Motherboard Standoffs Snap-In to ATX-style case From Startech

There’s been a lot of hype about Intel’s Core 2 recently, even since they launched Core in fact. Words like Conroe, Badaxe and Allendale have been flying around. The bottom line is that Core 2 is the name of Intel’s latest line of CPUs, based on a new micro-architecture, designed for speed and efficiency.

Over the course of the last year or so we’ve seen GHz become less of a focus when it comes to processors. Instead, we’re seeing a shift towards processors that do more work per clock, have larger caches, are more power efficient, and of course we’ve seen dual-core processors hit the market. So what is dual-core all about, and how does it weigh up compared to single-core?

Intel’s been on a mission of late. That mission revolves around grouping and standardising key technologies under various banners that are designed to ensure hardware compatibility and consumer ease of use. We’ll take a closer look at three such technologies that fall under the headings of Centrino, Viiv, and vPro, respectively.

The purpose of this TekSpek is to delineate the publicly known features of Intel’s next generation desktop microarchitecture. Codenamed Conroe and officially titled Intel Core 2 Duo, it’s loosely based on the current mobile Yonah (Core Duo) underpinnings.

Chip giant Intel launched 29 new processors on January 2011. Split between mobile and desktop chips, this TekSpek examines the underlying architecture, known as Sandy Bridge, and evaluates where the new processors fit into Intel's consumer line-up.

This TekSpek discusses Intel’s 45nm process technology. What it is, what it provides, and how it benefits the consumer.

Overclocking, a term which you've probably heard used by enthusiasts and high-end system builders, involves running a hardware component at a greater speed than it was originally designed for. See how this can be achieved on the latest Sandy Bridge CPUs from Intel.

If you’re the least bit interested in graphics cards, we’re sure that you’ve heard the terms SLI and CrossFire bandied about recently. Touted as a means of achieving maximum 3D performance by, effectively, using two or more graphics cards in tandem, multi-GPU technology is here to stay. With that in mind, let’s take a closer look SLI and CrossFire; the two competing multi-GPU solutions from NVIDIA and ATI Technologies, respectively.

This TekSpek explains why you’d want to overclock your graphics board, the risks in doing so and how you can go about doing it.

A motherboard’s main job is to act as a conduit between the various hardware elements that make up a PC. It needs to be able to link the desired CPU(s), system memory, graphics card, hard drive(s), and add-in cards and enable them to work in harmony.

This TekSpek explains what Green Computing is, what it means to the consumer, and how energy-efficient components can be beneficial in the home.

Green is one of the biggest buzz words these days, and even computer manufacturers are getting involved in trying to be kinder to the environment. While the first thing that may spring to mind when you think of 'green computing' is simply using less electricity, there's a lot more to it than that.

In computing terms, system buses are used to connect various components to the motherboard’s core logic and, often, to each other. Modern PCs run with a multitude of high-speed buses ranging from the interconnects between, say, the chipset and the CPU, graphics card, memory, and peripherals.

Serial ATA, or SATA, is a relatively new storage technology that is now being adopted in computers. It is the successor to Parallel ATA. SATA allows for faster transfers between the hard disk and the system, uses thinner cables and is easier to physically install

In this guide we will be examining a popular method used for increasing the performance and reliability of your hard drives and data storage

When looking to upgrade your PC, RAM is one of the first places to look. More RAM reduces the amount the page file is used, speeding up programs and allowing you to run more applications simultaneously

This TekSpek explains what DDR3 is, how it works, where you’ll find it, and what it means to the consumer.

What makes a PC tick? Is it the processor, graphics card, RAM, or a plethora of other peripherals. It’s all those and more, but none would be much use without a means of connecting said components in an efficient manner. That’s where your humble motherboard comes in. Its job is to ensure that all devices can communicate correctly, and the beating heart of any motherboard is the chipset it’s based upon.

This How-2 Guide explains what BIOS is and how it can be upgraded to the latest revision. BIOS, which stands for Basic Input/Output System, is a integral software program that comes pre-loaded with your computer. Its purpose is to initially identify computer hardware and prepare the system to run other software such as operating systems.

This TekSpek explains the essentials required to run a 64-bit operating system and native 64-bit applications on a modern 64-bit capable PC system.

When installing Windows XP, most of the time you’ll find that it has the basic drivers it needs to install itself. However, sometimes you might need to intervene. This tends to be the case if you have a special type of storage, such as Serial ATA or a RAID device.