How to Choose the Right PC Components - Part 4 - the Motherboard and Case

In previous posts, we talked about CPU, RAM, Hard Drive, and Optical Drives. So what’s left? Many components that used to be add-ons are now built into the motherboard. Most motherboards come with onboard video, so you typically don’t have a choice of video cards. Happily, unless you are running application that utilizes 3D imaging or playing state of the art video games, the video card included with the system is usually sufficient. Audio is another component typically built onto the motherboard. Again, unless you’re a gamer or plan on working with hi-fi audio, the onboard sound should be sufficient to notify you of mail and play the sound on those You Tube videos.

Also onboard the motherboard is a network controller. You’ll typically see two types: a 10/100Mbits adapter or a Gigabit adapter (10/100/1000MBits.) The gigabit adapter is faster, but you’ll only get that speed if you are connected to a network switch that supports that speed. If you are a home user using the network adapter to connect to a cable or DSL modem, the 10/100Mbits adapter would be sufficient since your broadband Internet connections would never reach those speeds.

Lastly, your computer case or chassis is the home to all these components. You may have a choice of a mid-tower case or a slimline or desktop case. The mid-tower cases are larger and have more room to grow, allowing you to add a number of 5 ¼” external devices, such as a DVD drive or tape drive. A slimline or small form factor case, as the name suggest is smaller and will take up less real estate by your desk. However, you’ll only have room for a single hard drive and one optical drive, so there’s little room for expansion. Another downside to the small form factor cases is they often use slim CD (or DVD) drives, which are more expensive than a normal sized drive.

Beyond the form factor, a chassis also houses the power supply. The standard spec for power supplies is ATX12v which support motherboards of the same style. Since the power supply must be compatible with the motherboard which in tern must be compatible with the CPU, you won’t have much choice in this matter.
Mike Tanney
Product Manager
HLP Associates, Inc.
www.hlp.net

Windows Vista includes cool new Startup Repair Tool

Microsoft has outlined more new features in the upcoming Windows Vista operating system. One of the nicer ones that we think will be of a great benefit to our clients is some of the automated diagnostic and repair facilities. One of these, is the Startup Repair Tool. Here's Microsoft's outline of this great new feature:

"Windows Vista automatically recovers from many types of failures, including failed services and corrupted system files. Every service has a recovery policy, so if it fails, Windows Vista may be able to restart it automatically. Windows Vista automatically handles dependencies, even non-service dependencies.

Startup problems are some of the most difficult to troubleshoot, because an administrator cannot start the operating system and use the built-in troubleshooting tools. Often, administrators choose to reinstall the operating system rather than attempt to solve the problem — even though the solution might be as simple as replacing a single file.

Windows Vista includes the Startup Repair Tool (SRT) to automatically fix many common problems and enable end-users and IT professionals to quickly
diagnose and repair more complex startup problems. When a boot failure is detected, the system fails over into SRT. Once started, SRT performs diagnostics, including analyzing startup log files, to determine the cause of the startup failure. Once SRT determines the cause of the failure, it attempts to fix the problem automatically. When a boot failure occurs on the main operating system and SRT is unable to resolve it, the system is rolled back to the last known working state. If SRT cannot automatically recover the system, it provides the IT professional with diagnostic information and support options to make troubleshooting easier.

Identifying the source of a problem — even one as simple as a single corrupted file on the hard disk — can consume many hours of an administrator's time. SRT will make these problems easier to solve, saving time and money."

Derek Rowan
President
HLP Associates, Inc.
www.hlp.net