TLC Network, Inc. - Hosting - Child Safety - Computers

The bottom line is to increase the economy of our country. There are tens of thousands of computer stores in the US yet 95% of us purchase computers assembled in foreign countries. We will never be able to manufacture the components that are inside the case here but we can purchase computers that are assembled here. We know that not all the so called mom & pop computer stores are

trustworthy but if you know what to ask for you will get your best deal. When you purchase a new computer from a trustworthy store you will not be getting an "Entry Level" machine. You could not live on an entry level job so why purchase an entry level computer?

Knowing the name brands of computer components is listed in better computer magazines. Most of us never read these type of magazines so we will list here what to ask for, the one thing you should never say is I want the best. There is no such thing as the best as tomorrow there will be something better, faster and more efficient. Another important thing to know is never purchase more than you need, this means if all you do is shop online, surf the Net, type a letter you only need the basic machine, there is no need for over kill or waste money. Lastly, use Microsoft® Windows® XP professional w/ SP3 as millions of end users that purchased computers with Windows® Vista have been disappointed and many of them have spent additional money to drop back to Windows XP. Keep in mind that the so called mom & pop computer stores have the mentally just like the huge discount stores sell what you have in stock and tell the customer in front of them this product is best for you. If you can't get what you ask for just leave that establishment.

Basic computers should have a minimum of 1 intake fan (in front) and 2 exhaust fans to keep the components inside the case cool. This does not include the fan in the power supply. As you have a computer built with more or additional components inside you need more cooling fans. The reason for this as today's high end processors, RAM, etc; run extremely hot and overheating is the primary cause for computer failure.

This Raidmax® Case is great for most basic to middle of the road computers. Contains 120 mm front & rear fans and 80 mm side fan in addition to side & rear vents. There are two conveniently USB2 ports on left side of the case. Never place a case directly on top of carpet as you will be starving the air intake from entering the case.

This Coolermaster® case is ideal for high end computers. Front (intake) & Rear (exhaust) 120 mm fans, 2 - 140 mm for side exhaust, 2 top 140 mm exhaust fans (since heat rises), 1- 120 mm intake fan at the bottom of the case, 1 - 80 mm right side exhaust fan that is used for additional processor cooling. Total of eight (8) fans. All fans are double ball bearing. This case is unique with a bottom mounted power supply. The entire front of the case is filtered preventing dust from getting in and clogging the heat sinks on the processor and other components such as audio and video cards.

The motherboard is the heart of any computer. Always demand an ASUS® motherboard, which is rated the #1 main board manufacturer. They have never had a recall. As with all manufactures they like to consider the idea of good, better and best, but to compete in the global market almost all companies have added an economy line. The economy line of products is used to draw people into retail or discount stores as these type of establishments can advertise low prices. The livelihood of these type of stores is to sell what they have in stock and not what can be ordered. We will tell you that the economy motherboard from ASUS® (P5QL-VM) is well built and performs well. The G41 onboard video chipset is the latest from Intel, with its DVI (digital output) will give you HD on any Wide Screen Monitor. ASUS® currently has over 60 motherboards to choose from, which one you use is depending on what your machine will be used for.

The processor is the brains of any computer. We highly recommend that you have your new computer with an Intel® Processor. AMD® Processors run much hotter and are much cheaper than Intel® Processors but it will reduce the life of your new machine. Intel® many years ago have developed the Celeron® Processor to compete with low prices of AMD® Processors. We highly recommend using the Intel® Core2 Duo™ or Quad Core Processors. Also the speed of the processor is crucial as far as speed and efficiency . Because the price are very close in price in its class, have a machine built a 3 Ghz. processor, both Core 2 Duo™ & Quad Core™ come in this speed. The Core2 Duo™ has 6 MB of Cashe and the Quad Core has 12 MB of Cashe. Casheing is the flow of any type of data between input devices to your screen or your hard drive. The higher rate of Casheing also improves the speed when downloading files from the Internet.

RAM (Random Access Memory) is always in the GET Mode. RAM is used as a holding pattern to load your operating system (Windows® XP Professional uses 84 MB to make your computer function) and used to load any other software you click on to open such as a word processor. As stated above RAM manufactures have quality and economy RAM, known as Value RAM.

Never have a new computer built with Value RAM (shown at right) as this type of RAM runs much hotter and will cut the efficiency down. There are several companies that manufacture great quality RAM. To mention the biggest - Kingston® - OCZ® and Skill®. Every company has a different name for their high end products, Kingston calls its high end RAM Hyper - X. Also keep in mind you should always use double sided RAM. The high end RAM also has its own heat sinks to improve cooling and efficiency.

The major difference between DDR2 and DDR3 RAM is the bit rate. DDR2 is 4 bit and DDR3 is 8 bit. DDR2 RAM is available in speeds of 800, 1066 & 1200, DDR3 RAM is available in speeds of 1333, 1600, 1800 & 2000. Each ASUS® motherboard has a different specifications of which RAM will be supported.

The power supply is an essential part of your computer. Pictured at the left is a Coolmax® unit available in 600, 750 and 950 Watt. This power supply uses modular cables so just the cables needed for the computer is used. It has a 135 mm fan which blows heat up and out the rear Honey Comb panel on the rear. These units are multi-core that distributes the power to each device at the proper voltage and current draw which improves the life of the computer. A basic computer using the ASUS® P5Q - VM motherboard, 2 GB of RAM would only need the 600 Watt version. A high end computer using the ASUS® P5Q3 motherboard, DDR3 RAM, PCI-E 2.0 - 16X Video Card, Intel® Quad Core™ Processor and more would require the 950 Watt version.

The Hard Drive. This unit is used to permanently store your files. Western Digital® is rated #1. These drive come in sizes from 80 GB to 2 TB. and in IDE (ribbon cable - 60 Mbits and SATA format 3 Gbits) SATA Cable shown at right. Since you never know just how much storage you will need over the years it is best to use a 500 GB with 32 MB Cashe Western Digital Hard Drive.

Think of your Hard Drive as rooms in your house. Your house is built with a kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, etc. Your hard drive should be setup the same way, the rooms are known as Partitions. Creating partitions your documents will not be on the same partition as your operating system and programs so in the event your system has trouble such as booting your operating system and programs can be re-installed without any loss of important data, files and images.

Optical Units (CD / DVD) should be in SATA format. Each new machine should be built with 2 units a reader and a burner. The reason for this is it eliminates the need to copy files to your hard drive, switch CD or DVD and copy the files back to the blank disc. This will save up 40% of the time it takes to copy to the blank disc.

Video Cards used on higher end computers, fan cooled, does not draw power from motherboard - uses direct plug from power supply, in PCI-E 2.0 -16 X (speed). There many different models to choose from depending on your individual needs, they all support the new wide screen format, with high resolutions and dual monitors. Memory up to 2 GB / 512 Bit. Some cards use two slots.

Audio Cards: While all ASUS® motherboards have built in (integrated) 7.1 Sound, if you are interested in high end out with great software consider upgrading to this Turtle Beach® 7.1 sound card. You will be amazed in the sound. You can add 2 sets of Logitech speakers (5.1 & 2.1) which will give you a complete home entertainment system. You will need to go to a local Radio Shack to purchase extension cables as the supplied cables are not long enough for proper positioning.

Once your system is built it needs to be protected. Nortons® Internet Security is top shelf, bar none. Protects against Viruses and many Internet threats. It is the end user responsibility to keep the program and Virus definitions up to date which is free for the period your software was purchased for, usually one year.

Another level of security lies with the end user (YOU!) while using the Internet Explorer. Microsoft developed the Active X

technology as a means of sharing modules in their Office Programs. For example instead of each program such as Word® and Excel® to have their own spell checking the spell checking module is a Active X module in its own right, now all office programs can share modules as needed. Along came the hackers that took that technology to a whole new level. They used the Active X technology to spy on your computer. Microsoft® has developed the additional safety to prevent this from occurring by any site that wants to spy of your computer can be stopped immediately by when it is detected your Internet Explorer® displays a light yellow bar - that tells you the site is attempting to install Active X. If you don't know or trust that site do not install the Active X control. If you allow Active X to be installed that site is now in charge of your computer, they can now add spyware and other components know as "Parasites" which in turn can also place viruses in addition to following your foot steps when you log on to secured areas such as online banking. When you click on install the Active X control you are over riding the security Nortons® Internet Security provides. A word to the wise use the Active X feature with extreme caution. View the safe settings.

We have provided technology solutions to individuals and businesses in NY for over 13 years. We serve the entire US for Hosting Services. We professionally constructed over 95% of the web sites we are currently hosting. Did you know that over 85% registered domains never materialize into a fully functioning web site? We guarantee if you register a domain name with our company (which is FREE upon a hosting account) we will provide you with a start, with our professionally designed templates and even build your complete web site just for the low cost of hosting. $80.00 - infants to the age of 16, $200.00 for personal sites and starting at $400.00 for commercial / professional sites.