prices. It’s almost just like the competition between graphics card companies, NVidia and ATI: whoever creates the fastest GPU wins that king of the hill, and whoever can create the best price-to-performance GPU takes that hill. It goes the same for computer memory: create the RAM with the lowest timings, you take that hill; create the best RAM for its price(like the current DDR2 800 memory), you take that hill. This race keeps going on and on and on and… I really don’t know when it’ll end. Maybe it’ll never end.

I have been observing memory prices for the last couple months, and boy is it getting competitive. The main competitors in this race is G.Skill, Patriot, Crucial, Corsair, and last but not least, OCZ. The prices, especially at the DDR3 1333 levels, are getting lower and lower.

If you look at some of the prices and compare them, some of the DDR3 1333 memory costs as much as some DDR2 1066 and DDR2 1200 desktop memory kits. That’s amazing! Just in the time frame of a few months, DDR3 has been working down in prices, and coming up in abundance.

This will indeed be a very exciting race between all companies. Keep an eye out for those DDR3 memory kits, because they will keep going down in price. Maybe, by the time you finish reading this last sentence, DDR3 will become the new DDR2.

To check out more articles on computer hardware, go to http://www.ImIcarus.com

All PC’s and networking devices use clocks to maintain an internal system time. These clocks, called Real Time Clock chips (RTC), provide time and date information. They are battery backed so that even during power outages, they can maintain time. However, personal computers are not designed to be perfect clocks - their design has been optimized for mass production and low-cost rather than maintaining an accurate time.

These internal clocks are prone to drift and although for many application this is can be quite adequate for some applications, but machines on a network that drift at different rates, become out of sync with each other and problems can arise, particularly with time-sensitive transactions.

NTP servers (Network Time Protocol) use a single time reference to synchronise all machines on the network to a time reference. This time reference can be either relative (a computer’s internal clock or the time on a wrist-watch perhaps) or absolute such as a UTC (Universal Coordinated Time) clock source like an atomic clock that is as accurate as is humanely possible.

For some applications a relative time source is sufficient, however in many environments, such as airlines and the stock exchange it is essential for time to be absolute. Imagine buying an airline seat only to be told at the airport that the ticket was sold twice because it was purchased afterwards on a computer that had a slower clock!

Atomic clocks are the most absolute time-keeping devices. They work on the principle that the atom, caesium-133, has an exact number of cycles of radiation every second (9,192,631,770). This has proved so accurate the International System of Units (SI) has now defined the second as the duration of 9,192,631,770 cycles of radiation of the caesium-133 atom and the development of UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) now means computers all over the workld can be synchronized to the same time.

However, atomic clocks are extremely expensive and are generally only to be found in large-scale physics laboratories. However, NTP servers can synchronise networks to an atomic clock by using either the Global Positioning system (GPS) network or specialist radio transmissions (MTF in the UK). It must be noted that Microsoft and others strongly recommend that external based timing should be used rather than Internet based, as these can’t be authenticated. Specialist NTP servers are available that can synchronise time on networks using either the MSF (or equivalent) or GPS time server signal.

GPS is an ideal time and frequency source because it can provide highly accurate time anywhere in the world using relatively cheap components. Each GPS satellite transmits in two frequencies L2 for the military use and L1 for use by civilians transmitted at 1575 MHz, Low-cost GPS antennas and receivers are now widely available.

The radio signal transmitted by the satellite can pass through windows but can be blocked by buildings so the ideal location for a GPS antenna is on a rooftop with a good view of the sky. The more satellites it can receive from the better the signal. However, roof-mounted antennas can be prone to lighting strikes or other voltage surges so a suppressor is highly recommend being installed inline on the GPS cable.

The cable between the GPS antenna and receiver is also critical. The maximum distance that a cable can run is normally only 20-30 metres but a high quality coax cable combined with a GPS amplifier placed in-line to boost the gain of the antenna can allow in excess of 100 metre cable runs.

There are also a number of national time and frequency radio transmissions that can be used to synchronise a NTP server. In Britain the signal (called MSF) is broadcast by the National Physics Laboratory in Cumbria which serves as the United Kingdom’s national time reference, there are also similar systems in Colorado, US (WWVB) and in Frankfurt, Germany (DCF-77).

A radio based NTP server usually consists of a rack-mountable time server, and an antenna, consisting of a ferrite bar inside a plastic enclosure, which receives the radio time and frequency broadcast. It should always be mounted horizontally at a right angle toward the transmission for optimum signal strength. Data is sent in pulses, 60 a second. These signals provides UTC time to an accuracy of 100 microseconds, however, the radio signal has a finite range and is vulnerable to interference.

Both a GPS NTP server and MSF time server can provide an affordable and efficient way to accurately synchronise computer networks using NTP.

Copyright 2008 © Richard N Williams

Richard N Williams is a technical author and a specialist in the telecommunications and network time synchronisation industry helping to develop dedicated time server products; ethernet clocks, GPS time servers, NTP servers, digital wall clocks, atomic clock servers and SNTP time servers. Please visit us for more information about NTP products and NTP servers This article may be republished and reprinted in its complete form or in part without seeking permission providing a relevant link to this site is maintained. It is a violation of copyright law to reprint or publish this content without following these terms.

When a computer starts to run slow the first thing that pops into the mind of most people is “I need more memory”. Upgrading your systems memory is one of the cheapest and easiest upgrades to perform, but before you upgrade you need to find out a few things about your system.

How to find your current memory/RAM information If you have no idea what kind of memory your system is currently using then go download and install CPU-ID.

CPU-ID will show you the type of memory you are using, how much of it you have, as well as more advanced information. For now we are just interested in the size, i.e. the amount of RAM in your system.

To Upgrade or not to upgrade

If you have 2GB of RAM or more you probably have enough as it stands. In that case you may want to try other alternatives to speed up your PC, such as:

Defrag your hard drives
Either use Windows built in defragger, or a third-party defragger. The windows one can be found in the (Help and Support -> Tools -> Disk Defragmenter) on WinXP systems.

Run a Virus/Spyware/Trojan scan
Disable background programs/services
Start -> Run -> type “msconfig” -> Start up tab -> uncheck programs you don’t need on start up.

Use windows performance monitoring to diagnose the problem.
This can be found in Control Panel -> Administrative Tools -> Performance. You can add counters by right-clicking on the chart. You should probably seek out a tutorial on how to use this.

Format your drive (The last resort, so try everything else first)
On the other hand, if you have 1GB or less you will most likely benefit from upgrading, especially if you are running Windows Vista. Vista seems to thrive at 2GB and it wouldn’t hurt to have 2GB in a Windows XP or Linux system as well.
Things you should know beforehand

When upgrading your memory you should be aware of the following

All the RAM in your system should be identical, in other words all your RAM sticks should be of the same type, brand, and have the same timings. Using identical RAM will provide you with a more stable system than mixing RAM from different vendors.
In most cases the RAM currently in your system will be replaced by your new RAM.
Make sure your motherboard can support the RAM you are planning to buy. It’s a good idea to check your motherboard manual or website regarding supported memory types e.g. DDR, DDR2, DDR3, Rambus, etc…
For 32-bit operating systems there is no point in having more than 4GB of RAM. In actuality only about 3GB of the 4GB is used with the remainder reserved by the OS. If you want a system that can run more than 4GB of memory you need to install a 64-bit version of the operating system.
For more information on computers and electronics please visit us at BestMatchComputers.com

So you’ve finally decided to change that old piece of electronics with a flaming new PC. But, when you think about it, maybe not all of the old stuff is to throw away indiscriminately — hard drive technology, in particular, doesn’t progress as fast as microprocessors technology, and even if that old hard disk can’t store that much, you’re thinking that, after all, maybe you could still use it as a backup unit. Here are a few tips on how to make that happen.

The first question that comes to mind is: why don’t I just plug it in? Unfortunately, your hard disk won’t work right away like this, unless it’s the only unit installed. If this is not the case, you will have to change a few setups in order for this to work properly.

With the PC turned off, plug in the old hard drive, then enter the boot setup screen — the procedure to do that depends on the particular hardware you’re using, just look at the very early messages the screen displays when booting up.

After pressing the right button, you should have entered the boot setup screen: find the ‘devices’ screen. In a typical configuration, you’d want to set the new, bigger hard drive as ‘master’ and the old, recycled one as ’slave’. This means that the bigger hard disk should be the one containing the operating system and whose MBR (Master Boot Record, bootup information) will be used, while the second hard drive won’t need to have an operating system installed, and can be used to just store your data. Exit the boot screen and, when prompted, save the changes you have made.

Just as a precaution, it’s probably a good practice to tweak the boot device order too. When you exit the boot setup screen, your PC will be restarted. Check again for early messages on the screen, but look for the boot device order button this time. When you press it, you will be shown a page with a list of the hardware from which you can boot up your PC. Just make sure the new hard drive is the first in the list (and, if possible, delete the old hard drive from the list as well). Attention: devices in this list won’t typically be assigned standard Windows identifiers such as ‘C:’ or ‘D:’, but rather with their model, so it’s a good idea to double check the brand of the two hard drives before doing this.

At this point, everything should be ready to start. Depending on your particular situation, you can either proceed to installing the operating system of your choice, or just keep using it with the benefits of a backup unit. If anything went wrong, don’t panic: you can roll back the changes by logging again into the boot screen, just like you did before.

Finally, it’s a good idea to format your backup hard drive before starting to use it. Now that you have an old/new hard drive at your disposal, remember — especially if one of them is an external USB drive — to always unmount it before removing the cable connecting it to the mainboard, or you could risk experiencing serious data loss.

Check out the author’s website here: http://wysinnwyg.altervista.org/

Nowadays desktops and laptops are much more durable and dependable that they were just five years ago. Therefore, buying a used or refurbished computer is becoming more of a trend.

Suppliers replace their computers on average every 6 months and companies frequently upgrade their equipment. Buying one of these used or refurbished computers can save you a lot of money while still using a quite up to date technology. This is even more relevant if you are not a heavy user (i.e. most of your time on a computer is spent online, you may use a few standard applications once in a while). Even modestly priced computers will more than suffice for these types of demand.

Thinking about buying a used or refurbished desktop or laptop?

Buying a computer is not at all an easy job, one has look get detailed information of the available computers of good and reputed brands. One must take into consideration the size, color, configurations, features etc… While your computer should correspond to your personality and lifestyle, you should always keep in mind the reputation of the brand in the market. Brand counts a lot; you can render good service by the manufacturer if your computer is damaged.

Important handy Tips before buying a computer…

Verify if the brand is reputed and always buy a good reputed brand. Read about customer service experience for that specific computer issues
Check the warranty/guarantee of the computer (seek out computers which still have warranty/guarantee remaining)
Compare the price of the new model in the market with what price your buying your used computer, try to get the best bargain. i.e. a two year old computer should not be bought for more than half of its original price.
Check if the computer is outdated (if out of production it is difficult to get spare parts)
Is the operating system current (Windows Vista/Windows XP). Earlier versions probably run slower (windows 2000) and would not be advisable unless your needs are limited (i.e. web surfing, Word…). In any event, stay away with computers running on Windows 98 (granted you don’t find many anymore). Also be aware of Windows Vista. Many users are reverting back to XP and that is even more obvious in the corporate world. Why? Vista looks nice but doesn’t bring many technical improvements; therefore IT managers are not willing to implement something new when what they have works just fine. Some domestic users just don’t like the new way of navigation within the Vista Operating System.
Check if the configuration of the computer you are buying is good.
Check the speed of the processor. If possible start the computer and see how long it takes to fully turn on. If its slow just turning on, imagine the lack of speed once you start adding software..
Additional Tips for laptops

Is the battery life good? (search for the computers with a very good battery backup (2 hours minimum).
Check for the screen size of the computer your buying and see to it that it is not exceeding the Normal (normally the screen size should be between 15-17). Less than that generally translates in older computers and increases the chance of age failure. Once the screen breaks, you are often better of changing the whole computer.
Review the connectivity of the computer (Network, USB, Video, Audio…) look to it that it has a good connectivity including wireless
Check out the weight. Ensure the computer is light enough for you to carry (light<4 pounds, medium 4-7 pounds, heavy > 7pounds)
Where to buy used computers:

Online auctions. Pro: Often offer the best prices. Cons: Cannot validate the accuracy of the described item. No warranty. Tip 1: Some companies will offer warranty for up to two years, the cost is about 12% to 18% of the purchase price. Tip2: Buy from sellers with great feedback, do not hesitate to contact the seller with questions prior to bidding
Online marketplaces: Pro: Set prices and quantities - Sometime warranty is available. Cons: Prices can vary a lot, do your homework
Craiglist.com Contacting sellers on Craiglist.com in your local area gives you a chance to meet with the owner and physically test the computer before the purchase
Where to buy refurbished computers:

Refurbished computers can be a great way to buy as they have warranties and are generally sold by manufacturers or companies affiliated with them.

Manufacturers websites will tell you how to buy directly from them or from their authorized sellers. Pros: Warranty, established companies. Cons: Prices are higher than regular auctions (you pay more for peace of mind)

Buying a used or refurbished computer can be a great way to save money. If you use some of the advice discussed above you can avoid many pitfalls. One last thing concerning laptops, make sure you have a good bag to protect your computer from a fatal accident. Your bag should be big enough for a 17 inch screen computer as it is rapidly becoming the norm, you will probably change your computer within a few years, the bag you may keep a lot longer.

Good Buy!

Christophe Catesson - Communication Manager for http://www.bestlaptopsreviews.com A source of unbiased information on laptops/notebooks. Supporting companies and individuals with their computer purchasing, deployment, maintenance, upgrade.

If you are connected to the Internet, viruses tend to cause a lot of malfunctions in the operation of a computer. But what else can go wrong with a computer, on the physical, mechanical side of things?

Let’s have a look at a few of the common faults you may encounter:

Hard drive failure, or bad sectors preceeding hard drive failure. The hard drive cannot read or write the data onto it’s disks because the material they are made out of is physically breaking up and flaking off. Files become corrupted, data loss and operation faults are evident.
RAM memory failure. Can happen if the computer has overheated, or the RAM chips are of inferior quality. Usually the computer won’t start at all with this fault.
Modem failure. Usually due to lightning or power/mains surges. You cannot dialup to the internet.
Lightning strikes in the near proximity of your computer can blow the fuses in your PC’s power supply. (How do I know? Because it happened to my PC!!)
Computer “hangs” (stops functioning or freezes) due to incompatible hardware or an intermittent fault in the hardware. It can also hang due to corrupt or badly written software, especially drivers.
CMOS battery goes flat. After 5 to 10 years of use, the little battery on the motherboard can go flat. The computer will still start up, but then you get error messages. Replace the battery, reconfigure, ands all will be well.
Fuses can blow. There are 2 or 3 fuses in the built in power supply, and also a few in the screen/monitor. Do not attempt to replace these unless you are a qualified technician, as there are voltages of up to 1000 volts in the power supply, and up to 27000 volts in the screen, and these voltages are still present with it switched off and unplugged from the wall socket. Even after being unplugged for a day or two, it may still kill you. So rather let a tech do it for you.
Computer runs out of memory. When you load a new, big program, like MS Office, if your RAM memory is too small the computer will try to compensate by madly swopping your programs from memory to hard disk and back again. This takes a tremendous amount of computing power and hard drive work, and slows the computer down drastically.

On the software side:

Programs can become corrupted over time, and cause intermittent random faults and can hang the computer.
New programs can be incompatible with the computer or operating system, and can cause unusual operation or non operation.
Mistakes by the operator or user, such as changing critical settings, can render the computer unusable.
Viruses, trojans, worms and malicious software can compromise the correct operation of the PC.
These things sound a bit frightening, but in reality they don’t happen all that often. A few wise precautions, like keeping your system restore function switched on, making backups of your data, changing your CMOS battery every 5 years, using decent branded software and hardware, keeping your antivirus software up to date, and using surge protection equipment, should prevent most of these problems.

If you can afford it, try and get good quality hardware. It costs a bit more than the far eastern types of PC, but it definitely makes a big difference when you have a problem. Spares are easy to find, drivers are downloadable, and manuals are available.

So don’t worry. Enjoy your computer.

Like Mom says, “Be careful and have fun!”

Duncan Kelly

For more info from this author, be sure to visit Wrinklyo Web Node
Free information on things that can help and encourage, and a lot of other info !LIFE CHOICES:
Get your marriage pumping!
Learn to get along with your teenager! Of course it’s possible!
Teenagers - get a handle on life!
Managing Depression and Panic Attack Syndrome - there is hope!
Improve your Golf Swing! eBook available!

TV, ENTERTAINMENT and MAKING MONEY:
Share Trading Links and Info - Get wise and make some bucks!
Get Satellite TV on your PC! No dish, no cables!
Learn about WiMax - Long Range High Speed Wireless Internet. It’s coming, and it’s gonna be cheaper!
Long, Free ACRONYM / ABBREVIATION list with meanings.
News and info about Digital TV and broadcasting.

FREE STUFF - Download what you want !
SOFTWARE. A couple of handy applications for home use.
PHOTOS- Scenery from South Africa. 2-4MB pics. OK for Desktop wallpapers.

So Welcome! Please be my guest! Click here: http://wrinklyo.googlepages.com

Introduction

In these recent years, with 3G and 3.5G being accepted as a common and popular mobile network, HSPA (High-Speed Packet Access) becomes very crucial for road warriors, as they are much faster than GPRS network and easy to use.

A person will need a 3G or 3.5G-enabled devices to use this high-speed network (of course, this service is dependent on the Telecommunication Company of the country). It can be in-built in the devices already or it can be in an external unit.

This review is based on HuaWei’s USB Modem E170. HuaWei Technologies Co., Ltd has been aggressively promoting their USB Modems.

Main Content

HuaWei’s latest USB stick modem is much smaller than its predecessor (E220). Technically, this USB stick modem is actually a modem, an USB flash, a virtual CD-ROM drive.

In this review, I will be using the modem from Singapore Telecommunication operator, Starhub.

The Package

The package from Starhub comes in only white colour with a Starhub logo. It is packaged into a DVD size cover with the modem itself and an extended cable. The major difference between E220 (the predecessor) and this E170 is that E170 itself has already a USB connection point. In normal operation, you will not need to use the extended cable. In the operation manual, it states that this cable may be used to enhance the signal. You will need to purchase the SIM Card separately for this modem. Or you can use your existing SIM Card on it. Starhub bundled this package with an unlimited Data SIM Card that is easy to install onto the device.

The Modem

The modem is very light and the finishing is of high quality. The size is slightly bigger than a convention thumb drive. The Dimensions is 80.5mm long by 24.1 mm on the width and 11.8 mm thick. It is glossy white in color and extremely well made. The USB connection is hidden with a cover that is quite sturdy. The cover comes with a silver hinge for you to hang this device around. Near to the USB connection port is the SIM Card holder. It is carefully hidden and flushed with the overall design. I wouldn’t be too sure about that as the device may drop off if it is being pulled (and you are left with a cover only).

The ConnectionAs mentioned previously, this modem is a virtual CD-ROM drive. Reason being that the software is flashed into it and it is detected as a CD-ROM drive when plugged in. A Dell laptop was used for this connection check. It took about 5 minutes to setup the modem automatically. You will be prompt for the first time to install the software into the computer. It is a compulsory step. After the installation, the Starhub connection panel will show up and you just need to click on the connect icon. Starhub connection is based on HSDPA/HSUPA/UMTS/EDGE/GPRS/GSM.

It takes a minute for it to connect (the modem that I have is without password. Therefore, it is automatically connected when I push the connect icon).

The main panel will show connected once it is done and on the bottom right hand corner of your computer, you can see the Starhub modem logo.

On the main panel itself, you can switch to the statistics page to see the upload and download speed with a nice graph. There is also the text and phone book page that I did not explore. Basically, according to Starhub, the SIM Card is a data card that could not be used for calling. However, basic text messaging is possible. As for the phone book, it is the contacts storage of the SIM card. For this bundle, there are 500 contact slots.

The Performance

Ideally, the download speed for this modem using the Starhub service should be 7.2Mbps. However, the actual performance showed otherwise. This could be due to the signal strength and download sharing factors.

A few tests were done on a website by clicking a link on it to a heavily pictured page and also by refreshing this same page. Both results were satisfactory as it can be loaded within a minute.

The connection is stable. In fact, this unit was tested with Skype and webcam. It has a little lag but this may be due to the other party wireless connection. Therefore, this is not conclusive.

The Usage

This little device is best for Road Warriors to download emails and surf the Internet. As the form factor is small, it can be easily carried around. With an unlimited Data plan, this unit can be connected to the Internet all day without worrying about the bills.

The HSDPA Downlink is 7.2Mbps & HSUPA Uplink 2Mbps, it is still not the fastest as compared to a LAN network. It is not intended for gaming and if you have many heavy files to upload, you may feel the lagging.

If you intend to use it overseas, please check with your Telecommunication operator on the overseas data rate. It may cause a huge dent in your wallet.

Conclusion

Overall, this device serves the basic purpose of connection on the move. With is small form factor, it can be carried anywhere. The connection speed is very dependent on the telecommunication operator. With testing on the previous model (E220) at a 1.8Mbps to 3.6Mbps, some connection heavy task could be quite taxing. You should seriously consider the minimum standard of 7.2Mbps downlink if you wish to use it frequently. It is a Must-Have item for Road Warriors at this moment.

Joe Teh is an Technology Enthusiast with a current website atwww.TechieLobang.com He is passionate on the latest information on Technology and constantly updates the website with the Latest Technology News, Tips and Tricks.

Joe Teh also an Internet Marketer that reviews Tried & Tested products at http://www.marketingsecretsreviewed.com Grab a Free copy of Facts & Myths about Internet Marketing at that website.

Desktop computers, a type of micro computer, fit on a desktop and are used widely in offices and home. Personal computers or home computers, workstations, internet servers and special communications computers are four types of desktop computers used. Desktop computers are widely used in household, schools, business as these computers are very cheap.

The desktop computers are normally modular and its components can be easily upgraded or replaced. These are available in elegant case styles. They are used for carrying various tasks like organizing digital photos, office tasks, editing of video and accessing Internet.

Micro Instrumentation Telemetry System (MITS) 8800 offered the first desktop type system in 1975. The launch of this variety of computer encouraged scores of other companies to produce personal computers. In 1977, Tandy Corporation (Radio Shack) launched its model of personal computers having a keyboard and CRT. In the same year the Commodore PET and Apple II were also released market and these are forerunners of today`s Desktop computers.

Introduction of IBM PC, in 1981 by IBM, was a milestone in the field of Personal Computer. Based on Intel`s 8088 microprocessor, it became a success overnight. The introduction of a 16 bit microprocessor paved way for more powerful and faster micros. Also standardization in computer industry could be made as IBM PC used an operating system which was available to all the computer manufacturers. Apple Mac PC using Motorola 68000 is another series of 32 bit popular personal computers launched by Apple in 1984.

A modern desktop computer consists of Display Motherboard, CPU, Primary storage (RAM), Expansion cards, Power supply, Optical disc drive, Secondary Storage(HDD), Keyboard, Mouse.

All the desktop computers come with ports which allow plugging different external devices into the computer viz, keyboards, monitors, scanners, printers.The different type of ports are Universal serial bus, Ethernet, Modem, Headphone, Serial, Parallel, PS/2, VGA, Power connection, Fire wire, and Card reader.

You should surf the internet to check for detail guides available before purchasing a desktop computer. A few important points are listed here which may help you to have an informed purchasing decision:

Processors (CPUs): It is a very difficult choice to make between an Intel processor and an AMD. The main difference comes in the relative speed and number of cores in the processor. You should refer for the detail information on this in the internet sites.

Memory (RAM): It is best to have at least 1 GB memory system and older DDR memory standard should be avoided. For better performance, faster memories are must and ensure that future upgrades of memory are possible.

Hard Drives: 250 GB or more storage space is best to have in present days. Serial ATA interface is used in most drives now for ease of installation.

Optical Drives (CD/DVD): Multiformat DVD burner which can support both +R/RW and -R/RW with a 16x recordable speed are best to have in desktop computers.

Video Cards: Integrated graphics is sufficient if you are not doing 3D graphics. The important things which you should consider are the memory capacity of the card, version of Direct X supported, output connectors and the performance. For the purpose of games a Direct x 10 card with 256 MB memory should be considered.

External Connectors: Instead of internal cards, external interfaces are preferred now for various upgrades and peripherals to computers. IEEE 1394 or FireWire points and USB 2.0, both should be present in a desktop computer.

Monitors: These days LCDs are more popular than CRTs. This is because they have less power consumption and have reduced size. Also traditional aspect ratio of 4:3 is being replaced by wider display screen and prices of 20-22 inch models are decreasing.

Roberto Sedycias works as IT consultant for PoloMercantil

No matter your situation ….. in the end the real answer is what you’re going to be most comfortable with in a support and operations perspective. A Cisco 3800 series router would be perfect for terminating a DS3 connection at a branch location. If you’re backbone is Cisco then it’s best to stick with Cisco for end to end connectivity. You never want to get into the situation where Cisco is blaming Nortel and vice versa.

Going down the line of other things you would end up using at this location just by going with Cisco can save you some money.

16 Port switch modules in the router can save you big on switching if the needs are small and can be migrated to a bigger dedicated switch later down the road. These are great when you have a small telco closet that you have to squeeze everything into. After that you’re looking at 3550 switches withPOE so you can power WiFi and VoIP if the office is to use those technologies. I am not sure if the 16 port switch modules can support POE so that would be a consideration.

If you want to justify the choice of any particular vendor look at any group of job postings. They ask for Cisco network experience not Nortel experience. Makes things much easier when trying to find tech’s who are able to work on the equipment.

Whether it is a business startup or a new remote branch office, then Cisco would be a great option. Today, it doesn’t make much sense to have disparate networks. A network for voice and a network for data. In addition, many companies are running a wireless network and a video network. Security hasto be addressed and it gets very complicated and expensive to maintain, manage, and operate all of these networks. Not to mention the cabling costs associated.

When it comes to IP Telephony and VoIP, voice is now treated like an application. Voice packets have to travel from point A to point B safely, securely, and without latency to insure best voice quality. In my opinion, no company moves data packets better than Cisco. The market share they have in regards to their switches, routers, and voice products back that up.

Cisco is flexible in this scenario as well because this location would just need a Cisco switch and a Cisco router which is needed anyway for the data network. The call processing and security can be imbedded in the the routerand there’s your voice/data network on one platform…just add phones. Switch, Router, Phones. Switch, Router, Phones. As this company grows and more offices are utilizing the cisco platform for voice/video/data, all of call processing and managability can easily managed at 1 central location. IT Departments are streched to thin, why not provide them with a rock solid solution and make there lives easier? In regards to a prior comment, I would venture to say more people are promoted than fired when they go with Cisco.

In reality this decision is not straightforward and will depend on many factors. What is important to your project may not be important to others.

A couple of issues you should consider that tend to get forgotten when evaluating vendors:

1. How “manageable” is it?

What is your strategy for managing this platform? (If you haven’t got one then you should formulate one). Will this strategy encompass other vendors and systems (like servers, applications, etc.) and if it does you should consider how you deal with this. This usually mandates moving beyond the vendor’s own limited tools at some point.

If you do need to use third-party management tools, how easy will this be? Does the vendor (for instance) have good SNMP support. Some vendors have very poor SNMP support (not much more than MIB2) and this can make management of their equipment very difficult. Some vendors require you tointerface to their element management system and this can be costly and problematic. If your network is simple, this may not be a major problem.

Remember, “management” encompasses not just configuring the system, but fault management and alerting, impact assessment, config management, performance monitoring, and reporting.

2. How easily can you get skilled resources?

Whether this is through training existing staff, recruitment of new staff, or contractors for specific projects or to help out in emergencies it is important to know how easily and cost-effectively it is to get skilled staff with knowledge and experience of your chosen equipment.

Whatever direction you decide to go for a computer network hardware solution with YOUR business ….. or if you’ve decided and are looking for a local vendor ….. you can get help finding the right fit for local support from multiple vendors including Cisco, Nortel, HP by dropping in at Broadband Nation.

Michael is the owner of FreedomFire Communications….including DS3-Bandwidth.com and Business-VoIP-Solution.com. Michael also authors Broadband Nation where you’re always welcome to drop in and catch up on the latest BroadBand news, tips, insights, and ramblings for the masses.

When it comes to choosing a computer for yourself, your family or a child going away to college for the first time you want to make sure your making a sound investment. For most of us this means getting the best quality and reliable assistance for a reasonable price. In order to do this one must to sufficient research before making their purchase. Whether your reasons for buying a computer are for work, graphics or simply to write papers there are many options out there. An important question that arises for many people today is whether they should get a Mac or a PC.

The following chart contains 15.4 inch PC’s that have been chosen and customized (with the exception of Acer) to best compare with the Macbook Pro. All 3-year warranties are basic and anti-virus software is based on a 15 month price.

(Sources: Apple.com, Amazon.com, Dell.com, HP.com, Sony.com)

Price Comparison of 15.4 Inch Laptops

Brand Model Processor Graphics Card RAM Hard Drive Weight Price 3-Year Warranty Anti-Virus Software Total Price

Apple Macbook Pro 2.4 GHz NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 256MB 2 GB 200 GB

5.4 lbs $1,999.00 $349.00 $0 $2,348.00

Acer Aspire 5920-6329 2.5 GHz NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 256MB 2 GB 320 GB 6.6 lbs $1,799.00 $199.99 $60 $2,058.98

Dell XPS M1530 2.4 GHz NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 256MB 2 GB 250 GB 5.8 lbs $1,763.00 $299.00 Included $2,062.00

HP dv6700t 2.4 GHz NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS with 256MB 2 GB 250 GB 6.14 lbs $1,220.99 $269.99 $59.99 $1,550.97

Sony VGN-FZ24000 2.4 GHz NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GT with 256MB 2 GB 200 GB 5.9 lbs $1,258.99 $199.99 $59.99 $1,518.97

When it comes to making sure you are getting the assistance you need the first thing you want to look at is the warranty. If you choose to purchase a dell you may want to look into the XPS M1530. At a price of $2,062 you can get a 15.4 inch notebook with a 2 GB RAM, a 250 GB hard drive, virus software included and a three year warranty. Dell warranty includes in-home service parts labor and 24×7 phone service.

HP is a popular choice for a notebook, dv6700t is one of HP’s most comparable notebook to a Mac. The dv6700t comes with a 2 GB RAM, 250 GB hard drive, anti-virus software, and a 3-year warranty for $1,550. HP’s warranty includes a pick-up and return service where your notebook would be diagnosed, repaired and returned to you as fast as possible. They also have a 24×7 phone support service. Within the warranty you would also get assistance with virus and spyware issues.

Apple’s Macbook Pro comes standard with a 2.4 GHz Intel Core Duo processor, 2 GB RAM, and a 200 GB hard drive. Apple’s 3-year protection plan includes service and support for the Mac operation system, iLife, and iWork. This accesses you to Apple’s technical support group when calling and ensures Apple-authorized technicians will perform repairs using genuine Apple parts (apple.com/support). The Macbook Pro also comes already installed with iLife, which is comprised of such programs like GarageBand, iMovie, iChat, and iPhoto. These programs alone are equivalent to $400 in PC programs (”Mac Vs. PC”).

When choosing your selection consider that Mac users have a 98 percent satisfaction rate as opposed to Windows users who have a 83 percent rate. Mac’s also have a higher resale value. During a study, James Stoup found that Mac’s sell for 40 percent of their retail cost after three years (Stoup). Most Windows users find it cheaper to just invest a brand new laptop.

Small businesses have also reconsidered switching from PC to Mac. It is less costly in the long run making up for its higher retail cost with lesser IT and electrical costs (Schwartau). On average there is one IT person per 150-250 Macs compared to one IT person for every 50-60 PC’s (Van Dyke).

In closing, when looking at your options to buy a notebook; make sure you do all the research. Whether you decide to pick a PC or a Mac there are plenty of alternatives out there. So regardless if you need a computer for the office, for your house or for a dorm, there are many things to look at before you make your purchase. Not everyone needs all the luxuries of iLife although some may prefer it. So you decide what will best fit you; PC or Mac?

“Mac - PC PriceWatch 2008.” Apr 2008. April 2008.

Schwartau, Winn. “Going Above and Beyond.” Network World 27 02 2006 April 2008.

Stoup, James R.. “The Amazing Resale Value of Your Mac.” Apple Matters 13 Feb 2007 1. April 2008.

Van Dyke, Jeff. “PC’s are Cheaper Than Mac’s…” Mac Vs. PC. 02 Feb 2004. Apr 2008.