myfunkychannel :
So my computer specs are:
* Motherboard: Gigabyte EP45-DS4P
* CPU: Core 2 Duo. 3Ghz / 6mb / 1333FSB
* Memory: 2x2GB Kingston DDR2 800Mhz
* Graphic card: Gigabyte Geforce 9500GT 1GB overclock 650MHZ
* 550W power supply
correct me if I'm wrong:
[cpu]
ghz is how fast it can process infomation?
mb is how much memory it can store for running multiple task?
then what about FSB then?
number of cores in cpu depends how many times it seperate the task?
above relates to memory also?
[motherboard]
i think my motherboard is sufficient atm. as i only am running ddr2, sata2, usb2.0?
what makes a good mother board?
[graphics card]
besides mb/gb, ghz....i don'y understand the finer details of the specs
what makes a good graphics card?
any suggestion on which part I need to upgrade in my computers to optimize gaming. I want it to be optimize without the extra stuff that i won't be needing. eg...too much speed, too much memory etc....
i don't want to pay something that i will never actually fully make use of
CPU:
GHz - A measurement of how many times per second a processor can complete an operation. Some procs can perform multiple operations per clock cycle though, and other factors come into play (32-bit vs 64-bit, hyperthreading, etc). So, don't use this number as your go-to, end all number in measuring processor performance. GHz means
billions of cycles per second.
MB (Cache) - There are several stages that information goes through before it is processed. It is first stored in permanent storage such as a hard disk or flash drive. When an application starts, it then pulls the information that it will access most frequently into RAM (random access memory). When the processor demands information from the RAM, it then queues instructions in it's
cache. This cache is extremely high-speed, low density data storage designed to optimize the efficiency of the processor by maintaining a queue of instructions waiting to go before the processor uses it. There are also several layers of chaching, but stick with one that has an L2 or L3 cache. L3 is preferrable.
FSB - FSB stands for Front Side Bus, an aging technology which is being phased out by Intel's QPI (Quick Path Interconnect). A Front Side Bus is also known as a memory controller, and plays host to the interface (bus) between the RAM and the processor. It is responsible primarily for making sure that commands are queued up to the processor and that the processor's cache is being used as efficiently as possible. FSB speed is measured in MHz, generally. The higher this number, the faster that you can run the FSB. The FSB is a feature located in what's known as your motherboard's northbridge, the chip located directly below the processor. Most Core 2 Duos are capable of anywhere between a 800MHz and 1333 MHz FSB Speed, although overclocking would allow for greater speed (provided that your RAM also supports the increase).
Core(s) - A processor core is effectively a single processing unit. They take advantage of a technology known as "parallel computing" which allows the processor to do several things at one time (aka - Multi-Threading). A task is usually comprised of several smaller tasks (threads) that can be manipulated to run simultaneously without affecting program function (and even optimizing it if coded correctly). Dual core processors are still noteworthy, but quad core processors are becoming more of a mainstream technology with the advent of Intel's Core iX series and AMD's bargain quad and hex cores.
Memory:
Frequency - A measurement of the maximum FSB frequency that the memory can support. This directly affects memory performance and reliability. The higher the number (provided that the RAM is stable at that speed), the better. RAM usually has a rated speed that it's capable of.
CAS (and others) Latency - This is a measurement of how many clock cycles that it takes for RAM to select a piece of data. RAM is divided into columns and rows, and the time that it takes to select data is a very crucial part of performance. The lower these measurements, the better. CAS latency (Column Address Strobe) is a generally-used measurement for overall performance, but all latencies should be taken into account.
Channel - A memory
channel is effectively a "pipe" for data. Dual channel memory has two channels to pipe data to the FSB with, and triple channel has three. The more channels, the better, but you must first make sure that both your processor AND motherboard support the amount of channels you intend to run.
Graphics:
Shader Units - Also known as CUDA cores, etc (depending on how the manufacturer wants to portray them for marketing purposes) it is effectively the same thing as a processor core for your GPU. The more, the better.
Memory - There are several types of memory put into graphics cards these days. Memory in graphics cards is used for what's known as "frame buffering", which is a fancy way of saying that it is a cache for images that will be displayed on the monitor before they go out. This memory also stores other information such as texture data, etc, but it's primary purpose is frame buffering. The size of memory on a card does not indicate the overall performance of the card. You'll want to take into account the amount of shader cores, clock speeds, etc instead. There are different speeds of memory that go onto the card however, and these
do have an impact on performance. DDR memory is the lowest performing, whilst GDDR5 is the current standard (I think). GDDR memory is memory specifically designed for graphics applications. It runs at higher clock speeds and has greater bandwidth than standard DDR memory.
These are not
the only things that should be taken into account when choosing hardware, but they give you a great idea of the performance that you can expect out of your components.
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