PC Video
The video circuits of a computer take digital data and arrange it for display on a screen. In the past, PCs used CRTs (Cathode Ray Tubes) for video display. Today's PCs use LCDs (Liguid Crystal Displays). Whether the display is CRT or LCD, the image is created with a matrix of dots (called pixels for picture elements). More ...
Intermediate PC Build-it-Yourself Guide
Before you get out your tool kit and put your anti-static mat on the floor, you have
to consider a few factors before embarking on your computer-building odyssey? Now don't
panic - it's not as complicated as it seems. More ...
Intel Chipsets
The original 4.77 Mhz 8088-based IBM PC released in 1981 was built with over 100 discrete
logic chips. To lower the cost of manufacturing, the logic was integrated into a couple of
chips that were used together as a set. They became referred to as a chipset. More ...
Build Your Own Computer
Before you begin make sure you have all the tools you need and a clean space to work.
Make sure you have all required tools and materials. Unpack the materials once package
at a time and inspect them to make sure they are not broke or defective. More ...
History of the QWERTY Keyboard
In the late 1860s, American inventor Christopher Scholes developed the first typewriter. The keys were originally laid out in alphabetical order, but this led to problems with the type bars jamming when typing at speed. To remedy this, Scholes relocated the keys to keep the most frequently used letters apart, resulting in the QWERTY keyboard. More ...
Power Supply Form Factors
The shape and physical layout of a power supply is called its "form factor". Power
supplies come in several industry standard form factors. Power supplies with the same
form factor are physically interchangeable. More ...
Network Interface Card (NIC)
A Network Interface Card (NIC) is an expansion card that allows a PC to connect to a network. Though there are many different types of networks, PCs almost always use a NIC that interfaces to a wireless network or an Ethernet network. More ...
Power and Your PC
The power coming into a computer is the most critical component, and it may be one of
the most overlooked. It is just taken for granted that it will always be there and working properly. More ...
Understanding PC Data Buses
Physically, a data bus is the connection between the CPU and other devices on the PCs motherboard. A data connection can be serial or parallel. The data bus used in first-generation PCs used 8-bit architecture. PCI Express uses switched serial connections. More ...
ABC's Of DVD Drive Abbreviations
The number of different formats available in DVD drives can be confusing to anyone. A few of the common formats are DVD-ROM, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD-RAM ,DVD+R DL and DVD±RW. In This article we take a look at the more common formats of DVD drives in order to shed some light on all the choices available. More ...
PC Disk File Systems
The first PC file system, called FAT because it used a File Allocation Table, was developed in the early 1980?s for floppy disks. The File Allocation Table, a map of the location of files on the disk, is located near the beginning of the disk. More ...
Anatomy of a Hard Drive
A hard drive contains a spinning metal disk. The surfaces of the disk have a magnetizable
coating. An actuator arm with a read/write head on its end is passed over the surface of
the spinning disk. More ...