Spitty's Technology Corner

by **Spitfire** Sat Feb 04, 2012 12:17 am

Here I will talk about, update, and describe various things about computers, that some people may want to know or be curious about.

Terms:

PC:
A common misconception is that PC means a computer running Windows, this is in fact not true. PC stands for personal computer, which is more or less any computer (this includes Apple computers) however since the Macintosh line is the "only" line of Apple computers the Mac vs PC debate started with PC representing the cumulative amounts of Windows machines.

CPU:
CPU stands for Central Processing Unit. A CPU is more or less the brain of the computer, it does all the processes and does all the heavy lifting. The CPU the device who's speed is measured in Hertz. In modern day computers these are (mostly) GHz or Gigahertz (usually around 2.0 - 4.0 GHz). The type of CPU you can have is determined by your motherboard (which will be listed later on in the thread).

RAM:
RAM stands for Random Access Memory, RAM scans your computer, and finds what is needed in order for whatever you are running to run (this goes from your Operating System to your internet browser). RAM does this extremely quickly (much less than nanoseconds). The higher quality the RAM and the more of them you have the better off you are (however there are certain stipulations on how much you can have and how much will work). When your RAM reaches 100% then your computer utilizes your Hard Drive to find and execute this information, however your HD is much slower than your RAM hence why RAM is much better.

OS:
The term OS stands for Operating System. Operating Systems are the hardest form of software development. Operating Systems are how almost all computers run. Nowadays there are two forms you can get on your operating systems. There is 32-bit (Windows and Linux), or 64-bit (Macintosh, Windows, and Linux). In general you will find that computer run better in 64-bit, and get a ton more advantages. The issue with 64-bit (for Windows users) is that many Windows programs are 32-bit only, and therefore are not compatible with 64-bit. In terms of RAM, a 32-bit computer can only handle 4.0GB of RAM, however a 64-bit computer (depending on what version of Windows 7 64-it you get) can handle over 128GB of RAM (WITH THE CORRECT HARDWARE).

--More to be written at a later date--