Computer Building 101 - THE PARTS, part 4

And we're back...
I really didn't think I'd get to this today. But my fans need me. And I'm willing to oblige.


Today we will take a brief look at case fans, add on cards, card readers, keyboards and mice, and monitors.
THIS IS COMPUTER BUILDING 101 - THE PARTS, PART 4. let's get this over with...

CASE FANS

Case fans come a in few sizes and thicknesses. They are square so one measurement denotes the the square part and another the width. The common sizes are 80mm, 92mm, and 120mm. There are others as well, but for cases, theses are the norm. Widths go all over the place, but I think 38mm is the most common. Really you only need to concern yourself with the size. Most cases allow for a rear fan, while others allow for a front as well, and the sides. It all really depends on the case.

There are two different connectors at the moment with one of them kinda morphing into two. The typical 4 pin component connector, the same one you plug into IDE CDROMs and IDE Hard Drives, and the 3 pin small connector (which now has a 4 pin derivative). The 4 Pin component connector usually has a male and female end, acting a coupler. So you can plug the power into it and then it into a device, such as a CDROM. The 3/4 pin mini is plugged into the motherboard (motherboards are notorious for only have 1 or 2 sockets for fans) or a fan controller. The advantage to having it plugged into the motherboard is that software and hardware can control the speed of the fans, finding a balance between noise and cool. Some fan controllers do this as well. When looking for fans, check the reviews and the RPMs. The higher the RPM, the more airflow but louder the fan. The lower the RPM the quieter the fan but less airflow. It's up to you to decide. Getting a fan controller can make this decision much easier.

ADD-ON CARDS

So, you need Firewire or a RAID card, or TV Tuner. They got those, for a price of course. But what you need to be aware of is the following:

Do you have enough physical space to put a card in the case. Yeah, you probably won't have any issues with this, but still. There are some high end cases that are, what we call, low profile or half height. This means that the case will only support low profile or half height cards. And some of these cards are long. You see the new ATI 5950's? Almost as long as my forearm, hand included (maybe no fingers). No joke.

Do you have enough PCI or PCI-E slots for your add on card. Something to think about.

Will your OS (Windows, Linux, etc) support this 3rd party, made in Vietnam, sudo illegal, cable breaker TV tuner? Eh, most likely it will. But some things are made for Windows and others for Mac. This is most likely a non-issue.

CARD READERS

Couple of things here. Make sure they support the cards you want to use them with. The popular ones at the moment are: SD/SDHC, Compact Flash, Memory Stick. Check the reviews and find one that meets these requirements and that people have had luck with. They are pretty inexpensive.

You can get ones that are external or internal (they mount where the floppy would go... but floppy's are dead)

KEYBOARDS AND MICE

Keyboards and mice are a personal choice. But you need to be aware of the connections. There are PS2 and USB for wired. Bluetooth and RF are the two wireless technologies at the moment. Unless Bluetooth is built into the motherboard (usually not) you will need a Bluetooth dongle (looks like a USB drive) and that may or may not come with the device. RF usually comes with the receiver and uses the PS2 or USB connections. The PS2 connector is on it's way out, but there are some that still use it. A lot of motherboards are now starting to ditch them, either putting one connector on (usually for the keyboard) or removing them all together to make way for more USB ports.

MONITORS

Again, monitors are a personal preference thing. What size do you want? Wide screen or full screen? DVI, VGA, HDMI, display port; how are you connecting this thing with your computer?

The first two I leave up to your discretion. I suggest hitting up Best Buy or Office Depot and checking things out yourself. Check the sizes and orientation. Pricing on monitors is pretty competitive online and retail so if you find locally in your price range, go for it.

Most monitors come with at least a VGA and a DVI. Many come with both of those and HDMI and/or display port. Display port is relatively new, but you are buying a new computer and if you are getting a video card it may have this. Really there are only differences between VGA and the rest. VGA is analog and DVI/HDMI/Display Port are all digital. Advantages to HDMI include passing audio and video in the same cable as long as you monitor supports this. I think Display Port offers the same. Essentially VGA and DVI are in the same boat as HDMI and Display Port take over as the primary connectors for display and audio. Just make sure that you video card or motherboard video connection is the same as one on the monitor and you'll be fine. FYI, if you need cables, but them at MONOPRICE.COM. Do not buy cables at Best Buy, WalMart, etc. Get them at MONOPRICE.COM and then compare prices and laugh at that best buy employee that is warning you, if you don't buy their $100, 6' long HDMI cable, the quality will suck. No sir, you suck.

The rest, well, check out the colors and brightness in person. You know what you want. Get what looks good. But check prices and decide if the value if there.