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What is CMOS in a computer?

Dave Farquhar Hardware May 4, 2018April 21, 2018

From time to time, people may bring up CMOS, which can be a confusing topic because it can actually mean several things. These days it normally means one specific thing though. So let’s explore the question of what is CMOS in a computer.

It’s a tougher question than you might think. It even confuses professionals sometimes. Including published authors.

Dave Farquhar

David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He has written professionally about computers since 1991, so he was writing about retro computers when they were still new. He has been working in IT professionally since 1994 and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He holds Security+ and CISSP certifications. Today he blogs five times a week, mostly about retro computers and retro gaming covering the time period from 1975 to 2000.

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Is HDMI better than VGA?

Dave Farquhar Hardware May 1, 2018November 23, 2018

Is HDMI better than VGA? HDMI is a newer technology and it’s digital, but whether it’s better depends on your needs. Let’s take a look at both so you can decide which one to use.

Dave Farquhar

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Workstation vs desktop

Dave Farquhar Hardware April 27, 2018April 25, 2018

The workstation vs desktop distinction can be subtle, but workstations and desktops are distinct classes of computers. Someone designing rockets needs a different type of machine than the average office worker, and that’s OK.

Dave Farquhar

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Video card vs graphics card

Dave Farquhar Hardware, Retro Computing April 26, 2018November 11, 2024

Occasionally someone comes on a hardware forum and asks for help with the terms video card vs graphics card, and apologizes for possibly asking a n00b question. The thing is, it’s not a bad question at all. While there’s technically no difference between them today, in retro computing, there was a difference. And even in modern times, the two words certainly imply different things. So let’s dig in.

Dave Farquhar

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How much RAM do you need?

Dave Farquhar Hardware April 25, 2018May 12, 2020

Let’s tackle a controversial computer hardware question. How much RAM do you need? There’s a difference between how much RAM you want and how much you need. You may very likely need less RAM than you think.

I want 128 gigabytes of RAM. But there isn’t a lot of point to it. Almost 20 years ago, I was buying 128 megabytes of RAM when most people had 32 or 64 megabytes. There was a benefit to being beyond the pale then. Not so much today. At least not that far out.

Dave Farquhar

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$100 gaming PC? Not easy but possible

Dave Farquhar Hardware April 23, 2018January 12, 2021

If you want a gaming PC but have a super-tight budget, a $100 gaming PC isn’t ideal and isn’t easy. But it’s possible to put together a PC for gaming on a budget that small. You can even leave some room for improvement for upgrades as your budget permits later on, which I recommend.

The basic formula for a $100 gaming PC is a used computer, ideally an old office PC, that’s old enough to be cheap but still new enough to run some games. Then add in a video card that fits your budget but is fast enough to run some games.

Dave Farquhar

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What is a network interface card, or NIC?

Dave Farquhar Hardware April 17, 2018August 3, 2018

What is a network interface card? What is a NIC? It’s a term you may not hear as much anymore as you once did. But a network interface card is the computer component that lets you plug it into an Ethernet network or connect to a wireless network to get LAN and/or Internet access.

Network interface cards can come with anywhere from one to four ports. One port is the most common. Multi-port cards allow you to bond more than one port together for greater speed. Or you can use them for failover, or to dedicate a port to a specific virtual machine in virtual environments.

Dave Farquhar

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Dell or HP laptop: Which is better?

Dave Farquhar Hardware April 16, 2018January 8, 2025

There are some questions you really don’t want to answer, because there’s no way you’re going to answer it without making enemies. I heard one of those questions the other day. Between a Dell or HP laptop: Which is better?

HP and Dell are two of the most popular computer brands, and both have endured. Both entered the business in the 1980s and survived the brutal 1990s, which was an achievement. There were several good companies that failed to survive the 90s or emerged from the 90s mortally wounded. Both companies did something right to make it this far.

Dave Farquhar

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What to look for in a motherboard

Dave Farquhar Hardware April 15, 2018October 28, 2021amd, asus, IBM, intel, Intel Core, memory slots, micro atx, pcie, VGA

I’ve been building PCs for more than 20 years and I tend to keep them a very long time, so it occurred to me that someone might be interested in what I look for in a motherboard to ensure both a long, reliable life and a long useful life.

Technology has changed a lot but what I look for has remained surprisingly consistent over the years.

Dave Farquhar

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How to clean a circuit board

Dave Farquhar Hardware April 9, 2018April 4, 2022

If you want to start an argument, asking how to clean a circuit board is a good way to do it. At the risk of becoming the Internet’s hottest new place to argue, let’s talk about how to go about cleaning one.

Some people get obsessive about how their circuit boards look. While there’s something to the saying that if a board looks good, it works good, the main thing is keeping contaminants off the electrical contacts and preventing dust from causing heat buildup. Unless you have your computer in a translucent case, there’s no need to be overly concerned about how the board looks.

Dave Farquhar

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