Tableof
•
Contents
• Index
• Reviews
Reader
•
Reviews
• Errata

PCHardwareinaNutshell,2ndEdition
ByBarbaraFritchmanThompson,Robert
BruceThompson

Publisher :O'Reilly
PubDate :June2002
ISBN :0-596-00353-6
Pages :804
Slots :1

Carefullyresearchedandwritten,PCHardwareina
Nutshell,2ndEditionispackedwithusefulandunbiased
information,includinghow-toadviceforspecific
components,amplereferencematerial,anda
comprehensivecasestudyonbuildingaPC.Tothepoint
yetcomplete,thisbookprovidesanenormousamountof
timelessinformationintendedforanyonewhobuys,builds,
upgrades,orrepairsPCsinacorporate,smallbusiness,or

homesetting.




PCHardwareinaNutshell,2ndEdition
ByBarbaraFritchmanThompson,Robert

BruceThompson
Tableof
•
Publisher :O'Reilly
Contents PubDate :June2002
• Index
ISBN :0-596-00353-6
Pages :804
• Reviews
Slots :1

Reader
•
Reviews
• Errata



Copyright




Dedication



Foreword



Preface



Audience



Organization



Conventions



We'dLiketoHearfromYou



Acknowledgments





Chapter1.Fundamentals



Section1.1.PCsDefined



Section1.2.PCComponentsandTechnologies



Section1.3.SystemResources



Section1.4.BuildingorBuyingaPC



Section1.5.UpgradingaPC



Section1.6.SmartBuyingPractices




Section1.7.ThingstoDowithOldPCs




Chapter2.WorkingonPCs



Section2.1.RulestoUpgradeBy



Section2.2.Tools



Section2.3.GeneralProcedures





Chapter3.Motherboards
Section3.1.MotherboardCharacteristics





Section3.2.ChoosingaMotherboard



Section3.3.InstallingaMotherboard



Section3.4.UpgradingtheSystemBIOS



Section3.5.OurPicks




Chapter4.Processors



Section4.1.ProcessorDesign



Section4.2.IntelProcessors



Section4.3.AdvancedMicroDevices(AMD)Processors




Section4.4.ChoosingaProcessor



Section4.5.InstallingaProcessor



Section4.6.OurPicks




Chapter5.Memory



Section5.1.UnderstandingMemory



Section5.2.MemoryAccessMethods



Section5.3.MemoryPackaging




Section5.4.HowMuchMemoryIsEnough?



Section5.5.MemorySelectionGuidelines



Section5.6.InstallingMemory



Section5.7.TroubleshootingMemoryInstallationandOperation



Section5.8.OurPicks




Chapter6.FloppyDiskDrives



Section6.1.DisketteTypesandFormats




Section6.2.DriveTypes



Section6.3.FDDInterfaceandCabling



Section6.4.InstallingaFloppyDiskDrive



Section6.5.WorkingwithFDDs



Section6.6.WorkingwithObsoleteDisketteFormats



Section6.7.SalvagingDisketteData



Section6.8.OurPicks





Chapter7.High-CapacityFloppyDiskDrives



Section7.1.High-CapacityFDDTypes



Section7.2.ChoosingaHigh-CapacityFloppyDiskDrive



Section7.3.UsinganATAPIZiporSuperDiskDriveastheBootDevice



Section7.4.DriveLetterAssignmentProblems



Section7.5.OurPicks




Chapter8.RemovableHardDiskDrives



Section8.1.UsesforRemovableHardDiskDrives




Section8.2.Cartridge-BasedRemovableHardDiskDrives



Section8.3.Frame/Carrier-BasedRemovableHardDiskDrives



Section8.4.OurPicks





Chapter9.TapeDrives



Section9.1.ChoosingaTapeDrive



Section9.2.InstallingandConfiguringaTapeDrive



Section9.3.CareandFeedingofaTapeDrive




Section9.4.TroubleshootingTapeDriveProblems



Section9.5.TheDirtyLittleSecretofLongFilenames



Section9.6.DevelopingaBackupStrategy



Section9.7.OurPicks




Chapter10.CD-ROMDrives



Section10.1.CompactDiscFundamentals



Section10.2.CD-ROMDrivePerformance




Section10.3.ChoosingaCD-ROMDrive



Section10.4.InstallingandConfiguringaCD-ROMDrive



Section10.5.CleaningaCD-ROMDrive



Section10.6.OurPicks




Chapter11.CD-RandCD-RWDrives



Section11.1.CDWritersandMedia



Section11.2.WritableCDFormats




Section11.3.CDRecordingMethods



Section11.4.BURN-ProofTechnology



Section11.5.ChoosingaCDWriter



Section11.6.CDWriterSoftware



Section11.7.InstallingandConfiguringaCDWriter



Section11.8.UpdatingCDWriterFirmware



Section11.9.MediaIssues



Section11.10.BurningCDs




Section11.11.SpecialProblemsandApplications



Section11.12.WritableCDTroubleshooting



Section11.13.AdditionalCD-R(W)SourceMaterial



Section11.14.OurPicks




Chapter12.DVDDrives



Section12.1.DVD-ROM



Section12.2.DVDWritableandRewritable




Section12.3.InstallingandConfiguringaDVDDrive



Section12.4.OurPicks




Chapter13.HardDiskInterfaces



Section13.1.IDE



Section13.2.SCSI



Section13.3.ATAVersusSCSI



Section13.4.OurPicks






Chapter14.HardDiskDrives



Section14.1.HowHardDisksWork



Section14.2.ChoosingaHardDisk



Section14.3.InstallinganATAHardDisk



Section14.4.InstallingaSCSIHardDisk



Section14.5.PreparingaHardDiskforUse



Section14.6.OurPicks





Chapter15.VideoAdapters



Section15.1.VideoAdapterCharacteristics



Section15.2.ChoosingaVideoAdapter



Section15.3.InstallingaVideoAdapter



Section15.4.ConfiguringVideoUnderWindows98/Me/2000/XP



Section15.5.ConfiguringVideoUnderWindowsNT4



Section15.6.TroubleshootingVideoAdapterProblems




Section15.7.OurPicks




Chapter16.Displays



Section16.1.CRTMonitors



Section16.2.Flat-PanelDisplays



Section16.3.InstallingandConfiguringaDisplay



Section16.4.TroubleshootingDisplayProblems



Section16.5.OurPicks





Chapter17.SoundAdapters



Section17.1.PCAudioTypes



Section17.2.MIDISynthesisMethods



Section17.3.DownloadableSounds



Section17.4.SoundCardComponents



Section17.5.SoundCardCharacteristics



Section17.6.ChoosingaSoundCard



Section17.7.InstallingaSoundCard




Section17.8.TroubleshootingSoundCardProblems



Section17.9.MP3



Section17.10.OurPicks




Chapter18.SpeakersandHeadphones



Section18.1.SpeakerandHeadphoneCharacteristics



Section18.2.ChoosingSpeakersandHeadphones



Section18.3.OurPicks





Chapter19.Keyboards



Section19.1.KeyboardSwitchTypes



Section19.2.KeyboardStyles




Section19.3.KeyboardInterfaces



Section19.4.ChoosingaKeyboard



Section19.5.ConfiguringaKeyboard



Section19.6.CleaningaKeyboard




Section19.7.TroubleshootingandRepairingKeyboards



Section19.8.OurPicks




Chapter20.MiceandTrackballs



Section20.1.MiceVersusTrackballs



Section20.2.MouseCharacteristics



Section20.3.ChoosingaMouse



Section20.4.ConfiguringaMouseorTrackball




Section20.5.CleaningaMouse



Section20.6.TroubleshootingaMouse



Section20.7.OurPicks




Chapter21.GameControllers



Section21.1.GameControllerCharacteristics



Section21.2.GameportInterface



Section21.3.ChoosingaGameController



Section21.4.InstallingaGameController




Section21.5.TroubleshootingGameControllers



Section21.6.OurPicks




Chapter22.SerialCommunications



Section22.1.SerialCommunicationsOverview



Section22.2.SerialPorts



Section22.3.SerialCables



Section22.4.InstallingandConfiguringSerialPortHardware




Section22.5.TroubleshootingSerialPortProblems



Section22.6.OurPicks




Chapter23.ParallelCommunications



Section23.1.MappingParallelPortstoLPTs



Section23.2.ParallelPortTypes



Section23.3.ConfiguringParallelPortHardware



Section23.4.ParallelConnectorsandCables




Section23.5.OurPicks




Chapter24.USBCommunications



Section24.1.USBCharacteristics



Section24.2.USBHostControllerInterfaces



Section24.3.ConfiguringUSB



Section24.4.TroubleshootingUSB



Section24.5.OurPicks






Chapter25.Cases



Section25.1.CaseCharacteristics



Section25.2.ChoosingaCase



Section25.3.OurPicks




Chapter26.PowerSupplies



Section26.1.PowerSupplyCharacteristics



Section26.2.Volts,Amps,Watts,andRegulation




Section26.3.PowerConnectors



Section26.4.ChoosingaPowerSupply



Section26.5.InstallingaPowerSupply



Section26.6.TroubleshootingPowerSupplies



Section26.7.OurPicks




Chapter27.BackupPowerSupplies



Section27.1.WhatBPSesProtectAgainst




Section27.2.BPSTypes



Section27.3.BPSCharacteristics



Section27.4.ChoosingaBPS



Section27.5.OurPicks




Chapter28.BuildingaPC



Section28.1.Step1:PreparetheCase



Section28.2.Step2:ConfiguretheMotherboard



Section28.3.Step3:InstalltheProcessor




Section28.4.Step4:InstalltheMemory



Section28.5.Step5:PrepareDrivesforInstallation



Section28.6.Step6:InstalltheFloppyDiskDrive



Section28.7.Step7:InstallOtherDrives



Section28.8.Step8:InstalltheMotherboard



Section28.9.Step9:ConnectCablestotheMotherboard



Section28.10.Step10:InstallExpansionCards




Section28.11.Step11:Performthe"SmokeTest"



Section28.12.Step12:InstallSoftware



Section28.13.Step13:FinishingTouches




Colophon



Index


Copyright©2002,2000O'Reilly&Associates,Inc.Allrightsreserved.
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica.
PublishedbyO'Reilly&Associates,Inc.,1005GravensteinHighway
North,Sebastopol,CA95472.
O'Reilly&Associatesbooksmaybepurchasedforeducational,
business,orsalespromotionaluse.Onlineeditionsarealsoavailablefor
mosttitles().Formoreinformationcontactour
corporate/institutionalsalesdepartment:800-998-9938or


NutshellHandbook,theNutshellHandbooklogo,andtheO'Reillylogo
areregisteredtrademarksofO'Reilly&Associates,Inc.Manyofthe
designationsusedbymanufacturersandsellerstodistinguishtheir
productsareclaimedastrademarks.Wherethosedesignationsappearin
thisbook,andO'Reilly&Associates,Inc.wasawareofatrademark
claim,thedesignationshavebeenprintedincapsorinitialcaps.The
associationbetweentheimageofascallopandthetopicofPChardware
isatrademarkofO'Reilly&Associates,Inc.
Whileeveryprecautionhasbeentakeninthepreparationofthisbook,
thepublisherandtheauthorassumenoresponsibilityforerrorsor
omissions,orfordamagesresultingfromtheuseoftheinformation
containedherein.


Dedication
Tomyagent,DavidL.Rogelberg.Noauthorcouldhopeforabetter
colleague.
RobertBruceThompson
Tomyparents,RichardCarl"Dutch"FritchmanandSankieCallahan
Fritchman,whogavemetheopportunitiesandguidancetohelpme
succeed.
BarbaraFritchmanThompson


Foreword
Myjobistopersuadeyoutobuythisbook,ormakeyoufeelyou've
madetherightchoiceifyou'vealreadyboughtit.
That'seasybecausethere'snotanotherbooklikethis,andifyoudo
muchwithcomputersyouneedagoodreferenceworkonhardware.Of
coursetherearemassivelylargerbooksonthesubject,butthat'sjustthe

point:mostofthetimeyou'renotlookingforalongessayonthesubject,
youneedinformation,andreliablejudgment,bothofwhichRobertBruce
ThompsonishighlyIamtemptedtosayuniquelyqualifiedtogive.
Icansaythiswithsomeauthority.I'veneveractuallymetRobertBruce
Thompsonfacetoface,butwe'vebeenfriendsforseveralyears.Suchis
thewaywiththemodernInternet.Ifirst"met"himinthedarkdaysafter
BYTEMagazinewassuddenlyandunexpectedlyfolded,andIcontinued
mycolumnonmywebsite.(Shamelessself-promotion:
www.jerrypournelle.com.)Oneofthefeaturesofboththewebsiteand
thecolumnwasreadermail,andtheresoonappearedacorpsof
regulars,allexpertsinoneoranotherfield,allarticulate,andallvery
generouswiththeirtimeandeffort.RobertThompsonstoodoutamong
these,anditwassooncleartomethatheknewfarmoreaboutcomputer
hardwarethanIdid.Thatwassurprising:I'vebeeninthisbusinesssince
1978,andwhilenoonecanknoweverything,IthoughtIknewagoodbit
aboutnearlyeverything.Ido,too,butThompsonknowsmore,bothin
depthandbreadth,andthat'sastonishing.
He'sprettycareful,too.OvertheyearsIhavefoundIagreewithmostof
hisconclusions,andwhenwedisagreeIhavetorethinkmyposition,
becausehe'sbeenrightatleastasoftenasIhavebeen.
So.Youhavehereawell-writtenbookbysomeonewhounderstandsthe
subject.It'saboutcomputerhardwareandnearlyeveryoneneedsagood
opinionatedreferenceworkonthatsubject,providedtheopinionsare
sound,whichinThompson'scasetheycertainlyare.It'spublishedby
O'Reilly,whichmeansit'swelleditedbyeditorswhoresistthetemptation


tobecomeunacknowledgedcollaborators.It'sreallythebestbookyou'll
findonthissubject.Andifthatdoesn'tpersuadeyoutobuythisbook,I
doubtanythingelseIcansaywould.

JerryPournelle
ChaosManor
April2002


Preface
PCHardwareinaNutshell.Anoxymoron,asitturnsout.WhenRobert
beganworkonthefirsteditionofthisbookinlate1998,heplannedto
writea300-pagebookinfivemonths.Barbarajoinedtheprojectearly,at
firstastheresearcherandlaterasthefullco-author.Aftermorethan18
monthsofworkingsevendaysaweek,includinglast-minuterewritesto
makeeverythingascurrentaspossible,wefinallycompletedthefirst
edition.
Robertdecidedtowritethefirsteditionbecausehecouldn'tfindagood
answertowhatseemedtobeasimplequestion.Robert,whohas
extensivePCexperience,wantedtobuyhisfirstCDburnerbutdidn't
knowmuchaboutthem.Heneededinformationabouthowtochoose,
install,configure,anduseaCDburner.Itwouldhavebeeneasytocheck
articlesaboutCDburnersinhardware-orientedmagazinesand
enthusiastwebsites,butRobertdidn'ttrustthemtoprovideaccurateand
unbiasedinformation.
HenextcheckedtheshelfofPChardwarebooksheowns.Whathe
foundinthosebookswaslotsofinterestinginformation,butasurprising
dearthofusefulinformation.Forexample,oneverypopulartitledevoted
fewerthanfiveofits1500+pagestoCD-RandCD-RW,andmostof
thosefewpagesdescribedthehistoryandlow-levelfunctioningofthese
devices.AdviceonhowtochooseaCDburner?Adviceonhowtoinstall
it,configureit,useit,ortroubleshootit?Nexttonone.Thatsamebook
devotednearly70pagestoalistofvendorsinformationeasilyaccessible
ontheWebsotheshortageofinformationcouldn'thavebeenaresultof

pagecountconstraints.
Weweredeterminedtowriteabookfilledwithusefulinformation.You
won'tfindtablesofdriveparametersforhundredsofobsoletediskdrives,
instructionsonhowtochangetheinterleavebylow-levelformattingan
XTharddrive,chartsofkeyboardscancodes,andsoon.Asinteresting
asthosethingsmightbe,theyfailtheusefultest.Pruningstuffthatwas
merelyinterestingwaspainful,becauseweliketoreadinterestingstuff


asmuchasthenextperson.Butwequicklyfoundoutwhythere'sso
muchinterestinginformationandsorelativelylittleusefulinformationin
mostPChardwarebooks.Interestingisquickandeasytowrite.Usefulis
slowandhard,becauseyouactuallyhavetodoallthestuff.
Wefoundnumerouserrorsrepeatednearlyverbatiminmorethanone
bookthingsthatwereclearlywrong,butthatanauthorhadsimply
repeatedwithoutverifyingitratherthantakingthetimetocheckfor
himself.We'reguiltyofthatattimes,too.Whenwelistthepinoutsfora
gameport,forexample,wegetthatinformationfrompublishedsources.
Butsurprisinglyoften,wefoundthatthesesourcesdisagreed,andso
wereforcedtocheckforourselves.
And,boy,didweexpendanincredibleamountoftimeandeffortchecking
thingsforourselves.Ratherthansimplyrepeatingwhatothershavesaid
aboutCDburners,forexample,wedecidedtofindoutforourselves.
DoingthatrequiredbuildingfourcomputerstwoIDEandtwoSCSI,one
eachwithWindows98andWindowsNTandtestingeachconfiguration
withdifferentdrivemodelsbyburningnumerousCDswitheach.About
ten14-hourdaysand400CDblankslater,wefinallyhadahandleonCD
burners.Allthatworkturnedintojustafewpagesandsomespecific
productrecommendations.Butallthatworkwasnecessaryifwewanted
towritesomethingmorethanjustame-toobook.

Oureffortswererewarded.ThefirsteditionofPCHardwareinaNutshell
soldwell,andwaswidelyacclaimedbyreadersandreviewersalike.For
example,Barnes&Noblehadthistosay:
Here'sonePChardwarebookthatpullsnopunches.Iteven
recommendsspecificbrandsandmodels,andtellsyouwhysoyou
canevaluatewhatever'sonsalewhenyou'rereadytobuy.The
authorsspeaktoyouasifyou'replanningtobuildyourown
computerfromscratch.That'sthe"bigkahuna"PCmaintenance
project,sothebook'seasilyuptoany"smaller"challengeslike
addingaCDburner,ormaybereplacingyourmotherboard.Andit's
allnewnotpaddedwithobsoletedataandtechniques.Specific,
comprehensive,andrelentlesslyusefulsuperb!


Giventhesuccessofthefirstedition,weconsidereddoingjustaquick
update,butwedecidedthatourreadersdeservedbetter.Sowespent
nearlyayearbuildingthissecondedition.Onceagain,we'vedoneallthe
hardworksothatyoudon'thaveto.Wespentweeksonenddoing
detailedtestingandcomparisonsofnumerousproducts,theresultsof
whichoftenboildowntoacoupleofparagraphsofadviceorasingle
productrecommendation.Wegreatlyexpandedboththebreadthof
topicscoveredandthelevelofdetailpresented.Thiseditionis,inevery
respect,twicethebookthatthefirsteditionwas.
Wewouldn'thavestartedthisprojectunlesswethoughtwecouldwrite
thebestPChardwarebookavailable.WethinkthissecondeditionofPC
HardwareinaNutshellmeetsthatgoal,andwehopeyouwillthinkso
too.


Audience

Thisbookisintendedforanyonewhobuys,builds,upgrades,orrepairs
PCsinacorporate,small-business,orhomesetting.Ifyouwanttobuya
PC,thisbooktellsyouwhattolookforandwhattolookoutfor.Ifyou
wanttobuildaPC,thisbookexplains,componentbycomponent,thekey
partsofaPC,describestheimportantcharacteristicsofeach,provides
buyingguidelines,recommendsspecificproducts(bybrandnameand
model),andtakesyoustep-by-stepthroughbuildingthePC.Ifyouhave
anolderPC,thisbooktellsyouwhatyouneedtoknowtoupgradeitifit
makessensetodosoaswellaswhenitmakesmoresensesimplyto
retireittolessdemandingduties.Finally,ifyourPCbreaks,thisbook
tellsyouwhatyouneedtoknowtotroubleshoottheproblemandthen
chooseandinstallreplacementparts.
ThisbookfocusesonPChardwarerunningWindows95/98/98SE/Me,
Windows2000/XP,andWindowsNT4,whichtogetherpowerthevast
majorityofPCs.WewouldalsohavelikedtocoverLinux,butwedon't
yetunderstanditwellenoughtowriteauthoritativelyaboutit.Thatwill
change.OneofRobert'sgoalsduringearly2002istomigratehisprimary
desktopsystemtoLinux.Byyear-end2002,wewillberunningLinuxon
manyofourserversanddesktops.


Organization
Eachchapterofthisbookisdevotedtoonetopic,andisself-supporting.
ThefirsttwochaptersprovideanoverviewofPChardwareand
standards,aswellasdetailedadviceaboutbuying,building,upgrading,
andrepairingPCs.Theydescribethetoolsandsoftwareyou'llneed,
explainbasicprocedureslikeinstallingexpansioncards,anddetailthe
tipsandtrickswe'velearnedduring20yearsofworkingonPCs.These
chaptersinclude:
Chapter1

Chapter2
Thesecondgroupofchapterscoversthecorecomponentsofany
PCmotherboards,processors,andmemory.Thesechapterstakethe
formusedthroughouttherestofthebook,beginningwithbrief
backgroundinformationaboutthecomponent,followedbyanexplanation
oftheimportantcharacteristics,guidelinesonchoosingamong
competingproducts,instructionsforinstallingandconfiguringthe
component,troubleshootinginformation,ifapplicable,andafinal"Our
Picks"section,whichtellsyouwhichproductswerecommend.This
groupincludesthefollowingchapters:
Chapter3
Chapter4
Chapter5
Thethirdgroupofchapterscoversremovablemagneticstorage,
includingthepedestrianfloppydiskdrive,oneofthefewPCcomponents
thatsurviveslargelyunchangedfromtheearliestdaysofPCs;"superfloppies"liketheIomegaZipandtheImationLS-120;removablehard
diskdrivesliketheIomegaJazandtheCastlewoodORB;andtape
drives,whichdespitethearrivalofnewtechnologiesremainthebest
choiceforbackingupdata.Thisgroupincludesthefollowingchapters:
Chapter6


Chapter7
Chapter8
Chapter9
Thefourthgroupofchapterscoversopticalstorage,anincreasingly
importantcomponentinmodernPCs.Wedetailwhatyouneedtoknow
tochoose,install,configure,anduseCD-ROM,CD-R,CD-RW,DVDROM,andwritableDVDdrives.Thisgroupincludesthefollowing
chapters:
Chapter10

Chapter11
Chapter12
ThefifthgroupofchapterscoversATAPI("IDE")harddiskdrives,which
areubiquitousinmodernPCs,aswellasSCSImodels,whichprovide
betterperformanceatcorrespondinglyhigherprices.Weexplainthe
importantcharacteristicsofharddrives,provideguidelinesforpurchasing
aharddrive,andexplainhowtoinstall,prepare,configure,and
troubleshootharddrives.Thisgroupincludesthefollowingchapters:
Chapter13
Chapter14
Thesixthgroupofchapterscoverssightandsound.Wedescribethe
importantcharacteristicsofvideoadapters,monitorsandLCDdisplays,
soundcards,andspeakers,andexplainhowtochoose,install,configure,
andtroubleshootthem.WealsoincludeabriefintroductiontoMP3and
anexplanationofhowtouseit.Thisgroupincludesthefollowing
chapters:
Chapter15
Chapter16
Chapter17
Chapter18
Theseventhgroupofchapterscoversinputdeviceskeyboards,mice,and
gamecontrollers.Weexplainhowtheywork,howtochoosethebest


onesforyourneeds,and(asusual)howtoinstall,configure,and
troubleshootthem.Thisgroupincludesthefollowingchapters:
Chapter19
Chapter20
Chapter21
Theeighthgroupofchapterscoversserial,parallel,andUSB

communicationsthetechnologiesthatPCsusetoconnectwithexternal
peripheralsandtheoutsideworld.Weexplainhoweachworks,howto
choosethebesttechnologyforyourneeds,andhowtoconfigureand
troubleshootcommunications.Thisgroupincludesthefollowingchapters:
Chapter22
Chapter23
Chapter24
Theninthgroupofchapterscoversthreecomponentscases,PCpower
supplies,andbackuppowersuppliesthatreceivelittleattention,butare
importanttosystemreliabilityandusability.Wedetailtheimportant
characteristicsofeach,andprovideguidelinesforchoosingthebestcase
andpowersuppliesforyoursystem.Thisgroupincludesthefollowing
chapters:
Chapter25
Chapter26
Chapter27
Finally,Chapter28putsitalltogether,illustratinghowtoturnapileof
componentsintoaworkingPC.
MostchaptersendwithanOurPickssection.Inthefirsteditionofthis
book,wemadespecificrecommendationsinthesesections.Theproblem
withrecommendingspecificmakesandmodelsinprint,ofcourse,isthat
PChardwarechangesinInternettime.Productsthatwerethehottest
thingsonthemarket(orevenpreproductionengineeringsamples)when
westartedworkingwiththemhadbecomemainstreamwhenwewentto
press,andmayevenhavebeendiscontinuedbythetimethebook


reachedthestores.Soinsteadoffocusingonephemerainprint,we
insteadconcentratehereonimportantcharacteristicsandguidelines,
whichdon'tchangenearlyasfast.

Werecognize,though,thatmanypeoplewantspecificadvicebymake
andmodel"Whichmotherboard/drive/monitorshouldIbuy?"isoneofthe
mostcommonquestionswegetsowe'vegonetosometroubletocreate
andupdatepagesonourwebsitethatprovidedetailed
recommendations.WestillprovidegeneralrecommendationsintheOur
Pickssections,butyou'llnowfindourspecificrecommendationsbybrand
nameandmodelonourwebsite,at:
/>Webasetheserecommendationsonourownexperience,notafterusing
theproductforadayoraweek,butafterextensiveday-in-day-outuse
underrealisticconditions.IfwesaywefoundaparticularCDburnertobe
durable,thatmeansthatweusedthatCDburnerextensivelyandburned
abunchofCDswithit.Ifwesayaparticularmotherboardisstable,that
meansweuseditinoneormoreofourownsystemsoveraperiodof
weeksormonthsandfoundthatitdidn'tcrashevenwhenperforming
stressfultaskslikerunningafullbenchmarksuiteorcompilingaLinux
kernel.Ifwesayaparticularmonitoristhebestwe'veused,it'sbecause
wesatinfrontofitformanylonghourswhilewritingthisbook.Andso
on.


Conventions
Thisbookusesthefollowingtypographicalconventions:
italic
isusedforfilenames,directories,hostnames,domainnames,URLs,
andtoemphasizenewtermswhentheyarefirstintroduced.
constantwidth
isusedtoshowthecontentsoffiles,commandsyntax,andthe
outputfromcommands.
constantwidthitalic
isusedinexamplestoshowvariablesforwhichacontext-specific

substitutionshouldbemade.(Thevariablefilename,forexample,
wouldbereplacedbysomeactualfilename.)
[option]
Whenshowingcommandsyntax,weplaceoptionalpartsofthe
commandwithinbrackets.Forexample,ls[-l]meansthatthe-l
optionisnotrequired.
Thisisanexampleofatipornote.Theysuggesteffectiveways
toaccomplishcommontasks,highlightimportantadvice,or
conveysupplementalinformationthatmaynotbeimportantto
allreaders.

Thisisanexampleofawarning.Warningshighlightdangerous
proceduresthosethatmaydamageyou,yourhardware,oryour
data.Disregardwarningsatyourownperil.



We'dLiketoHearfromYou
Pleaseaddresscommentsandquestionsconcerningthisbooktothe
publisher:
O'Reilly&Associates,Inc.
1005GravensteinHighwayNorth
Sebastopol,CA95472
(800)998-9938(intheUnitedStatesorCanada)
(707)829-0515(internationalorlocal)
(707)829-0104(fax)
Thereisawebpageforthisbook,wherewelisterrata,examples,orany
additionalinformation.Youcanaccessthispageat:
/>Tocommentorasktechnicalquestionsaboutthisbook,sendemailto:


Formoreinformationaboutbooks,conferences,ResourceCenters,and
theO'ReillyNetwork,seetheO'Reillywebsiteat:

Tocontactoneofusdirectly,sendemailto:


Wereadallemailwereceive,butwecannotrespondindividuallyto
requestsforhelpinchoosinghardware,resolvingproblems,andsoon.
Butwedoliketohearfromreaders.
Wealsohaveawebsiteforthebook,whichincludesupdatedhardware
recommendations,buyingguides,andarticles,aswellaserrata,archived


oldermaterial,andsoon:

Wealsomaintainamessageboardforthebook,whereyoucanreadand
postmessagesaboutPChardwaretopics.Youcanreadmessagesasa
guest,butifyouwanttopostmessagesyoumustregisterasamember
ofthemessageboard.Wekeepregistrationinformationconfidential,and
youcanchoosetohaveyouremailaddresshiddenonanymessages
youpost.
/>Weeachmaintainapersonaljournalpage,updateddaily,which
frequentlyincludesreferencestonewPChardwarewe'reworkingwith,
problemswe'vediscovered,andotherthingswethinkareinteresting.
Youcanviewthesejournalpagesat:
Barbara: />Robert: />

Acknowledgments
InadditiontotheO'Reillyproductionstaff,whoarelistedindividuallyin
theColophon,wewanttothankourtechnicalreviewers,JonBarrettand

FranciscoGarcíaMaceda.Theseguysdidyeomandutyinfinding
mistakeswemadeandinmakingnumeroususefulsuggestions,allof
whichhelpedmakethisabetterbook.
Wealsowanttothankourcontactsatthehardwarecompanies,who
providedtechnicalhelp,evaluationunits,andotherassistance.Thereare
fartoomanytolistindividually,buttheyknowwhotheyare.Wealsowant
tothankthereadersofourwebsitesandmessageboards,manyof
whomhavetakenthetimetoofferusefulsuggestionsforimprovements
tothebook.Thanks,folks.Wecouldn'thavedoneitwithoutyou.
ThephotographsinthisbookwereshotwithOlympusdigitalcameras.
We'veusedmanydigitalcameras,andhavedevelopedastrong
preferenceforOlympusmodels.Theirexperienceasapremiermakerof
filmcamerasshowsclearlyintheconstructionquality,imagequality,
functionality,andease-of-useofOlympusdigitalcameras.
Finally,wewanttothankoureditor,RobertJ.Denn,andourpublisher,
TimO'Reilly,bothofwhomcontributednumeroususefulcommentsand
suggestions.
ThankyouforbuyingthesecondeditionofPCHardwareinaNutshell.
Wehopeyouenjoyreadingitasmuchasweenjoyedwritingit.


Chapter1.Fundamentals
Thischaptercoversamixedbagofimportantfundamentalinformation
aboutPCs,includinghowPCsaredefined,anoverviewofPC
componentsandtechnologies,abriefexplanationofsystemresources,
guidelinesforbuilding,buying,andupgradingPCs,smartbuying
practices,andsuggestionsastowhattodowitholdPCs.