Computer Purchase · Assembly · Maintenance Tutorial

Author: Gao Haichun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-04-01
Features: This book focuses on the hardware principles of PCs, aims to introduce PC purchasing and DIY technology, and systematically presents the fundamental knowledge of PC hardware principles, PC purchasing principles, and DIY techniques in a visually rich manner, with a rigorous structure and easy-to-understand language. The book consists of 24 chapters. It first introduces basic computer knowledge and purchasing strategies, then separately covers the principles, purchasing, assembly, and application and maintenance techniques of CPU, motherboard, memory, basic input devices, display adapters, display output devices, external storage devices, audio devices and modems, network adapters and other network devices, as well as various peripheral devices.
Chapter 1: Computer Basics and Purchasing Strategies
The 21st century is the age of informatization, and computers are playing an increasingly important role in today's society. To adapt to modern societal development, it is necessary for everyone to learn how to use computers. With the advancement of computer technology, the prices of computers have become more affordable, and an increasing number of computers have entered households. More readers are also preparing to purchase their own computers. How can one reasonably purchase a computer that meets their needs? This has become a common question for many readers. This chapter introduces the basics of computers and purchasing strategies. Key points of this chapter:
· Basic computer knowledge
· Purchasing strategies
· How to understand PC build advertisements
· The inside story of Zhongguancun's "free PC builds"
1.1 Understanding Computers
Before purchasing and installing a computer, let's first introduce the history of computer development. As early as 1942, John Mauchly of the University of Pennsylvania proposed the idea of building a computer using vacuum tubes, which caught the attention of J. Presper Eckert at the U.S. Army Ballistic Research Laboratory. At that time, during World War II, the ballistics problems in new weapon development involved many complex calculations, and manual calculations could no longer meet the requirements. There was an urgent need for a machine capable of automatic computation. With funding from the U.S. Army, the development of ENIAC began in 1943 and was completed in 1946. Its computing speed reached 5,000 additions per second and performed one multiplication in 3 milliseconds, far exceeding the speed and accuracy of manual calculations. The machine weighed 30 tons, had a power of 150 kW, occupied 170 square meters, and used 18,800 vacuum tubes, 1,500 relays, 7,000 resistors, and 10,000 capacitors. Its storage capacity was very limited, capable of storing only 20 decimal numbers with 10 digits each. Additionally, it used a wiring method to program, so each problem required manual reconnection of the wires, making preparation time far longer than actual computation time. Despite these limitations, the success of ENIAC laid the foundation for the future development of computer science, and overcoming each of its shortcomings had a significant impact on the advancement of computing.