Blog 5 - Processor Terms

Explain the following terms to your mother (she is not very computer literate)

processor frequency: This determines how fast your computer can process information. This is determined by the number of times it "beats" per second (like a human heart). The higher this number is, the faster your computer will react when you tell it to do something. Examples of this are 800Mhz or 3.2 GHz

word size: This determines how much information (measured in bits) that a computer can process at once. Once again the large the number the faster. Usually this is expressed as 32-bits or 64-bits.

overclocking: This is when someone goes into the settings of the computer and tells it to "beat" faster, creating a higher processor frequency and making the computer run faster. This can be dangerous because it can make the computer overheat if the frequency is too high and damage it.

data path: This is similar to word size. It is the amount of information that can be passed to the processor. The word size is the amount that can be processed and can be smaller than the data path. The data path is also expressed in 32-bits or 64-bits. Basically if your data path is 32-bits and your word count is 64-bits only 32-bits will be passed to the processor at a time. Even if the processor can handle more. This reduces the efficiency of the processor.

SRAM: This is a small amount of memory that runs faster than other types of memory. It can do so because it can hold data as long as it has power. This memory speeds up your computer because when a program begins to run it can guess what will be needed for future steps and store it to the SRAM for faster access.

primary, external and memory cache: A memory cache is a location where a small amount of memory is stored. The primary cache is actually on the processor and can therefore be accessed quickly by the processor. An external cache is located outside of the processor and used as a secondary cache.

Blog 4 - Powerstax

I selected the APC500 Series power supply. Basically I found the size of the power supply as a full brick. It also says that it puts out 500 watts, which is necessary to know so that you are sure you will have enough power for the demand of your computer. It is a DC:DC converter (which means that it takes in a direct current and changes it to a different output). You can find its efficiency and even its price (although price is not stated on all of the products on this site.

After I figured out how this company set up their site it had a lot of information. The one problem I see is that these aren’t necessarily for your home PC. These are used in servers and various other industries. Through this site you can find out information about the company, it’s rating, where its located, and their website. You can also find information 26 different products sold by Powerstax plc. The different types of power supplies are General, Motor Drives and AC/DC. These are very general types.

Overseas Tech Support

Ongoing problems with overseas tech support are among the biggest user complaints for PC consumers. What do you think about this, especially in this economy? Is is better to save money or to have good customer service? What if you owned that company, would you feel the same way?

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I understand how people can be frustrated when they call customer support and get a person that they don't understand. This can be even more annoying if said person is already stressed out from trying to repair their computer. How important is good customer service? I have lived outside of the USA where customer service wasn't the highest priority but people get used to it and learn to accept it. Charter Communications has notoriously bad customer service. I know that they recently went through a bankruptcy but many companies have in the past year or two and they are still around. Most people I know have who have used them have had problems but when everything is working fine do we really care about customer service? Once the problem is solved we may complain a little about the service but in the end most people don't actually boycott the company.

I believe that the owners of the company are correct in trying to save money and put these jobs overseas. In an ideal world all of the jobs for domestic companies would remain in this country but the fact is that profit runs the real world (especially in this economy).