Title:
Build your own pentium pro processor pc
Personal Author:
Publication Information:
New York : McGraw-Hill, 1997
ISBN:
9780070501874
Available:*
Library | Item Barcode | Call Number | Material Type | Item Category 1 | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Searching... | 30000003839838 | QA76.8.P46 P54 1997 | Open Access Book | Book | Searching... |
On Order
Summary
Summary
Everyone who loves computers yearns for a new, superfast Pentium Pro-powered machine. Blazingly quick, smaller, and much cooler than earlier chips, the Pentium Pro is the processor that brings mainframe power to the desktop PC. And now you can afford to own one! With this clear, step-by-step guide, anybody who knows which end of the screwdriver to grip can build their own Pentium Pro processor PC and save as much as half the cost of an off-the-shelf model.
Table of Contents
| Acknowledgments | p. ix |
| Introduction | p. xi |
| Build your own and join the revolution | p. xi |
| Moore's Law | p. xii |
| Ease of assembly | p. xii |
| Do you really need a Pentium pro? | p. xiii |
| Upgrading an older computer | p. xiii |
| Saving on software | p. xiv |
| Overcoming obsolescence | p. xiv |
| How this book is organized | p. xv |
| The future | p. xv |
| 1 The powerful Pentium Pro | p. 1 |
| Our digital world | p. 1 |
| The phenomenal Pentium Pro | p. 1 |
| Ways that the speed is increased | p. 2 |
| Early software compatibility | p. 6 |
| Future software compatibility | p. 6 |
| The need for a Pentium Pro | p. 7 |
| Alternatives to the Pentium Pro | p. 7 |
| How computers work | p. 11 |
| You can do it | p. 16 |
| How much can you save? | p. 17 |
| 2 Components needed for a computer | p. 19 |
| Cost of components | p. 19 |
| Compatibility | p. 31 |
| Software | p. 31 |
| 3 The motherboard | p. 33 |
| CPU and voltage regulation | p. 37 |
| The effects of competition | p. 38 |
| The Pentium Pro versus RISC | p. 38 |
| Architecture | p. 39 |
| Alternatives to the Pentium Pro | p. 47 |
| Which motherboard should you buy? | p. 53 |
| Sources for motherboards | p. 53 |
| 4 Memory | p. 55 |
| ROM | p. 55 |
| RAM | p. 56 |
| How much memory do you need? | p. 64 |
| Prices | p. 65 |
| Installing the chips | p. 65 |
| 5 Floppy drives and disks | p. 67 |
| The floppy evolution | p. 67 |
| How floppy drives operate | p. 68 |
| The 5.25" and 3.5" floppy drives | p. 69 |
| The All-Media or combination floppy drive | p. 70 |
| Disk drive motors | p. 71 |
| Floppy controllers | p. 72 |
| Drive select jumpers | p. 73 |
| Extended density drives | p. 74 |
| The virtual drive | p. 74 |
| Very high density drives | p. 74 |
| Data compression | p. 75 |
| Differences between floppy disks | p. 75 |
| Disk format structure | p. 78 |
| Some differences between floppies and hard disks | p. 80 |
| Formatting | p. 80 |
| Cost of disks | p. 80 |
| 6 Choosing and installing a hard disk | p. 81 |
| Floppy and hard drive similarities | p. 81 |
| Disk platters | p. 85 |
| How they can make smaller drives | p. 85 |
| Factors to consider in choosing a hard drive | p. 87 |
| Installation configuration | p. 88 |
| The IDE or EIDE interface board | p. 89 |
| EIDE drivers | p. 90 |
| SCSI | p. 90 |
| Removable disk drives | p. 93 |
| Partition and formatting procedure | p. 99 |
| Sources | p. 100 |
| 7 Backup: Disaster prevention | p. 101 |
| Write protect your software | p. 101 |
| Protect your original floppies and CD-ROM discs | p. 102 |
| .BAK files | p. 102 |
| Unerase software | p. 103 |
| MS-DOS delete protection | p. 103 |
| Jumbled FAT | p. 103 |
| Reason for smaller logical hard disks | p. 104 |
| Head crash | p. 104 |
| Crash recovery | p. 105 |
| Preventing hard disk failures | p. 105 |
| A few reasons why they don't backup and why they should | p. 106 |
| Types of backup | p. 107 |
| Removable disks | p. 110 |
| Uninterruptible power supplies | p. 112 |
| 8 Monitors | p. 113 |
| The CRT | p. 113 |
| Monochrome versus color | p. 114 |
| Dot pitch | p. 115 |
| Pixels | p. 115 |
| Painting the screen | p. 116 |
| Adapter basics | p. 117 |
| Analog versus digital | p. 118 |
| Video accelerator boards | p. 118 |
| Video memory | p. 120 |
| Adapter memory chips | p. 120 |
| Installation | p. 121 |
| SVGA colors | p. 122 |
| Anti-aliasing | p. 123 |
| Sources | p. 123 |
| Adapter software | p. 124 |
| MPEG boards | p. 124 |
| Choosing a monitor | p. 124 |
| Cleaning the screens | p. 126 |
| Monitor radiation | p. 126 |
| Green monitors | p. 126 |
| Software for monitor testing | p. 127 |
| Other resources | p. 127 |
| 9 Input devices | p. 129 |
| Keyboards | p. 129 |
| Mouse systems | p. 135 |
| Trackballs | p. 137 |
| Touch screens and light pens | p. 137 |
| Joysticks | p. 137 |
| Digitizers and graphics tablets | p. 138 |
| Scanners | p. 139 |
| Digital cameras | p. 143 |
| Voice-recognition input | p. 144 |
| Computers and devices for the handicapped | p. 146 |
| 10 System assembly | p. 149 |
| Ease of assembly | p. 149 |
| Bench-top assembly | p. 150 |
| Assembly instructions | p. 151 |
| 11 Communications | p. 173 |
| Infoglut | p. 173 |
| Telephones | p. 173 |
| Reaching out | p. 174 |
| The Internet and World Wide Web | p. 174 |
| Modems | p. 175 |
| Communications software | p. 180 |
| Bulletin boards | p. 182 |
| Facsimile machines | p. 184 |
| Fax/modem computer boards | p. 185 |
| Telephone outlets for extensions | p. 187 |
| Combination devices and voice mail | p. 187 |
| Telecommuting | p. 188 |
| Educational | p. 192 |
| National telephone directories | p. 192 |
| ISDN | p. 193 |
| Cable modems | p. 193 |
| Sources | p. 194 |
| 12 Printers | p. 195 |
| Printer life expectancy | p. 195 |
| Dot matrix printers | p. 195 |
| Inkjets | p. 198 |
| Laser printers | p. 201 |
| Color "laser" printers | p. 204 |
| Multifunction machines | p. 206 |
| Color photo printers | p. 206 |
| Plotters | p. 207 |
| Printer and plotter supplies | p. 209 |
| Installing a printer or plotter | p. 209 |
| Printer sharing | p. 209 |
| Wireless connections | p. 210 |
| Network printers | p. 210 |
| Green printers | p. 211 |
| Progress | p. 211 |
| 13 CD-ROM | p. 213 |
| CD-ROM titles | p. 213 |
| How CD-ROMs work | p. 215 |
| CD-ROM differences | p. 219 |
| Multimedia upgrade kits | p. 225 |
| Installing CD-ROM drives | p. 225 |
| Sources | p. 227 |
| 14 Computer sound and music | p. 229 |
| Teleconferencing | p. 229 |
| Music | p. 230 |
| Sound boards | p. 230 |
| Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) | p. 236 |
| Music software and hardware | p. 241 |
| Catalogs | p. 241 |
| Musician trade shows | p. 241 |
| 15 Some applications | p. 243 |
| For the kids | p. 243 |
| Resume | p. 243 |
| Home office | p. 244 |
| Networks | p. 249 |
| Desktop publishing | p. 251 |
| Presentations | p. 251 |
| Summary | p. 255 |
| 16 Essential software | p. 257 |
| Off-the-shelf and ready-to-use software | p. 257 |
| Shareware and public-domain software | p. 259 |
| Essential software needed | p. 261 |
| Summary | p. 272 |
| 17 Component sources | p. 273 |
| Computer shows and swap meets | p. 273 |
| Your local store | p. 274 |
| Magazines and mail-order | p. 274 |
| Sources of knowledge | p. 278 |
| 18 Troubleshooting and repairing your PC | p. 287 |
| Computer basics | p. 288 |
| Electrostatic voltage | p. 288 |
| Document the problem, write it down | p. 289 |
| Instruments and tools | p. 289 |
| Solving common problems | p. 291 |
| The number one cause of problems | p. 291 |
| The importance of documentation | p. 291 |
| What to do if it is completely dead | p. 292 |
| CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT | p. 293 |
| Beep error codes | p. 293 |
| POST codes | p. 294 |
| Diagnostic and utility software | p. 295 |
| Spares | p. 299 |
| DOS error messages | p. 300 |
| Software error messages | p. 301 |
| Glitches | p. 301 |
| Power supply | p. 301 |
| Intermittent problems | p. 302 |
| Serial ports | p. 303 |
| Software problems | p. 304 |
| User groups | p. 305 |
| Glossary | p. 307 |
| Index | p. 323 |
| About the Author | p. 335 |
