This section is here to help you understand what it is you're looking at when you inspect a computer's specs. Please note that here at GetaRealComputer.com we don't sell computers, we provide a service; with the best price, and the ONLY Lifetime Guarantee in the business. And since we dont mark up parts unless sold individually. So when you buy a computer system, we objectively recommend the best components to suit your individual needs. This Section is here to help you understand what makes it a better investment to just Get a Real Computer!

So What IS all this stuff anyway???

Here the componets are expanded upon by category:

• RAM or DDR(double data-rate RAM) Is the attention span of the computer. A temporary, super-fast, all purpose notepad for your computer to load programs, pictures, and music while windows thinks youre using it. GRC Technical expertize ensures that you will have less memory clutter than any other system you see advertized today.
  
  
  1. Size How much ram? RAM is measured in Megabytes or in Gigabytes, which is one thousand Megabytes. the More RAM you have the more programs you can use at once, without slowing the computer down by grinding on the harddrive..
     
  2. Speed The difference when you Get a Real Computer starts with the superior speed of the RAM. What good is it gonna do to remember everything if it takes you forever to recall it?
     
  3. Lifetime Warranty Here again, we've got the best deal out there, PERIOD. when you buy one of our Kingsington Memory equipped systems (about all of them), you get free replacement for life; which means: it'll never go bad.
     
  
  

• Hard Disk Drive or HDD This could be considered long term memory. this is where your programs and even windows sit while your computer is off. when you BOOT or turn on your computer, your operating system is taken from your hard drive and loaded into ram, A hard drive needs to be of a durable manufacture, which i why we use only the best, and they ALL come with a 3-5 year warranty.
  
  
  1. Size Its simple: The Bigger your hard disk, the more programs and information you can save on your system. When configured properly, the size of your HDD should allow you to store all your downloaded songs, installed programs, anything you store is stored here, so if you want to pack rat, get a big one; Measured in Gigabytes; 80 Being more than enough for most users; 60 being what im using as we speak. (and ive got about 10 days of music)
     
  2. Speed The way hard drive plugs in to the motherboard determines how much data can be pulled off of it at once. IDE is the old-reliable method, and Serial-ATA or SATA, SATA2 is the newer-faster way. The only time anyone notices a difference is when something is starting up, not as it runs
     
  3. RPM The rotational speed of the hard disk directly effects how fast data cab be read or written to the harddrive. 7200 rpm is standard but our elite gamer and multimedia systems feature a 10,000 RPM "Raptor" from Western Digital which is just silly fast.
     
  4. Cache An 8 or 16 Megabyte sliver of memeory between your hard disk and the cable its plugged in to. When you have a 16 meg cache, your hard drive reads bigger amounts of information at once before loading it into ram, thus increasing overall system performance during any read/write operation.
     
  5. RAID Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks. If youre looking for the ultimate in performance or reliability, RAID is the answer for you. You can use two hard drives at once making your data rate double by splitting it across the two drives... OR you canyou can use one of the drives and the other is kept as a copy in case the first fails. You can have a total failure and not loose any data whatsoever, it will just tell you one of your disks broke when you boot; Chances of multiple disks failing simulteneously is negligable, so this is considered the standard practice in data redundancy.
     
  
  

• Processor or C.P.U. Intel or AMD, that is the question; and i have the answer: if you want to run a server or an office machine and jsut want it fast and stable, get an Intel... In you want a multimedia system with phenominal graphics or just want a low energy consumption chip, get an Athalon or a Sempron respectively
  
  
  1. Speed These days measured in GigaHertz, the speed of the Central Processing Unit determines how fast the computer can perform an individual calculation. ie.: a 2 Gigahertz processor can do 2 billion operations a clock cycle, which is only a fraction of a second itself. Intel uses a straight forward clock speed rating for its chips as oppsed to AMD who uses a wider flow, lower clock-speed architecture and rates the speed as which Intel clock speed it is expected to outperform.
     
  2. Core The New Pentium D and the higher end Athalon 6 Processors have a dual core, which means they canprocess twice as much data using the same pipeline for information.. like two processors in one.
     
  3. Cache In most Cases there is a 256 or 512 megabyte super-speed memory attatched directly to the processor that helps it figure out any mistakes it may have made, or if it jst needs to check something later, it sticks it in the cache.
     
  4. FSB Speed this is the speed at which the CPU can communicate with the RAM or any other part of the computer. the front side bus should ideally be fast enough for its speed to be greater than the sum of the speeds of the other devices running simulteneously on the computer, otherwise, the system will lag.
     
  
  

• Monitors: either LCD or CRT Liquid Crystal Displays are the finest picture flatscreens you see in stores. Cathode Ray Tubes are the old style, bulky monitors that display a less vivid Contrast ratio than an LCD and takes up more space, but they are usually much cheaper, with better resolutions available than smaller flatscreens.
  
  
  1. Resolution The number of pixels (tiny dots) left to right and top to bottom, listed respectively. Standard Resolution these days is 1024 by 768. Anything better than that and you would have to stick your face right up to it to see the bumps in the lines.
     
  2. Contrast Ratio is the difference between the palest and the most vivid color and the difference between dark and bright. 500:1 is standard.. anything over 700:1 is fabulous!
     
  
  

• Video & Sound Chips While many economy systems offer built in audio and video, if you want uncompromising multimedia performance, the first upgrade you should consider is a Video Card upgrade, and then maybe beef up the #-D sound capability.
  
  
  1. Video The options are limitless, so all I can tell you about video cards today is that you want the hundreds place to be higher for gaming systems ie GeFORCE 5600 is better, though older, than a GeFORCE 6200. Also an ATI x700 is better than a 9250; The 9250 in this case being older. More important than that for all other applications is the Video Memory. You may see 128 256 or 512 megs of video memory, that means that the video card itself hs that memory on it, and it is seperate from your system's RAM. Allocated Video means that the computers's RAM is divided into video and system memory, which isnt as good in most cases. The big companies try to skimp their customers most of the time right here... For instance the low end systems we offer at GRC are what they use in their thousand dollar systems.
     
  2. Sound Basic motherboard sound is OK if you just have two dinky little generic speakers. But when you Get a Real Computer expect midgrade to be the bottom end. And if you want some Amzing Hi-Fidelity Sound or crystal clear music playback, upgrade to one of the many Sound Blaster Products we offer at no additional installation. We dont maek any money off of it, jsut let us know and well add the wholesale cost to your total
     
  
  

• Microsoft Windows XP/Vista Version This is the Operating system of the computer. You must purchase one liscence per computer. Windows will register that computer to that Windows Liscence code the first time you connect to the internet. This isnt big brother, its just so windows can automatically update itself and protect you against security threats and software conflicts in the future.
  
  
  1. Home Edition The most stable, basic user MS Windows version ever created. Games, Spreadsheets and DVD's all run at once with the WINNT5 disk and memory managers and your computer can run for weeks without needing a restart.
     
  2. Media Center A User-Friendly (idiot proof) version that allows users to instantly connect to media in all formats, or to return to the XP Home Edition interface.
     
  3. Professional The Internet Saftey Consious version of windows that not only enables more powerful hardware, but allows for easier recovery from system failures. Widely deemed more stable than even Home Edition, Windows XP Professional should only be requested if you are an advanced user or if you are operating in a secure network environment.
     
  4. Pro. 64-bit This is the ost powerful version of windows XP. Everything XP Professional has and more, plus full 64 bit process support; that is it takes data and breaks it up to take full advantage of todays quadrouple powered processors.
     
  5. Linux Users Should feel encouraged to know that they can order an assembled computer from GetaRealComputer.com without any operating system installed and all driver disks included with original retail packaging for every part at no additional charge. You can download and install your own open source OS or tell us what you want and well burn you a CD for FREE with your purchase.
     
  
  

• Motherboard This is the nervous system of the entire computer. If you expect your computer to be upgradeable, it has to have expandable capabilities like the new AM2 form factor, which accepts the latest Athalon and Sempron Technology, as well as support for the latest RAM, video and HDD technology. And likewise, if you expect your computer to last long enough to be upgraded in the first place, youd better buy something form a trusted, first rate motherboard manufacture like ASUS or MSI. Most of our systems ("nVidia based") come with an nFORCE chipset that is the new, ideal technology for linking a high powered graphics card with an AMD Athalon or Sempron Processor. If you want phenominal results and unrivaled dependability, accept no subsitutes.
  
  
  

• CDRW, DVD-Combo or DVDRW These days if you want to load data, or install a parogram, you do it through an optical disk drive such as a CD Rom or a DVD rom. Get a Real Computer is committed to helping you preserve your data; as such all of our systems come with optical writeable drives, and ALL Removable Media Drives are made by Sony; because they work better, longer.
  
  
  1. Compact Disk Re-Writeable Your basic CDROM that can record Audio, data, or CD copies, ours come with the powerfll NTI CD-Maker Suite. Usually stores about 700 megs.
     
  2. CDRW/DVD Combination Drive Same as above with the added capability of reading from a DVD recordable disk or DVD movie.
     
  3. Digital Video Disk Re-Writeable This allows you to record astronomical amounts of data, record DVD's, and easily make a compact archive for your system files in case of a crash. Usually stores up to 6 gigabytes.
     
  
  

• Floppy Drive 1.4 megs doesnt go far anymore, so we dont equip all of our systems with floppy drives. If you want one for your system, it will also be made by sony. Install it and forget it till you need it, it will work.
  
  
  

• Case and Power Supply The Skeleton and Heart of your computer. the case holds everything in place, including the brains, drives, and not to be forgotten, cooling fans which are essential to the long term performance of a PC.
  
  
  1. Size & Connectors You want to be able to fit everything you want in the computer, in the computer... thus you need a case with enough expansion bays to suit your specific long term needs. Also many cases these days come with front audio and usb jacks, even mini SD readers. When you Get a Real Computer, you just tell us what you want, and you get it.
     
  2. MAX Wattage Heres where Dell, Compaq, Gateway, and HP all fall terribly short.. they not only equip you with a minimal power supply which inhibits the expansions of the systems capability, but if the damn things break they cost an arm and a leg ot replace. (HP quoted me 244$ once for a 235w power supply, when my wholesaler gets better quality power supplies, with more wattage, and more expansion connectors for about 20$)
     
  3. Cooling System Cooling your computer is an important thing that has gone overlooked by the big corpses untill recently. Allowing proper air flow to your computer is just as important as it is to your car's engine. Without cooling, it will heat up, and when it gets hot it gets weaker, and stress will eventually lead to a break. Something, somewhere will break. So we offer custom fan placement specifically designed to optimize cooling without excessive power comsumption. Watercooled systems are available, but not yet recommended by Get a Real Computer and heres why: We can make a fan setup that will work with your individual setup, to provide you with the best airflow. Each fan setup is either pre-tested or individually tested to make sure that it si providing the best possible cooling benefit to the components the user wants to improve.
     
  
  

• Security Center The Windows Security Center needs to be reinforced or replaced. We will revamp an existings systems entire security setup and optimize its performance in general for 60$ plus optional software. Half of the labor we charge for assembling a new computer goes into doing the same thing.
  
  
  1. Anti-Virus from free, to 10$, to 30$... we offer non-trial version antivirus programs that work and let you work too.
     
  2. Anti-Spyware Windows Defender comes in all of our systems and optimizations, but the ultimate protection is PC Cillin Internet Security.
     
  3. Updated Firewall Windows Firewall is ok, but PC Cillin's is better, and doesnt cost an arm and a leg.
     
  4. External Firewall Get a Real Firewall. Linksys Routers are the best solution for hacker prevention. They share your connection and prevent outside users from ever knowing there was more than one computer in the house. Secure your wireless network easily with the most trusted name in the business.
     
  
  

• Network Connections How do you connect to the internet or your office network? Because you'll probably still need one of those.
  
  
  1. Plug-in NIC 10/100/1000 LAN Included with every system we make. This is the RJ45 connector that looks like a big telephone jack and plugs directly into your routeror cable/dsl modem.
     
  2. Wireless Network Interface Card WI-FI, Wireless G, Hot Spot... anywhere you want to access a wireless network, youll need a wireless card. We specialize in installation of secure wireless networks.
     
  
  

• Keyboard & Mouse We offer name brand input devices matched to the users needs,or lack thereof. Quality is number one when choosing the think youll be beating on the most. Logitec and Microsoft being the only two brands we use, quality is not a problem.
  
  
  1. Keyboard These days ranging from basic, to multimedia, to wirless and even bluetooth, the keyboard can bethe cheapest or the most expensive part of the computer... dont get too carried away.
     
  2. Mouse Optical Optical Optical... anyone still using a ball mouse just needs to send me ten bucks so they can get with the new mellinea.
     
  
  

• Peripherals
  Anything extra that you plug into a computer is its peripheral. All of ours come with a one year warranty, which must be completed via RMA unless service or a complete system was purchased.
  
  1. Audio Interface 2 speakers... add a subwoofer.. or go to 7 satelites plus a subwoofer... headphones are also a widely varying option. The difference we offer is in performance, not quality.. all speakers are Altec Lansing or Creative Labs.. all headphones are either from them or logitec.
     
  2. Multi Function print Centers (MFC) All in one Print/Scan/Copy/Fax Machines are always a good thing to have, but not always nessecary... there are some high quality printers that outperform the individual capabilities of any MFC, so if you dont need to do it all, jsut let us know and well replace any mfc with any printer of your choice. HP is the brand we use.. not their computers, their printers.
     
  3. Miscleneous Anything else in mind? just ask, well be glad to help. Well do whatever we can to make sure our customers understand that theyre getting the best when they Get a Real Computer.