Upgrading

Why should I upgrade?

Make it fasterMake it biggerRun the latest softwareDo you NEED or WANT an upgrade?

Are there financial incentives to do it now?

Upgrade or buy a new one?

Figure out what you needMake a listCompare cost of upgrade to the cost of buying a new one and selling or donating your old computer

Computers will keep getting cheaper and faster

Types of upgrades

Adding memory

Virtual memory and RAM DoublerHow much to add?What to buy?

MacPCGetting the right speedWill you have to take out the old ones?

Where to buy?

Adding hard drive space

Can replace or add a driveMacintosh - external SCSIInternal hard drives can be SCSI or IDE - make sure you get the right one!

May have to flip jumpers or DIP switches

Adding removable storage

ZIP drivesSuperDisk drivesSyQuest drivesAdditional floppy drivesTape backupsJAZ drivesORB drives

Upgrading optical storage

CD-ROMCD-RCD-RWDVD-ROMWhat does the 2x/4x/16x/32x mean?

CD-ROM SpeedsGeneral Speed Seek Time Data Transfer Rate

Single-Speed 600 150K/Sec

2x 320 300K/Sec

3x 250 450K/Sec

4x 135-180 600K/Sec

6x 135-180 900K/Sec

8x 135-180 1.2 Mbps

10x 135-180 1.6 Mbps

12x 100-150 1.8 Mbps

16x 100-150 2.4 Mbps Maximum

24x 100-150 3.6 Mbps

32x 100-150 4.8 Mbps

Source: http://webopedia.internet.com/TERM/C/CD_ROM.html

Adding peripherals

Scanners & camerasGaming devicesModems and network cardsPrinters

Upgrading your monitor

Larger monitorBetter dot pitchBetter refresh rateMore colorsHigher resolutions

Upgrading video cards

Add VRAM to get more colors, higher resolution

Support a second monitorGraphics Acceleration3D Acceleration

Upgrading sound cards

8-bit, 16-bit, 32-bit, 64-bitUsually connects to CD-ROMSoundBlaster compatibleMost support MIDIMacs come with integrated sound

Upgrading software

Before upgrading, ask yourself, “Why?”

ALWAYS back up before upgradingOperating systems

Upgrading to latest versionReplacing with a different OS entirely

ApplicationsDisable virus protectionUpgrade only one at a timeRebuild desktop on Macs after upgrading

Overclocking / Clock Chipping

Speeding up MHz of the existing processor

Voids your warrantyCan cause overheating, processor failure

Not the same as replacing the processor, you either replace a crystal or add a chip that accelerates the processor

Safety precautions for upgrades

Power offGive yourself plenty of room to workGround yourself to reduce staticHold parts by their edgesKeep plastic, vinyl and Styrofoam away

Keep track of what and where you’re unplugging things

Pull the plug, not the cable

Adding a card

Read the instructions carefullyRead the instructions againRemove coverRemove cover plateInstall board, make sure it fits snugly

Secure it with a screwTest before replacing the cover

IRQ, DMA, I/O, Plug & Play

PC world problemInterrupt RequestDirect Memory AccessInput/Output AddressPlug & play automatically assigns these

Without plug & play, you may have to move jumpers, flip DIP switches, or reconfigure existing devices

Expansion Slots

Important concepts:Bus width (in bits): How much data passes through the bus at one time.

Bus speed (in MHz): How fast data passes through the bus.

Latency: how long it takes between chunks of data.

Local Bus: bypasses the expansion bus, dedicated path to processing

Crosstalk: interference caused by magnetic fields in parallel wires

PDS

Processor Direct SlotOriginal slot used in early Macs

Direct bus to main logic boardMay have to buy card for specific machine

NuBus

Stands for “New Bus”Developed in ’70s at MITUsed in Macs1987-199510 MHz bus speed Video adaptersEthernet cardsPC cardsAcceleration cards

Comm Slot

LC 575, 580, PowerMac 5x00, 6x00

Can only use a modem or network card

I’ve had problems with Comm Slot Ethernet cards

PCI

Peripheral Component InterconnectLocal Bus to processor32-Bit or 64-bit bus33 or 66 MHzCross-platform, Industry standardFaster than NuBus, but Low costSome cards are “bus masters”, meaning they take over the PCI bus from the CPU

ISA

Industry Standard Architecture8-bit or 16-bit bus8 MHz bus speedOriginal bus used in most older IBM XT/AT and compatibles

EISA

Enhanced Industry Standard Architecture

32-bit busSlow bus speed - 8.25 MHzHigh latencyGood for moving large data, bad for small data (like video)

More expensive

MCA

Micro Channel Architecture32-bit busProprietary IBM architectureCards were really expensiveNot backwards compatible with older cards

VESA

Video Electronics Standards Association

Local Bus-bypasses expansion bus and goes directly to the processor

32-bit bus33 MHz bus speedUsed mainly for video cards

AGP

Accelerated Graphics PortDeveloped by Intel32-bit bus66 MHzDedicated channel to the graphics controller

Very fast video

IDE

Integrated Drive ElectronicsUsed for internal hard drives or CD-ROM drives

Less expensive than SCSI drives

Serial

Macintosh: Modem and printer portsCan also used for other devices

PC: COM1, COM2, COM3, COM49-pin or 25-pinUsually used for modems, mice, and sometimes printers

RS-232 (electronic Industries Association)

Parallel

Sometimes called Centronics portsPC only25-pin female type D connector8-bits at a time, each down a separate wire

Crosstalk a problem, especially with long cables

Usually used for printers and ZIP drives

Monitor Port

PC:EGA - old, 9-pin, low resolution

VGA / SVGA / XGA - 15-pin HD15 connector

Macintosh:Most have wider 15-pin DB15 connector

Can get adapters to use regular VGA monitors

Keyboard Port

Macintosh: ADB (Apple Desktop Bus)

DIN 5-pin keyboard port

Mini DIN-6 PS/2 ports

Not hot swappable… or is it?

Mouse port

Macintosh: ADB (Apple Desktop Bus)PS/2 port

(Bus mouse) - Mini DIN-9

Serial mice

USB mice

SCSI Port

Small Computer System InterfaceA parallel, high speed interfaceUsed mostly for storage devices and scanners

Up to 7 devices in serialNEVER hot-swap!

USB PortUniversal Serial BusDeveloped by Compaq, Digital, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, NEC and Northern Telecom.

Expected to replace serial and parallel ports

12 Mbps-Faster than serial, slower than SCSI

Hot-swappableFound on PCs, current Macs and iMacsUp to 127 devices, using hubs

Firewire (IEEE 1394) Port

New standard developed by AppleExtremely fast bus - 400 MbpsTiny connectorsHot-swappable, up to 63 devicesUsed for digital video currentlyWill be on all new Macs from 2000 onCan be used for drives and other devices

Can get PCI card with Firewire ports

Where to look for definitions

http://www.pcwebopaedia.com/http://wombat.doc.ic.ac.uk/foldoc/

http://www.ugeek.com/glossary/http://pgonline.webpoint.com/computer/

http://www.dircon.co.uk/pctechguide/