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Building a Computer
Senior Project Paper
Chris Burrell
Seminar 1st Block
10/5/12
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Senior Project Paper
Chris Burrell
Seminar 1st Block
10/5/12
The definition of a computer is “The application of scientific knowledge for practical
purposes especially in industry. Machinery and equipment develop from such scientific
knowledge.” (Webster) Computers have changed greatly over history and have been condensed
from large computers down to smaller, more portable, ones. Computers consist of many
components that work together to allow a computer to function/work properly. Computer
businesses thrive greatly from selling computer parts and future components to computers will
help to allow them to thrive even more. Computers have rapidly evolved from where they once
were, but to understand where they started looking back in history would be the best place to
start.
The term computer dates back to at least 1646 and denotes to a person who does
mathematical calculations. (CCIW) Although now when someone uses the term computer people
think of desktops, laptops or even netbooks. The term computer has grown greatly since 1646
and will continue to grow in the foreseeable future. On June 15th, 1911 IBM was formed. IBM
manufactures and sells computer hardware and software. Macintosh and Microsoft were also
other computer companies that came into play some years after IBM was formed. Microsoft
Corporations was founded on April 14th, 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen. While Macintosh
was founded by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak in 1976. In 1977 Macintosh came out with the
first personal computer with color graphics. Macintosh’s Steve Jobs and Microsoft’s Bill Gates
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had once worked together trying to start a computer business together that had been going pretty
well. Gates ended up leaving and forming what is now known as Microsoft leaving Steve Jobs to
the company himself. Gates ended up using Apple software to help further his company and
created desktops. By 1979 there were over half a million computer in use in the United States
(Futuretimeline.net); by 1983 over ten million computers were in use in the United States.
(Futuretimeline.net) History is a big part of computers, but it isn’t the only part that computers
have.
Most people see computers as common and easy to understand, but computers consist of
many components that work together and allow the computer to function. The parts range widely
in sizes, some are larger and weigh a good bit for being a computer part. While others are small
and don’t weigh that much at all. Some components, like the NXZT Phantom 410 which weighs
20.06 pounds are really heavy for computer parts. There are even some cases that are heavy duty
and weigh even more than the Phantom 410, like the Cosmos 2 which weighs a massive 48.5
pounds (CoolerMaster). The first place to start when building a computer is finding a case that is
suitable and can hold all the components that you want to put into the computer case itself.
Cases range from small to large. The size of most of the computer cases built depends
on what kind of motherboard it was made to use. There are many different brands of computer
cases that range from different material used to make them. AT (Advance Technology), ATX
(Advanced Technology Extended), BTX (Balanced Technology Extended), SFF (Small Form
Factor), ITX (This type of cases is usually used with mini or micro-computers) and Tower Cases,
although Tower Cases range widely and generally come in three different sizes (mini-tower,
mid-tower and full-tower), are the most common type of computer cases. A new type of case was
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released in Fall of 2012 called the Cosmos 2 which is known to be a Ultra-Tower fitting in the
category of Tower Cases. (CoolerMaster.com)
Picking cases can either be simple or it can be complicated. When choosing a case it
is always important to consider the future components a factor. While cases can be extremely
large and capable of holding many parts that doesn’t mean that it’s going to hold the components
one might want it to hold. When shopping for a case one has to take into consideration what type
of motherboard one wants to have in their computer, how many fans one might want to have in
their computer and things of that nature.
Choosing a computer case isn’t going to be the hardest part of ones’ selection. As
explained before there are many types of computer cases that can be used for a computer. Some
computer cases allow more air-flow which allows ones interior components to stay cooler. While
other cases are thicker so that not as much noise is released from the components running
together.
After choosing a case one generally starts with finding a suitable motherboard. The
motherboards main job is to hold the microprocessor and let everything else connect to it.
Motherboards can be complicated; this is usually where people have trouble matching up parts
that will work with it. There are many different types of motherboards, such as, ATX, BTX,
ITX, Extended ATX and MTX these are just a few of the larger brand motherboards that there
are.
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ATX motherboards are usually fully functioning boards that support 4 or 6 slots of
memory while also having 5-7 expansion slots that can be used for different parts. These are
usually able to hold more than one
graphics card and they are built fairly well. ATX in general is usually best for gaming computers.
ATX motherboards tend to have more expansion slots and usually allow CrossFire or come
Crossfire ready. Crossfire allows you to run your computer with two graphics cards. A Radeon
7970 has three gigabytes of video graphics memory to process with (Newegg.) This Graphics
card is also Crossfire ready, which means that with two of these cards one could have a
computer run with six gigabytes of graphics rather than one, two or three gigabytes from one
graphics card.
Not all computers require a graphics card though; sometimes processors come with what
is known as “Integrated Graphics.” Integrated Graphics are built into a processor and act as a
graphics card. The only issue with integrated graphics cards is that they aren’t as powerful as
dedicated graphics. Dedicated Graphics are cards that are meant to help graphics alone, while
integrated graphics in a processor work as two parts rather than just one. Dedicated graphics
cards usually range from around one gigabyte of graphics memory to four gigabytes of graphics
memory. Larger graphic cards are usually meant for gaming or being used for Graphic and
Design programs. The more memory a graphics card has the larger the card, generally, and the
hotter the card can get. Most graphics cards have fans built in to keep themselves from
overheating.
A dedicated Graphics card fits into PCIe (Peripheral Component Interconnect
Express) slots better known as Expansion Slots. Expansion slots are located on the motherboard
or Riser Board and allow other boards to be connected. Expansion Slots are used for increasing
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memory, otherwise known as RAM, and support for special devices. Boards that are inserted
into the expansion slots are known as expansion boards, expansion cards, cards, add-ins, and
add-ons.
RAM is known as Random Access Memory. “Random Access Memory (RAM) provides
space for your computer to read and write data to be accessed by the CPU (central processing
unit) (kb.ui.edu). There are several different types of RAM. SRAM (Static Random Access
Memory), DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory), FPM DRAM (Fast Page Mode Dynamic
Random Access Memory), EDO DRAM (Extended Data-Out Dynamic Random Access
Memory), SDRAM (Synchronous dynamic random access memory), DDR SDRAM (Double
Data Rate Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory), RDRAM (Rambus Dynamic
Random Access Memory), Credit Card Memory, PCMCIA Memory Card, CMOS RAM, VRAM
(Video Random Access Memory) also known as Multiport Dynamic Random Access Memory.
A CPU (Central Processing Unit) is another component required to have a functioning
computer. The Central Processing Unit is known as the brain of the computer. The Central
Processing Unit connects to the CPU Socket on the Motherboard. Generally, running a Central
Processing Unit for even a short amount of time it starts to get hot and overheat. Due to
overheating a Heat sink and a fan must be attached to the Central Processing Unit. There are
other ways of cooling the Central Processing Unit; liquid cooling is another way to cool the
CPU. Again, with a Central Processing Unit, like only certain Motherboards fit in certain
computer cases, certain Central Processing Units will only fit in certain Motherboards. “Modern
CPUs use a technique called parallel processing, where more than one instruction is processed at
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a time. Basically, the CPU begins fetching and decoding a second instruction set execution
before the end of the first series. This greatly increases computer performance. (Francois)
Processor performance is measured in “Cycles per Second” this is the number of times that a
Central Processing Unit can execute instructions per second. The amount measured is then
referred to as hertz. A processor that operates at 4 gigahertz (GHz) can perform four billion
cycles per second. “A processor uses four steps to run programs: search, decode, execute, and
write back. It first fetches the instructions of the program, and then it decodes the instructions
and organizes it into several major parts. It then executes the different parts of the instructions,
and then writes the results back to some form of memory. Often the results are written in a kind
of temporary memory in the CPU itself so they can be accessed quickly for the next set of
program instructions.” (How-to-x.info)
After choosing a Central Processing Unit and a motherboard finding a suitable Hard
Drive is another requirement for a computer. Hard Drives are the part of the computer that holds
any saved information. It holds the OS (Operating System), Saved documents, etc. A Hard Drive
has what are known as Arms. The Arms write on what are known as Platters. These Platters
usually run at 3600 Rotations per Minute (RPM) or 7200 Rotations per Minute. The Arm is
extremely light and fast which writes information on the Platters. On most Hard Drives the Arm
can move from hub to edge and back 50 times a second.
Heat sinks are pieces of metal connected to the Central Processing unit. Since metal is a
good conductor of heat it is used to transfer heat from the Central Processing Unit outward so
that it doesn’t overheat or fry itself. Fans are placed all throughout the computer. There is
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generally anywhere from 2 to about 10 fans in a computer case. When fans are set up correctly a
computer can remain cold and have no issues with heat what so ever. Fans are a large component
when it comes to building a computer. “The fans help to keep everything in the computer cool so
that nothing overheats or melts due to excessive amounts of heat.” (Bob)
For everything in a computer to run and function properly a very important component to
a computer is the Power Supply. The Power Supply is connected to the motherboard which then
is connects to basically everything else to send power to them. For computers that are only going
to be used for surfing the internet or typing word documents there isn’t a need for a large Power
Supply. If high level gaming is what the computer is going to be used for then a larger Power
Supply will be required. The more power and Power Supply has or can hold the better the
components in a computer can be. For example, an AMD A8-5600k requires 100 watts of power.
If there is only a 350w Power Supply then 100 of those watts has already been used up by one
single component (This is one of the higher costing wattage items that goes into a computer.)
Sound cards are technically part of a computers interior. As the name says a Sound Card
is used to allow audio processing so that noise can be properly created through connected
speakers. The Sound Card connects to a PCI slot, which has been previously discussed.
DVD Readers is one of the last requirements to finish off the interior of a computer. The
reader is required because one will eventually have to install an OS or Operating System. “The
DVD Reader isn’t just used for loading Operating Systems; it is also used for downloading AntiVirus Software and things of that nature.” (Bob)
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The exterior of a computer also requires a few things. A Mouse, which is what, is used to
navigate a cursor on the computer screen, is also a component needed to have a functioning
computer. Keyboards for typing are always a good thing to have, especially for gamers. The last
thing required to have a fully functioning computer would be a Monitor so that one can simply
see the picture displayed on a computer. Everything in today’s society is so advanced, it makes
one wonder how much more advanced can it really get? Computer Science in the future is
predicted to be ridiculously gigantic.
“It is predicted that by the end of this decade Micro-SD Cards (or equivalent devices)
will exceed the capacity of the human brain.” (FutureTimeline) The predictions for storage
capacity in the future has a humongous outlook. By the early 2030’s it is predicted that
Supercomputers could quite possibly reach the zettaflop, the zettaflop is where computer
prediction for weather will become 99% accurate over the course of two weeks.
Predictions have been shown to state that if growth continues on its path that in the 2050’s
a Micro-SD card will be able to hold three times the brain capacity of the entire human
race. “Moore’s Law is a computing term which originated around 1970; the simplified version
of this law states that processor speeds, or overall processing power for computers will double
every two years. (Mooreslaw.org)” Based on Moore’s Law if the statement holds true to what it
says then computer businesses will continue to thrive for an extremely long amount of time.
Computer businesses have a huge outlook for the future. Computer parts are constantly
changing and are consistently getting better. History has shown some great changes throughout
computers, great inventors, and great creations. The past, present and future of computers all
intertwine together to make computers what they have been, are and will be.
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Computers have come a long way from where they once were. There have been many
people who have put forward a lot of time to study computers and to understand how they work.
Future predictions have shown that there is still a lot more progression for computer storage and
computer parts. Computer parts are a large part of computers and they help to allow a computer
to function properly. Parts to computers are as follows, a computer case, motherboard, hard drive
or hard drives, processor, DVD Reader, Power Supply, Heat Sinks and Fans, Sound Card, RAM
and OS (Operating System.) The past, present and future of computers have a huge impact on
what computers are understood as in today’s society.