Tech News

 

Here we explain the latest important technology advances

from the computer industry in plain and simple English.

 

Latest Headlines

 

No Geeks Allowed!

 

Here is why you don't want a "geek" in your home or office! The following links are from various news agencies and show clearly why you should not trust your computer repairs to just anyone:

These videos may seem outrageous to real technicians, but to the consumers who count on a professional service provider it's just plain despicable. In my 25+ years of computer repair experience I have never seen anything so appalling and unprofessional! In all fairness, it is sometimes difficult to diagnose the true problem onsite, but this does not explain these criminals actions.

 

Build Your Own PC!

 

If you'd like to attempt to build your own personal computer we found this video on youtube.com and it is done fairly well. However, there is one glaring issue dealing with static discharge. You should wear an anti-static wrist band at all times when working with electronic parts. Depending on your clothing, as you move your body may build up additional static charges which need to be dissipated. Overall, this video will give the average person a good chance of putting together the basic system hardware and then all that's left is to install the operating system.

Recent Topics

 

 

CAT 6 versus CAT 5e:

 

Why do some installers use CAT 5e instead of the newer CAT 6 cabling for your installation. EIA/TIA standards organizations create minimum operable levels for everything from computer cables to telecommunications switches. These standards give, a cable manufacturer for example, a low end performance specification to aim for.

 

In the case of CAT 5e and CAT 6 data/networking cabling it makes little difference with respect to the overall applications performance. CAT 5e cable has a requirement of 100MHz frequency that must pass along the cable without signal interruption. CAT 6 has a requirement of 250MHz to meet the standard. These numbers have become pointless in that cable manufacturers have been able to manufacture cables that allow up to 350MHz transmission over CAT 5e and 550MHz transmission over CAT 6. So until a newer cabling requirement is specified, it matters not which cable your installer uses at this time in relation to your overall application performance.

 

It will however make a huge difference in your final cost for any given installation, as CAT 6 cable is nearly double the cost of CAT 5e and triple the cost if your application requires Plenum cable. If you're trying to future protect yourself, make sure the installer uses CAT 6 Shielded Twisted Pair (STP, not UTP) with a separator core to keep the 4 pairs of wires from contacting each other. Remember ask questions and bare in mind that the quote will be much higher than a company quoting you the cheaper CAT 5e. Make sure you're comparing oranges to oranges.

 

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LCD Desktop Monitors:

 

WATCH OUT! Many retail chains as well as online outlets are selling sub-standard LCD (Flat Screen) computer monitors to an unsuspecting public. Let's go over some of the most important specifications when looking at a desktop computer monitor/screen. Whether you're looking at a CRT (tube) or LCD monitor, the following specs are the absolute most important.

 

1.    DOT PITCH and/or PIXEL SIZE & SPACING: This tells you (the user) how sharp the image on the screen will be. Any manufacturer who does not state this figure on the outside of the box is trying to HIDE SOMETHING! You'll want a DOT PITCH no larger than .265mm for an LCD screen & no larger than .28mm for a CRT screen no matter what the screen size is. This measurement represents the distance from the beginning of one dot to the beginning of the next. In other words, it's the width of the pixel and the void space after said pixel. Lower is always better in this category.

 

The honest manufacturers and retailers will proudly state this measurement in their specifications, some will even give you the complete pixel dimensions. For example, our Xerox LCD screens tell us the DOT PITCH along with the LENGTH, WIDTH, and DIAGONAL measurement of the pixels. This gives us a true sharpness rating.

 

2.    SCREEN RESOLUTION & SIZE: Most LCD screens today are 1280 by 1024, which means there are 1280 pixel going across the screen horizontally & 1024 pixels in vertical columns. Even with this capability we find a resolution of 1024 by 768 to be the norm on 17" LCD screens. Now with 19" and larger screens you may find even higher settings more sufficient.

 

3.    REFRESH RATE (AKA. RESPONSE TIME): This like DOT PITCH is very important, mostly to anyone playing action video games or editing video on their computer. We recommend a figure of 12 milliseconds or less. Several manufacturers have LCD's at 8ms or below. Stay away from any LCD with a response time above 16ms.

 

There are other important factors to consider such as: VIEWING ANGEL, BRIGHTNESS, BLACK LEVEL, INPUT TYPES, POWER CONSUMPTION, not to mention PIXEL FAILURE RATE. But the 3 specs listed above should be the very first questions you investigate. If you don't like what you hear, pass on it. What seems like a great price now might make you regret it later. Here's an example of a 17" (not the 19") LCD that we use and recommend:

http://www.xerox-displays.com/XA7series.html?product=WCP35&page=modl

 

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Hard Drive Data Recovery Cost:

Question:

How much does it cost to recover my data from a damaged Hard Drive?
 

Answer:

Here's what one leader in the data recovery industry had to say...

Dear BestPCTech:

Thank you for your inquiry. As a general price range expect the recovery to be between $500-$1400 depending upon numerous factors pertaining to the type and degree of physical damage. You will be informed of exact prognosis and pricing prior to the recovery so you can make a decision whether to proceed. There is no fee or obligation incurred during the diagnostic phase. Time frame from receipt to completion is 48 hours. Please contact us again if we can be of further assistance.
Stan S.
Micro-Surgeon Data Recovery

 

...still don't like to backup your data? Ouch, $500-$1400 for about 1Gb of data!

 

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What is PCI Express?

One of the most significant changes to come to PC systems in a decade, PCI Express is a new interconnect technology designed to provide universal connectivity for use as a chip-to-chip and chip to adapter card interconnect. PCI Express architecture provides for extremely high bandwidth at low cost.

PCI Express can offer up to 70 times the bandwidth of today's PCI architecture and is scalable for the future. PCI Express will be featured across all Intel platforms including desktop, server, workstation and in the latter half of 2004 with mobile platforms as well.  PCI Express will be the I/O architecture for everything from graphics adapters to Ethernet cards to TV tuners. This massive bandwidth will alleviate many current and future performance bottlenecks on the adapter bus.

PCI Express is based on a type of serial communications technology somewhat like that in USB or SATA hard drives.  The mechanical (physical) board connectors come in one of four types: x1, x2, x4, and x16 (see illustration to the right) in order to meet different peak bandwidth requirements.

PCI Express Technical Specs:

  • Full duplex point-to-point topology

  • Differential low voltage interconnect

  • Embedded clocking

  • Scalable frequency: Initial Bit Rate: 2.5Gb sec/lane/direction

  • Scalable bandwidth - data layer is scalable to 1x, 2x, 4x, 8x, 12x, 16x, 32x lane widths

  • Each PCI Express "lane" uses 4 wires - one differential pair for transmit and one pair for receive

* Note: PCI Express is NOT the same as PCI-X slots, it is a totally new technology.

PCI Express Bandwidth
LANES Peak Bandwidth (Duplex Mode)
x1 500MB/s
x4 2 GB/s
x8 4 GB/s
x16 8 GB/s

Key Advantages of PCI Express

PCI express is a highly flexible, reliable, modular and scalable design that will eventually replace all PCI slots on the motherboard and AGP slots.  It has better power management, native hot-plug support, backwards compatibility with PCI software, support for streaming media (such as video camera or TV), and truly scalable configurations. In addition:

  • Compatible with existing PCI drivers and software and operating systems

  • High bandwidth per pin. Low overhead. Low latency

  • Ability to scale speeds by forming multiple lanes

  • A point-to-point connection, allows each device to have a dedicated connection without sharing bandwidth

  • Ability to comprehend different data structures

  • Low power consumption and power management features

  • Hot swap-ability and hot plug-ability for devices

  • Supported by nearly 500 system hardware vendor

PCI Express and 3D Graphics

The x1 PCI Express slots will easily replace the standard 32-bit PCI slots and have four times the bandwidth.

The high-performance x16 configuration will have up to 4GB/sec bandwidth (8GB/sec concurrent) to replace AGP technology and will also have four times the bandwidth of AGP 8x!

With the advent of PCI Express video cards whole new worlds of 3D gaming and superior graphics performance will be possible.  ATI has already developed RADEON video cards using PCI express architecture and in just a short couple years will be the dominant video card interface and only choice for 3D graphics power users. ATI’s video processors have a native, or “true” PCI Express interface. They can communicate directly with the PCI Express bus at PCI Express speeds (do not need to use a bridge).

More information from Intel: http://developer.intel.com/technology/pciexpress/devnet/docs/WhatisPCIExpress.pdf 

Above information courtesy of American National Standards Institute (ANSI)

 

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DDR-II Memory Modules

DDR-II (or DDR2) memory is the new high-performance RAM architecture deigned to overcome the challenges of current DDR DRAM technology. It is the next- generation solution of main memory offering greater bandwidth and density in a smaller package at reduced power consumption and is supported by dozens of major computer vendors.

DDR2 memory chips are already being used on high-end graphic cards but this is a different standard than the one we that will be used on memory modules.  DDR2 memory modules will be similar in design but will NOT be backwards compatible with DDR memory slots*.  They will also continue to support important DDR features such as dual-channel memory support.

Normal DDR limitations at higher frequencies:

  • Signal integrity

  • Power Consumption

DDR2 Addresses these challenges by:

  • Operating voltage is reduced from 2.5V to 1.8V

  • Reduced core operating frequency

  • Core frequency = 1/2 the I/O frequency 

Special New Features:

  • 4-bit pre-fetch

  • On-die termination

  • Off-chip driver calibration

*In addition to the electrical and signaling changes DDR2 modules will have a slightly different physical interconnect than DDR modules.  The edge-connector "notch" will be in a lightly different position to prevent accidentally plugging in the incorrect module type.

DDR Compared to  DDR2
Features/Options DDR DDR2 DDR2 Advantages

Modules

 184-pin unbuffered, registered / 200-pin SODIMM / 172-pin MicroDIMM 240-pin unbuffered, registered / 200-pin SODIMM, 214-pin MicroDIMM

Modules are the same length, with added pins

Package

 TSOP: 66-pins FBGA Only

Enables better electrical performance and speed

Voltage

 2.5V / 2.5V I/O 1.8V / 1.8V I/O

Reduces memory system power demand

Densities

 128MB - 1GB 256MB - 4GB

High-density components enable large memory subsystems

Internal Banks

 4 4 and 8

1GB and higher DDR2 devices will have 8 banks for better performance

Pre-Fetch (MIN Write burst)

 2 4

Provides reduced core speeds dependency for better yields

Speed (data pin)

 200, 266, 333, 400 400, 533, 667

Migration to higher speed IO

Read Latency

 2, 2.5, 3 CLK CL + AL / CL =(3,4,5)

Eliminating one-half clock helps speed internal DRAM logic and improves yields

Additive Latency

 N/A AL options (0,1,2,3,4)

Mainly used in Server applications to improve command bus efficiency

Write Latency

 1 clock read latency -1

improves command bus efficiency

Termination

 Motherboard parallel to Vtt DRAM on-die termination (ODT) - optional onboard termination

ODT for both memory and controller improves signaling and reduces system cost

Data Strobes

 Single-ended Differential or single-ended

Improves system timing margin by reducing strobe cross-talk
 

Above information courtesy of ANSI

 

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Serial ATA F.A.Q.

The inconvenience of bulky, difficult ATA cables are about to be a thing of the past. Motherboard manufacturers have began adding Serial ATA ports to their boards, Controller card companies are pumping out add-in cards so that those of us who have those old fashion IDE connectors can play along too. We have gathered a list of frequently asked questions about Serial ATA in the hopes that you will better understand and be ready for the transition as it progresses.

What is Serial ATA?
Serial ATA is a replacement for the Parallel ATA (Standard IDE) physical storage interface

What is the benefit of using Serial ATA?
Users will benefit by being able to easily upgrade their storage devices. Configuration of Serial ATA devices will be much simpler, with many of today’s requirements on jumper and settings no longer needed. Serial ATA cables are much thinner and longer than standard IDE cable that we use today. The use of Serial ATA cables will make it easier to install cabling and will prevent the blockage of air flow in systems.

Will Serial ATA cost more?
The cost of Serial ATA technology will be the same as today’s Parallel ATA technology.

Will Serial ATA be compatible with today’s PCs?
Serial ATA electronics and connectors are different from Parallel ATA, however the technology is software compatible and OS transparent. Adapters will be available to allow forward- and backward-compatibility of hard disks on PC systems.

Besides Hard Disks, what other components can use Serial ATA?
Serial ATA supports all ATA and ATAPI devices, including CDs, DVDs, tapes devices, high capacity removable devices, zip drives, and CDRW’s.

Will Microsoft products support Serial ATA?
Serial ATA is software compatible with Parallel ATA and requires no changes to Microsoft operating systems, or any other OS as well.

Serial ATA Connector

Serial ATA Cable

Side by side comparison of Serial ATA vs. Standard IDE Connectors
 

What Chipsets Support Serial ATA?
Currently none of the shipping Motherboard Chipsets have native support for Serial ATA. Many manufacturers are shipping boards with separate Serial ATA Controller Chips onboard, much as they do with ATA RAID Chips. You can expect to see Serial ATA supported natively integrated on the motherboards by the end of this year.
 

Who Supports Serial ATA?
ASI has many vendors who currently are selling, or developing both Serial ATA Controller Cards and Serial ATA RAID Cards.

Above information courtesy of ANSI

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