The main characteristic of the computer: device, parameters

Computers are our life. Now it is difficult to imagine a person who does not use this miracle of modern technology. Work, study, entertainment - everything is tied up on personal computers. Therefore, the choice of this technique should be approached with the mind, hoping that your "iron helper" will last long. It is also necessary to consider what system characteristics of the computer are most suitable for your needs. To be clearer, we will look at some real examples of computer characteristics.

Housing

In the first half of the article, we'll talk about how to choose the right components, if you decide to assemble the PC yourself. Undoubtedly, the main characteristic of a computer is its performance, that is, the processing speed of information per second, but do not forget about ergonomics.

There are several form factors that are commonly used in personal computers. The most popular of them are ATX and Slim.

1. The second option is ideal for those who have little space in the room. Such a computer can be placed directly on the table under the monitor. Of the minuses is also worth noting the size. Such system blocks are not suitable for gaming computers, since it is almost impossible to provide them with good cooling.
2. ATX is a universal format that is suitable for most computer configurations. There are many models, from large to small, that will create both a server with a lot of hard drives and gaming platforms with modern graphics cards.

When choosing a system unit, be sure to first think about where you will have your work place.

Motherboard

One could say that this is the main characteristic of a computer, if only because it builds the architecture of the future PC. Whatever parts you buy, your choice will be based on what your motherboard can support.

Next, the list of the latest connectors for expansion cards will be given. If you want the "foundation" of your PC to last a very long time, you need to also take the newest boards. Otherwise, you will not be able to find parts afterwards.

1. Slots of RAM in DDR4 or DDR3 format. At least two pieces.
2. Processor connector that supports I-5 or I-7 standards in LGA1151.
3. PCI-Express slots for expansion cards.
4. SATA-3 and SATA-Express connectors.
5. Pay attention to the number of USB ports of the standard 3.0. If they are too small, you may have problems connecting external equipment.
6. It is also worth considering the version of the installed BIOS, the possibility of its re-flashing and the support of various operating systems.

These are the main characteristics of the motherboard, important for the average user.

Video adapter

Simply - video card. This, perhaps, is the main characteristic of a computer adapted for games. Depending on its quality, you can play computer games with varying degrees of comfort.

When choosing this card, you can, of course, just ask the seller if they have "game video cards", and he will gladly offer you a choice of options. But what should I pay attention to particularly closely:

1. The size of the video card cache. Some of the most powerful and popular have a memory of 2 and 4 gigabytes.
2. Bitwidth - shows the speed of data exchange between the video card and the motherboard.
3. Bus frequency. The higher this number, the faster the information is displayed on the screen. The maximum values can reach 6-7 thousand Mhz.

So, if you want to have a gaming computer, be sure to consider all the options in detail.

RAM

The next main characteristic of the computer. The size and type of RAM affect the amount of information processed over the time interval and the speed of access to it. When we looked at the motherboard, we already wrote that the modern memory slots have the format DDR3 and DDR4. Therefore, depending on your motherboard, you will have to choose your memory.

For most of the latest games, 8 GB of RAM is enough to run them at maximum settings. In general, it's nice to have a small stock, so you need to choose the right set of slats. For example, three slats of 4 GB or, if you only have two slots, two of 8 GB.

For working purposes, the size of RAM is not so important. Therefore, you can only be limited by your needs. But keep in mind that many graphic programs like "3D Max" consume a huge amount of resources, which is much more than the cost of games.

Power Supply

Whatever the characteristics of the computer's device, it will be tied to power consumption. Remember that the better and better the equipment, the more electricity it consumes. To ensure that your computer is not a heap of iron, it is important to choose the right power supply.

The main energy user will be your video card, so when you buy it, specify which power supply will be needed for it.

CPU

Finally we got to the "heart" of your PC! Let's look at the characteristics of the computer's processor by example. For this, let's take Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge.

1. The first thing you should pay attention to is the socket. We have already agreed, when talking about motherboards, that the most current format is LGA1151. This processor uses LGA1155, which allows you to place it in any modern "mother".
2. Number of Cores. The more of them, the more productive the processor. In this case, 4 pieces are used.
3. The core clock speed is 3400 MHz. Responsible for the number of operations per second.
4. The cache volume is L2 / L3: 1024 KB / 6144 KB. Their size depends on the amount of information processed per unit time.

HDD

This is the last major characteristic. In total there are three important parameters responsible for the quality of this device.

1. The speed of data exchange (access), depending on the interface connection.
2. Number of revolutions per second.
3. And, of course, volume. Responsible for the available space in the computer memory.

In general, to choose a hard drive is not difficult, but be careful. A common mistake is inappropriate connectors on the motherboard and the interface of the HDD.

"My computer"

If you already own this digital technology, but you are interested in the performance of this particular PC, then you will need knowledge of how to know the characteristics of your computer. Indeed, even if you have not looked at the exact configuration of the PC when you buy it, one day it will come when you have to improve it and expand it, because it will cease to satisfy your requests.

There are several ways to see the characteristics of a computer on Windows.

1. The simplest . To find out the general picture of what's happening on your PC, right-click on the My Computer icon and select Properties. Before you open a window in which you can see the type of processor and RAM. Then go to "My Computer" - and you can understand the volume of the hard drive.
2. Full . If you need more accurate information on the devices and characteristics of your PC, you can go to the device manager. To do this, go to "Start" - "Control Panel". Then select the icon you need.
3. Software . For the most detailed analysis of the personal computer system, you can use specialized utilities. For example, Everest Ultimate Edition. This is a great way to learn the characteristics of your computer.

Purchase

One of the most expensive techniques in stores is computers. Prices and characteristics vary greatly. We have already given you some advice on self-assembly. And now let's see how to choose the right PC. To do this, consider several models from online stores.

1. Game computer CompDay. Intel Core i3 4150 3.5GHz, with 4 GB of DDR3 RAM, video card GeForce GTX 960 2048Mb with a hard drive of 500 GB. The price is 45 thousand. Actually, the price is clearly overstated, because of all the components only the video card pulls on the "chetverochku" and can make up to a quarter of the price. Otherwise, this device can hardly be called "gaming", since a dual-core processor is the same outdated concept as the Pentium II.

2. DigitalRazor Reaper S for 310 thousand rubles. But this device is much closer to the concept of gaming. Four-core processor I-7 with a frequency of 4 GHz, 16 Gb of DDR4 RAM and two video cards GeForce GTX 980Ti with 6 GB of cache. This device is able to cope with absolutely any task set and launch any of the most modern toys at maximum settings. By the way, if you remove the second video card, then the computer becomes cheaper at once for 100 thousand, but it does not lose almost nothing in its performance.

3. Alienware Area 51 A51-7838 for 566 thousand rubles. 8-core Core i7-5960X processor with a frequency of 3.5 GHz, 32 Gb of DDR4 RAM and three video cards GeForce GTX TITAN X SLI with 12 GB of memory. As you understand by analogy with the previous case, the price can be greatly reset by removing unnecessary graphics cards. But even without them, it will be the most powerful computer, the characteristics of which are so high that it is difficult to imagine what it might be required for. Is that to run multiple copies of the most modern toys at once on several screens.

So, we looked at a variety of computers, the prices and characteristics of which are very significant. What can I say? No doubt, the average user will not spend 500, 300, or 200 thousand on the computer. However, this does not mean that people can not play their favorite games at the maximum settings. For 50-60 thousand now you can collect a fairly powerful gaming computer that will be relevant in the coming years 5. Or for the same money to buy a gaming laptop. In this case, everything is much simpler - you can not worry about compatibility of the equipment. If the usual computers are collected in a warehouse in a store, the laptops are tested immediately at the factory.