A basic Introduction to a PC

Motherboard

Or 'mainboard'
Socket LGA 775 with PCIe Graphics slot




Socket 478 with an AGP Graphics slot


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Hard Disk Drive(s) (HDD)
Or 'Hard Disk'

...where your OS is installed and all the programmes, pictures and other data are stored.



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Power Supply Unit (PSU)
...the heart of the PC, therefore the most important part

Heres a generic one (Yuk!)




...and heres a higher grade one (highly recommended)



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RAM (Random Access Memory)

Or just 'Memory'

...can come in many specifications, but looks similar whatever you have installed






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Network Interface Card (NIC)

...for connecting to a home network/the internet by wire




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Central Processing Unit(CPU)

Or your 'Processor'
...the brain of your PC

You won't be able to see it, but its there, under a heatsink/fan (HSF)




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CD/DVD drive

Or your 'Optical Drive'



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You might not have any of the following, but its worth knowing what they look like if,
for example, you intend to buy one...


Graphics Card(GPU)



...or if you are more fortunate, something like this...



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Sound Card



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Floppy Drive (FDD)



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Card Reader



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Common Terminology

In this forum, you may come across some terminology that might confuse and distract you.
Some already covered in this thread are...

PSU (Power Supply Unit)
CPU (Central Processing Unit)
HDD (Hard Disk Drive)
FDD (Floppy Disk Drive)
GPU (Graphics Processing Unit)
NIC (Network Interface Card)


Here are two which will be covered in the next section...

OS (Operating System)
GUI (Graphical User Interface)


Whats this Windows Thing?

An operating system is a collection of data and programs which allow you to perform your tasks (surfing the internet, writing a letter, playing a game, etc...) in a simple, easy to understand format (a GUI).
Some of the most commonly used and sold OS's today are....

Windows XP




Windows Vista



...which are both made by Microsoft...


Ubuntu




OpenSUSE




Fedora




...which are all Linux distributions (free).

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To find out what version of Windows you are using:
hold the Start key and press Pause/Break

For XP...




...and for Vista





The method may vary by Linux distro, but the information is usually held in:
System > Administration > System Monitor (under the System Tab)