At present, thanks to tutorials on YouTube or specialized forums, it is increasingly common for any average user to build their own computer. But if you’re new to computing, there are at least 10 things you need to know before building your own PC.
With information from computer today, we will break down 10 computer terms that anyone should know before building a new computer or buying a computer.
10 computer terms you should know before building your PC
- CPU or Processor and Cores: The CPU or processor provides the instructions and processing power your computer needs to function properly. The more powerful and up-to-date the processor, the faster the PC will run and complete tasks. This has the cores, the processing units of a CPU that perform certain actions. The number of cores in your processor determines the performance of the processor.
- cpu cooler: CPU coolers are heat sinks specifically designed to remove heat generated by the CPU and improve system efficiency and stability.
- RAM (Random Access Memory): It is known as the short-term memory of the system. Every time your PC performs calculations, it temporarily stores the data in RAM until it is needed. It is measured in megabytes (MB) or gigabytes (GB), and the more RAM you have, the more things your computer can do.
- motherboard: It is the nerve center of connectivity and functions of a PC. It’s a slim board that contains the CPU, memory, connectors for the hard drive and optical drives, expansion cards for controlling video and audio, and connections to USB and other ports.
- Hard drive or SSD: They are the units for data storage and do not disappear from the system as in the case of RAM. An SSD offers extremely fast data storage and retrieval, while hard drives are the slightly slower traditional PC storage option.
- Graphic card: It is primarily designed to remove graphics processing tasks from the processor or RAM. It includes a dedicated Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) and RAM to help you process graphics data quickly.
- Power supply: This component supplies power to the rest of the computer, including installed peripherals such as graphics cards and additional hard drives.
- Optical unit: It is a computer accessory that allows you to read and write from optical discs using a laser or visible light.
- Box and Peripherals: The main case of the computer, the one that protects all the components and that carries those buttons, lights and ports connected to the entire system. Peripherals, for their part, are those accessories or external devices that are not part of the main equipment, such as the keyboard, mouse, speakers, monitor, among others.
