We understand that not everybody knows the in's and out's of a computer. This page is dedicated to helping you understand "what is what" in a computer.

This is a computer case (or computer tower). It is what houses all of the computers components.

A computer case is Often mistaken as a CPU or hard drive. A computer case is neither of these. CPUs and hard drives are completely different from computer cases and each other.

This is a motherboard (or mainboard). This what every component in a computer connects to. This is one of the most important pieces of hardware in a computer.

When choosing a motherboard you have to think ahead and ask yourself these questions - WIll I be gaming? Will I be purchasing a digital camera/video camera? Will I be purchasing a sound system? Will I be editing photo's or video?

A hard drive is where all data, system files, and programs are stored. The hard drive is attached to the motherboard by a cable via IDE or Serial ATA.

There are different speeds (RPM) and sizes (Gigabytes) of hard drives. A faster hard drive will speed up the process of saving data. The size of your hard drive is also important. If you plan on saving a lot of pictures, music, backing up data, etc. You may want a larger hard drive to save you time and money later on when you need to purchase another one. You can have more then one hard drive in your computer at a time.

Memory (RAM - Random Access Memory) is where information is temporarily stored while processing information (such as running a program). Memory comes is different sizes (MB - Megabytes) and types (SODIMM, SDRAM, DDR, DDR2, etc.). Different types of memory will only fit in the motherboard slot it is supposed to. There are notches on the memory that line up with the notches on the motherboard slot.

It does not make the speed of your computer faster but it does make it work faster when running a large program such as a game or when running multiple programs at one time.

A video card (graphics adapter, display adapter, video adapter) is a circuit board that enables a computer to display information on its screen. There are different types (AGP, PCI, and PCI Express).

The video card has it's own memory chip that allows it to display graphic information faster. A video card with more memory on it is recommended when playing highly graphical games, editing video and images.

A sound card is a specialized circuit board that supports the ability to convert digital information into sounds that can be listened to on speakers or headphones plugged into the card; a microphone can also be plugged into the card for capturing audio for storage or processing. This card fits into the PCI slot on the motherboard.

In new computers a sound card is usually not necessary as most motherboards have an integrated sound card.

A modem (Modulator-demodulator) is a device or program that enables a computer to transmit data over analogue telephone lines. Computer information is stored digitally, whereas information transmitted over telephone lines is transmitted in the form of analogue waves. A modem converts between these two forms.

This allows you to connect to the internet and with a fax modem you can send and receive faxes.

A network card (ethernet card) is a network adapter that lets a computer connect to an Ethernet. The card can be a printed circuit board that is plugged into a computer or it can be built into the motherboard.

A network card allows you to connect to an internal network and to a DSL (Digital Subscriber Line - high speed) internet connection.

The Power Supply converts the house AC current to voltages the computer can use, 3.3, 5, and 12 volts DC. It powers all components in the computer. When a power supply dies, absolutely nothing will work, not even a fan.

A new computer should have a minimum of 300W of power. Beware of anything lower. The more components (hard drives, CD burners, etc.) you add the more power a computer needs to run properly. If you have two PCI Express video cards running in SLi mode you will need at least a 500W SLi-Ready power supply.

A floppy drive is a device that writes to a floppy diskette. The current standard is a 3 1/2 inch floppy disk contained in a hard plastic case. A standard 3 1/2 floppy disk contains 1.44 MB of information. By default, the first floppy drive is designated A:

Most big computer manufactures (Dell, HP, etc.) do not make computer systems with floppy drives anymore. USB thumb drives and CD/DVD burners have replaced the need for floppy drives.

CD ROM's (Compact Disk Read-Only Memory) store and read massive amounts of information on a removable disk platter or solid state storage chip. Unlike the data on hard drives and diskettes, data on CD ROMs can only be read-not altered-by the user. Also called "firmware."

DVD ROM (Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc Read Only Memory) can read DVD's that store a minimum of 4.7GB of data. DVD ROM's also read CD's.

CD burners (or writers) actually heat small areas on the CD-R surface, which changes the reflectivity of the recording dye layer. Though nothing really burns on the CD-R, the name CD burner is fun and descriptive. Virtually all CD burners today do more than "burn" CD-R's; they also record on rewritable CD-RW discs. CD burners also read CD's.

DVD Burners work much the same as a CD Burner except a DVD can hold at least 4.7GB of data. A DVD burner can burn and read both CD's and DVD's.