Joseph

Joseph-Building a PC

For my CoRE project I did research on the many parts in a computer as well as helped a friend choose parts and build a computer with a budget of about $1000.

Parts of a Computer

Motherboard:

• PCI Slots: (Peripheral Component Interconnect) Where the graphics card and other such extras are connected.
• Memory Slots: Where you place the RAM.
• Back Panel Connector: Contains many different connections to the computer such as USB Ports
• Firewire: Extra efficient connection to the motherboard
• CPU Socket: Where the processor is placed
• Main Power Connector: Where the power supply is plugged in.

CPU:Central Processing Unit

• Computational engine: Does all the algorithms required to run a computer

Underside of the CPU contains hundreds of pins

• Socket types:
  • LGA: (Land grid array) has many different pins that make contact with the underside of the CPU
  • PGA: (Pin grid array) Has sockets that the underside of the CPU is inserted into

RAM(Random Access Memory)

• data is temporarily stored while in use by the processor
• Information is more readily processed with increasing amounts of ram for instant access
• All memory on RAM is erased when the computer is powered down

Graphics card

• Takes information from the CPU and displays that in the pixels of the monitor
• A graphics card contains
  • RAM: temporarily stores information for graphics
  • graphics processing unit (GPU): like a CPU, does all the complex calculations to produce an image
  • a BIOS chip (input/output): stores basic settings

Power Supply

• The power supply does exactly what the name suggests: it supplies power to all the components in the computer
• Actual wattage of the power supply varies and how much power you need depends on the parts you get

Memory: Hard drives and Solid state drives

• Computer’s main memory
• Where information is stored long term
• Solid state drive: no moving parts, more reliable, faster at accessing data and it uses less power.

Parts We Bought

Motherboard

Z68 EXTREME4 GEN3, Asrock, Socket type: LGA 1155, Amt of RAM Supported: 32 GB, # of Memory Slots: 4, USB ports: 4 USB 2.0/ 2 USB 3.0, Firewire (IEEE 1394)

• LGA socket compatible with an Intel Core i5 CPU
• Financial Sponsor required Firewire for video editing