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Blogger Review

I'm quite happy after making the decision to use Blogger as my blogging application. Its overall initiative design and execution allowed writing my blog to be quick and easy with little issue. The preview function has been a huge help for me figuring out my desired look for the page, which is also swift to use allowing to instantly check and swap back to my work. It allowed me to decide which theme I should use for my blog and what does and doesn't look good on it. This leads me to my next point about the array of customization options there are to choose from and how well integrated they are. Each and every option provides a unique colour scheme that is pleasing to the eye, all structured differently providing a feeling of uniqueness to your own blog. It takes little thought to choose one, as a preview is presented to you instantly, and is incredibly easy to choose one or the other. The design of the application is overall very intuitive. Everything is fast and instant with ze...
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The Motherboard

      The motherboard is the main circuit board located in many devices. It allows the communication and connectivity between the CPU, RAM, hard drive and graphics card, as well as providing power to the components and connections for other peripherals. They sit in the computer case, and as development advances they now come in many different forms and sizes, such as the ATX which is the most common. There are different types of motherboards that work with only certain components, so they don't work with every CPU or RAM type. For example, motherboards with an AM4 CPU socket are only compatible with AMD manufactured CPUs, while other motherboards are only compatible with Intel-made units.  The motherboard comes with additional peripheral slots for any extra components. This allows for things such as added disc drives, graphics cards or additional storage space. On the side of the motherboard you would also find the I/O panel, which allows the connection of external d...

The Graphics Card

      The graphics card (also known as a video card, or display card) is often the most expensive component of the PC. New graphics cards are always high in demand with in the market given the number of benefits of upgrading this particular component, not to mention its versatility. This of course leads to further price increases. This particular industry has also been subject to a number of issues brought to the market, such as the low supply caused by rising demand for crypto mining as well as being in the midst of a pandemic. This had caused them to be virtually unobtainable for quite some time, but thankfully the state of the market has seen some improvements in recent months.  A graphics card is an adapter used to display visual data with clarity and definition. While certain CPU's may come preinstalled with integrated graphics adapters, negating the need for a dedicated graphics unit for some, it goes without saying that graphics cards are much more efficient a...

RAM

      Random-Access Memory (RAM) is an essential PC component that is used to store short-term memory to keep data when the processor needs it. So whenever you're running an application or streaming a video, all of the data required for the CPU to process is stored in the RAM. Once you end the task, the data stored in the RAM is replaced by the next task the computer starts. This is what's known as "volatile memory". This is not to be confused with long term memory, which is stored on the hard drive and remains there even after the computer is switched off.  RAM has also been a component subject to great advancement. Most personal computers boast with 16GB or 32GB of RAM, as most people need to run multiple applications at the same time.  RAM is composed of rows of small squares called 'cells'. The RAM controller finds a specific cell by sending a thin electrical line that's etched into the chip. Any read data flows back through a different line. RAM may c...

The CPU

    The Central Processing Unit (CPU) is an integral component of the computer. It's more or less the "brain" of the device, as its the one that executes the instructions of a prog ram to allow it to carry out its tasks. They are a part of many modern devices other than computers, such as DVD players or smart devices, which isn't often known about as most people exclusively associate them with computers. They have undergone a series of changes and designs, but its key function has remained the same. There are a few critical factors of which makes a CPU good. One of those factors is clock speed. When you're shown the clock speed, you're being told how many instructions a CPU can process in a second and essentially is indicating how fast it is. With higher clock speeds however comes with extra heat exhaustion and power consumption, so while clock rate has improved exponentially over the course of the past couple of decades, advancements have begun to plateau due...

Introduction

 My name is Macdarach. I'm currently a student residing in Galway at Atlantic Technological University studying for software development. My general interest in modern technology and computers led to me choosing this course, as I believe its a good fit for me. Prior to my college days I had built my own PC, where I learned about all of the different components and their intricate designs and functions, and how they work with each other to create a working computer. That's why I'm choosing to write a blog about the features and uses of each of the components. It's a very interesting topic that is from my point of view often overlooked or taken for granted. The patience and precision required to manufacture these parts cannot be underappreciated in the slightest, as it's truly mind-boggling as to how they work. It's a very fascinating industry. I'll go into a deeper dive into the components themselves in my next blog entry.