February 17, 2009
Welcome to this edition of The Computer Builder. In this issue, we look at the heart of your PC, the CPU. We also learn how to quickly launch items placed in the Windows Vista Quick Launch toolbar.
Term Of The Week
Central Processing Unit - The Central Processing Unit (CPU) - is the brain of your computer. The CPU is also sometimes just called 'processor' for simplicity. It determines how fast your PC can process instructions and execute commands. Things used to be simple in the CPU world. These days, with AMD and Intel on the market, and a multitude of dual core, quad core and 64-bit computing, things have become a lot more complicated for the newbie.
Tip Of The Week
Did you know that when you place items in the Quick Launch bar, Vista automatically assigns shortcut keys to them? Those shortcut keys are really convenient - just press the Windows and a number key corresponding to the icon's position in the bar. Let's say Internet Explorer is the fifth application in the Quick Launch bar - pressing Windows-5 will launch Internet Explorer. Cool, huh? If the QuickLaunch bar is not visible, then right-click an empty part of the Taskbar and select it under the Toolbars menu.
Featured Articles
How to reinstall Windows without losing data
A simple guide to reinstalling Windows without affecting your existing precious data.
Learn how to install a motherboard
This article shows you how to install a motherboard, which forms the core of your computer system.
Some tips on getting more value out of an old PC
This article discusses what you can do with an old PC other than throwing it away.
A list of essential tools you should have when working on a PC
A list of important tools you should have around when building or working on a PC.
A guide to choosing the best desktop computer system
A simple guide to help you choose the best desktop computer system for your computing needs.
For more articles, be sure to visit Build-Your-Own-Computers.com.