Computer cases

Computer cases  are not all created equal.  That said, even some of the entry level cases have surprised me over the years as they can be  great value for money. Look for the best size to fit your motherboard and see if you can snap up a deal with a power supply included.  Check too if the power supply will be enough for the hardware it will be powering.

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Firewire PCI cards

Firewire PCI cards (also know as 1394a FireWire adapter cards) turn a free motherboard PCI slot into ine or more external IEEE 1394a FireWire slots.  They often provide an internal (6-pin) FireWire port that can be used in place of the external 6-pin connector. By doing this, you have a cost effective solution that lets you connect any FireWire 400 device to your tower or desktop computer.

Firewire PCI cards are a great solution for connecting external portable hard drives, digital camcorders, iPods, MP3 players etc to your PC. Many FireWire adapter cards support hot-swap which allows you to plug and unplug your FireWire peripherals without powering down.

Compatible with either Mac or PC computers,  1394a FireWire cards can be installed in many computer cases, just check you have low profile or “half-height” brackets if you have a shallow case.

For FireWire video editing, often the card will include a bundled copy of a video editing studio such as Ulead although there are many free programs that exist now to help you do basic video editing.

 

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DDR2 laptop memory

DDR2 laptop memory is for relatively new laptop PCs. There are different standards (DDR, DDR2 and DDR3) and they are NOT interchangeable so check first what you have.

You will also hear this memory referred to as notebook or laptop DIMM, or SODIMM. More information can be found here. This memory is not intended for desktop PCs unless they are Mini-ITX format

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Graphics card ATI

At the high end of the market ATI and Nvidia rule the roost.  ATI chipsets are used on many rock-solid graphics cards. Their software control panel had some bad publicity over the years but latest versions are very good, always upgrade your software immediately following an installation.

Here’s an article that explains the different types of graphics card slots if you are at all confused.

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TV tuners

TV tuners  for PC. By using a TV tuner card you can receive television signals direct into your computer. Most TV tuners also function as video capture cards now which allows them to record television programs directly onto your hard disk drive for playback on demand.

Make sure you buy a ‘digital tv tuner’ rather than analogue as many areas now have the analogue signal switched off.

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Power supplies

Power supplies  for PC, these boxes can easily and cheaply get you back up and running again if you have lost power to your tower! Spend a bit extra to get silent fans and it’s money well spent.

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USB PCI cards

USB PCI cards are Generally bought by people who want to add extra USB slots to their PC. They can also be used to add USB to a PC that has a damaged power supply from the motherboard to the existing USB slots but otherwise operates fine.

All are generally USB 2.0 standard now which gives much faster data transfer speeds than the old 1.1 standard.  The good thing is that the later 2.0 version is backwards compatible with the 1.1 standard devices so all older USB peripherals will still work.

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DDR3 laptop memory

DDR3 laptop memory is for relatively new laptop PCs. SODIMM laptop memory comes in DDR, DDR2 and DDR3 modules and they are NOT interchangeable so be sure to check first what you have.

You will often hear this memory referred to as sodimm or DDR3 laptop SDRAM. More information can be found here. This memory is not intended for desktop PCs unless they are mini-itx format.

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Intel Processors

Intel processors are considered extremely robust and in my experience they certainly are. Generally, unless someone zaps them or they overheat, these processors will go on for a long time. From Intel Pentiums right through to screaming fast Intel Core i processors, there are great deals to be had online.

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