A little story to share with you my friends from Tom and Jerry
Little Jerry met troubles, so he asked help from his cousin:
"Dear cousin Muscles, I am having serious trouble with Tom. Need your help at once. Jerry."
We see his cousin Muscles Mouse, a mouse who looks just like Jerry, except wearing a yellow and black outfit with a bowler hat. Muscles arrives just as a stick of dynamite is thrown into the hole. Confidently picking up the dynamite, Muscles marches out of the hole and promptly opens up Tom's mouth, places the dynamite inside, and holds Tom's mouth closed, until the dynamite explodes, causing smoke to emerge from the cat's ears. Muscles grabs Tom by the chest and gives the cat a stern warning of things to come:
"Listen pussycat- Don't let me catch you picking on my l'il cousin while I'm around. Y'understand? Now beat it!"
At the end of the cartoon, Muscles gives Jerry an identical suit, telling him:
"Relax, cousin. Nothing is going to happen. All you have to do is whistle.
Everything is gonna be OK! Just put on this suit."
Jerry puts on the suit, steps out of his hole, and whistles. Tom still believed that Jerry is Muscles, so he continually bows down to Jerry, kissing his feet.
I wonder why a mouse had such power and strengthen to fight against with cats (more than three). It is impossible and unbelievable. But the truth is he did it. The story drives me to look back Chinese People's Liberation War. That is an amazing war known by people from all over the world.
In some degree, everyone needs such kind of suit whenever or whatever hardships we meet. Put on the suit and pretend to be the Superman, just say to yourself: Yes, I can.
Have a try, and do your best, in the end, you will find you truly make it
Tuesday, 28 June 2011
Kids Cartoon Movies
Everyone has their own favorite animated cartoon movie or television show; in fact cartoons are now a big part of a child's early years and not to mention entertaining to adults as well. If you were young in the 60's, 70's or 80's then you'll have been lucky enough to have enjoyed the original hand drawn animated classics, like the Flintstones, The Jetsons or one of the most popular and longest running, Tom and Jerry.
The Tom and Jerry show started out as a TV series and then went on to become several feature films; it has been running since the 40's and has since won 7 separate Oscar awards for best animated short. Back then you had to wait for the show to come on at a certain time, though today were lucky enough to be able to buy a Tom and Jerry DVD set anytime we like and relive the magic in our own homes.
The characters are simple Tom a mischievous house cat with a taste for mice and Jerry a shy mouse with a kind heart; the two are friends at heart, but always end up trying to win one over on each other usually with Jerry winning the day. The simple and hilarious slapstick comedy of this crazy duo is what's made it so popular in countries all over the world; you'll find the popular movies playing in just about any hotel room on all continents.
So where did it all begin? Most people don't realize that Tom and Jerry has had more than one creator in over 50 years of air time; the original two were the talented William Hanna and Joseph Barbara. They came to the MGM studios in the 40's with their idea and Tom and Jerry became a reality in people's homes. After a short time the show was cut and the team split up until the 1960's when MGM decided to restart the project, they hired Gene Deitch for 2 years, but his eccentric creativity didn't mix well with the show. In 1963 the studios hired a new director Chuck Jones who became the next creator of the movies.
An example of a particularly good film is the magic ring which came out in 2002, it was written and directed by both of the original creators and also collaborated on by Chuck Jones. If you're an enthusiast of the lovable cat and mouse duo then you'll love this film, it would also be a great introduction to the characters for your own kids.
The magic ring takes a mixture of the best scenes from the 40's and 50's episodes and combines them to make an amazing kids cartoon movie that will have your children and you bursting with laughter. The story starts with Tom as a wizards apprentice, he is left to guard a magic ring, unfortunately it gets stuck on Jerry's head and the power of the ring begins to have a life of its own; The cat and mouse scramble desperately for a way to remove the ring before the wizard returns.
The Tom and Jerry show started out as a TV series and then went on to become several feature films; it has been running since the 40's and has since won 7 separate Oscar awards for best animated short. Back then you had to wait for the show to come on at a certain time, though today were lucky enough to be able to buy a Tom and Jerry DVD set anytime we like and relive the magic in our own homes.
The characters are simple Tom a mischievous house cat with a taste for mice and Jerry a shy mouse with a kind heart; the two are friends at heart, but always end up trying to win one over on each other usually with Jerry winning the day. The simple and hilarious slapstick comedy of this crazy duo is what's made it so popular in countries all over the world; you'll find the popular movies playing in just about any hotel room on all continents.
So where did it all begin? Most people don't realize that Tom and Jerry has had more than one creator in over 50 years of air time; the original two were the talented William Hanna and Joseph Barbara. They came to the MGM studios in the 40's with their idea and Tom and Jerry became a reality in people's homes. After a short time the show was cut and the team split up until the 1960's when MGM decided to restart the project, they hired Gene Deitch for 2 years, but his eccentric creativity didn't mix well with the show. In 1963 the studios hired a new director Chuck Jones who became the next creator of the movies.
An example of a particularly good film is the magic ring which came out in 2002, it was written and directed by both of the original creators and also collaborated on by Chuck Jones. If you're an enthusiast of the lovable cat and mouse duo then you'll love this film, it would also be a great introduction to the characters for your own kids.
The magic ring takes a mixture of the best scenes from the 40's and 50's episodes and combines them to make an amazing kids cartoon movie that will have your children and you bursting with laughter. The story starts with Tom as a wizards apprentice, he is left to guard a magic ring, unfortunately it gets stuck on Jerry's head and the power of the ring begins to have a life of its own; The cat and mouse scramble desperately for a way to remove the ring before the wizard returns.
New Dancing Mickey Mouse Toy
Are you looking to buy the new dancing Mickey Mouse toy for this up and coming Christmas season, but don't know where to get it at a good price?
I am about to tell you where you can get Dance Star Mickey at a great deal. But first, I would like to tell you a little about this amazing new toy made by Disney and Fisher Price.
According to consumer reports, this doll created by Fisher Price is said to be the hottest new Christmas gift for children this year.
This toy made its debut in September of 2010 on the NBC television show 'Dancing With The Stars', and has already become a quick selling item.
Why are parents buying dancing Mickey for their kids
For years, parents have been waiting for a toy that can move like a real animated character.
This doll is so life-like that it's actually scary. When Mickey is interrupted in his routine, he will even let you know by saying, "I was not expecting that", and will later continue.
It interacts with your child by playing games and dancing.
Fisher Price in co-ordinance with Disney has really done it this time!
There have been a number of interactive / movable toys released on the market, but so far, none have been as incredible as this.
This movable doll stands approximately 2 feet tall and operates on 6 AA batteries. Mickey can be used for hours and hours before the batteries run out. He is also easily turned on and off by a simple button located on his foot.
In addition to talking, dancing, clapping, walking, and singing; this toy features multiple interactive activities, songs, and jokes.
Mickey dances to a variety of styles includin
I am about to tell you where you can get Dance Star Mickey at a great deal. But first, I would like to tell you a little about this amazing new toy made by Disney and Fisher Price.
According to consumer reports, this doll created by Fisher Price is said to be the hottest new Christmas gift for children this year.
This toy made its debut in September of 2010 on the NBC television show 'Dancing With The Stars', and has already become a quick selling item.
Why are parents buying dancing Mickey for their kids
For years, parents have been waiting for a toy that can move like a real animated character.
This doll is so life-like that it's actually scary. When Mickey is interrupted in his routine, he will even let you know by saying, "I was not expecting that", and will later continue.
It interacts with your child by playing games and dancing.
Fisher Price in co-ordinance with Disney has really done it this time!
There have been a number of interactive / movable toys released on the market, but so far, none have been as incredible as this.
This movable doll stands approximately 2 feet tall and operates on 6 AA batteries. Mickey can be used for hours and hours before the batteries run out. He is also easily turned on and off by a simple button located on his foot.
In addition to talking, dancing, clapping, walking, and singing; this toy features multiple interactive activities, songs, and jokes.
Mickey dances to a variety of styles includin
Software Engineering?
To understand the necessity for software engineering, we must pause briefly to look back at the recent history of computing. This history will help us to understand the problems that started to become obvious in the late sixties and early seventies, and the solutions that have led to the creation of the field of software engineering. These problems were referred to by some as "The software Crisis," so named for the symptoms of the problem. The situation might also been called "The Complexity Barrier," so named for the primary cause of the problems. Some refer to the software crisis in the past tense. The crisis is far from over, but thanks to the development of many new techniques that are now included under the title of software engineering, we have made and are continuing to make progress.
In the early days of computing the primary concern was with building or acquiring the hardware. Software was almost expected to take care of itself. The consensus held that "hardware" is "hard" to change, while "software" is "soft," or easy to change. According, most people in the industry carefully planned hardware development but gave considerably less forethought to the software. If the software didn't work, they believed, it would be easy enough to change it until it did work. In that case, why make the effort to plan?
The cost of software amounted to such a small fraction of the cost of the hardware that no one considered it very important to manage its development. Everyone, however, saw the importance of producing programs that were efficient and ran fast because this saved time on the expensive hardware. People time was assumed to save machine time. Making the people process efficient received little priority.
This approach proved satisfactory in the early days of computing, when the software was simple. However, as computing matured, programs became more complex and projects grew larger whereas programs had since been routinely specified, written, operated, and maintained all by the same person, programs began to be developed by teams of programmers to meet someone else's expectations.
Individual effort gave way to team effort. Communication and coordination which once went on within the head of one person had to occur between the heads of many persons, making the whole process very much more complicated. As a result, communication, management, planning and documentation became critical.
Consider this analogy: a carpenter might work alone to build a simple house for himself or herself without more than a general concept of a plan. He or she could work things out or make adjustments as the work progressed. That's how early programs were written. But if the home is more elaborate, or if it is built for someone else, the carpenter has to plan more carefully how the house is to be built. Plans need to be reviewed with the future owner before construction starts. And if the house is to be built by many carpenters, the whole project certainly has to be planned before work starts so that as one carpenter builds one part of the house, another is not building the other side of a different house. Scheduling becomes a key element so that cement contractors pour the basement walls before the carpenters start the framing. As the house becomes more complex and more people's work has to be coordinated, blueprints and management plans are required.
As programs became more complex, the early methods used to make blueprints (flowcharts) were no longer satisfactory to represent this greater complexity. And thus it became difficult for one person who needed a program written to convey to another person, the programmer, just what was wanted, or for programmers to convey to each other what they were doing. In fact, without better methods of representation it became difficult for even one programmer to keep track of what he or she is doing.
The times required to write programs and their costs began to exceed to all estimates. It was not unusual for systems to cost more than twice what had been estimated and to take weeks, months or years longer than expected to complete. The systems turned over to the client frequently did not work correctly because the money or time had run out before the programs could be made to work as originally intended. Or the program was so complex that every attempt to fix a problem produced more problems than it fixed. As clients finally saw what they were getting, they often changed their minds about what they wanted. At least one very large military software systems project costing several hundred million dollars was abandoned because it could never be made to work properly.
The quality of programs also became a big concern. As computers and their programs were used for more vital tasks, like monitoring life support equipment, program quality took on new meaning. Since we had increased our dependency on computers and in many cases could no longer get along without them, we discovered how important it is that they work correctly.
Making a change within a complex program turned out to be very expensive. Often even to get the program to do something slightly different was so hard that it was easier to throw out the old program and start over. This, of course, was costly. Part of the evolution in the software engineering approach was learning to develop systems that are built well enough the first time so that simple changes can be made easily.
At the same time, hardware was growing ever less expensive. Tubes were replaced by transistors and transistors were replaced by integrated circuits until micro computers costing less than three thousand dollars have become several million dollars. As an indication of how fast change was occurring, the cost of a given amount of computing decreases by one half every two years. Given this realignment, the times and costs to develop the software were no longer so small, compared to the hardware, that they could be ignored.
As the cost of hardware plummeted, software continued to be written by humans, whose wages were rising. The savings from productivity improvements in software development from the use of assemblers, compilers, and data base management systems did not proceed as rapidly as the savings in hardware costs. Indeed, today software costs not only can no longer be ignored, they have become larger than the hardware costs. Some current developments, such as nonprocedural (fourth generation) languages and the use of artificial intelligence (fifth generation), show promise of increasing software development productivity, but we are only beginning to see their potential.
Another problem was that in the past programs were often before it was fully understood what the program needed to do. Once the program had been written, the client began to express dissatisfaction. And if the client is dissatisfied, ultimately the producer, too, was unhappy. As time went by software developers learned to lay out with paper and pencil exactly what they intended to do before starting. Then they could review the plans with the client to see if they met the client's expectations. It is simpler and less expensive to make changes to this paper-and-pencil version than to make them after the system has been built. Using good planning makes it less likely that changes will have to be made once the program is finished.
Unfortunately, until several years ago no good method of representation existed to describe satisfactorily systems as complex as those that are being developed today. The only good representation of what the product will look like was the finished product itself. Developers could not show clients what they were planning. And clients could not see whether what the software was what they wanted until it was finally built. Then it was too expensive to change.
Again, consider the analogy of building construction. An architect can draw a floor plan. The client can usually gain some understanding of what the architect has planned and give feed back as to whether it is appropriate. Floor plans are reasonably easy for the layperson to understand because most people are familiar with the drawings representing geometrical objects. The architect and the client share common concepts about space and geometry. But the software engineer must represent for the client a system involving logic and information processing. Since they do not already have a language of common concepts, the software engineer must teach a new language to the client before they can communicate.
In the early days of computing the primary concern was with building or acquiring the hardware. Software was almost expected to take care of itself. The consensus held that "hardware" is "hard" to change, while "software" is "soft," or easy to change. According, most people in the industry carefully planned hardware development but gave considerably less forethought to the software. If the software didn't work, they believed, it would be easy enough to change it until it did work. In that case, why make the effort to plan?
The cost of software amounted to such a small fraction of the cost of the hardware that no one considered it very important to manage its development. Everyone, however, saw the importance of producing programs that were efficient and ran fast because this saved time on the expensive hardware. People time was assumed to save machine time. Making the people process efficient received little priority.
This approach proved satisfactory in the early days of computing, when the software was simple. However, as computing matured, programs became more complex and projects grew larger whereas programs had since been routinely specified, written, operated, and maintained all by the same person, programs began to be developed by teams of programmers to meet someone else's expectations.
Individual effort gave way to team effort. Communication and coordination which once went on within the head of one person had to occur between the heads of many persons, making the whole process very much more complicated. As a result, communication, management, planning and documentation became critical.
Consider this analogy: a carpenter might work alone to build a simple house for himself or herself without more than a general concept of a plan. He or she could work things out or make adjustments as the work progressed. That's how early programs were written. But if the home is more elaborate, or if it is built for someone else, the carpenter has to plan more carefully how the house is to be built. Plans need to be reviewed with the future owner before construction starts. And if the house is to be built by many carpenters, the whole project certainly has to be planned before work starts so that as one carpenter builds one part of the house, another is not building the other side of a different house. Scheduling becomes a key element so that cement contractors pour the basement walls before the carpenters start the framing. As the house becomes more complex and more people's work has to be coordinated, blueprints and management plans are required.
As programs became more complex, the early methods used to make blueprints (flowcharts) were no longer satisfactory to represent this greater complexity. And thus it became difficult for one person who needed a program written to convey to another person, the programmer, just what was wanted, or for programmers to convey to each other what they were doing. In fact, without better methods of representation it became difficult for even one programmer to keep track of what he or she is doing.
The times required to write programs and their costs began to exceed to all estimates. It was not unusual for systems to cost more than twice what had been estimated and to take weeks, months or years longer than expected to complete. The systems turned over to the client frequently did not work correctly because the money or time had run out before the programs could be made to work as originally intended. Or the program was so complex that every attempt to fix a problem produced more problems than it fixed. As clients finally saw what they were getting, they often changed their minds about what they wanted. At least one very large military software systems project costing several hundred million dollars was abandoned because it could never be made to work properly.
The quality of programs also became a big concern. As computers and their programs were used for more vital tasks, like monitoring life support equipment, program quality took on new meaning. Since we had increased our dependency on computers and in many cases could no longer get along without them, we discovered how important it is that they work correctly.
Making a change within a complex program turned out to be very expensive. Often even to get the program to do something slightly different was so hard that it was easier to throw out the old program and start over. This, of course, was costly. Part of the evolution in the software engineering approach was learning to develop systems that are built well enough the first time so that simple changes can be made easily.
At the same time, hardware was growing ever less expensive. Tubes were replaced by transistors and transistors were replaced by integrated circuits until micro computers costing less than three thousand dollars have become several million dollars. As an indication of how fast change was occurring, the cost of a given amount of computing decreases by one half every two years. Given this realignment, the times and costs to develop the software were no longer so small, compared to the hardware, that they could be ignored.
As the cost of hardware plummeted, software continued to be written by humans, whose wages were rising. The savings from productivity improvements in software development from the use of assemblers, compilers, and data base management systems did not proceed as rapidly as the savings in hardware costs. Indeed, today software costs not only can no longer be ignored, they have become larger than the hardware costs. Some current developments, such as nonprocedural (fourth generation) languages and the use of artificial intelligence (fifth generation), show promise of increasing software development productivity, but we are only beginning to see their potential.
Another problem was that in the past programs were often before it was fully understood what the program needed to do. Once the program had been written, the client began to express dissatisfaction. And if the client is dissatisfied, ultimately the producer, too, was unhappy. As time went by software developers learned to lay out with paper and pencil exactly what they intended to do before starting. Then they could review the plans with the client to see if they met the client's expectations. It is simpler and less expensive to make changes to this paper-and-pencil version than to make them after the system has been built. Using good planning makes it less likely that changes will have to be made once the program is finished.
Unfortunately, until several years ago no good method of representation existed to describe satisfactorily systems as complex as those that are being developed today. The only good representation of what the product will look like was the finished product itself. Developers could not show clients what they were planning. And clients could not see whether what the software was what they wanted until it was finally built. Then it was too expensive to change.
Again, consider the analogy of building construction. An architect can draw a floor plan. The client can usually gain some understanding of what the architect has planned and give feed back as to whether it is appropriate. Floor plans are reasonably easy for the layperson to understand because most people are familiar with the drawings representing geometrical objects. The architect and the client share common concepts about space and geometry. But the software engineer must represent for the client a system involving logic and information processing. Since they do not already have a language of common concepts, the software engineer must teach a new language to the client before they can communicate.
Best Traffic Generation
On the first month of this year, Google disallowed entry to more than a hundred thousand Google AdWords accounts for varied reasons. Some of them were due to sites that contradicted the guidelines set by Google for fair advertising and placement. And many of these AdWords accounts were banned because of abusive traffic generation softwares.
Many advertisers utilize traffic generation soft wares to kick start their online marketing efforts by putting them ahead of the rest and on top of the search engines' results page and generate money as fast as they can. And while some of these traffic generation products deliver what they claim, and if you are inclined to use any one of them, you better look for the best traffic generation software there is.
First off, make sure that the software you are choosing is legal and is on the list of allowed generation soft wares on major search engines such as Bing, Google, and Yahoo. Opting for the bad one may not only mess up your online marketing efforts but may also get you banned and that is the last thing you want to happen when you are bent on making a buck off selling things online.
Second, however good your traffic generation software is, the race all ends up with the item with good body content and believe me, you will make it to the list (may yet be at the top) but that placement will be short-lived as soon as the quality of your website is ascertained and assessed to be play stuff. Always keep in mind that there is no shortcut to quality of content which is the real essence of true and effective advertising.
Now, it is apparent that what a website needs to be seen and be able to sell whatever products or services it is offering is website traffic, and lots of it, and the most crucial and challenging part of website traffic generation is getting qualified target visitors to your site. Now, the best traffic generation software should touch base on the most popular methods veering traffic straight to your site.
In the Web 2.0 method, you join popular online communities such as social networking sites for instance and get swept alongside the online community's popularity and since Google and other search engines index these sites on a regular basis, your site earns merits because it is considered as a part of the major site itself that you are now linked with. Your rank gets updated regularly every time these sites are indexed since they are very interactive and at the same time ever-increasing.
Article marketing is in the same class as Web 2.0 since you also belong to a specific popular group that is being browsed on a regular basis. Being an active member in the article directories automatically provides you traffic and ranking
Many advertisers utilize traffic generation soft wares to kick start their online marketing efforts by putting them ahead of the rest and on top of the search engines' results page and generate money as fast as they can. And while some of these traffic generation products deliver what they claim, and if you are inclined to use any one of them, you better look for the best traffic generation software there is.
First off, make sure that the software you are choosing is legal and is on the list of allowed generation soft wares on major search engines such as Bing, Google, and Yahoo. Opting for the bad one may not only mess up your online marketing efforts but may also get you banned and that is the last thing you want to happen when you are bent on making a buck off selling things online.
Second, however good your traffic generation software is, the race all ends up with the item with good body content and believe me, you will make it to the list (may yet be at the top) but that placement will be short-lived as soon as the quality of your website is ascertained and assessed to be play stuff. Always keep in mind that there is no shortcut to quality of content which is the real essence of true and effective advertising.
Now, it is apparent that what a website needs to be seen and be able to sell whatever products or services it is offering is website traffic, and lots of it, and the most crucial and challenging part of website traffic generation is getting qualified target visitors to your site. Now, the best traffic generation software should touch base on the most popular methods veering traffic straight to your site.
In the Web 2.0 method, you join popular online communities such as social networking sites for instance and get swept alongside the online community's popularity and since Google and other search engines index these sites on a regular basis, your site earns merits because it is considered as a part of the major site itself that you are now linked with. Your rank gets updated regularly every time these sites are indexed since they are very interactive and at the same time ever-increasing.
Article marketing is in the same class as Web 2.0 since you also belong to a specific popular group that is being browsed on a regular basis. Being an active member in the article directories automatically provides you traffic and ranking
Configuration Management Software -
Configuration management software specifically designed for the fenestration industry is intended to streamline the initial contact in the order and production cycle for windows, doors, store frontages and other specialised products. The tools traditionally provide order support, with added analytical and visual tools for designers to specify products. Those businesses that utilise such software are able to efficiently and effectively guide the process through selection, configuration and pricing, while rendering drawings, images and a multitude of alternative graphic representations of the final product design.
In today's competitive business environment, reducing costs associated with production while increasing the quality of design is a priority for many businesses involved in the fenestration industry, as with many other industries. The key is in the simplification and streamlining of production processes, without damaging any current or future competitive advantage of the business. In other words, reducing costs associated with production that results in parallel reductions in quality, quotation procedures, delivery times or product customisation and differentiation, is not streamlining but downgrading.
Although many production businesses are well versed in utilising technological solutions to drive bottom line results, many manufacturers are now taking advantage of software that is increasing in sophistication, addressing specific production process and issues, while adding new modules and updates to keep up with the fast pace of manufacturing. A classic example of such software is for configuration management. Reduced expenditures and man-power hours are achieved in product configuration as the management software eliminates the need for manual calculations, analysis and data entry, while at the same time increasing the quality, consistency and reliability of the final product.
Configuration management software addresses the key concern of the manufacturing process... that software automation reduces the manpower and time associated with enabling each of the processes that form the basis of originating, coordinating and operationalising production schedules. Furthermore, the software should enable the simplification of the production cycle and process, where optimisation between departments and suppliers of materials can be achieved.
Those involved in the fenestration industry, or any production based organisation can benefit from the implementation of configuration management software. It is a simple solution that is easy to install, operate, update and upgrade. With various functions and modules available, the system can easily be customised to suit your operation and output levels while matching the human and physical resources at your disposal in an integrated environment. The savings potential and increases in quality achievable through the implementation of configuration management software is simply hard to ignore.
In today's competitive business environment, reducing costs associated with production while increasing the quality of design is a priority for many businesses involved in the fenestration industry, as with many other industries. The key is in the simplification and streamlining of production processes, without damaging any current or future competitive advantage of the business. In other words, reducing costs associated with production that results in parallel reductions in quality, quotation procedures, delivery times or product customisation and differentiation, is not streamlining but downgrading.
Although many production businesses are well versed in utilising technological solutions to drive bottom line results, many manufacturers are now taking advantage of software that is increasing in sophistication, addressing specific production process and issues, while adding new modules and updates to keep up with the fast pace of manufacturing. A classic example of such software is for configuration management. Reduced expenditures and man-power hours are achieved in product configuration as the management software eliminates the need for manual calculations, analysis and data entry, while at the same time increasing the quality, consistency and reliability of the final product.
Configuration management software addresses the key concern of the manufacturing process... that software automation reduces the manpower and time associated with enabling each of the processes that form the basis of originating, coordinating and operationalising production schedules. Furthermore, the software should enable the simplification of the production cycle and process, where optimisation between departments and suppliers of materials can be achieved.
Those involved in the fenestration industry, or any production based organisation can benefit from the implementation of configuration management software. It is a simple solution that is easy to install, operate, update and upgrade. With various functions and modules available, the system can easily be customised to suit your operation and output levels while matching the human and physical resources at your disposal in an integrated environment. The savings potential and increases in quality achievable through the implementation of configuration management software is simply hard to ignore.
Speed Up Your Computer Software
It is a very usual practice nowadays to install many software programs to boost the performance of a PC. You may easily find numerous software installed in every PC today. In my own experience installing many security or computer cleaner programs doesn't make much difference rather many a times it slows down the overall performance and speed of the PC. I have also seen in various PC there were one than antivirus programs were installed. This is again a blunder and it will undoubtedly reduce the taken as a whole performance of the system. I suggest keeping it tiny and simple i.e. try to install only few important programs such as antivirus, or computer cleaner program in your PC. In my experience installing loads of software in order to protect it- is not a wise decision at all. Irrespective of any operating system there are few such important steps or tricks that need to be performed or are applicable for all and sundry i.e. we can try in every operating system.
Hardware glitch - Before anything else let me introduce the firs an integrated part of the OS. If there is any hardware problem in your machine it will not let the system run smoothly. Also there is no alternate for any hardware fault. If it is faulty it needs to be changed only.
Security software installed- An antivirus program is the good example of a security program. An official solution for any infection in your PC is an antivirus program. It removes all sorts of malicious programs from your PC. However there may be some occasions where we need to move forward to eliminate a malicious entry. Also there are numerous kinds of malicious programs that an antivirus does not deal with. For an instance some infection called spyware (though everyone is familiar with them now) they usually cannot be fixed by an antivirus program. But we do not need to be worried about it. There are many computer cleaner or freeware anti spyware programs that work like charm. Malware byte is one of them. Use it if you haven't tried so far.
Registry bloated: - registry is an integrated and central part for any windows operating system today. It holds all the information pertaining to the components associated within it. If a registry gets corrupted or damaged it affects the entire system and subsequently total performance gets down. You may use a good computer cleaner program to overcome this issue. There are many free or paid registry or computer cleaner programs that really work fine
Hardware glitch - Before anything else let me introduce the firs an integrated part of the OS. If there is any hardware problem in your machine it will not let the system run smoothly. Also there is no alternate for any hardware fault. If it is faulty it needs to be changed only.
Security software installed- An antivirus program is the good example of a security program. An official solution for any infection in your PC is an antivirus program. It removes all sorts of malicious programs from your PC. However there may be some occasions where we need to move forward to eliminate a malicious entry. Also there are numerous kinds of malicious programs that an antivirus does not deal with. For an instance some infection called spyware (though everyone is familiar with them now) they usually cannot be fixed by an antivirus program. But we do not need to be worried about it. There are many computer cleaner or freeware anti spyware programs that work like charm. Malware byte is one of them. Use it if you haven't tried so far.
Registry bloated: - registry is an integrated and central part for any windows operating system today. It holds all the information pertaining to the components associated within it. If a registry gets corrupted or damaged it affects the entire system and subsequently total performance gets down. You may use a good computer cleaner program to overcome this issue. There are many free or paid registry or computer cleaner programs that really work fine
Make Beats on Your PC
There are countless people out there that want to know how to make beats on their PC. The idea of expressing yourself musically by making beats on the PC is very appealing.
The first thing you must do to create beats on your computer is to download and install a good beat making program. There are a good amount of programs out there you can make use of such as FL Studios, Reason, Sonic Producer, and Acid Pro.
If you have some money to spend and you have some experience making music you could get a program like Fl Studio which runs about $200. Sonic producer is much cheaper at around $30 and it's the simplest program for beginners to learn how to use.
Now go out and invest in a MIDI keyboard controller and attach it to your PC. A MIDI controller is a keyboard that can be used to control all of the different sounds and instruments used by the software.
When you open the program the first thing you need to do is set the tempo and measures for your beat. If it's rap beats you're interested in producing you should use a 4/4 measure. A good tempo would be around 90 to 95 BPM.
You can make beats on your PC if you don't have any sounds so load up some bass drum and snare drum sounds into the program to make a drum pattern. Make sure you put a bass drum hit on the first beat of each measure using the snare hitting on the 4th beat.
Now make a bass line and a melody for the beat you're making. Load various styles of instruments and utilize the MIDI controller to record melodies, choruses, chords and bass lines to your beat.
Finally you have to arrange your beat. The best thing for you to do is to experiment with taking some instruments out and changing drum patterns up with slight variations. And when you are happy with the way your beat sounds you can save your song as an MP3 file.
If you follow these tips you can start making beats on PC right away. Just make sure you find a good program that is easy to use.
The first thing you must do to create beats on your computer is to download and install a good beat making program. There are a good amount of programs out there you can make use of such as FL Studios, Reason, Sonic Producer, and Acid Pro.
If you have some money to spend and you have some experience making music you could get a program like Fl Studio which runs about $200. Sonic producer is much cheaper at around $30 and it's the simplest program for beginners to learn how to use.
Now go out and invest in a MIDI keyboard controller and attach it to your PC. A MIDI controller is a keyboard that can be used to control all of the different sounds and instruments used by the software.
When you open the program the first thing you need to do is set the tempo and measures for your beat. If it's rap beats you're interested in producing you should use a 4/4 measure. A good tempo would be around 90 to 95 BPM.
You can make beats on your PC if you don't have any sounds so load up some bass drum and snare drum sounds into the program to make a drum pattern. Make sure you put a bass drum hit on the first beat of each measure using the snare hitting on the 4th beat.
Now make a bass line and a melody for the beat you're making. Load various styles of instruments and utilize the MIDI controller to record melodies, choruses, chords and bass lines to your beat.
Finally you have to arrange your beat. The best thing for you to do is to experiment with taking some instruments out and changing drum patterns up with slight variations. And when you are happy with the way your beat sounds you can save your song as an MP3 file.
If you follow these tips you can start making beats on PC right away. Just make sure you find a good program that is easy to use.
Slow PC Condition?
Yes, there is good information available on the internet on how to end slow computer conditions. But you may not be aware that this information is not available in a nice convenient package. They are scattered and require you to hunt for them one by one.
For example, you can find information on why a PC takes a longer time to boot up or to shut down than it did when you first bought it. You can find information on what would cause a computer to crash or lock-up from a different website. Another site might give you information on what a registry cleaner is and how it becomes an area of concern over time. Still in another area of the web you could read information of how surfing the web is an action that will have a great impact on your computer's operation because of all the software requirements to use them for the purposes intended, and this puts a strain on the operation system of the computer. There are many more examples of this nature exposed somewhere on the internet.
The suggestion that needs to be pointed out here is that if you could find them all listed in a nice and easy format that you could follow, it's very likely that the top 20% of the solutions to end a slow pc condition will resolve 80% of all the problems.
To start with, nobody is handing you a complete listing of information in one nice, neat package that will take care of every problem that exists that will end your slow computer condition. It's too costly to produce such a product.
There is a lot of information out there on different websites on how to end your slow computer condition, and it basically gives you only a sprinkle of good information in order to sell you something. All the information you need to take care of your computer problems by yourself are not in one single place. They are all over the Internet. You could do your own research if you knew every single problem that might pop-up. It would take techie professionals a huge amount of time to do and they would know better what to look for, and even for them it would be a daunting task.
The information they tell you, I would tell you as well if I did the research for you and charged you an arm and a leg for it. But to find all the good information together in one software program is not possible because it's not available in a nice neat package. It would take a great effort to put it together.
From my experience I don't believe you will find one software product that stands out head and shoulders above the rest. But that's ok. Approximately 80% of the problems for your slow computer will be solved by 20% of the solutions, if you get the top 20% of the best recommendations.
As you can see, suggestions of that nature can be found searching the Internet. One example that might interest you is the keyword search on "Slow Computer" conditions.
Just for your information, learning how to end a slow computer condition and bring it back to a good speed again is what this is all about. Getting it to run faster than it was when you bought it is another thing. However, it is possible. Just remember, of all the information out there, there are good information and bad information.
If you can locate the 5 most important recommendations that are out there, the rest you can overlook. That's up to you. Remember, it's very likely that the top 20% of the solutions will take care of 80% of all the problems.
We also want to emphasize the need to perform regular maintenance on a steady basis as well. Just following through on a tip is not enough because the problems you are experiencing, some of them will be recurring again and again. That's what happens on the internet, so plan on doing maintenance.
For example, you can find information on why a PC takes a longer time to boot up or to shut down than it did when you first bought it. You can find information on what would cause a computer to crash or lock-up from a different website. Another site might give you information on what a registry cleaner is and how it becomes an area of concern over time. Still in another area of the web you could read information of how surfing the web is an action that will have a great impact on your computer's operation because of all the software requirements to use them for the purposes intended, and this puts a strain on the operation system of the computer. There are many more examples of this nature exposed somewhere on the internet.
The suggestion that needs to be pointed out here is that if you could find them all listed in a nice and easy format that you could follow, it's very likely that the top 20% of the solutions to end a slow pc condition will resolve 80% of all the problems.
To start with, nobody is handing you a complete listing of information in one nice, neat package that will take care of every problem that exists that will end your slow computer condition. It's too costly to produce such a product.
There is a lot of information out there on different websites on how to end your slow computer condition, and it basically gives you only a sprinkle of good information in order to sell you something. All the information you need to take care of your computer problems by yourself are not in one single place. They are all over the Internet. You could do your own research if you knew every single problem that might pop-up. It would take techie professionals a huge amount of time to do and they would know better what to look for, and even for them it would be a daunting task.
The information they tell you, I would tell you as well if I did the research for you and charged you an arm and a leg for it. But to find all the good information together in one software program is not possible because it's not available in a nice neat package. It would take a great effort to put it together.
From my experience I don't believe you will find one software product that stands out head and shoulders above the rest. But that's ok. Approximately 80% of the problems for your slow computer will be solved by 20% of the solutions, if you get the top 20% of the best recommendations.
As you can see, suggestions of that nature can be found searching the Internet. One example that might interest you is the keyword search on "Slow Computer" conditions.
Just for your information, learning how to end a slow computer condition and bring it back to a good speed again is what this is all about. Getting it to run faster than it was when you bought it is another thing. However, it is possible. Just remember, of all the information out there, there are good information and bad information.
If you can locate the 5 most important recommendations that are out there, the rest you can overlook. That's up to you. Remember, it's very likely that the top 20% of the solutions will take care of 80% of all the problems.
We also want to emphasize the need to perform regular maintenance on a steady basis as well. Just following through on a tip is not enough because the problems you are experiencing, some of them will be recurring again and again. That's what happens on the internet, so plan on doing maintenance.
Breaking the Computer Buying Cycle
That New Computer Smell
If you are like most people when they go out and buy a new Personal Computer you probably get excited when you take it out of the box, turn it on and marvel at how fast it runs. When a computer is new it always seems to run faster and boot up quicker than your old computer. The applications and games seem to run without any slow down and when you get on the internet the pages load instantly on the screen, and you can quickly surf from one website to another. Overtime though, your computer can slow down and not run as quickly as it did when it was new.
This slow down can occur for a variety of reasons and when it happens it can be frustrating and spoil your computing experience. Often times when this happens it can be corrected by either cleaning up your hard drive, or running some diagnostics. Perhaps the computer has a virus and once you remove the virus, performance can be restored. What do you do though if you have done all those things and your computer is still running slow?
If your computer is running slow even after you have removed any viruses and attempted to improve system performance, it could mean that the demands you are now placing on your computer have exceeded the computer's capability.
As we use our computers we tend to install new software applications and attempt to run more applications simultaneously. The new software we install can require greater computer resources such as more computer memory and a faster CPU, or central processing unit to run the software applications or games properly.
If you are like me you like to have multiple software applications running or multiple internet browser windows open at the same time and that can utilize greater amounts of computer resources as well. The more resources you use, the slower the computer will run.
This is a constant problem in computing because computer technology doubles roughly every 18 months. In a demand for more feature rich software applications, software developers create more resource consuming software programs. To meet the increased demands of the software, computer manufacturers continue to build faster, more expensive computers. This, in my opinion, is a vicious cycle where in order to maintain a fast and enjoyable computing experience, the computer user is forced to go out and buy a new computer every few years.
Fortunately for me I have never had to worry about that problem. I am a certified computer professional and have been building and repairing computers for over 15 years. When I want a faster computer I do not go out and buy a new expensive computer. I have learned how to break the new computer buying cycle by upgrading my computer. By upgrading my computer rather than buying new, I can simply make myself a faster computer at a fraction of the cost.
You can break the computer buying cycle too and you do not have to be a computer professional like me to do it. You only need to know a few things about computers, be handy with a screw driver and be able to follow a few simple instructions; but before you begin to think about upgrading your computer, it might be important to get a brief overview on how a computer works.
Computer Basics
Computers are made up of a combination of hardware and software working together. When you aren't familiar with how a computer functions then they can seem very complex. You can reduce that complexity, once you understand how a computer works at a basic level.
At its most basic level a computer receives input and produces output. A computer receives input through input devices such as the keyboard and mouse (hardware). Every time we click the mouse on a link or move the mouse across the screen we are giving the computer input or an instruction to do something.
The computer receives the input as an electronic signal created by the mouse click or keystroke on the keyboard. This signal is transmitted through the computer and is converted into digital data where it can be interpreted as an instruction by the operating system, software application or game.(software)
The computer processes digital instruction data and produces output as either an image or words on the computer screen or perhaps as a printout on a printer.
What makes a computer fast is its ability to receive input, and produce output quickly. There are several components a computer needs in order to function but there are three primary components that directly affect how fast a computer can operate.
The three primary computer components which handle the processing of input and make a computer fast are the:
Motherboard or Main System board
CPU or Central Processing Unit
RAM or Random Access Memory
The Motherboard
Without getting too technical, the Motherboard is the computer component that connects all the hardware together on the computer. You could think of the Motherboard as a data freeway that links together all the components of the computer and allows them to transmit data between each other and and communicate.
Every computer component on the computer connects to the Motherboard either by being connected directly to the Motherboard or connecting via a data cable. The devices or components that connect to the Motherboard are the CPU, RAM Memory, Hard Drive, CD ROM/DVD drive, Video Card, Sound Card, Network Card, Modem, Key Board, Mouse and Monitor.
There are additional peripheral devices which can connect to the Motherboard as well through a variety of data ports which are connected to the Motherboard such as a printer, digital camera, microphone, and even a HDTV. These devices can connect to the Motherboard using one of several ports such as a USB, Parallel, Fire-Wire, SATA (Serial-ATA), or HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) port.
In short the Motherboard provided the data communication infrastructure which allows communication between all the devices. What makes one Motherboard faster than another is the volume of data it can support being transmitted across what is called it's data BUS and the speed at which it can transmit the data. One way to think of it is in terms of a street. Think of the data bus as a street and the data are like cars driving down the street. Older Motherboards communication was the equivalent of a two way two lane street with a speed limit of 25 MPH. Today the new Motherboards are like 8 lane highways with 200MPH speed limits.
New Motherboards are faster because they can allow more data traffic at higher speeds.
The CPU
The CPU or Processor is the brain of the computer. The CPU carries out all the instructions that you in conjunction with the Operating System, like Windows XP or Windows 7, asks it to do. CPUs can only carry out one instruction at a time but they do it so fast it seems like they are doing multiple tasks at one time or "Multitasking".
Newer CPUs are faster because their "clock speed" or "clock cycle" is faster. The clock speed is the speed at which a CPU can carry out instructions. You can think of clock speed like the timing of a metronome, the device that helps musicians keep the right musical time. A metronome has a hand on the front of it which swings back and forth at a timing interval you set. As it swings back and forth it ticks like a clock. Like the metronome the CPU also ticks at a set interval but a CPU ticks at an incredibly fast rate which is measured in Mega or Gigahertz. The CPU carries out an instruction on every tick of its clock cycle.
New CPUs can not only carry out instructions at very high clock speeds but they can also be made up of multiple CPU Cores. Each Core can carry out its own instructions. When you have a Dual Core CPU it can carry out two instructions at the same time and a Quad Core CPU can carry out four. There are even six Core CPUs out now and like the newer Motherboards these CPUs also have a larger Data BUS to send and receive data faster through the Motherboard enhancing the computers overall performance.
RAM Memory
RAM or Random Access Memory is what stores all the instructions you have asked the computer to carry out. Every time we interact with our computer we are creating instruction data for the CPU to process and even the simplest interaction, like moving the mouse across the screen, requires many single instructions the CPU must carry out. You can imagine that playing a computer game or running an application like Adobe Photo shop can create a tremendous amount of instructions for the CPU. The CPU is fast and can execute a lot of instructions quickly but it can't do them all at once which is why we need a place to store the instructions until they can be processed. This is why RAM was created.
RAM is basically the storage place for all the instructions that are waiting to be executed by the CPU. You can sometimes tell when you don't have enough RAM when you have clicked on the mouse or hit the enter key to initiate a program and the hour glass just sits there spinning on the screen. It can appear that our computer has locked up or froze but what is actually happening is the computer is completing the series of instructions it has been given before it can perform any further instructions. When this happens we usually see it as the computer briefly locking up. It is also very frustrating.
The best way to resolve this problem is by simply adding more RAM to your computer. Adding more RAM is possibly the easiest way to increase the performance of your computer. Increasing the amount of RAM in your computer can help your computer run faster because it allows your computer store more instructions. This lets the computer carry out a lot of instructions while you continue to do your work and it reduces the computer freeze ups.
The speed of the RAM you use can also help the computer. If you use RAM that has a faster Data Bus speed it can send the instructions it is storing to the CPU at a faster rate. The faster the CPU gets the instructions the faster it can carry them out and the faster your computer will run.
The amount and type you can use is dictated by the type of CPU and Motherboard you use. The Bus speed of the CPU and Motherboard as well as the capacity of RAM the Motherboard can recognize will determine what type of RAM and how much you can use.
Some Motherboards will allow you to install as much as 32GBs of RAM and most Motherboards will recognize multiple Bus speeds so you can use several different types of RAM. Generally speaking the faster the BUS speed and the larger storage capacity of the RAM, the faster your computer will perform. The important thing to remember though is that with larger capacity and speed comes higher price.
What's nice about upgrading RAM is most Motherboards can accommodate several different speeds and capacities of RAM so you can start out with a slower speed and smaller capacity, which will be less expensive reducing your initial upgrade cost and then later down the road you can upgrade your RAM to a larger capacity and high speed.
Replacing the Motherboard, CPU and RAM is actually a lot easier than you may think. The CPU and RAM are directly connected to the motherboard so you can replace all three components at the same time by simply swapping out the motherboard.
To do this you must first determine what kind of form factor of motherboard your current computer supports.
The Motherboard Form Factor
Many computer manufacturers such as HP, Compaq, Dell, Gateway, eMachine, and Acer build their computers based on 4 primary motherboard form factors or design specifications and they are:
ATX = Full Size Motherboard generally found in full size Desktop computers and Towers
Micro-ATX = Mid Size motherboard found in Mid Tower and Smaller Desktops
Mini-ATX = Small Motherboard found in Mid Towers, Smaller Desktops
Mini-ITX = Newest motherboards very small size found in new smaller towers and desktops
These form factors refer to the size of the Motherboard itself. The computer case is designed to accommodate a specific size of Motherboard. Once you have determined which form factor your computer model is, then all you need to do is purchase the correct form factor Motherboard that fits your computer models case.
It would work like this. Let's say you have an HP Pavilion 750n desktop computer. This is an older computer with a single core processor. Nice computer when it first came out but very slow by today's standards. You decide that you want to make it faster by upgrading it to a Quad Core CPU but you need to determine if you can upgrade it.
You can determine whether or not you can upgrade that particular computer by going to the HP support website. On the site you would type in your computer model and look at the hardware specifications for that computer. HP will list the form factor information in the specifications guide. Having done this many times, I already know the 750n uses a Micro-ATX form factor.
Each computer manufacturer I named has a support site on their webpage where you can go to determine your models form factor. You can also do a search on Yahoo, Google, or Bing and ask what form factor your computer model is. If that doesn't work simply email me or leave a comment on this article and I can help you locate it.
Once you know the type of form factor your computer model supports you are now ready to decide what performance level you would like to upgrade your computer to.The performance level of the computer is generally dictated by the CPU it uses. You may recall I indicated the CPU is often referred to as the brain of the computer because it processes all the instructions and it sets the computers overall speed based on it's clock speed.Since the computers overall speed is set by the CPU, you typically start your upgrade by determining the CPU performance level you want.
How you decide which performance level you would like to upgrade to can be based on how you use your computer and how much you want to spend to upgrade it. Generally speaking if you only use your computer to send and receive email, browse the web, and save and share digital images from a digital camera, then you may only need to upgrade to a Dual Core CPU to significantly improve you computing experience.
If you play lots of games, burns DVDs, edit movies or sound files, and work with high resolution images or graphics, then you may want to select a Quad Core CPU to increase performance and improve your computing experience.
From a cost perspective you can expect to pay more for a faster CPU than you would for a slower CPU and Quad Core CPUs are generally more expensive than Dual Cores. As a rule I believe you should purchase as much as you can for as little as possible that way you get the most for your money and you won't have to upgrade again for quite a while.
When you are ready to select your CPU you will have choices based on manufacturer and type and there are also some differences between the various types of CPUs from each manufacturer which you should be aware of.
There are three primary CPU manufacturers Intel, AMD and Motorola, but for the purpose of this article we are only going to focus on Intel and AMD. Motorola is primarily responsible for making CPUs for Apple Computers. Apple computers, are a proprietary computer model and it can be more difficult and more costly to upgrade an Apple computer.
This article is focused on helping the budget conscious, who own what is generally referred to as an IBM compatible computer, upgrade their computer easily and inexpensively. IBM compatible computers are identified as those computers which primarily run a Microsoft Windows based operating system such as Windows XP or Windows 7. Intel and AMD manufacture CPUs that support IBM compatible computers so those are the two manufacturers we will focus on.
For the purpose of this article I am not going to go into great detail about the differences between Intel and AMD CPUs. There is already a significant amount of detailed information available on the internet which describes each manufacturers CPU chip architecture, as well as gives side by side comparison.
I would invite you to do a little research on how each manufacturers chips are designed and then review a website that benchmarks each CPUs performance. There are many links on CPU design, comparisions and reveiws on the weband this can help you make your CPU choice.
The prevailing sentiment regarding AMD vs. Intel is that both CPUs, in either Dual or Quad Core configuration, perform similarly with Intel being slightly faster. Intel CPUs have always been associated with executing business applications quickly while AMD CPUs run multimedia applications quickly. As you research their benchmark scores you will see Intel on a graph seems to dramatically out perform AMD but when you look at the duration of time between the two it is minimal.
Where you will see a significant difference between the two manufacturers is in cost. AMD CPUs are almost always less expensive than Intel CPUs. The question I always ask my clients is, "Is a 4 second faster speed difference worth an extra $200 or $300 dollars more by buying an Intel CPU?" To me it is not.
I am looking for an overall performance increase compared to what I am currently using. Once you upgrade your computer you are not going to be comparing it to another computer of equal performance, you will be comparing it to the speed of your last computer. If after your upgrade, you find your computer runs significantly faster than your last computer and it didn't cost much for you to achieve that performance increase, you will be happy with your upgrade and that is what is important.
CPU Cache
Earlier I indicated that RAM stores all the instruction data being transmitted to the CPU and throughout the computer. The CPU Cache is another form of high speed memory only it is specifically devoted to the CPU. It has been shown that a CPU can process data faster if more of the data it must process can be stored on memory located closer to the CPU itself.
All CPUs come with a cache but some newer CPUs will come with an additional cache that is faster and can hold more data closer to the CPU. Typically CPUs operating at a higher clock speed and having an additional, faster cache will offer higher performance.
A good example of this is the difference between the AMD Athlon and Phenom Series of CPUs. Both the Athlon and Phenom series come in Dual and Quad Core configurations but the Phenoim Series has an additional L3 cache making the CPU faster. It also makes a Phenom series CPU more expensive than the Athlon Series.
Another interesting tidbit is there is now a version II for both the Athlon and Phenom Series. The version II offers a more faster cache hence both CPUs are supposed to be faster than their predecessors however the benchmark numbers show a relatively small increase in performance.
Be sure to do a little research on the differences between the AMD and Intel CPUs and select the one you feel will be appropriate for your computing needs while meeting your budget goals. Once you have chosen the CPU you want you will then be ready to select the Motherboard that supports not only your CPU but your computer form factor as well.
One last thing regarding CPUs are both AMD and Intel have different CPU form factors so when you are selecting a Motherboard for the form factor that meets your computers specifications you also need to select the one that fits your CPU choice. This may seem complicated but it is not that difficult once you start looking at the Motherboard and CPU combinations.
The resellers I have showed you have filtering options on their web pages which allow you to select Motherboards that can support either AMD or Intel. You can also filter by both CPU and computer form factor as well which can help you narrow down your decision making.
Once you have made a decision on the CPU, you want to select the Motherboard that will support the CPU you have chosen. As far as Motherboards go there are several major manufactures of Motherboards and they all produce the 4 main types of Motherboard form factors. The major manufactures are:
ASUS
Biostar
Gigabyte
MSI
Foxconn
ECSJetway
Zotac
This may seem like a lot to choose from but as you begin to filter on the CPU type you can narrow down your focus and make selecting the right Motherboard easier.
Each motherboard will come with common features that are necessary for standard computer operations and some can come with additional features that may or may not be beneficial to you. The primary thing to remember about the Motherboard is that all of the components connect too it and you can choose to customize your computer upgrade as much or as little you want depending on the Motherboard you purchase.
For example, you can purchase a Motherboard which has the video and sound card integrated into the board. This saves you both time and money because it eliminates the need for you to choose a video or sound card, but if you want a specific video or sound card, you can select a Motherboard that does not come with those integrated components and then pick the video and sound card you would like to install as add in cards onto the Motherboard.
Here is a list of common Motherboards features:
Keyboard and Mouse input often referred to as a PS2 connector
USB - Universal Serial Bus ports for connecting computer peripherals such as (Keyboard, Mouse, Printer, Digital Camera, external Hard Drive etc...)
Parallel Printer Port (not as much in newer motherboards as printers use USB)
Local Area Network or LAN connection for a network or internet connection
Dial-up Modem (not as common in newer boards due to high speed internet connections)
Optional Motherboard Features:
1394 or Fire-wire connection (higher speed data connection)
External SATA or Serial-ATA connection (higher speed data connection designed to connect external SATA devices such as a Hard Drive)
HDMI - High-Definition Multimedia Interface to connect an HD Monitor or TV, or to an external High Definition Audio component
We touched on RAM earlier and we know that the RAM you choose must be supported by the CPU and Motherboard you choose. To make it simple it breaks down like this when upgrading. The CPU determines the type of Motherboard you have to choose and your computer model determines the type of Motherboard form factor you select.
The Motherboard will dictate what type of RAM you will be able to use so that will make your selection easier. The only thing you will have to decide when it comes to RAM, is the size of RAM meaning the amount of Gigabytes, Gigs or GBs of RAM you choose and the RAM speed you select.
One other thing you must be aware of is the newer Operating Systems such as Windows Vista and Windows 7 require a minimum of 2GBs of RAM to run properly so you will want to select at least 2GBs of RAM when you upgrade. Knowing this can make your decision regarding the amount of RAM pretty straight forward. As far as the speed of RAM you select that again will depend on the speeds the Motherboard will support, the amount of performance you want and how much you are willing to spend.
As far as determining the speed of RAM your Motherboard will support that is not difficult to determine. As you begin to look at Motherboards you will see they clearly specify the type and speed of RAM they support.
I have covered a lot of information up to this point and I hope you have a better understanding of what is required for you to be able to identify the Motherboard, CPU and RAM components you would need to upgrade your current computer. Buying these components and upgrading them your self is far less expensive then going out and buying a new computer and I am confident with this information as a starting point you too can save money buy upgrading the computer yourself.
There are however, two important additional pieces of information you should know before you attempt to upgrade your computer.
1. Before you upgrade your current computer you should back up all of your important data on to an external storage device such as an external hard drive, USB jump drive or burn it onto a CD or DVD.
The reason this is important is when you upgrade those components you will be forced to reinstall the operating system and that will erase all the current data on your hard drive. In additional if you don't have an installation disk for your current operating system, you will need to purchase a new copy of Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7 to install once you have upgraded the components. This may not actually be a major concern for you if you were already considering upgrading to a newer version of Windows. Also I can help you find an inexpensive copy of the Windows operating system if you it.
2. The new components you will install in you current PC will be more advanced from a power consumption standpoint and upgrading them will most likely require you to also upgrade your power supply.
The upgrade is not expensive and is a very easy to accomplish. The type of power supply you will want to select will be roughly 400 watts at least and will need to be a 20x4 pin or 24 pin power supply. This is the type of power supply supported by the newer Motherboards. Again the Motherboard specifications will indicate the power supply requirements.
To make your computer faster all you need to do is upgrade the Motherboard, CPU and RAM. You start by identifying the type of Motherboard form factor your current computer will support, and the performance level you want to upgrade to. Then you buy the CPU that fits your performance needs along with the Motherboard and RAM that fits both your computer model and CPU specifications.
The one thing I didn't cover is the actual installation of these components once you have purchased them and are ready to install. At a high level the process is nothing more then:
Unplugging the computer and disconnecting all peripheral components such as the keyboard, mouse and monitor from the case
Before you open the computer, discharge yourself electrically or purchase a static strap to ground yourself to the chassis, this will help you avoid static discharge which can fry a computer component.
Removing the side cover off the computer case
Disconnecting all the power cables and Data cables from the old Motherboard
Unscrewing and removing the old Motherboard from the case
Unscrewing and removing the old power supply
Install the new power supply
Install the new Motherboard into the case
Reconnecting all the power and data cables
Powering the computer back up and listening for proper post sound
Now you are ready to install the operating system
I know once you decide to start this process you will have many questions which is why there is one last thing I would recommend you do before you begin to upgrade you computer.
There are many do it yourself computer repair and upgrade manuals available online and they can provide you all the help you need to do your computer upgrade. Many of the books will provide you step by step explanation on how to replace just about every component on your computer and provide you with detailed diagrams so you can see how to actually perform the removal or install. I would suggest you make a small investment and purchase one of these books.
If I could recommend any do it yourself computer manual it would be "Self Computer Repair Unleashed".This book covers all aspects of computer upgrade and repair in a clear concise format and provides full color diagrams and step by step instructions to help you through any computer upgrade or repair. I can't recommend this book enough. I have provided a link to this book on the links page of my website below in my signature.
I thank you for reading my article and I hope it has inspired you to go out and tackle what you may have originally thought was an impossible task. You can upgrade your computer yourself and save yourself a lot of money too
If you are like most people when they go out and buy a new Personal Computer you probably get excited when you take it out of the box, turn it on and marvel at how fast it runs. When a computer is new it always seems to run faster and boot up quicker than your old computer. The applications and games seem to run without any slow down and when you get on the internet the pages load instantly on the screen, and you can quickly surf from one website to another. Overtime though, your computer can slow down and not run as quickly as it did when it was new.
This slow down can occur for a variety of reasons and when it happens it can be frustrating and spoil your computing experience. Often times when this happens it can be corrected by either cleaning up your hard drive, or running some diagnostics. Perhaps the computer has a virus and once you remove the virus, performance can be restored. What do you do though if you have done all those things and your computer is still running slow?
If your computer is running slow even after you have removed any viruses and attempted to improve system performance, it could mean that the demands you are now placing on your computer have exceeded the computer's capability.
As we use our computers we tend to install new software applications and attempt to run more applications simultaneously. The new software we install can require greater computer resources such as more computer memory and a faster CPU, or central processing unit to run the software applications or games properly.
If you are like me you like to have multiple software applications running or multiple internet browser windows open at the same time and that can utilize greater amounts of computer resources as well. The more resources you use, the slower the computer will run.
This is a constant problem in computing because computer technology doubles roughly every 18 months. In a demand for more feature rich software applications, software developers create more resource consuming software programs. To meet the increased demands of the software, computer manufacturers continue to build faster, more expensive computers. This, in my opinion, is a vicious cycle where in order to maintain a fast and enjoyable computing experience, the computer user is forced to go out and buy a new computer every few years.
Fortunately for me I have never had to worry about that problem. I am a certified computer professional and have been building and repairing computers for over 15 years. When I want a faster computer I do not go out and buy a new expensive computer. I have learned how to break the new computer buying cycle by upgrading my computer. By upgrading my computer rather than buying new, I can simply make myself a faster computer at a fraction of the cost.
You can break the computer buying cycle too and you do not have to be a computer professional like me to do it. You only need to know a few things about computers, be handy with a screw driver and be able to follow a few simple instructions; but before you begin to think about upgrading your computer, it might be important to get a brief overview on how a computer works.
Computer Basics
Computers are made up of a combination of hardware and software working together. When you aren't familiar with how a computer functions then they can seem very complex. You can reduce that complexity, once you understand how a computer works at a basic level.
At its most basic level a computer receives input and produces output. A computer receives input through input devices such as the keyboard and mouse (hardware). Every time we click the mouse on a link or move the mouse across the screen we are giving the computer input or an instruction to do something.
The computer receives the input as an electronic signal created by the mouse click or keystroke on the keyboard. This signal is transmitted through the computer and is converted into digital data where it can be interpreted as an instruction by the operating system, software application or game.(software)
The computer processes digital instruction data and produces output as either an image or words on the computer screen or perhaps as a printout on a printer.
What makes a computer fast is its ability to receive input, and produce output quickly. There are several components a computer needs in order to function but there are three primary components that directly affect how fast a computer can operate.
The three primary computer components which handle the processing of input and make a computer fast are the:
Motherboard or Main System board
CPU or Central Processing Unit
RAM or Random Access Memory
The Motherboard
Without getting too technical, the Motherboard is the computer component that connects all the hardware together on the computer. You could think of the Motherboard as a data freeway that links together all the components of the computer and allows them to transmit data between each other and and communicate.
Every computer component on the computer connects to the Motherboard either by being connected directly to the Motherboard or connecting via a data cable. The devices or components that connect to the Motherboard are the CPU, RAM Memory, Hard Drive, CD ROM/DVD drive, Video Card, Sound Card, Network Card, Modem, Key Board, Mouse and Monitor.
There are additional peripheral devices which can connect to the Motherboard as well through a variety of data ports which are connected to the Motherboard such as a printer, digital camera, microphone, and even a HDTV. These devices can connect to the Motherboard using one of several ports such as a USB, Parallel, Fire-Wire, SATA (Serial-ATA), or HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) port.
In short the Motherboard provided the data communication infrastructure which allows communication between all the devices. What makes one Motherboard faster than another is the volume of data it can support being transmitted across what is called it's data BUS and the speed at which it can transmit the data. One way to think of it is in terms of a street. Think of the data bus as a street and the data are like cars driving down the street. Older Motherboards communication was the equivalent of a two way two lane street with a speed limit of 25 MPH. Today the new Motherboards are like 8 lane highways with 200MPH speed limits.
New Motherboards are faster because they can allow more data traffic at higher speeds.
The CPU
The CPU or Processor is the brain of the computer. The CPU carries out all the instructions that you in conjunction with the Operating System, like Windows XP or Windows 7, asks it to do. CPUs can only carry out one instruction at a time but they do it so fast it seems like they are doing multiple tasks at one time or "Multitasking".
Newer CPUs are faster because their "clock speed" or "clock cycle" is faster. The clock speed is the speed at which a CPU can carry out instructions. You can think of clock speed like the timing of a metronome, the device that helps musicians keep the right musical time. A metronome has a hand on the front of it which swings back and forth at a timing interval you set. As it swings back and forth it ticks like a clock. Like the metronome the CPU also ticks at a set interval but a CPU ticks at an incredibly fast rate which is measured in Mega or Gigahertz. The CPU carries out an instruction on every tick of its clock cycle.
New CPUs can not only carry out instructions at very high clock speeds but they can also be made up of multiple CPU Cores. Each Core can carry out its own instructions. When you have a Dual Core CPU it can carry out two instructions at the same time and a Quad Core CPU can carry out four. There are even six Core CPUs out now and like the newer Motherboards these CPUs also have a larger Data BUS to send and receive data faster through the Motherboard enhancing the computers overall performance.
RAM Memory
RAM or Random Access Memory is what stores all the instructions you have asked the computer to carry out. Every time we interact with our computer we are creating instruction data for the CPU to process and even the simplest interaction, like moving the mouse across the screen, requires many single instructions the CPU must carry out. You can imagine that playing a computer game or running an application like Adobe Photo shop can create a tremendous amount of instructions for the CPU. The CPU is fast and can execute a lot of instructions quickly but it can't do them all at once which is why we need a place to store the instructions until they can be processed. This is why RAM was created.
RAM is basically the storage place for all the instructions that are waiting to be executed by the CPU. You can sometimes tell when you don't have enough RAM when you have clicked on the mouse or hit the enter key to initiate a program and the hour glass just sits there spinning on the screen. It can appear that our computer has locked up or froze but what is actually happening is the computer is completing the series of instructions it has been given before it can perform any further instructions. When this happens we usually see it as the computer briefly locking up. It is also very frustrating.
The best way to resolve this problem is by simply adding more RAM to your computer. Adding more RAM is possibly the easiest way to increase the performance of your computer. Increasing the amount of RAM in your computer can help your computer run faster because it allows your computer store more instructions. This lets the computer carry out a lot of instructions while you continue to do your work and it reduces the computer freeze ups.
The speed of the RAM you use can also help the computer. If you use RAM that has a faster Data Bus speed it can send the instructions it is storing to the CPU at a faster rate. The faster the CPU gets the instructions the faster it can carry them out and the faster your computer will run.
The amount and type you can use is dictated by the type of CPU and Motherboard you use. The Bus speed of the CPU and Motherboard as well as the capacity of RAM the Motherboard can recognize will determine what type of RAM and how much you can use.
Some Motherboards will allow you to install as much as 32GBs of RAM and most Motherboards will recognize multiple Bus speeds so you can use several different types of RAM. Generally speaking the faster the BUS speed and the larger storage capacity of the RAM, the faster your computer will perform. The important thing to remember though is that with larger capacity and speed comes higher price.
What's nice about upgrading RAM is most Motherboards can accommodate several different speeds and capacities of RAM so you can start out with a slower speed and smaller capacity, which will be less expensive reducing your initial upgrade cost and then later down the road you can upgrade your RAM to a larger capacity and high speed.
Replacing the Motherboard, CPU and RAM is actually a lot easier than you may think. The CPU and RAM are directly connected to the motherboard so you can replace all three components at the same time by simply swapping out the motherboard.
To do this you must first determine what kind of form factor of motherboard your current computer supports.
The Motherboard Form Factor
Many computer manufacturers such as HP, Compaq, Dell, Gateway, eMachine, and Acer build their computers based on 4 primary motherboard form factors or design specifications and they are:
ATX = Full Size Motherboard generally found in full size Desktop computers and Towers
Micro-ATX = Mid Size motherboard found in Mid Tower and Smaller Desktops
Mini-ATX = Small Motherboard found in Mid Towers, Smaller Desktops
Mini-ITX = Newest motherboards very small size found in new smaller towers and desktops
These form factors refer to the size of the Motherboard itself. The computer case is designed to accommodate a specific size of Motherboard. Once you have determined which form factor your computer model is, then all you need to do is purchase the correct form factor Motherboard that fits your computer models case.
It would work like this. Let's say you have an HP Pavilion 750n desktop computer. This is an older computer with a single core processor. Nice computer when it first came out but very slow by today's standards. You decide that you want to make it faster by upgrading it to a Quad Core CPU but you need to determine if you can upgrade it.
You can determine whether or not you can upgrade that particular computer by going to the HP support website. On the site you would type in your computer model and look at the hardware specifications for that computer. HP will list the form factor information in the specifications guide. Having done this many times, I already know the 750n uses a Micro-ATX form factor.
Each computer manufacturer I named has a support site on their webpage where you can go to determine your models form factor. You can also do a search on Yahoo, Google, or Bing and ask what form factor your computer model is. If that doesn't work simply email me or leave a comment on this article and I can help you locate it.
Once you know the type of form factor your computer model supports you are now ready to decide what performance level you would like to upgrade your computer to.The performance level of the computer is generally dictated by the CPU it uses. You may recall I indicated the CPU is often referred to as the brain of the computer because it processes all the instructions and it sets the computers overall speed based on it's clock speed.Since the computers overall speed is set by the CPU, you typically start your upgrade by determining the CPU performance level you want.
How you decide which performance level you would like to upgrade to can be based on how you use your computer and how much you want to spend to upgrade it. Generally speaking if you only use your computer to send and receive email, browse the web, and save and share digital images from a digital camera, then you may only need to upgrade to a Dual Core CPU to significantly improve you computing experience.
If you play lots of games, burns DVDs, edit movies or sound files, and work with high resolution images or graphics, then you may want to select a Quad Core CPU to increase performance and improve your computing experience.
From a cost perspective you can expect to pay more for a faster CPU than you would for a slower CPU and Quad Core CPUs are generally more expensive than Dual Cores. As a rule I believe you should purchase as much as you can for as little as possible that way you get the most for your money and you won't have to upgrade again for quite a while.
When you are ready to select your CPU you will have choices based on manufacturer and type and there are also some differences between the various types of CPUs from each manufacturer which you should be aware of.
There are three primary CPU manufacturers Intel, AMD and Motorola, but for the purpose of this article we are only going to focus on Intel and AMD. Motorola is primarily responsible for making CPUs for Apple Computers. Apple computers, are a proprietary computer model and it can be more difficult and more costly to upgrade an Apple computer.
This article is focused on helping the budget conscious, who own what is generally referred to as an IBM compatible computer, upgrade their computer easily and inexpensively. IBM compatible computers are identified as those computers which primarily run a Microsoft Windows based operating system such as Windows XP or Windows 7. Intel and AMD manufacture CPUs that support IBM compatible computers so those are the two manufacturers we will focus on.
For the purpose of this article I am not going to go into great detail about the differences between Intel and AMD CPUs. There is already a significant amount of detailed information available on the internet which describes each manufacturers CPU chip architecture, as well as gives side by side comparison.
I would invite you to do a little research on how each manufacturers chips are designed and then review a website that benchmarks each CPUs performance. There are many links on CPU design, comparisions and reveiws on the weband this can help you make your CPU choice.
The prevailing sentiment regarding AMD vs. Intel is that both CPUs, in either Dual or Quad Core configuration, perform similarly with Intel being slightly faster. Intel CPUs have always been associated with executing business applications quickly while AMD CPUs run multimedia applications quickly. As you research their benchmark scores you will see Intel on a graph seems to dramatically out perform AMD but when you look at the duration of time between the two it is minimal.
Where you will see a significant difference between the two manufacturers is in cost. AMD CPUs are almost always less expensive than Intel CPUs. The question I always ask my clients is, "Is a 4 second faster speed difference worth an extra $200 or $300 dollars more by buying an Intel CPU?" To me it is not.
I am looking for an overall performance increase compared to what I am currently using. Once you upgrade your computer you are not going to be comparing it to another computer of equal performance, you will be comparing it to the speed of your last computer. If after your upgrade, you find your computer runs significantly faster than your last computer and it didn't cost much for you to achieve that performance increase, you will be happy with your upgrade and that is what is important.
CPU Cache
Earlier I indicated that RAM stores all the instruction data being transmitted to the CPU and throughout the computer. The CPU Cache is another form of high speed memory only it is specifically devoted to the CPU. It has been shown that a CPU can process data faster if more of the data it must process can be stored on memory located closer to the CPU itself.
All CPUs come with a cache but some newer CPUs will come with an additional cache that is faster and can hold more data closer to the CPU. Typically CPUs operating at a higher clock speed and having an additional, faster cache will offer higher performance.
A good example of this is the difference between the AMD Athlon and Phenom Series of CPUs. Both the Athlon and Phenom series come in Dual and Quad Core configurations but the Phenoim Series has an additional L3 cache making the CPU faster. It also makes a Phenom series CPU more expensive than the Athlon Series.
Another interesting tidbit is there is now a version II for both the Athlon and Phenom Series. The version II offers a more faster cache hence both CPUs are supposed to be faster than their predecessors however the benchmark numbers show a relatively small increase in performance.
Be sure to do a little research on the differences between the AMD and Intel CPUs and select the one you feel will be appropriate for your computing needs while meeting your budget goals. Once you have chosen the CPU you want you will then be ready to select the Motherboard that supports not only your CPU but your computer form factor as well.
One last thing regarding CPUs are both AMD and Intel have different CPU form factors so when you are selecting a Motherboard for the form factor that meets your computers specifications you also need to select the one that fits your CPU choice. This may seem complicated but it is not that difficult once you start looking at the Motherboard and CPU combinations.
The resellers I have showed you have filtering options on their web pages which allow you to select Motherboards that can support either AMD or Intel. You can also filter by both CPU and computer form factor as well which can help you narrow down your decision making.
Once you have made a decision on the CPU, you want to select the Motherboard that will support the CPU you have chosen. As far as Motherboards go there are several major manufactures of Motherboards and they all produce the 4 main types of Motherboard form factors. The major manufactures are:
ASUS
Biostar
Gigabyte
MSI
Foxconn
ECSJetway
Zotac
This may seem like a lot to choose from but as you begin to filter on the CPU type you can narrow down your focus and make selecting the right Motherboard easier.
Each motherboard will come with common features that are necessary for standard computer operations and some can come with additional features that may or may not be beneficial to you. The primary thing to remember about the Motherboard is that all of the components connect too it and you can choose to customize your computer upgrade as much or as little you want depending on the Motherboard you purchase.
For example, you can purchase a Motherboard which has the video and sound card integrated into the board. This saves you both time and money because it eliminates the need for you to choose a video or sound card, but if you want a specific video or sound card, you can select a Motherboard that does not come with those integrated components and then pick the video and sound card you would like to install as add in cards onto the Motherboard.
Here is a list of common Motherboards features:
Keyboard and Mouse input often referred to as a PS2 connector
USB - Universal Serial Bus ports for connecting computer peripherals such as (Keyboard, Mouse, Printer, Digital Camera, external Hard Drive etc...)
Parallel Printer Port (not as much in newer motherboards as printers use USB)
Local Area Network or LAN connection for a network or internet connection
Dial-up Modem (not as common in newer boards due to high speed internet connections)
Optional Motherboard Features:
1394 or Fire-wire connection (higher speed data connection)
External SATA or Serial-ATA connection (higher speed data connection designed to connect external SATA devices such as a Hard Drive)
HDMI - High-Definition Multimedia Interface to connect an HD Monitor or TV, or to an external High Definition Audio component
We touched on RAM earlier and we know that the RAM you choose must be supported by the CPU and Motherboard you choose. To make it simple it breaks down like this when upgrading. The CPU determines the type of Motherboard you have to choose and your computer model determines the type of Motherboard form factor you select.
The Motherboard will dictate what type of RAM you will be able to use so that will make your selection easier. The only thing you will have to decide when it comes to RAM, is the size of RAM meaning the amount of Gigabytes, Gigs or GBs of RAM you choose and the RAM speed you select.
One other thing you must be aware of is the newer Operating Systems such as Windows Vista and Windows 7 require a minimum of 2GBs of RAM to run properly so you will want to select at least 2GBs of RAM when you upgrade. Knowing this can make your decision regarding the amount of RAM pretty straight forward. As far as the speed of RAM you select that again will depend on the speeds the Motherboard will support, the amount of performance you want and how much you are willing to spend.
As far as determining the speed of RAM your Motherboard will support that is not difficult to determine. As you begin to look at Motherboards you will see they clearly specify the type and speed of RAM they support.
I have covered a lot of information up to this point and I hope you have a better understanding of what is required for you to be able to identify the Motherboard, CPU and RAM components you would need to upgrade your current computer. Buying these components and upgrading them your self is far less expensive then going out and buying a new computer and I am confident with this information as a starting point you too can save money buy upgrading the computer yourself.
There are however, two important additional pieces of information you should know before you attempt to upgrade your computer.
1. Before you upgrade your current computer you should back up all of your important data on to an external storage device such as an external hard drive, USB jump drive or burn it onto a CD or DVD.
The reason this is important is when you upgrade those components you will be forced to reinstall the operating system and that will erase all the current data on your hard drive. In additional if you don't have an installation disk for your current operating system, you will need to purchase a new copy of Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7 to install once you have upgraded the components. This may not actually be a major concern for you if you were already considering upgrading to a newer version of Windows. Also I can help you find an inexpensive copy of the Windows operating system if you it.
2. The new components you will install in you current PC will be more advanced from a power consumption standpoint and upgrading them will most likely require you to also upgrade your power supply.
The upgrade is not expensive and is a very easy to accomplish. The type of power supply you will want to select will be roughly 400 watts at least and will need to be a 20x4 pin or 24 pin power supply. This is the type of power supply supported by the newer Motherboards. Again the Motherboard specifications will indicate the power supply requirements.
To make your computer faster all you need to do is upgrade the Motherboard, CPU and RAM. You start by identifying the type of Motherboard form factor your current computer will support, and the performance level you want to upgrade to. Then you buy the CPU that fits your performance needs along with the Motherboard and RAM that fits both your computer model and CPU specifications.
The one thing I didn't cover is the actual installation of these components once you have purchased them and are ready to install. At a high level the process is nothing more then:
Unplugging the computer and disconnecting all peripheral components such as the keyboard, mouse and monitor from the case
Before you open the computer, discharge yourself electrically or purchase a static strap to ground yourself to the chassis, this will help you avoid static discharge which can fry a computer component.
Removing the side cover off the computer case
Disconnecting all the power cables and Data cables from the old Motherboard
Unscrewing and removing the old Motherboard from the case
Unscrewing and removing the old power supply
Install the new power supply
Install the new Motherboard into the case
Reconnecting all the power and data cables
Powering the computer back up and listening for proper post sound
Now you are ready to install the operating system
I know once you decide to start this process you will have many questions which is why there is one last thing I would recommend you do before you begin to upgrade you computer.
There are many do it yourself computer repair and upgrade manuals available online and they can provide you all the help you need to do your computer upgrade. Many of the books will provide you step by step explanation on how to replace just about every component on your computer and provide you with detailed diagrams so you can see how to actually perform the removal or install. I would suggest you make a small investment and purchase one of these books.
If I could recommend any do it yourself computer manual it would be "Self Computer Repair Unleashed".This book covers all aspects of computer upgrade and repair in a clear concise format and provides full color diagrams and step by step instructions to help you through any computer upgrade or repair. I can't recommend this book enough. I have provided a link to this book on the links page of my website below in my signature.
I thank you for reading my article and I hope it has inspired you to go out and tackle what you may have originally thought was an impossible task. You can upgrade your computer yourself and save yourself a lot of money too
Bright and Beautiful Winter Fashion For Women 2011
ranted, it might be hardly noticeable after the great washout summer, but it's true: winter is fast approaching. As any self-respecting fashionista knows, the change of season can mean only one thing: a great excuse to go shopping!
Cold weather doesn't have to mean more clothes, just warmer ones. So you can choose whether to bulk up with cosy knits and snug, thick fabrics, or go for clever layering; team funky accessories and outerwear with your favourite key pieces from the spring and summer. That way, you don't have to banish cute tea dresses and floral skirts to the back of your wardrobe for another year; just mix it up by adding jeans or opaque tights and legwarmers, an oversized cardigan or batwing jumper, and those essential winter boots.
Perhaps the most important key item, and the biggest investment you'll make, for your winter wardrobe is a coat that goes with everything. Boiled wool swing coats in deep colours are set to be big this year, while a nice fitted leather trench or double-breasted mac never goes out of style. The silhouette is nipped-in waists and wide skirts, which is very flattering for all sizes. This look is actually quite retro, so have a rummage in vintage stores or even the back of your mum's wardrobe - you never know what you'll find! - and you might just bag a unique piece to make you the envy of hipsters everywhere.
As for colours, remember winter fashion doesn't have to be funereal. While black, grey and charcoal are all very well and grown-up, they can be harsh and make you look slightly washed-out, or just plain boring! Instead try a dark, rich, luxurious colour which flatters your hair and skin - purple, maroon and chocolate are all good - and accessorise with flashes of colour in brighter shades of the same hue. So a deep purple coat will look great with a funky fuchsia scarf and gloves; bottle green or navy are best with the lovely bright turquoise and peacock blue tones which were all over Spring-Summer this year. A bright colour worn near your face will grab attention and warm your complexion, so consider a cute beret or cloche hat in a colour you might think outrageous for bigger pieces.
Of course you'll need a fabulous new bag to go with all this gorgeous outerwear. A black patent tote or oversized shopper, with buckle or strap details, will keep you on-trend while making a subtle style statement. It also gives you somewhere to stash those hats, gloves, scarves and extra jumpers when you're indoors, so no excuses for leaving them on the train! Other key pieces this season shape the overall dynamic, which is very feminine but never frilly: cutesy angora jumpers, puff sleeves and empire lines cosy up to corset belts, bold 'statement' necklaces, high-waisted pencil skirts and shoe boots for a chic, kitten-with-a-whip kind of vibe
Cold weather doesn't have to mean more clothes, just warmer ones. So you can choose whether to bulk up with cosy knits and snug, thick fabrics, or go for clever layering; team funky accessories and outerwear with your favourite key pieces from the spring and summer. That way, you don't have to banish cute tea dresses and floral skirts to the back of your wardrobe for another year; just mix it up by adding jeans or opaque tights and legwarmers, an oversized cardigan or batwing jumper, and those essential winter boots.
Perhaps the most important key item, and the biggest investment you'll make, for your winter wardrobe is a coat that goes with everything. Boiled wool swing coats in deep colours are set to be big this year, while a nice fitted leather trench or double-breasted mac never goes out of style. The silhouette is nipped-in waists and wide skirts, which is very flattering for all sizes. This look is actually quite retro, so have a rummage in vintage stores or even the back of your mum's wardrobe - you never know what you'll find! - and you might just bag a unique piece to make you the envy of hipsters everywhere.
As for colours, remember winter fashion doesn't have to be funereal. While black, grey and charcoal are all very well and grown-up, they can be harsh and make you look slightly washed-out, or just plain boring! Instead try a dark, rich, luxurious colour which flatters your hair and skin - purple, maroon and chocolate are all good - and accessorise with flashes of colour in brighter shades of the same hue. So a deep purple coat will look great with a funky fuchsia scarf and gloves; bottle green or navy are best with the lovely bright turquoise and peacock blue tones which were all over Spring-Summer this year. A bright colour worn near your face will grab attention and warm your complexion, so consider a cute beret or cloche hat in a colour you might think outrageous for bigger pieces.
Of course you'll need a fabulous new bag to go with all this gorgeous outerwear. A black patent tote or oversized shopper, with buckle or strap details, will keep you on-trend while making a subtle style statement. It also gives you somewhere to stash those hats, gloves, scarves and extra jumpers when you're indoors, so no excuses for leaving them on the train! Other key pieces this season shape the overall dynamic, which is very feminine but never frilly: cutesy angora jumpers, puff sleeves and empire lines cosy up to corset belts, bold 'statement' necklaces, high-waisted pencil skirts and shoe boots for a chic, kitten-with-a-whip kind of vibe
Beach Shoes
Beach shoes have evolved significantly over the last few years. Gone are the days when flip-flops and Birkenstock's (remember that not all Birkenstock's are waterproof so choose the ones you'll wear to the beach wisely) were your only option. Though who can really live without a nice comfy pair of Birkenstock's or 12? Today there are all kinds of shoes made specifically to wear to the beach.
From netted athletic shoes made for running and walking just along the edge of the water to jelly shoes, flip-flops, and dozens of varieties in between it is now more than ever possible to not only have shoes that are practical to wear to the beach, but fashionable in this endeavor as well.
Shoes say a lot about the wearer, there is really no exception for beach shoes. Any old flip-flops say the wearer isn't very concerned about their foot fashion. Of course there are flip-flops with embellishments that make them a little more fashionable than the dollar store variety. A nice pair of Birkenstock's says the wearer is wisely more concerned with quality and comfort than following trends. Impractical beach shoes or those that are likely to need repairs after coming into contract with water and/or sand say the owner has more money than sense. And shoes that are funky and fashionable and made for the beach say the wearer is fashionably chic.
When choosing the right beach shoes for you it is important that you consider what your beachside activities are going to be. If you want to run along the shoreline, you might want to purchase a pair of the beach friendly athletic shoes that are relatively new. If you want to be fashionable go for some of the trendy beach shoes, if you want the ultimate in comfort go for a nice pair of Birkenstock's, and flip-flops are always an old fall back that have been the shoe of choice of beach goers for ages
From netted athletic shoes made for running and walking just along the edge of the water to jelly shoes, flip-flops, and dozens of varieties in between it is now more than ever possible to not only have shoes that are practical to wear to the beach, but fashionable in this endeavor as well.
Shoes say a lot about the wearer, there is really no exception for beach shoes. Any old flip-flops say the wearer isn't very concerned about their foot fashion. Of course there are flip-flops with embellishments that make them a little more fashionable than the dollar store variety. A nice pair of Birkenstock's says the wearer is wisely more concerned with quality and comfort than following trends. Impractical beach shoes or those that are likely to need repairs after coming into contract with water and/or sand say the owner has more money than sense. And shoes that are funky and fashionable and made for the beach say the wearer is fashionably chic.
When choosing the right beach shoes for you it is important that you consider what your beachside activities are going to be. If you want to run along the shoreline, you might want to purchase a pair of the beach friendly athletic shoes that are relatively new. If you want to be fashionable go for some of the trendy beach shoes, if you want the ultimate in comfort go for a nice pair of Birkenstock's, and flip-flops are always an old fall back that have been the shoe of choice of beach goers for ages
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