computers

							      Computers:
What Makes Them Tick?




    Date: April 15, 2009
         By: Mahal
    Advisor: Mr. Mitchell
    Word Count: 3,119
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                                      Table of Contents:


Acknowledgements: -------------------------------------------------------------------------Page 4

Introduction: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Page 5

   The Goal: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Page 5

   Area of Interaction Focus: --------------------------------------------------------------Page 6

   Process Outline: --------------------------------------------------------------------------Page 7

The Process: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Page 7

   Production Steps: -------------------------------------------------------------------------Page 7

   Characteristics and Components: ------------------------------------------------------Page 8

Analysis: --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Page 9

   Inspiration: --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Page 9

   Research: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Page 9

   Influences Guiding My Work: ---------------------------------------------------------Page 11

   Findings and Decisions: ----------------------------------------------------------------Page 12

The Resulting Product: ---------------------------------------------------------------------Page 12

   The Process – Goal and AOI: ----------------------------------------------------------Page 12

Conclusion: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Page 13

   Impact: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Page 13

   New Perspectives- What I learned: ---------------------------------------------------Page 13

Works Cited: --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Page 14

Appendices: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------Page 15

   Appendix A: -----------------------------------------------------------------------------Page 15



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Appendix B: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------Page 15

Appendix C: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------Page 16

Appendix D: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------Page 17

Appendix E: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------Page 17

Appendix F: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------Page 18

Appendix G: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------Page 18




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                      Acknowledgements:




  I would like to thank my father for giving me the confidence that I

needed to start and finish this computer and for buying the components

 that I needed for my project! I do not know what I would have done

                             without you!




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Introduction:

The Goal:


The goal of my personal project was to build a computer by purchasing the components and

assembling the computer. My goal was then altered a small amount since I had procrastinated

and put off the personal project for a few months. By the time I had sat down to work on it, it

was too late to go and order all the parts needed for a computer. I then decided that I should

make my project more towards the environmental area of interaction. In order to do that I

recycled parts from old non-working computers, which did not work for certain reasons, and

built one complete pristine computer. After I had gotten the parts together, I had realized that

some of the connectors on the motherboard were not compatible with the connectors from my

new case that I had purchased since the motherboard was an older version; it was not compatible

with my set-up. So from there I decided that I had to buy a new motherboard which also meant

that I had to get a new central processing unit (CPU), since the CPU has to be compatible with

the motherboard. When I received the new parts, I also ended up needing a new hard drive as

well because the recycled hard drive had information on it from the previous system and was

corrupting my new system. When I finally got the computer to work properly without any errors,

I found out that my sound and my Ethernet connectors were inoperable which meant that I had to

buy a new sound card however; I found an Ethernet adapter from my recycled computer and

used that. But after all of the buying of the new this and the new that, I ended up only recycling a

few products such as the CD and DVD drives, the Ethernet adapter, and the operating system.

That being said, I had to rework my goal to the original idea of purchasing the components,

recycling some compatible components from older computers, and then creating a brand new

computer which was built by me.


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Area of Interaction Focus:

The areas of interaction (AOI) that my personal project focuses on are Approaches to Learning,

Environment, and Homo Faber. My most important AOI was Approaches to Learning. When I

started this project, I knew the basics about how to build a computer and I thought that the basics

were really all you needed but once I started installing the components and locating the right

connectors to plug the power supply and the case into on the motherboard, it became a

nightmare. It was like trying to run without first knowing how to walk. I soon found out that the

very basics that any neophyte would know were not enough so I had to do a lot of research. By

the time I had finished my project I had found out so much about programming and installing

components. I guess you could call me somewhat of a connoisseur. In addition, my personal

project also focuses on Environment because I am recycling computer parts from old non-

working computers and building a complete new working computer. It is relevant to the AOI of

Environment because there are so many computers that are just thrown out. All of these

computers are ending up into a big heap and ruining our environment. Computers are tarnishing

our environment because they contain metals, plastic, and a few toxics that should be reclaimed

rather than put in the landfill (“Recycling”). Some parts of a computer can be reprocessed and

used by people who do not need the most up-to-date parts. When computers are recycled, the

parts that can be salvaged are removed to be reused while the rest of the computer will be

separated into different constituents for example, black plastic, white plastic, copper, glass,

leaded glass, wire, circuit boards, and precious metals and then salvaged. Lastly, my personal

project focuses on Homo Faber since I am assembling a computer. Homo Faber means that you

are creating, or making something using your inventiveness and that is exactly what I am doing

by assembling a computer.




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Process Outline:

The initial step in assembling a computer is to complete all my research so that I know what

components are in a computer, what components I will need, and how computers function. I need

a thorough understanding about computer parts and what parts go together before I can go out

and try to assemble one. If I do not know how to connect the components to the motherboard or

where to connect them, I would not be able to have a functioning computer. The following step

would be to find out what components I had from my two recycled computers because some

components are not compatible or did not work. The third step would be to put the recycled parts

together and then purchase any other additional parts needed in order to assemble an operational

computer. The fourth step would be to buy the case for my computer and the fifth and

concluding step involves writing my paper about my incredible experience with my personal

project.




The Process:

Production Steps:

Overall, there are really eight basic steps in assembling a computer. First and foremost, you must

determine what specific needs you have for the computer and make a list of components that you

will need for example, a motherboard, CPU, RAM, optical drives, hard drives, operating systems,

and etcetera. In this initial step, research is a must. It is the most vital part when assembling a

computer. The second step involves finding a suitable workplace. You must and I mean must

avoid areas that have carpet as this can lead to problems with static. Static electricity can damage

your computer. In order to reduce the contingency, you can use a static electricity wrist band

which reroutes static electricity, which is also known as electrostatic discharge (ESD), in your


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body to ground. One end is a wrist strap that goes around your wrist, and on the other end is

usually a crocodile clip. The clip attaches to a good grounding point. “The best place to connect

this crocodile clip is to the metal of the PC chassis, that way the static charge between you and

the PC will be equalized and the risk of ESD eliminated” (Kingsley) (Appendix A ). In the third

step, you begin to install the motherboard into the case. Then you start configuring the

motherboard and installing the CPU and RAM. Step five involves connecting the plugs to the

motherboard and by powering up the motherboard with the power supply connectors. In step six,

you start installing the drives and configuring the hard drive, CD-ROM drive and DVD-ROM

drive. In step seven, you settle on which operating system works best for your needs and then

install it. In step eight, you turn on your computer and if there are no errors you can sit back and

enjoy your new computer.

Characteristics and Components:

I bought all my components for my computer on the Internet. My assembled computer consisted

of a Apevia X-Qpack2 chassis (Appendix B). I had a 500 watt power supply that came with the

chassis. The chassis and the power supply cost $99.69. I bought a Biostar Tforce6100

motherboard with an AMD A64 Dual Core CPU and 2GB of Corsair RAM for $134.50

(Appendix C). I also bought a Western Digital Caviar 80GB SATA II hard drive (Appendix D)

for $31.00, a Dynex DX-SC51 5.1 sound card (Appendix E) for $8.95 and an Anti Static wrist-

strap for $4.00. The components that I recycled were a HP CD writer drive, DVD player drive,

Windows XP Home operating system, and a PCI Ethernet Adapter for the Internet. The total cost

of my computer was $274.14 without the recycled components. If I had bought the recycled parts,

the HP CD writer drive would have cost $15.00, the DVD player drive would have cost $25.00,

the Windows XP Home operating system would have cost $100.00, and the PCI Ethernet



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Adapter would have cost $25.00 so the new total would have been $439.14. The prices for these

components were all wholesale prices meaning that they are cheaper than the actual resale value.

When all the components of the computer were inside the case, it looked like a jungle of wires

and connectors going in every direction (Appendix F). When my computer was finished, it

turned out looking like a very cute little computer. (Appendix G)




Analysis:

Inspiration:

My inspiration came from my tremendous fascination about computers. In ninth grade, when I

found out about the personal project and that it was meant to convey what you fancy, I knew just

what to do. I wanted to assemble a computer because I wanted the satisfaction of saying, “I

assembled this computer; this is my production.” My inspiration also came from my amazing

father since he wanted to see if a custom built computer was cheaper than a company built

computer. So when I had found out that we had to do something for our personal project that

dealt with something that was consequential to us, I decided to assemble a computer.

Research:

Researching this project was onerous! There were a multitude of websites that had an abundance

of information regarding computers and computer components. When I first started researching

computers, I immediately thought that I was way over my head but after I started to make sense

of the mass of information; I knew that I could do it!

When assembling a computer, there are many things that need to be accounted for. For example,

what will the computer be used for? Do you want a really inexpensive computer with only the

basic components or a top of the line gaming computer? Or maybe a powerful machine with a lot


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of disk space for whatever your heart desires (Brain). Therefore, it is crucial to know exactly

what you want the computer to do so that it will meet your needs.

The first and most important step when assembling a computer is finding a big or small enough

case, which is also, know as a chassis. There are many types of computer cases. Some types are

the mini tower, mid-size tower, full-sized tower, desktop tower or a cube. The case that I chose

for my project was the cube case. When you purchase the case, you need to ensure that the case

comes with a power supply, if it does not come with one, then you must purchase one. Power

supplies range from $30-$250 depending on the watt size. The next component that you need is a

motherboard, which is also known as the systems board. You need to ensure that the

motherboard form factor you plan on purchasing will fit inside your case. The standard

motherboard form factor today is an ATX or MicroATX. Motherboards range from $60-$300

depending on how many connections it has on it and the brand of it. The price is also determined

by the CPU socket. The two types of CPUs are Intel or AMD. AMD CPUs are normally cheaper

than Intel CPUs but lots of people are die-hard Intel aficionados. CPUs range from $40-$500

depending on the speed of the processor. When you purchase a CPU, you must make sure that it

is the right brand and the correct pin configuration compatible with your motherboard. However,

if you purchase a motherboard/CPU combo you will not have to worry. In addition to the case,

motherboard, power supply, and CPU, you will need random access memory (RAM). “RAM is

considered "random access" because you can access any memory cell directly if you know the

row and column that intersect at that cell” (Tyson). There are many types of RAM. RAM ranges

from $30-$80 depending on the capacity, which ranges from 128 megabytes (MB) to 12

gigabytes (GB), and the type of RAM. Another component you would need is an optical drive.

Optical drives are also known as CD-ROM drives or DVD-ROM drives. These drives play your




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CDs and DVDs. These range from $10-$100 depending on the brand and speed of the drive.

Another component you will need is a hard drive. A hard drive stores all the information about

your computer. For example, all the programs, pictures, music, videos, etcetera. These range

from $50-$300 depending on its capacity, which ranges from 80GB to 800GB. The last and

second most important part of a computer is its operating system. “The most common are the

Windows family of operating systems developed by Microsoft, the Macintosh operating systems

developed by Apple and the UNIX family of operating systems” (Franklin). Operating systems

range from $100-$300 depending on the brand of the operating system.

After you have purchased all the components and installed them, you then start tweaking your

new system. You must always keep your computer protected. You should always have a

Firewall. You do not need an extravagant Firewall unless you want to but the built-in Firewall

will work just as well.

The last and most important part of your computer is keeping it running fast and smoothly.

“Other than being infected with spyware, the biggest cause of system slowdown is clutter and

junk all over your drive. You have a number of options to combat this, (including not installing

every piece of software you see), but at the very least you should make sure to run the Disk

Cleanup utility on a regular basis” (“Building”).



Influences Guiding My Work:

My dad was the main thing that influenced my work. He gave me the confidence that I needed in

order to start this project. When I encountered errors and got so frustrated that I wanted to quit

the whole project, my dad gave me the push to stick with it. Another thing that influenced my

work was my interest in computers and how they worked. I remember working on my personal




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project while music was playing in the background and piles of books about computers on my

desk while I was trying to decipher what all the information meant. Even though there were a lot

of bumps along the way and I mean a lot of bumps along the way, I still stuck with it.

Findings and Decisions:

I had found out that assembling a computer is a lot of work and I mean a lot of work! When I

first started working with my recycled parts, many of the parts were not compatible. There were

errors after errors after errors. It drove me insane! I was so frustrated with it that for a few days I

let my computer sit because if I saw another error I might have thrown it into a lake! But after all

the frustration, the errors disappeared after I figured out what the problem was. I was quite exited

when I finally reached my goal. I can finally say, “I assembled this computer; this is my

production.”




The Resulting Product:

The Process - Goal and AOI:

I reached my goals and went over all the Areas of Interaction throughout the duration of my

project. The most important AOI was Approaches to Learning since I found out that I knew very

little about computers. Without the research, I would have never been able to complete this

project. Homo Faber was obviously my favorite part of the whole project. My project was

mainly all about Homo Faber. I had an amazing time assembling the computer although I had

many problems at the beginning but once I solved the problem, everything was smooth sailing

from there. The Environment AOI lacked a little bit since I originally was only going to recycle

the parts and just use recycled parts. I ended up purchasing most of the parts but the parts that I

did recycle were the optical drives, the Ethernet adapter and the operating system.


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Conclusion:

Impact:

This project has impacted me greatly. When I started, I though I knew more than the average

student. I did know more than the average student but when I started my research, I soon found

out that I only knew the gist of it. I have learned so much about computers. My initial plan was

to build this computer so that I could say, “I assembled this computer; this is my production.” I

have said that and have also acquired a new interest. I also had an amazing time working with

my father even if I hit many bumps along the way. It was totally worth it!

New Perspectives - What I Learned:

I have learned so much from this project. I have gained a lot more patience than I used to have. I

thought this project was going to be somewhat easy but I soon found out that I was going to have

multiple problems. I was to the point where I was about to throw the computer into the lake

because I had gotten errors after errors. When I had figured out what was causing the problem,

everything went smoothly from there. So I have learned a lot about myself and a lot about

computers which was my initial goal in the beginning.




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                                          Works Cited

Brain, Marshall. "HowStuffWorks "How to Build a Computer"" Howstuffworks "Computer

       Channel" 12 Nov. 2008 <http://computer.howstuffworks.com/build-a-computer.htm>.

"Building a New Computer - Part 5: Tweaking Your New Computer :: the How-To Geek." The

       How-To Geek :: Computer Help from your Friendly How-To Geek. 20 July 2008. 13 Apr.

       2009 <http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/the-geek-blog/building-a-new-computer-part-

       5-tweaking-your-new-computer/>.

Franklin, Curt, and Dave Coustan. "HowStuffWorks "How Operating Systems Work""

       Howstuffworks "Computer Channel" 22 Mar. 2009

       <http://computer.howstuffworks.com/operating-system.htm>.

Kingsley-Hughes, Adrian W. "Beware! ESD can kill your PC!" Weblog post. The PC Doctor's

       Guide. 06 Nov. 2003. 12 Apr. 2009 <http://www.pcdoctor-

       guide.com/wordpress/?p=3649>.

Kurtus, Ron. "Controlling Static Electricity - Stop Getting Shocks - Succeed in Physical Science:

       School for Champions." School for Champions: online lessons for those seeking success.

       22 Jan. 2009. 13 Apr. 2009

       <http://www.schoolforchampions.com/science/static_control.htm>.

"Recycling Computers and Electronics." GUVSWD Home Page. 12 Apr. 2009

       <http://www.guvswd.org/computers>.

Tyson, Jeff, and Dave Coustan. "HowStuffWorks "How RAM Works"" Howstuffworks

       "Computer Channel" 22 Mar. 2009 <http://computer.howstuffworks.com/ram.htm>.




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Appendices:


Appendix A:




This is an Anti-static wrist strap used to protect computer electronics. A static electricity spark

can damage the internal electronics of a computer. When a person handles computer boards, it

doesn't take much of a spark to damage the circuitry (Kurtus).



Appendix B:




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These are pictures taken by me of my Apevia X-Qpack2 chassis before any of the components

were installed. They are pictures of the front, back, side and top of the chassis. The cost of the

chassis was $99.69.



Appendix C:




These are pictures taken by me of the Biostar Tforce6100 motherboard with an AMD A64 Dual

Core CPU and 2GB of Corsair RAM for $134.50. They are pictures of the top and the side of the

motherboard and CPU.




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Appendix D:




This is a picture of the Western Digital Caviar 80GB SATA II hard drive which cost $31.00.




Appendix E:




This is a picture of the Dynex DX-SC51 5.1 sound card which cost $8.95.




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Appendix F:




These are pictures taken by me of all the components, connectors, and wires that were in the

computer that I built.



Appendix G:




The picture on the left is of the finished computer and the picture on the right is of me holding

my finished computer!




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