IT Lesson #5 - Building a computer (part 4) - Box, Motherboard formats, hybrid hard drives and more.

We've seen the different types of CPU, but let's expand a bit on that. 1-2 h max)

- What happened to Cyrix and why? (Cyrix was a CPU manufacturer back in the 90's)
- What is the difference between a normal Intel processor and a Celeron processor?
- Why is the Celeron different in price? (is it more expensive or cheaper?)
- Why can I not use an ARM processor on a PC ?
- Can I run windows on ARM ?
- What are the major PC processor manufacturers?

- IMPORTANT: what is thermal compound / paste and why do we need it?

Storage / Hard drives: (30-45 min max)

- What is an M.2 Hard drive?
- M.2 --> AHCI vs NVMe What is the difference?
    (https://mygaming.co.za/news/hardware/118533-different-types-of-ssds-explained-sata-vs-m-2-vs-pcie.html)
What is a SSHD? (Hybrid SDD-HDD) check the Seagate firecuda for example-
PCIe hard drives: what types are there?
Why would I want a hard drive with M.2 interface and not a SATA interface?
What is SAS?

Graphics cards
What was AGP ? (read 5-10 minutes max)
NVIDIA or ATI ?
What is the effect of cryptocurrency mining on graphic card prices?
Remember that the Graphics card needs a lot of power. Have you picked a PSU that will supply all the power needed?
Check the differences between VGA, DVI, DisplayPort, HDMI, Thunderbolt (mini display port)
Can HDMI transmit audio? If so in what formats? What else can HDMI be used for?

Power supply:

- Make sure the power rating of the PSU is higher than the total power consumed by the computer.
(Keep in mind that the PSU consumes a lot of power)

- Make a list of all the different connectors you will find on a PSU

BOX:

We have to pick a computer case for our project!
Make sure that the form factor of the box matches the size and form factor of the motherboard (IE that it fits)
Investigate why airflow is important
Pick a fan speed regulator, unless you picked liquid cooling.
Note why you picked

Monitor:

What is the difference between screen resolution and pixel density?
What is the difference between CRT, TFT, LED, and OLED?


FINAL:

Make two computer configurations:

- One for a high end gaming PC
- One for an affordable office computer

History:

Internet explorer vs Netscape. The first browser war.