Charlie’s Custom Computers
Introduction to Computer Technology
Motherboard printed circuit board containing the principal components of a computer or other device, with connectors into which other circuit boards can be slotted.
Hard Drive a high-capacity, self-contained storage device containing a read-write mechanism plus one or more hard disks, inside a sealed unit. Also called hard disk drive.
– SSD a storage device containing nonvolatile flash memory, used in place of a hard disk because of its much greater speed.
RAM Random Access Memory (or simply RAM) is the memory or information storage in a computer that is used to store running programs and data for the programs. Data (information) in the RAM can be read and written quickly in any order. Normally, the random access memory is in the form of computer chips.
Onboard Graphics- In the past, motherboard graphics(onboard) was done with a separate graphics chip. Today, the graphics is integrated into the cpu chip. 2. Any intel integrated graphics will have enough power for normal desktop operations and even play HD movies
GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) A programmable logic chip (processor) specialized for display functions. The GPU renders images, animations and video for the computer’s screen. GPUs are located on plug-in cards, in a chipset on the motherboard or in the same chip as the CPU (see diagram below).
Processor CPU (pronounced as separate letters) is the abbreviation for central processing unit. Sometimes referred to simply as the central processor, but more commonly called processor, the CPU is the brains of the computer where most calculations take place.
Display Port
DVI

Stands for “Digital Video Interface.” DVI is a video connection standard created by the Digital Display Working Group (DDWG). Most DVI ports support both analog and digital displays. If the display is analog, the DVI connection converts the digital signal to an analog signal. If the display is digital, no conversion is necessary.
There are three types of DVI connections: 1) DVI-A (for analog), 2) DVI-D (for digital), and 3) DVI-I (integrated, for both analog and digital). The digital video interface supports high bandwidth signals, over 160 MHz, which means it, can be used for high resolution displays such as UXGA and HDTV. You may find DVI ports on video cards in computers as well as on high-end televisions.

VGA video Graphics Array (VGA) is a graphics standard for video display controller first introduced with the IBM PS/2 line of computers in 1987 [1][2], following CGA and EGA introduced in earlier IBM personal computers. Through widespread adoption, the term has also come to mean either an analog computer display standard, the 15-pin D-subminiature VGA connector, or the 640×480 resolution characteristic of the VGA hardware.
VGA was the last IBM graphics standard to which the majority of PC clone manufacturers conformed, making it the lowest common denominator that virtually all post-1990 PC graphics hardware can be expected to implement. It was officially followed by IBM’s Extended Graphics Array (XGA) standard, but was effectively superseded by numerous slightly different extensions to VGA made by clone manufacturers, collectively known as Super VGA.
Today, the VGA analog interface is used for high-definition video, including resolutions of 1080p and higher. While the transmission bandwidth of VGA is high enough to support even higher resolution playback, there can be picture quality degradation depending on cable quality and length. How discernible this degradation is depends on the individual’s eyesight and the display, though it is more noticeable when switching to and from digital inputs like HDMI or DVI.

HDMI a standard for connecting high-definition video devices.
“Most TVs are equipped with at least one HDMI port”