PC and PC Component Terms Defined: Tom’s Hardware Glossary

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Keeping up with the latest PC technology is difficult, but it’s overwhelming if you don’t understand all the jargon you encounter when reading articles and spec sheets. From CPUs to GPUs and their inner workings, to motherboards and their varying parts, different display technologies and types and vendor-created phrases, you can wind up in tech terminology turmoil.

That's why we have developed this handy glossary. With the information below, you can learn the meaning of—or refresh your memory on—commonly used--but often confusing--tech terms. We’ll be adding to the glossary over time as we find more PC terms and phrases that leave us scratching our heads...so you don't have to.

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Brandon Hill is a senior editor at Tom's Hardware. He has written about PC and Mac tech since the late 1990s with bylines at AnandTech, DailyTech, and Hot Hardware. When he is not consuming copious amounts of tech news, he can be found enjoying the NC mountains or the beach with his wife and two sons.

12 Comments Comment from the forums

jpe1701

I'm sure people will be wondering about rasterization and raytracing.
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rantoc

Omg you forgot 1440p ;)
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Non-Euclidean

How about one on auto-playing videos?
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Jake Hall

21260454 said:
Omg you forgot 1440p ;)

Well, that's 2k
Reply
littleleo

How about:
P2P - Pay to Play (how Tom's make revenue, "Just Buy It")
Reply
shrapnel_indie

I know you don't see it often anymore, but where's the definition for HSF (I know you cover the HS portion - Heatsink and the F portion, once you realize it, is "Fan"...
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littleleo

RTX - Ridiculously Too eXpensive!
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DotNetMaster777

Nice
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littleleo

jpe1701 said:
I'm sure people will be wondering about rasterization and raytracing.
Hope this helps:
Ray Tracing = Crap
Reply
garett444

What is POST?
Reply

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