AMD Versus Intel CPU War

If you are in the market to purchase a computer there are many options in existence. You can purchase a Hewlett Packard, Gateway, IBM, or a custom built system. But there is one thing that all of these computers will utilize and that is a CPU (central processing unit). The CPU is responsible for interpreting and executing instructions for the motherboard. CPU’s are key to the functioning of your new computer. CPU’s from Intel and AMD power virtually every personal computer that you can purchase today.

The argument over an AMD CPU versus an Intel CPU and which has a higher functionality is currently raging. Simply two years ago this was not even a question. Anyone would tell you that the Intel CPU won the speed and complex algorithm war with AMD CPU’s without question. Fast-forward to today and Intel is now playing catch-up to the latest in AMD technologies.

Intel played marketing games with their CPU’s pricing them high and touting the functionality that they posses as cutting edge. AMD started out as the cheap alternative CPU manufacturer for computer brands such as e-Machines and low-end Compaqs. From the beginning, AMD CPU’s were fighting an uphill battle to catch up with the technology in the Intel CPU. As the years have progressed, AMD has progressed.

AMD now clearly leads in the consumer pricing wars. AMD CPU equipped machines with similar performance specifications will cost you hundreds of dollars less than equivalent Intel CPU based machines. This cost differential is now enough to push many Intel CPU customers to the upstart AMD CPU equipped machines.

If performance is the main concern over price, the AMD CPU line was the first to include 64 bit technology. In 2003 AMD pushed the first 64 bit CPU to market. It was unstable and unreliable at first. But the underlying architecture was sound. The AMD 64 bit CPU was soon running stable and fast. The performance of this AMD CPU caught the Intel CPU team off guard.

Intel had to rush to market their EMT64 CPU to compete with this upstart challenge from AMD. The next item on the board was dual CPU power. Again, AMD one-upped the Intel CPU rule.

AMD CPU’s have the information transfer on a dual chip machine flowing through the chips. The Intel dual CPU has a bridge to the motherboard where the information that is being processed by the dual CPU’s flows for splitting.

The internal data flow in the AMD CPU’s allows them to function with lower heat generation than the dual core Intel CPU’s. As a consumer this lower heat generation allows the AMD CPU to last longer than the Intel CPU.

If you are energy conscious, then the AMD CPU will be for you as well. The AMD CPU equipped motherboard will function with approximately 275 watts of power. Compare that to a similarly equipped Intel processor at 400 watts of power, and you have major energy savings by going to the AMD CPU.

So where do the Intel CPU’s win out over the AMD CPU’s? The Intel CPU’s are able to function faster with single programs. So, if you are going to play one game and only that game on your machine, the Intel CPU equipped machine can pull and analyze the data faster. However add in chat and e-mail running in the background and the AMD CPU machine catches up.

All in all, the CPU processor war that is currently waging between AMD and Intel is great for the consumer. Each company is in the middle of a CPU processor one-upmanship and both are looking to gain market share.

Why Choose a Core 2 Duo For Your CPU In Your New High End Computer ?

It must have been difficult for Intel to watch AMD’s Athlon 64 and then the Athlon 64 X2 and FX pretty much take over the performance PC market, putting the once-untouchable chip giant into a position where its only competitive response was to cut prices. Those were dark days indeed. But now, with the release of the long-awaited codename “Conroe” — the Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Extreme processors — Intel looks set to start a new age of desktop domination.

Most onlookers expected Intel to take back the performance crown from AMD, but few anticipated the sheer magnitude of this victory, or the nearly flawless style with which Intel performed it. And the Core 2 Duo is just the first strike in this battle, as Intel is also planning preemptive Pentium D price drops and has revamped its single-core Pentium 4 and Celeron D lines as well.

The Conroe excels in three areas, which add up to the very definition of what a current buyer expects from a top-end desktop CPU. These factors are price, performance, and power requirements, and the 65-nanometer-process Core 2 Duo and Extreme have surpassed their AMD counterparts in each, completing the same type of triple play that AMD had turned on the Pentium 4 and Pentium D.

The question of who’s got the best performance is not even up for debate: The 2.93GHz Core 2 Extreme X6800 is the fastest desktop processor on the planet, and the 2.66GHz Core 2 Duo E6700 is not far behind. Even the next-step-down 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo E6600 is an outstanding desktop performer that can outpace AMD’s flagship Athlon 64 FX-62 in most tests.

Power and cooling requirements are also extremely low — the Core 2 Duo line offers the lowest power draw of any dual-core processor, with the Core 2 Duo Extreme not far off. Prices are also extremely competitive. In fact, it’s amazing that for such a competitive price , the Core 2 Duo E6600 can outrun AMD’s entire desktop lineup. The lower-end Core 2 Duo E6300 and E6400 models are even more affordable, although their 2MB instead of 4MB of Level 2 cache mean their relative performance isn’t as high.

Intel has accomplished this via a drastic shift away from the Pentium’s NetBurst technology. Conroe’s next-generation core performs more instructions per clock cycle (IPC), rather than having a longer and potentially less efficient pipeline that can be clocked into the stratosphere. Core 2 processors’ 2MB or 4MB of 256-bit L2 cache feature what Intel calls Advanced Smart Cache, dynamically shared between the two cores for maximum efficiency rather than chaining half the cache to each core.

With IPC levels exceeding those of AMD plus clock speeds up to 2.93GHz and a 1066MHz front-side bus, Intel has moved well ahead in the performance game despite sticking with traditional CPU and chipset architecture rather than AMD’s on-chip-memory-controller approach.

The Conroe design also reflects a need to keep power requirements and heat production down via various power-saving technologies. Since the basic architecture will be shared through all of Intel’s processor lines (except the Itanium), including upcoming mobile CPUs, this translates into very power-efficient processing.

The Core 2 Duo and Extreme processors may offer industry-leading performance, but Intel’s SpeedStep technology ensures that the chips can ramp down the multiplier and reduce clock speed to conserve battery power and/or lower core heat levels.

Moreover, new Intelligent Power Capability can go beyond slowing the CPU as a whole to turning various core functions on and off as required. These power-saving techniques don’t get in the way of outright performance, as the Conroe instantly jumps back to top speed when required.

Through the use of technical expertise obtained through advanced CPU server technology and exprertise Intel has leapfrogged once again to a combination of power , low energy use and heat production and reliability especially since with advances in CPU speed can disabling and damaging hear.

The Core 2 Duo CPUs should be a major consideration in your next high end computer purchase.

How To Change Your Computer's Heat Sink

Everyone really want a fast hot computer when we want to do some business computing and when we want to play thos high speed games.But we don’t want a fast and Hot computer in the literal sense.

Heat will destroy any computer component if not removed in time.And the CPU Chip is one of the main components of your system that produces heat.

The heat sink has the all important task of keeping the CPU Chip cool so it does not overheat.And there may be times when the heat sink will fail to perform its job and must be changed.

Changing the heat sink on your central processing unit or CPU chip is a simple job.And the best part is that you only need a small screwdriver,cotton swabs,and some rubbing alcohol.

To change the heak sink remember to think safety first.This means that you want to be sure you have clean hands,a clean work place,and removing all static charge from your body by touching a door knob or any other metal object.

Once you have a suitable work area and clean hands you should now have a clean suitable mind as
well.Allow this task to be both educational and fun.To change the heak sink perform the following.

Step 1.Unplug the computer and remove the cover from the System Unit case.

Step 2. Find the CPU Chip and the heat sink will be on top.Find the wires that go to the motherboard and very carefully unplug them.

Step 3. Remove the old heak sink and cooling fan assembly.Most Pentium based computers will have two levers that lock the heat sink in place.

On older Pentium computers,the AMD Athlon and the Duron processor,look for a ZIF or Zero Insertion Force socket where the processor is mounted.

Gently release the clips by sliding a very small screwdriver blade underneath it and lift the heat sink off the CPU.Take great care here do you don’t damge the cpu chip in any way.

Step 4. Once the old heat sink has been removed, clean away the old thermal paste using cotton swabs and rubbing alcohol.Allow time for the CPU to dry.

Step 5. Grab some thermal paste and squeeze a little onto the top of the CPU.Only place enough to have a thin layer between the CPU and Heat Sink.

Step 6. Before installing the new heat sink, clean the bottom off with some warm, soapy water. Check to be sure the Heat Sink is dry before installing it.

Step 7. Carefully line it up over the ZIF socket and processor if so equipped.If the computer have the newer Pentium or Athlon based chip,lock the two
clips holding the assembly.

Step 8. With the CPU and heat sink firmly in place, now its time to re-connect the fan wires for the collong fan.Plug the assembly into the motherboard.

Step 9. Check,double check,and after that,check some more to be sure all connections are in place.See if the heat sink assembly is well secured in its socket.

Step 10. Now replace the system unit cover,plug any peripherals you disconnected.Start the PC and the computer should now realize it has a new device in its system.

Once the computer has been booted up,check to be sure the Operating System is working.If possible, look at rear of the computer to see if the fan is operating as it should.

The Central Processing Unit is not the only heat producing component in your computer.But since its the brains of any computer,you want to be sure the heat sink performs at its best.

Take the time to learn this procedure in detail by removing the case and looking at the heat sink in your own computer.Knowing how to perform this task can save you money should you need to change your heat sink in the future.

That Noise Coming From My Computer?

That’s usually how it starts. You hear an unfamiliar noise when you turn on your computer. Or, you may be working along and all of a sudden, your computer stops responding. Most people just ignore either one of these signs that something is amiss. They reboot or ignore the noise.

And therein lies the biggest problem. If the user immediately backs up all critical data when these events occur, replacing the component (there’s only a few components with moving parts on a computer – the power supply fan and the hard drive are the two major suspects when odd noises occur) is just time consuming. But if the user fails to heed these signs, then the real fun starts. Recovering data from a damaged or corrupt drive is not for the faint at heart.

The first question I usually ask on a service call (I run a computer service company) is do you have current backups of all your data? When they say no (about 75% of the time), the first thing I do is either instruct them on how to backup or if I’m onsite I do it for them. Once there is a verified backup of data, the rest is easy.

A qualified technician has about a 98% chance of retrieving data from a hard drive if there is no physical damage. A normal user with some help (info, tools, or both) has about a 90% chance. But depending on the situation, it can be very frustrating and time consuming.

Soapbox on. Before I get into the troubleshooting aspects, let me impress upon you the importance of having current backups of all of your data. If you have current backups, no computer problem will cause you permanent damage. The best defense against computer failure of any kind is backing up your data on a frequent basis. The way I approach it is that if I’ve spent over an hour working on some project, I backup as soon as I finish. I’m lazy, I don’t like to do anything twice, so I backup often. OK, I’ll get off the Soapbox now.

Depending on what you do on your computer (and what you store there like photos, movies, financial data, etc.) backing up is the best way to protect yourself. There are so many easy ways to back up these days there is absolutely no excuse for not doing so often. USB memory sticks and drives, DVD and CD writers (although there has been a lot written lately about both of these media not being reliable for more than 2 years), even 1.44 disks can be used if you have the patience and individual files can fit.

My first choice is a USB drive since you can purchase a large drive for under $75 these days. Many come with one click software that makes backing up your data a snap. There are many ways to backup with incremental (to go back to a certain point in time) small backups daily and then a full backup weekly. But I digress since this article is about troubleshooting and not backing up data.

Back to the strange noise coming from your computer. Two items to check first, the power supply fan and the hard drive. Both have bearings and spin at high speeds. You normally can determine if the noise is coming from one or the other. Replacing the power supply is not a big deal but can be laborious depending on your computer model and case design. If you’re not handy with a screw driver and understand a little basic structure of positive and negative connections, take it to a local computer repair shop. It’s not difficult but it is easy to make the wrong connection and you can fry your motherboard and everything attached if something goes wrong.

So, you’ve checked the power supply fan and the noise is coming from somewhere else. There are several items inside the hard drive that can cause noise but I won’t bore you with the details. Just suffice to say once the noise starts it’s time for a replacement. Mean time failure these days is 3-5 years on most units. But remember that is based on some daily use value, so it can happen at any time.

The easiest way to replace the hard drive is to buy the exact model, which nobody does since the price point constantly goes down. So instead of a 20 gig drive (that you never filled up), you go for the 120 gig replacement drive. Along with the drive is a CD that has the installation routine for most computers. You have to open the case (make sure the computer is not only off but the power cord is disconnected from the back of the computer) and remove the old drive, carefully replacing the connections in the same manner as the old drive on the new drive. There are only two, one power and one that connects the drive to the motherboard.

Once you have the drive hooked up and the case back together you’re ready to use the installation CD from the drive manufacturer. If your computer bios is set to boot off the CD (which most are since many don’t even have a floppy drive any more) you boot up once and get an error (we need to have power to open the CD unit) and open the CD and place the hard drive installation CD in and close it. Now you reboot and the CD will usually boot up with a menu that allows you to configure the machine and often will ask you for your OS (normally WinXP) CD to start the installation. And therein lies the first possible snafu. You don’t have your WinXP installation CD since your computer came with WinXP on the hard drive.

Don’t worry, it’s a slow down but not an insurmountable problem. You now get to call or go to the website of your computer manufacturer and ask for a set of restore/install CDs. They normally will charge you 5-10 bucks for shipping but will gladly provide the CDs. Make sure you tell them your exact model of computer so you get all the correct video, sound card, and other drivers for your computer. This is very important!

Most computer manufacturers have this down to a science and the CDs have everything you need. You simply boot on the first CD and the restore/install process is fairly automated with you just answering a few questions. This entire process takes about 90 minutes and don’t forget that you need to install any applications that you installed after you bought the computer.

One very important detail you need to address is to make sure you install Virus Protection software. Make sure you install this before you even connect to the Internet. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen a computer hit within seconds of coming online, and if you don’t have protection installed you get banged immediately. Also install any WinXP updates by going to the Microsoft website and clicking on Windows Update on the left side of the opening page. Let it do it’s magic and install all critical updates.

Now you can copy back all of your data to your new hard drive and now you are back up and running. Now for all of you that are reading this article and have not backed up your data, go do it right now. You’ll be very glad you did just in case disaster strikes.

How To Correct A Slow Running Computer

You push the power button on your computer and 5 minutes later you’re finally ready to start computing.It seems as though it takes forever and a day for your computer to get going,Why?

Most likely,the main reason your system is dragging the ground is because of all the junk that runs in the background that you don’t see.These are applications you may have installed over time.

Such utilities as scanner drivers, and hard drive monitors can swallow up memory and cpu processes,not to mention adware and spyware creeping into your system.These affect both your computer’s bootup process and performance during normal operations.

Another reason for slow pc bootup and performance may be the simple fact that your computer is aging. Computers running Windows 98 and Windows Me with cpu speeds of 500mhz or less are good candidates for slow operation.These system often have inadequate RAM Memory as well.

OK,so you,re no doubt asking, how can you correct this ever present,nagging problem.If your system was purchase when dinosaurs roamed the earth,consider upgrading by adding more memory,a larger hard drive,and if possible a faster cpu.

You can free up hard drive space by deleting files and applications you don’t use often.Improve performance by not overlooking basic pc maintenance.Running scandisk and Defragment are crucial to pc preformance.And try third party memory management programs.

Running scandisk will find and attempt to correct errors on your hard drive.System Defragment will free up hard drive space by re-arranging files in an orderly manner.This allows the cpu to find files much faster and not have to roam all over the hard drive to load files into memory.

You can get more bang for your buck by purchasing a faster computer however.When adding the costs of components and the increase in speed and performance you will gain,you may come out better to purchase another system.

Windows operating system have a utility named Msconfig that can display programs that bootup and instantly run on your computer. To start Msconfig,select Start,Run,and type “msconfig” without the quotes,in the Run dialog box.Msconfig does not show all programs running in the background however.

If you have Windows XP as your operating system, try to delete all files in the prefetch directory. Windows XP Professional monitors files that are used when the computer starts and when you start programs.

When Windows XP Professional monitor these files, it prefetches them.Prefetching data is the process whereby data that is expected to be requested is read ahead into the cache. Prefetching boot files and applications decreases the time needed to start Windows XP Professional and start applications.

These files if not deleted will lower system resources and slow pc performance by loading programs that are no longer being used.To delete these files,open C,your system drive, and go to windows/prefetch.Delete all files or at least those more than 3 weeks old and, reboot.

Try to check to see if your computer and the CPU Chip are not overheating. Excessive heat will cause your system to perform much closer.Make sure your computer is well ventilated

A really neat and free utility that does a great job at displaying all programs is Merijins free startup utility which configure programs at http://www.mlin.net/StartupCPL.shtml.This utility is simple to use and should not add more burden to your computer.

Another utility called Process Explorer ,Sysinternals Tutoring at http://www.sysinternals.com/Utilities/ProcessExplorer.html can be used and this utility allow you to disable each program.

And when it comes to correcting slow computer performance, you can be your own worst enemy.And just how is this? The word procrastination means to put off today what we can do tomorrow. Such simple tasks as running scandisk and defrag are often put off until a more convenient time.

Don’t let procrastination or anything else get in the way of boosting the performance of your computer. You’ll thank yourself many times over when you see the results. You will also have the knowledge to help others boost their computer’s performance as well.And that can always be a blessing to someone.

Is Intel's Core 2 Duo Processor Worth the Hype?

In the months leading up to the release of Core 2 Duo processor – also referred to as “Conroe” for desktops – many questions remained unanswered. Did Intel make the necessary changes to compete with AMD’s processor advantage?

The Core 2 Duo is the successor of NetBurst micro-architecture that has powered most Intel processors since 2000. The Pentium brand name – created in 1993 – no longer exists with the release of Core 2. Also, this is the first reunion of Intel’s notebook and desktop product lines since Pentium M was released apart from Pentium 4 in 2003.

Core 2 Duo technology allows for a faster chip – up to 40 percent faster with 40 percent less power consumption – than the Pentium EE because of new techniques such as Smart Cache and Wide Dynamic Execution (WDE).

Dynamic cache allocation within Intel’s Smart Cache technology efficiently apportions the cache memory according to what is needed by each execution core. This results in an optimized performance because the Intel Core Duo processor enables increased cache utilization.

According to Intel, WDE enables delivery of more instructions per clock cycle to improve execution time and energy efficiency. Every execution core is 33% wider than previous generations, allowing each core to fetch, dispatch, execute and retire up to four full instructions simultaneously.

The current extreme version – the X6800 – features an unlocked multiplier, which means the clock multiplier can be adjusted higher or lower than 11.0x (derived from the 11:1 ratio of the maximum Intel tested bus-to-core process). That technology for a retail Intel chip is treading new ground. The X6800 has shown the ability to be over-clocked to 3.4 GHz on regular heat-sink/fan air cooling. The over-clocking is a first for Intel and a big win for hands on users like high end gamers.

Benchmarking tests in multimedia and gaming have proven that the X6800 can lead the best AMD processor by up to 36% in performance.

The new chips are also smaller and less expensive to produce than Intel’s Pentium D900 series, and they are much smaller than the Athlon 64 X2s despite packing more transistors. The smaller die and greater amount of manufacturing facilities creates more pricing flexibility for Intel than AMD.

The Core 2 Duo technology also allows for compatibility to existing systems and creates versatility.

Upgraders and system manufacturers can place the Core 2 Duo chips into some current Pentium D/EE (LGA775) motherboards with some BIOS/Firmware updates.

One physical desktop can be turned into several virtual systems (all running different applications and operating systems). As an example: an individual can play a game while an FTP server is executed and a Web server is operated on another system. Meanwhile, at the same time, a database can be worked on.

Another important feature is the security platform the Core 2 Duo chips provide. Before the release of the Core 2 Duo processors, only business PCs had Trusted Platform Module (TPM) protection built in to the system. Now, with the Core 2 Duo, all PCs have TPM. Within the hardware, all passwords, logons and personal data are protected from hackers, spyware and identity thieves.

The Allendale, a codename for stripped-down versions of the Conroe processors with 2MB of L2 cache, and Merom, with largely the same features as the Conroe with an emphasis on lower power consumption to enhance the life of a notebook battery.

In summary, Intel’s release of the Core 2 Duo processor comes as advertised, both fast and energy-efficient. With more enhancements of Core 2 on the way – and AMD preparing to launch its answer to Conroe with a “4×4″ chip (systems can use a pair of high-end dual-core chips) – what is considered fast now will be slow in the future.

Computer Memory – Why It's Important

Many of you have probably asked yourselves this many times. For those of you who are looking to buy or have already purchased a computer may still be asking yourselves what this piece of hardware does for your computer. Buying computer memory is not as simple as going to the store and asking a sales representative for it. Each computer can only support a certain type of memory.

Walk into any computer store and either look at the cute little sticker they put on the case or just ask the sales representative and they will almost always let you know exactly how much memory, or RAM, the computer has. Ask them what it means and depending on where you’re shopping you may or may not get an answer. The purpose of this article is to help you get a better grasp on what you need to look for when it comes to computer memory.

A more common name for computer memory is RAM. RAM stands for Random Access Memory. For those of you who are not fluent in computer lingo you may still be complexly lost.

To help you understand better about the purpose of RAM we will go over how anything gets done on your computer without RAM. Each time you start an application on your computer it goes through many steps to bring up the application you are wanting. It usually starts with an input device such as a keyboard or a mouse. Let’s pick on a well known application that most of you are probably familiar with; Notepad. You would start by taking a hold of your mouse and clicking on the start menu. Doing so would in turn pop up a menu. From that menu you would find and click on notepad. Once you click on the notepad icon, information is sent electronically through the wire of the mouse down to your USB or PS/2 port on your motherboard. When it gets there the information then travels to your processor. The processor then decides where it needs to send this information. Most of the time, the information is needed to be sent to your hard drive, since your hard drive is where most of your information is kept. Once the information gets to your hard drive it then searches for Notepad. All the files needed to run Notepad are sent back to your processor. The processor then sends the files where they need to go to run Notepad.

Now that seems like a long journey to pull up an application as simple as Notepad, doesn’t it? This is what makes RAM so wonderful. All those files that are needed to run Notepad can be stored on RAM. When you click on the Notepad icon on your start menu your RAM will actually send the required files needed to run Notepad rather than the long trip explained above. This alleviates a lot of stress on your computer. Instead of worrying about where the files that are needed are and searching for them, RAM will step up and let your computer know, “Hey, I have those files right here! You can start Notepad now!”

If you have ever seen a stick of RAM you may have noticed that it looks a lot like little black squares attached to the greenish colored circuit board. These little black squares are where the information is stored.

RAM does this for starting and running all applications on your computer. The most important thing you must remember when looking at memory is that each application you need to run requires a certain amount of RAM in order for it work correctly. The more you have the better off you will be and the faster your computer will run. You have to be cautious though, having too much RAM can cause problems. The problems mainly arise because of a combination of both hardware and software restrictions. If you have a fairly recent computer you could safely get away with running 2GBs of computer memory. The operating system you probably use, Windows XP, will only support up to 4GBs. This isn’t a lot when you compare the size to hard drive space. But your computer doesn’t need a lot of RAM because the information that is stored in it is not permanent. It would be almost impossible for you to run so many applications and work on them all to ‘fill up’ your RAM with application information. But as technology grows applications will require more and more RAM to operate. So the amount of RAM that you can safely use will eventually increase. Windows XP 64-bit version already supports up to 16GBs of RAM and although it hasn’t gone retail yet, Windows Vista will also support up to 16GBs. This will allow for programmers to create a more diverse range of applications to run on your computer.

The underlying factor in the benefits of getting RAM is two-fold. It relives stress on your CPU and can make your computer a lot faster. Now if you upgrade from 512MB to 1GB you may not see much of a difference. Going from 512MB to 2GB will undoubtedly show you some massive speed improvements with your computer. Always be sure to check with your motherboard documentation before getting RAM for your computer. Each motherboard will only support a certain type of RAM. Don’t make the mistake of buying RAM that you can’t even use.

Michael Russell

What Is Optical Disk?

Optical disk is an electronic data storage medium from which data is read and written to by using a low-powered laser beam. It is flat, circular, plastic or glass disk on which data is stored in the form of light and dark pits. The laser beam reads the pits and the data can be accessed. There are three basic types of optical disks:

• Read-only optical disks: The optical disks, which are recorded at the time of manufacture and cannot be erased. CD, CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, and DVD-Video are the read-only disks.

• WORM: WORM stands for write-once, read many. The optical disks that can be recorded by the user only once but cannot be erased. After they have been recorded once, they behave like a read-only optical disk CD-R, DVD-R, and WORM disks are write-once.

• Rewritable/Magneto-optic disks: The optical disks that can be erased and written to with the new information. CR-RW, DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, and magneto-optic disks and Data play are rewritable. Rewritable disks use magneto-optic or phase change technology.

An optical disk offers many advantages over magnetic storage media.

• Highest storage capacity
• Low cost per Megabyte of storage
• Environmental condition tolerance
• High data stability
• Long media life

An optical disk has much more storage capacity on the order of gigabytes, than a magnetic disk. It can hold up to 6GB of data in comparison to 1.44 MB of a diskette. Optical disks are inexpensive to manufacture. Data stored on optical disks is resistant to power surges or magnetic disturbances, such as head crashes or corruption form stray magnetic fields. Hence, they provide high data stability. Optical disks are less vulnerable to extremes of hot and cold as compared to the magnetic disks. Optical disks have long media life than magnetic disks.

OPTICAL STORAGE DEVICES

CD-ROM

CD-ROM: is an abbreviation of Compact Disc Read-Only Memory. A CD-ROM is a CD that contains computer data, which cannot be read or rewritten. In computers, CDROM is the most commonly used optical storage technology. CD-ROM is a compact disc that contains information, which is accessible by a computer. It is composed of polycarbonate plastic, thin reflective metal layers, made of aluminium and a lacquer coating. Data is stored on the disc as a series of light and dark pits; the light portion refers to the spaces between the pits. A laser beam reads the pits and the data can be accessed.

CD-ROM is an adaptation/EXTENSION of the compact disc that is designed for music storage and playback. The format of CD-ROM is very similar to an audio CD; the only difference being the standards used to store data. A standard 120 mm CD-ROM holds up to 700 MB of data, or about 70 minutes of audio. This may mean that One CD can contain over one thousand novels; an average novel being composed of 60, 000 words. Once the data is written to a standard CD-ROM disc, it cannot be altered or rewritten.

A CD-ROM can be read using a CD-ROM drive, which is almost common on the personal computers. A CD-ROM drive may be connected to the computer in several different ways depending on the type of interface, such as:

• IDE (ATA)
• SCSI
• SATA
• Firewire
• USB

Almost all modern CD-ROM drives can play audio as well as video CDs.

CD-ROM STANDARDS

CD-ROM format provides an outstanding solution to the problem of storing large digital files. Several formats are used for data stored on CD-ROMs. These include Red book standards for audio-CD, White Book and Yellow Book for CD-ROM. An ISO 9960, which defines the standard file system of a CD-ROM is due to be replaced by ISO 13490.

CD-ROM FORMAT

One CD-ROM sector contains 2352 bytes, which is further divided into 98 24-byte frames. A CD-ROM contains a third layer of Reed-Solomon error correction in order to achieve improved error correction and detection.

Mode-1 CD-ROM: It has full three layers of error correction data, which contains 2048 bytes of the available 2352 per sector. Mode-2 CD-ROM: It is mostly used for video files, which contains 2336 user-available bytes per sector.

CD-ROM SPEEDS AND USES

+ Early CD-ROM drives were known as single-speed and could read the data at the speed of 150 KBps.

+ CD-ROM drives can transfer data up to the speed of 7800 KBps

+ CD-ROM can store audio, video, text and program instructions. It is used to store software programs.

DVD-ROM

DVD-ROM: is an abbreviation of Digital Versatile Disc- read only memory. DVD-ROM is an optical disc storage media format that can be used for data storage, which includes movies with high video and sound quality. DVD-ROM is a non-volatile optical storage medium similar to CD-ROM, which contains computer data that cannot be erased or rewritten. These DVDs are read-only disks that have storage capacity for 133 minutes of high quality video, in format, and audio full- length feature film. The discs are pressed in a similar fashion as the CDs. The reflective surface is gold or silver colored.

DVD-ROM can be accessed using a DVD-ROM drive attached to the personal computer. DVD-ROM drives are backward compatible, i.e. they are also capable of reading CD-ROMs and audio CDs as well. The DVD-ROM supports disks with capacities of 4.7 GB to 17 GB and access rates of 600 KBps to 1.3 MBps. A standard DVD disc store up to 9.4 GB of data. DVD-ROMs are of same size as a compact disc, but holds data about 7 times more. DVD can store that much of data because both the sides of a disc are used, with sophisticated data compression technologies.

DVD-ROM is a variation of CD-ROM that is being used in place of CD-ROMs in many personal computers. All DVD-ROMs contain a file system, UDF, which is an extension of the ISO 9660 Standard used for data CDs.

CD-RW

CD-RW is an abbreviation of compact disc-rewritable. It is a recordable CD format that can be erased and rerecorded multiple times, just like a floppy disk or a hard disk. It is a rewritable version of CD-ROM. CD-RW disc is round plastic, about 5 inches in diameter. CD-RW disks can be played or recorded in the CD-RW drive only. These disks behave unusable when put in a regular CD-drive or a CD-R drive cannot be played. A CD-RW drive can read everything except a DVD.

A CD-RW can hold 650 Megabytes of data (unlimited number of times) written by a CD-RW drive. CD-RW cannot be selectively overwritten but can be extended. CD-RWs must be closed before they can be read in a normal CD-ROM drive. CD-RW disks cannot be read using a CD-ROM drive built before 1997. CD-RWs can be randomly read and written because of the variation of UDF format. CD-RW disks and drives are more expensive than a regular CD-ROM drive or media. A CD-RW disc can be read optically by laser light.

DVD-RW

DVD-RW: stands for Digital Versatile Disk-Rewritable. It is a re-recordable optical disc, which can record up to 4.7 GB per side in a similar fashion to a CD-RW. DVD-RW supports sequential read/write access i.e. the device may need to wait for the correct location in a constantly revolving medium. The information stored on DVD-RW can be erased and rerecorded over multiple times without damaging the medium.

DVD-RW is a phase-change erasable format based on DVD-R, using similar mark length, track pitch and rotation control. The format is supported by the DVD Forum. DVD-RW is also called “DVD Dash RW” and “DVD Minus RW”.

DVD-RW can be played in many DVD drives and players. Depending on quality, recording time varies from 1 hour to 6 hours.

Graphic Cards: How To Choose The Best

Do you remember the old computing days when there were no sounds except for maybe a beep occasionally and printers making more noise than a cat on a scratching post or how about monitors that offered nothing more than a green or orange glow?

Well, I do! Thank goodness those days are nothing more than history and now we can enjoy the glow of our high resolution monitors that offers us life-like images on a daily basis. We no longer have to squint at some fuzzy displays but can enjoy almost picture perfect animation on the majority of websites.

Now, these images are nothing more than a mass of barely visible dots, known as pixels, and monitors today can display more than a million pixels but it’s up to the computer to interpret how to allocate these pixels in order to create an actual image.

This interpretation process happens on the graphics card and these cards can be upgraded. In fact, many users are tempted to look for the latest and greatest (or should I say expensive) card out there, but there is a better way for choosing just the right graphics card for the job? Here are a few helpful solutions that will help you to determine which the best graphics card for your computer is.

First, before you go out and buy the latest graphic card because you think you need it consider what you will be doing with your computer. If you don’t expect to do much more than some internet surfing, some word processing, maybe using your email or doing some chat room or forum activities. Then you most likely won’t need any additional graphics support than what will most likely be found on the motherboard with integrated graphic capabilities.

But, if you do plan to work with graphic arts or plan to play a lot of games on your computer you will definitely need to get a graphics card that has a lot of memory as well as a high-speed processor.

A tool you may wish to use is the frame rate measurement which is often a major advertising component for the different graphic cards that are available. Basically this rate refers to the measurement of frames per second or FPS which is nothing more than the rate of complete images a graphic card will display in one second. Now, High end cards will display more than 60 FPS (which by the way is more than twice the amount the human eye can process per second) and therefore provides the illusion of animation and animated scrolling.

If you are going to be doing a lot of graphic work then you will not be contented with the FPS rating. As anyone that does any 3-D imaging on the computer will tell you, FPS will actually do very little to measure the worth of a graphics card for them. In actuality 3-D images are nothing more than triangles, and graphic cards catering to the graphic artist demographic offer a rating that calculates how quickly the card can calculate the triangles and build the frame image.

One thing that really is a concern of everyone is speed. All graphic cards speed is directly influenced by their hardware. If the clock speed and bit rate are low on your computer, then the card will operate much slower than if it were high. In addition the pre-existing hardware also plays a critical role. A high- end graphics card cannot make up for an otherwise outmoded computer system, and a low end computer processor or motherboard will counteract the speed of even the fastest graphics card.

It is apparent that upgrading a graphics card is not so simple a task, and remember bigger is not always better. If you have a somewhat out of date system, it may be a useless attempt to only upgrade your graphics card, since your system most likely will work against any speed increase your card may be able to offer you. In the same way if your needs are very simple (in computing terms) then it might not be worthwhile to spend a lot of money on a graphics card that you will not use to its fullest potential. Hence it is always wise to know what you will require prior to buying, and to be fully aware of your systems hardware and software configurations prior to adding a new component to the mix.

Selecting a New Motherboard: A Beginner's Guide

Are you looking for a new motherboard? With so many models available, deciding which to buy can be difficult. However, if you use this checklist, considering each motherboard feature, you should be able to find one that’s right for you.

1. Socket type: What socket type does your CPU require? A 775 for Intel Pentiums? Perhaps a 939 AMD. Start to narrow your selection with this most basic criteria, matching motherboard socket to CPU.

2. Form factor: The board has to fit your case. The size of the board is its “form factor”. An ATX form factor case will accept 12×9.6 inch boards. But a microATX requires boards no larger than 9.6×9.6. Please note that any of the smaller boards can be mounted in an ATX case.

3. RAM: You’ll probably buy a board that uses PC3200 RAM. But be aware that some older boards still on the market call themselves “PC3200 capable” but can only use it in up to two banks. Also, some boards only have two slots, rather than the more common number of three. If you need to run 3 GB of RAM, for extreme game play, you’ll need a three-slot board.

4. Front Speed Bus: It’s an oversimplification to say this number is the speed information passes through your motherboard, but it’s a good enough definition for our purposes. Faster is better, but keep in mind that speed is money, if you’re on a budget. The tops on AMD based systems is a whopping 2000MHz.

5. Video and sound on the motherboard: Do you want these two items built into the board, or would you rather buy cards and plug them in? Video on the motherboard is usually adequate, unless you’re a gamer. In that case you’ll want to forgo it in favor of the next feature.

6. AGP port: Gamers, video editors, 3-D animators, all want the best graphics card they can get, so they require an Accelerated Graphics Port. Most all boards have them, but make sure they will handle 8X or better speed, if you’ve got your heart set on a really fast card.

7. PCI slots: How many slots will you need for things like modems, capture cards, and the like? Some of the microATX boards come with only two, which may be inadequate. I favor boards with 4 or more slots, giving plenty of expansion capability.

8. Firewire: If you shoot and edit video, 1394 IEEE, otherwise known as firewire, is a necessity. If a board you’re considering doesn’t have it, figure on using one of your PCI slots for a card.

After you’ve gone through these eight items, you should be well on the way to making your selection.