Processor Speed:

The processor/CPU (Central Processing Unit) is the brain of your computer. The CPU is a piece of etched silicon that does some very powerful things. It co-ordinates the real work of your computer, telling all the peripheral devices what to do and how to act. The speed of a processor works in megahertz (MHz). One thousand megahertz is equal to one gigahertz (GHz). Therefore a 3.2ghz Intel processor will run at 3200mhz.

Many people believe that the faster the processor, the faster the PC will be. When choosing your processor speed, rather than throwing all your eggs in one basket and spending your budget straight away, choose a more balanced system:

Dual Core Processors

From June 2005 we can now offer computers based on the dual core Intel Pentium D processor. Dual core processors, for example the Intel Pentium D 820, are designed to give a high performance using applications that support multi-threading. Besides the Microsoft Windows XP operating itself, which supports multi-threading, as of June 2005 there are not a huge collection of applications that support multi-threading. The main applications that support multi-threading are high end professional video editing packages, and a few games. If you're going to be doing lots of multi-tasking, for example, running lots of programs at once, the Intel Pentium D Processor is the one for you. Otherwise, if you are looking for speed in running one or two applications, or a gaming machine, you're best off choosing the 5xx/6xx processors or an AMD Athlon 64 processor respectively.

See also:

Hyper Threading Technology (HTT)

FSB

THE BIG QUESTION

What is the difference between AMD and Intel? Which processor route should I choose?

The answer - there is no real answer. Each processor available has its advantages and disadvantages. We can only offer you our advice, in which we will try our best not to include any bias.

Firstly, you have to decide whether you are looking for a performance computer, a basic computer for general use, or an extremely powerful computer.

I want a performance computer
I want a basic computer
I want an extremely powerful computer

I want a performance computer.

You have two options - an Intel Pentium or AMD Athlon 64.

Intel Pentium processors have a higher clock speed than Athlon 64 processors. They also have a large cache and they make use of a technology called Hyper Threading Technology. This generally means that Intel Pentium processors are very good at number crunching, encoding videos and all round multi-tasking. The type of customer (based on our own findings) who generally chooses and Intel Pentium processor will be looking for a computer for video editing, photo editing and number crunching tasks.

AMD Athlon 64 processors have a slightly lower clock speed than Intel processors. They have a large cache and make use of Hyper Transport Technology. The type of customer (based on our own findings) who generally chooses and AMD Athlon64 processor will be looking for a computer for gaming, movies and home entertainment.

Nevertheless, both processors will perform all the tasks mentioned here to a very competitive extent. You will find that the more people you ask about processors, the more confused you will become. This is because you will hear so many different conflicting stories as to which processor to choose. The only real way to decide which processor is best for your needs would be to search the internet yourself for reviews on the processors around your subject area. For example, if you want to play Doom 3 on your computer, search for processor reviews on Doom 3.

I want a basic computer.

You have two options - an Intel Celeron or AMD Sempron.

An Intel Celeron Processor will have a higher clock speed than an AMD Sempron processor and a large Front Side Bus. The type of customer who generally chooses an Intel Celeron processor (based on our own findings) will be looking for a computer for internet usage, emails, office and light gaming.

An AMD Sempron processor has a low clock speed compared to the Intel Celeron processor and a smaller cache. However, these two processors perform very closely to each other. Have a look at this review here. The type of customer who generally chooses an AMD Sempron processor (based on our own findings) will be looking for a computer for internet usage, emails, light gaming and light photo editing.

I want an extremely powerful computer.

You have two options - an Intel Pentium Extreme Edition or an AMD Athlon 64 FX.

An Intel Pentium Extreme Edition processor has a fast clock speed, a "super-sized" Front Side Bus, and Hyper Threading technology. This processor will be bale to handle anything you throw at it. The type of customer who generally chooses an Intel Pentium Extreme Edition processor will be an extreme gamer or professional business man/woman, looking for a computer to aid his/her business, which is usually in video or imagery.

An AMD Athlon 64 FX processor has a slower clock speed than an Intel Pentium Extreme Edition processor, but a "super-sized" cache and Hyper Transport technology. The type of customer who generally chooses and AMD Athlon 64 FX processor is an extreme gaming enthusiast.
 

Memory (RAM):

RAM (Random Access Memory) is vital to a computer system. The more RAM your computer has, the more information that can be processed simultaneously. All your programs, games and applications that are currently in use are stored in your RAM, and so the more RAM you have inside your computer, the more applications you can run.

Memory Brand

Our memory is fully tested and comes with a years warranty. The memory chips are manufactured by a major memory manufacturer (i.e Samsung, Infineon etc) and are of a low latency. Unfortunately though, we cannot guarantee what chips of memory you will receive or the brand that it may be, but we can guarantee that the memory will be of a very good quality and comes with a lifetime swap out warranty. The memory may well be original memory (i.e. original chips on an original board) or major-on-third memory (i.e Samsung chips on a board manufactured for our company). Either way, you can be guaranteed of its quality.

Unfortunately, we cannot and we will not supply a customer specific brand of memory, whether cheaper or more expensive, as all our memory is fully tested and guaranteed to work. Therefore, if you have any problems, you can be assured to receive a direct replacement rather than having to pass through the returns process.

But how should you determine your RAM requirements? As time passes by applications are getting more powerful, which usually means that they will require more RAM.

In order to work out your RAM requirements we recommend that you gather all of your applications together and check their minimum RAM requirements. Then simply make sure you purchase enough to cover everything - and don't forget to give yourself a bit extra to make your computer future-proof as well!

Besides the amount of memory you can have in a computer, you can also have faster memory in a computer. DDR memory currently ranges from PC2100 (266mhz) to over 500mhz. Most motherboards do not support memory running at this speed though. Our memory runs at either PC2700 (333mhz) or PC3200 (400mhz) which is what our motherboards can safely support without over clocking.

HINT: If you choose 1024mb or 2048mb DDR RAM, and a DUAL DDR motherboard, your memory will run at dual speed (800mhz!)

Motherboard:

The motherboard, like it suggest in its name, is the mother of all boards in a computer. Just about every component in a computer system will somehow connect to the motherboard. It is therefore important to make sure that your computer has a powerful and reliable motherboard. All our computers systems use ASUS motherboards which are undoubtedly one of (if not) the world's best motherboard manufacturer. Motherboards have several features built into them, which include controllers, chips, buses and so on. We have included a few definitions of individual parts of a motherboard to help you along your way:

PCI PORTS

Motherboards have a number of PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) ports . You put items such as the modem, network card, USB card, TV card etc into these ports.

USB PORTS

USB (Universal Serial Bus) ports are ports on your computer that allow you to connect peripherals such as the printer, scanner, webcam, external cable modem, mobile phone, portable hard disk and much more to your computer quickly and fast. It is therefore recommended to have a large amount of USB ports so in the future you can add components quickly and easily.

AGP PORT

An AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) port is where you connect your graphics card to. An 8x AGP port is the fastest currently available.

ATA

ATA (Advanced Technology Attachment) is a disk drive implementation that integrates the controller on the disk drive itself. There are mainly 3 tiers to this: ATA 60, ATA 100, and ATA 133. Basically an ATA hard drive will talk to the rest of your computer via an ATA cable which connects to your motherboard. Most computer these days have 4 IDE ports via 2 IDE channels which connect via the ATA interface.

IDE PORT

An IDE port is what you would connect your optical drives, or hard drives to. Each IDE cable has 2 connectors for connecting a device.

SERIAL ATA (SATA) (Serial - Advanced Technology Attachment)

SATA is a serial interface. The speed of the interface for the current phase is ATA 150, ultimately being envisioned to rise to 600 megabytes/sec (ATA 600). Existing ATA drives use a 64 bit wide bus to communicate with the IDE drive. To do so requires a wide, flexible ribbon cable. One of the main problems with the ribbon cable is that, with multiple disk drives (HDD's, CD, and DVD), the Ribbon cables begin to block the airflow through the chassis, impeding cooling. SATA solves this problem by replacing the ribbon cables with thin cables containing two differential cable pairs. In addition, SATA promises a higher speed interface for the future. Another reason for the SATA is that it reduces the number of traces on the motherboard as the connector has significantly fewer pins than the parallel ATA. With Serial-ATA there is no master/slave configuration, and therefore you can easily and hassle free add or remove hard drives. Additionally, with a Serial ATA card you can add additional hard drives. This breaks the barrier of only being able to add 4 IDE devices with parallel ATA. You could, if you needed the storage, have say 4 hard drives as well as a CD writer, DVD writer and DVD ROM.

FSB

FSB stands for Front Side Bus:- The speed of the front-side bus is the basic clock speed of the motherboard. Many system components, for example the processor, the PCI and AGP buses, all run at speeds derived from the front-side bus speed. In general, a faster front-side bus means you will have higher processing speeds.

HYPER THREADING TECHNOLOGY

Hyper threading technology brings increased performance to computer users in two ways: using multithreaded software or using software in a multitasking environment. Software applications that have been written to use multiple pieces of code called “threads” view the Pentium 4 processors with HT Technology as two processors. HT Technology allows the processor to work on two separate threads at the same time rather than one at a time. In addition, applications can benefit in a multitasking environment - operating two or more different software programs at the same time when run under operating systems such as Windows XP. Both ways add up to extra performance and less waiting for the computer user.

PARALLEL PORT:
This is the port for connecting older printers to so that you don't have to buy a new printer when upgrading your pc.

PS/2:

This is simply a connector for the keyboard and mouse.

Shared Memory Architecture (SMA)

A Shared Memory Architecture (SMA) is where the graphics chip is integrated into the motherboard. Instead of the graphics having dedicated memory, for example 256mb or 512mb of memory, the graphics share the memory with the computers RAM, and the total memory available to applications is reduced. This is cost beneficial to general home or office users, who do not play extreme games or require a system purely for high end video editing.

USB Card:

On our system builder you can choose to have a USB card in addition to the USB ports provided with the motherboard. This will make your computer more future-proof for expanding using USB devices and allow you to connect more devices at once. You can also choose to have a USB HUB, which basically plugs into one of your existing USB ports on your computer, and creates 3 additional ports (4 in total). You could have a USB HUB sat on your desk which will allow you to quickly connect USB devices without having to connect them to the unit itself.

Memory (Hard Disk):

The hard drive is where all the information on your computer is stored.

Our hard drives are branded either Maxtor, Seagate, Western Digital, Hitachi or Samsung. We cannot guarantee which brand of hard drive you will receive on your new computer, but as you can see, we only use leading brands.

To decide what size hard drive you will need, you need to consider that for example an 80GB hard drive is 81,920 megabytes. Confused? Data in volume is called bytes:

1,024 Byte = 1 Kilobyte (KB)
1,024 Kilobyte (KB) = 1 Megabyte (MB)
1,073,741,824 Bytes = 1 Gigabyte (GB)
1 Gigabyte (GB) = 1,024 Megabyte (MB)

To safely install Windows XP on your computer you need approximately 5 gigabytes of space. A massive computer game may take up 1 gigabyte of space, but usually games only take up a few hundred megabytes.

Most programs range from 5 to 500 megabytes, and therefore the average computer user will struggle to use up 80gigabytes of hard drive space. However, if you download movie clips, music and install lots of games, and you may find you will need a 120gb or larger hard drive to cope with everything.

RPM

RPM (Revolutions Per Minute) is the speed that your hard drive rotates. The more revolutions per minute a hard drive rotates, the more data it can copy/move within the given period of time. A 7200rpm hard drive can copy/move data faster than a 5400rpm hard drive.

See also:

SATA

RAID
 

RAID

RAID is the linking together of two hard drives, either for performance (RAID 0) or security (RAID 1). Most computer users do not need to use RAID. If you are unsure of what RAID is, have a quick read below to see if you think it will benefit you.

A dictionary definition: What is RAID? - RAID "(Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks) is a method whereby information is spread across several disks, using techniques such as disk striping (RAID Level 0) and disk mirroring (RAID level 1) to achieve redundancy, lower latency and/or higher bandwidth for reading and/or writing, and data recoverability."

RAID 0: Striping

RAID level 0 refers to striping data across multiple disks without any redundant information.
Striping can be used to enhance performance in either a request rate intensive or transfer rate intensive environment. Unfortunately. striping reduces the level of data availability since a disk failure will cause the entire array to be inaccessible.

Advantages:

High performance
No cost penalty - all storage is usable

Disadvantages:

Significantly reduced data availability - all data is lost if one hard drive fails.

RAID 1: Shadowing/Mirroring/Duplexing

RAID level 1 refers to maintaining duplicate sets of all data on separate disk drives. Of the RAID levels, level 1 provides the highest data availability since two complete copies of all information are maintained. If one of your hard drives fail, you will have an exact copy of all your data on your other hard drive, meaning that you can carry on working as normal without having to restore lost files. You could see it as having a permanent automatic back-up of all your data. Even if one hard drive fails, you can then use the other hard drive to create a new RAID array and so in theory (unless you have an electrical surge, or both hard drives fail simultaneously) you can never be caught out when you turn on your computer one day to find that your hard drive has failed, because you always have a backup.

Advantages:

Excellent data availability
Higher read performance than a single disk

Disadvantages:

Expensive - requires two hard drives (if you order 2 x 160Gb, you will only have 160GB total storage space and not 320GB)

Summary

RAID 0 requires two hard drives. Data is written to both hard drives (part of the data on one hard drive, and part of the data on the other) to give faster write times and also faster read times. Hard drives act as one drive - e.g. one large 320GB hard drive consisting of 2 x 160GB hard drives. However, if one hard drive fails, the array will be broken and all data will be lost.

RAID 1 requires two hard drives. Data is written to both hard drives simultaneously (files are written in full to each hard drive) and therefore you will have an automatic back-up should your hard drive ever fail. However, this security comes at a cost - two hard drives are required and you can only fill one hard drive, (as the other will be automatically filled as you go along) but for some people the added security is well worth the extra cost.

To learn more about RAID, please see this very useful website here:

http://linux.cudeso.be/raid.php#raid1

Please note that we only offer RAID 0 and RAID 1 configurations, and have no plans at present to change this.

Second Hard Disk:

See also Memory (Hard Disk):

Using our system-builder we give you the option to have two hard drives installed in your computer. Although a first hard drive is essential, a second hard drive is a luxury. We would suggest that you will only need a second hard drive if:

• You need to store masses of data. (Two smaller hard drives may also be cheaper than one large hard drive.)

• You plan to use a RAID configuration. (Don't worry if you have never heard of this.)

• You prefer to store your data on a separate drive to your operating system. Your data is then safe is you have to re-install Windows on your other hard drive.

Optical Drives:

Our optical drives are currently manufactured by Lite-on (www.liteon.com), the world's 3rd largest manufacturer of optical drives.* The drives will come in either silver (for a silver case), black (for a black case) or beige (for a beige case).

Optical drives are vital to the majority of computers these days. The majority of people use optical drives to write data to CD's and DVD's. For information on what each optical drive can do, please see below:

 

CD Writer

A CD Writer/CD ROM is an optical drive which allows you to read, write and re-write data onto a compact disc. For example if the speed of a CD Writer is 52 x 32 x 52 this means that you can read CD's at 52 speed, re-write CD's at 32 speed and write CD's at 52 speed.

DVD ROM

A DVD ROM/CD ROM is an optical drive which allows you to read both CD's and DVD's. If you do not have a DVD drive in your computer you will not be able to watch DVD movies, or read DVD's.

DVD Writer

A DVD Writer is basically a drive that can do everything. A DVD writer can read DVD's, write DVD's and re-write DVD's. It can also read CD's, write CD's and re-write CD's.

CD Writer/DVD ROM (Combo Drive)

A CD Writer/DVD ROM (Combo Drive) is an optical drive which allows you to read, write and re-write data onto a compact disc. A CD Writer/DVD ROM (Combo Drive) can also read DVD's.

Graphics Card:

A graphics card is vital to a computer. Although most people know what the purpose of a graphics card is, you can still easily get caught out when choosing the right graphics card for your system. Not only do you need to look our for a graphics card with a decent amount of memory  but you also need to look for a graphics card with a powerful GPU (graphics processing unit). You can also choose to have two graphics cards in your computer. This enables gaming enthusiasts to have up to double the power when matching two identical graphics cards which means an ultimate gaming experience!

When searching for the right graphics card for you, just like when you are looking for a new computer, you will be looking for a powerful processor and a large amount of RAM. For example:

• 256mb RADEON 9200
• 128mb RADEON 9800
• 256mb RADEON 9800 PRO

Which is best? The RADEON 9800 PRO is the best, followed by the 9800 and then the 9200. Even though the RADEON 9800 only has half the memory of the RADEON 9200, the GPU on the 9800 is much more powerful, and in a gaming experience the game will be more realistic and more responsive. It will be a totally different experience.

To discover which graphics card is best for you (and your budget) you could try visiting the manufacturers websites on:

www.ati.com

www.nvidia.com

DVI

DVI (Digital video Interface) is a digital connector for a digital monitor - the future of all monitors eventually. A graphics card with DVI enables users to choose whether they want to connect a normal monitor to it, or a digital monitor through the DVI connector. It is especially good for the latest digital TFT monitors.

TV-OUT

The TV Out feature provides an alternative display device besides your normal CRT/TFT monitor. Since a TV Set usually has a larger screen and lower resolution, the display on the TV Set is best suited for business presentation or games requiring a low resolution.

SLI Technology

PC enthusiasts and professionals are constantly searching for ways to increase the performance of their PCs…. And now they can with NVIDIA breakthrough 3D platform technology.

NVIDIA® SLI™ (Scalable Link Interface) technology is a revolutionary approach to scalability and increased performance. NVIDIA SLI takes advantage of the increased bandwidth of the PCI Express™ bus architecture, and features hardware and software innovations within NVIDIA GPUs (graphics processing units) and NVIDIA nForce4 MCPs (media and communications processors). Together the NVIDIA SLI patent-pending technologies work seamlessly to deliver heart-pounding PC performance. And depending on the application, NVIDIA SLI can deliver as much as 2x the performance of a single GPU configuration for unparalleled gaming experiences.

This extract was taken from http://www.nvidia.com/page/sli.html where you can read all about SLI Technology and its benefits. Please also note on the NVIDIA website which graphics cards in particular support SLI Technology, as not all NVIDIA graphics cards support SLI Technology.

In order for SLI Technology to function, you need to choose two identical graphics cards for your system, i.e. you cannot put two different graphics cards into your computer in any circumstances. SLI Technology is only available on selected systems where you have the choice of two graphics cards and does not function on any ATI graphics cards. You can only configure SLI Technology on PCI Express systems and not AGP systems.

The advantages of SLI technology are:

• up to double the power during games - the ultimate gaming experience!

• Support up to 4 monitors - brilliant for financial services/stock exchange etc.

Crossfire Technology

ATI’s Crossfire propels your gaming PC to a new pinnacle of performance with the ultimate multi-GPU consumer graphics solution.
Enjoy the highest image quality modes and resolutions that you have always wanted, even with the most demanding 3D titles. Get out-of-the-box compatibility and afterburner acceleration for all your games without special game software or patches.

Unite and Dominate—with multiple ATI GPUs Crossfire's unique parallel processing technology has development roots going back to ATI’s multi-GPU Rage Fury MAXX™. Based on the same technology used with ATI-based commercial flight simulators, Crossfire soars into a new dimension of graphics capability with multiple Radeon® graphics processing units (GPUs) working together in your PC.

Divide and Conquer—with ATI’s Super tiling ATI’s Crossfire speeds your gaming momentum with “super tiling,” high-performance GPU sharing that evenly divides the processing and graphics rendering workload.

How Super tiling Works: Think of your screen image divided into subsections like a checkerboard, with alternating black and white “tiles.” Crossfire's Super tiling intelligently alternates rendering duties of these tiles to each Radeon GPU for consistent, efficient load balancing with hassle-free compatibility. Crossfire's options include a multiple load-sharing “scissor” mode and an alternate frame-rate mode, combining optimal performance with game-conquering compatibility.

Render and Rule ATI’s Crossfire boosts image quality along with rendering speed, eliminating the need to crank down screen resolutions to get the high image quality you want.
Crossfire ignites with the higher ant aliasing, anisotropic filtering, shading, and texture settings you desire. Adjust your display configurations, experiment with your advanced 3D settings, and check the effect with a real-time 3D-rendered preview within ATI’s Catalyst™ Control Centre to rule your Crossfire system.

Crossfire—Now and Future Keep ahead of fast-moving gaming effects and technology changes with Crossfire's advanced features. Upgradeable components allow you to gradually improve your system performance with the reliability and support that only ATI delivers. Supporting a wide range of ATI-based graphics cards and motherboards, the Crossfire platform offers flexibility and compatibility with all of today’s Radeon® X800, X850, and the X1000 Series graphics cards and the latest powerhouse processors to make your next gaming experience the zenith of PC perfection.

This extract was taken from http://www.ati.com/technology/crossfire/features.html where you can read all about Crossfire Technology and its benefits. Please also note on the ATI website which graphics cards in particular support Crossfire technology, as not all ATI graphics cards support Crossfire Technology.

How does Crossfire Function?

In order for Crossfire Technology to function, you need to choose a master Crossfire card and a slave Crossfire compatible card when configuring your computer. A Crossfire system can be configured here. All ATI Crossfire compatible cards are slave cards unless they are specifically stated as Crossfire master cards. If you would like to order a Crossfire ready computer with the idea of upgrading to a Crossfire system in the near future, order only a slave Crossfire compatible card. This way your system will function as normal, allowing you to upgrade to a Crossfire system by adding a master Crossfire compatible card at a later date.

Crossfire Technology is only available on selected systems where you have the choice of two graphics cards and does not function on any NVIDIA graphics cards. You can only configure Crossfire Technology on PCI Express systems and not AGP systems. Don't worry - if you make a mistake our website will not allow you to order an incompatible Crossfire system!

The advantages of Crossfire technology are:

• up to double the power during games - the ultimate gaming experience!

• Support up to 4 monitors - brilliant for financial services/stock exchange etc.

See also:

AGP

Shared Memory Architecture (SMA)

Sound Card:

In order for your computer to produce sound, it will need to have a sound card/sound device installed. The onboard sound is usually enough for most computer users, but if you are:

• a serious gamer
• a musician
• a music/film editor
• a serious music lover
• someone who already has surround speakers

It might be worthwhile purchasing a creative soundcard. Otherwise, you will probably be fine with the onboard sound, in that you will not notice a difference in sound quality.

Modem:

In order to connect to the internet, 99% of people either connect via a 56k modem, ADSL modem, or cable modem. If you are unsure of how you connect to the internet look at the computer you are on now, did you have to dial up to connect via your telephone line? If the answer is yes you will most likely connect via a 56k modem and you will need a modem in your new computer. Otherwise you will probably not need a modem in your new computer.

Network Card:

A network card (usually onboard) allows you to do the following (and more...) :

• Network a computer

   

• Connect to the internet via broadband

   

• Connect a laptop or other device to a computer

All our computers come with this facility and there is no extra charge for this as this facility is onboard.

WIRELESS NETWORKING

Wireless networking is now available on all our computer systems. To allow you to use your computer in a wireless environment, you will need to ensure that you select a wireless network card in your new computer. The wireless network card will allow you to search out wireless networks available to you and connect to these. All this can be configured using your operating system or by using the software provided.

Setting up a wireless network connection

It is very easy to set up a wireless network in your home, but how successful your wireless network is depends on several factors:

• The thickness of the walls in your house (old houses can be challenging)

• The distance each computer is apart (you may need access points)

In order to setup a wireless network, you need a wireless network card in each computer/laptop that you wish to connect to the network, and also a router and modem. Our routers come with built in ADSL modems, so you will not need to purchase a modem.

To simplify wireless networking, your internet connection comes into your premises and into the modem (the router). Each computer/laptop connects to the router (either wired or wirelessly) and each computer/laptop can receive signals from the router. Therefore each computer can receive high speed internet wirelessly.

Your computer can also send signals to the router and the router can relay these to other computers. Thus, you can access the hard drives on computers in other rooms and transfer, edit and even delete files. You can manage this through "My Network Places" in Windows XP, and you can choose which folders you would like to share, and which folders you would like to make private.

Floppy Disk Drive:

A floppy disk drive allows for the usage of the continuingly obsolete 1.44mb floppy disks. We are still shipping all our computers with floppy drives as they still have many uses. We strongly recommend all our computers come with a floppy disk drive as drivers for RAID/SATA configurations may need to be loaded.

Memory Card Reader:

A memory card reader is a device that allows you to connect flash memory and other such memory to a computer for fast access and modification. If you have a digital camera you may wish to purchase a memory card reader to transfer your photos quickly and without having to use a program to do so.

At present, our 12 in 1 memory card readers can read the following media types:
 

• MS/MS-PRO/MS-DUO/MS-PRO DUO/ (Memory Stick)

• Secure Digital (SD)/MINI SD*/MMC/RS-MMC*

• CF1/CF2 (Compact Flash 1 & 2)/MD (Micro Drive)

• SMC (Smart Media card)

• XD Memory cards. (These should be inserted in the left hand side of the bottom right SM Memory slot. They need to be inserted upside down.)

  Our 7 in 1 memory card readers can read the following media types:
   

• Compact Flash™ (Type-I/II)

• Micro drive™**

• SD Memory Card™

• Multimedia Card™

• Memory Stick™

• Smart Media™

* Need Adapter
** Micro drive™ and Floppy Disk Drive cannot be used simultaneously.

This specification is subject to change without notice.

Case:

The computer case is an important part of any computer. All of our computer cases will support the components you choose to have installed inside your computer and all of our cases (apart from the "affordable" cases) can support extremely high specification systems with our advanced cooling solutions, air vents, and other vents to allow air to flow freely through the computer. If you are ordering a very high specification system, for example a system with a very powerful processor or graphics card, we recommend you call us just to check that you have selected a good case for your requirements.
 

Power Supply (PSU):

A PSU is the Power Supply Unit for your computer. The average PSU nowadays ranges from 350W up to and above 600W. If you are ordering a powerful computer, for example a processor of 3.2ghz or above, we seriously recommend you choose a silent power supply unit with advanced CPU cooling fan. They may add a small amount to you order, but it will make your computer super quiet instead of fairly noisy.

Each component in your computer uses a proportion of your power supply's power output capabilities. As a rough guide, the following components use:

As you can see, the minimum power supply you should have in a computer is approx. 350W from doing a little maths, but if you're willing to spend that bit extra, you can get a silent power supply with a silent cooling system. From what our customer say, once they go silent they never go back.

 

Operating System:

You can choose from three operating systems:

• Windows XP Home
• Windows XP Pro
• Windows 2000

Windows XP Home and Windows XP Pro include Service Pack 2

99% of people will want Windows XP over Windows 2000.

What is the difference between Windows XP Home and Windows XP Pro?

Click Here to find out...
 

Firewire: (also known as "IEEE" or "1394")

Firewire is a 1995 Macintosh/IBM PC serial bus interface standard offering high-speed communications. Firewire can transfer data between a computer and its peripherals at 400 Mbps.

It is most commonly used for camcorders, external hard drives, and networking and is faster than USB 2.0 over sustained throughput. If you don't currently use Firewire it is most likely that you will not need to use it in the near future, but we will leave that decision down to you as to whether or not to purchase a Firewire card. Basically, if you are planning on purchasing a Firewire device you will need to purchase a Firewire card.

Video Editing Kits

We currently offer one type of Video Editing kit on our website, the Pinnacle Studio 500-USB, which can edit digital and analog video.

Please not that these models/ brands are subject to change without notice.

Monitor:

We sell both CRT and TFT (flat panel) monitors on our website.

A display screen made with TFT (thin-film transistor) technology is a liquid crystal display (LCD) monitor. A TFT monitor is only a few inches deep compared to a CRT monitor, which has a large behind area containing the tubes for the display.

Flat panel displays are revolutionising the way people look at their computers. Thin, light, space-saving, brighter, flicker-free, low power consumption, and better for the environment… these monitors are the wave of the future.

CRT monitors are better for gaming as they have a higher refresh rate. The fact that TFT monitors have a lower refresh rate can make then appear ghostly when viewing fast moving images. If you are a heavy gamer, choose a CRT monitor or 19 inch TFT monitor (has a higher refresh rate).

Keyboard:

We sell keyboards and keyboard and mouse combos where you get a matching keyboard and mouse. Our internet keyboards have hotkeys, such as email, internet, and programmable buttons for quicker access of applications.

Mouse:

We sell various mice on our website, being optical mice, wireless mice, and standard ball mice:

• An optical mouse does not have a ball that can get clogged up and cause it to malfunction.
• A wireless mouse allows for the freedom of having no wires.
• A ball mouse offers value for money with nice ergonomics.

Depending on your budget and needs, you can choose yourself a mouse.
 

Speakers:

You can choose speakers from our extensive range.

Printer:

You can choose a printer from our list to suit your needs. For more information on each printer, please visit the manufacturers website.

Antivirus:

You can currently choose from two antivirus solutions:

• Norton Antivirus - the world's most trusted Antivirus program for the computer.

• Mcafee Antivirus - a less widely known, but excellent antivirus package at a bargain price.

For more information about Norton Antivirus, please click here to visit the Symantec website.
For more information about Mcafee Antivirus, please click here to visit the Panda website.

Office Software:

You can choose Office Software on our system builder to complement your computer. We sell various types of office software to complement your home or office computer:

Office 2003 Professional:

Includes :

• Word 2003
• Excel 2003
• Outlook 2003
• PowerPoint 2003
• Access 2003
• Publisher 2003
• Outlook 2003 with Business Contact Manager

Office 2003 Basic:

Includes :

• Word 2003
• Excel 2003
• Outlook 2003

Office 2003 Small Business Edition (SBE):

Includes :

• Word 2003
• Excel 2003
• PowerPoint 2003
• Outlook 2003 Outlook 2003 with Business Contact Manager
• Publisher 2003

TV Card:

A TV Card allows you to receive television, radio and teletext through your computer (depending on which TV card you purchase). Therefore you can stay up to date and save space as you will not need a television in the room.

Our current TV Cards:

1. TV CARD (TV/Teletext/Radio/Remote + Schedule TV Recording!)
2. DIGITAL TV CARD (TV/Radio/Remote/Pause Live TV)


1. TV CARD (TV/Teletext/Radio/Remote + Schedule TV Recording!)

You can enjoy live TV in a resizable window or full screen on your PC. In addition, you can even hook it up to your home video entertainment system through the additional AV and S-Video input.

With the TVR application, you can pause live TV and continue from where you left with the Time Shift function. Schedule Recording makes it so that you won't miss any favourite shows, and it also provides a powerful function - S.R.P.O. (Schedule Recording in Power-Off Mode)

You can easily convert any video files from avi, mpg, etc with MPEG Converter and then edit your favourite video files with MPEG Editor. Finally, you can burn a DVD / VCD / SVCD with DVD Burn. It also includes a fully featured Infrared Remote Control that lets you access every feature with a simple press of a button, especially you can easily shut-down your PC via the remote controller.

SUMMARY
 

• Watch TV on Your PC

• Real-Time MPEG 4/2/1 Encoding

• Support Stereo/MTS/EIAJ

• Burn onto DVD, VCD, SVCD...

• PIP Playback

• Teletext for PAL System

• Schedule Record in PC Power-Off Mode
  
  FEATURES
  
   

• User-Friendly and Powerful TVR application
        ¦ Enhanced 16:9 Wide-Format Display
        ¦ Auto Channel Scan and Name Recognition
        ¦ Multiple Channel Preview
        ¦ TV/Video always on the top of the monitor screen
        ¦ TV/Video wallpaper
        ¦ On-Line Help
   

• Support Time Shifting - Record & Playback Live TV Program at the same time

• Support Real-Time Video Recording in MPEG-4/2/1 format (MPEG4 is compatible with DivX or Microsoft MPEG4). (Note: you have to download the codec by yourself)

• Support Scheduling Recording

• Support Still Image Capture in JPEG or BMP format

• Support Picture-In-Picture (PIP) function

• Additional AV/S Video Input for Connect Other Video Sources. (such as DVD Player/ VCD/ VHS/ Camcorder)

• SRPO - Schedule-Recording in PC Power-Off Mode

• Power-Off PC by Remote Controller

• FM Record & Playback (option)

• Other Valued Software
        ¦ MPEG Converter
        ¦ MPEG Editor
        ¦ DVD Burn
  
  
  SPECIFICATIONS:
  
   

• Video Input TV Input – 75 Ohm (UHF/VHF) TV Antenna

• Composite Video

• S-Video

• Audio Output 3.5mm Audio Cable to Sound Card Line-In

• Audio Input Connect to External Video Device

• TV Receiving Frequency 55.25 – 855.25 MHz (NTSC)

• 48.25 – 863.25 MHz (PAL)

• FM Radio (option) 87.5 to 108.00 MHz
  
   

  Schedule-Record in PC Power-Off Mode - Turn Your PC into a smart PVR!!!
  
  
  
  
   

2. DIGITAL TV CARD (TV/Radio/Remote/Pause Live TV)

You can watch the Digital Terrestrial TV with your ordinary UHF/VHF antenna. You will be amazed how your ordinary UHF/VHF antenna can be so powerful. This TV card is a digital terrestrial television receiver card that allows you to access free-to-air digital terrestrial TV and radio signals using UHF/VHF antenna. The TV card can be used to record TV programs directly to your PC's hard disk in MPEG-2 (Program Stream) format.

With the DTVR application, you can pause live TV and continue from where you left with the Time Shift function. Scheduled Recording makes sure you won't miss any favourite shows.

Key Features

• High quality digital terrestrial TV & radio* receiving (DVB-T) -- supports only free-to-air programs.

• Instant recording -- Record digitally as MPEG II format. 1 hour digital TV program is about 1.7G.

• Schedule recording -- You can set your own recording list and playback whenever you like.

• Time-shifting -- You can pause live TV shows and never miss any marvellous moment!

• Electronic program guide (EPG) -- EPG tables offer the most updated channel information.

• Still frame capture.

• Multi channel preview matrix.

• Channel auto scan.

• Multi-language output

• Hot Keys

• Favourite list

• Video quality adjustment

• MPEG II software decoding

• Software upgradeable

• Support Remote Control

* The radio feature of TwinhanDTV Mini Ter is not DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting).

Please check that you live in an area where you can receive digital TV before ordering a computer with a Digital TV card. You can check this at http://www.dtg.org.uk/retailer/coverage.html.