Components...Get the Facts!We want to provide you with the information you need to make the right choices for your system! Most parts available next business day. Special Orders may be secured by Credit Card. Please call for pricing or email: sales@thebox.ca |
Helping our customers to make knowledgeable choices is part of our service. For more information, click on a selection below.
Pick a part from the list and we'll tell you more about it!
Want more information? Go to www.netlingo.com or www.wikipedia.com
Optical Drives - DVD or CD drives
Optical drives are usually called CDs and DVDs. With a standard DVD-ROM drive, you can read any normal CD-ROM, as well as other standards including normal music CDs and the older VideoCD movie standard.
Optical disks made from petroleum products (Warning: they melt and can cause fires if heated!) store much more information than floppy diskettes. DVDs are quickly making CD and CD-RW drives (RW stands for read-write) obsolete. DVD-RW disks are capable of storing nearly 5 gigabytes of information! That's a lot of storage space.
DVD-RW (Burners) are read/write drives are usually listed with 4 numbers that indicate the speed of the function:
1st - DVD READ information 2nd - DVD WRITE information 3rd - CD READ information, 4th CD WRITE information.
Memory
RAM - Random Access Memory in the computer is a temporary holding area that is used by the computer to manipulate data, carry out commands and swap files...a working area. When the power goes out, or the computer is shut down, whatever was being temporarily held in the memory is lost. That is why it is important to remember the Computer User's Motto: Save, Save, Save!
Memory, like all technology, changes very quickly. Current types of memory range from 256 megabytes of DDR SDRAM, to 512 DDR SDRAM to 1 Gig! Specialty types of memory for gaming would be DDR2.
Just remember, the bigger the number, the faster the speed at which the computer can move that information back and forth to the processor and the hard drive.
Hard Drives
Hard drives are storage devices. They are typically where we store all our files and where the programs are stored once they are loaded or installed onto our computers.
As an example, think of an old vinyl record with the playing arm from the record player. This is a simple comparison to what the insides of a hard drive look like, but sufficient to give you the idea of what the inside of a hard drive looks like if you have never seen one before. Now imagine stacking many records on top of each other with playing arms on both the tops and bottoms at the same time. Hard drives use multiple 'platens' or disks if you will, with read/write arms on both sides to store our data. Your hard drive is one of the safest places and certainly the largest spaces, to store information on your computer.
Hard drives come in many sizes, and speeds. The size of the typical hard drives change very quickly. Hard drives come in sizes ranging from 80 gigabytes of storage space up to 200 Gb and beyond, by special order. We carry the brand names of Maxtor, Western Digital and Seagate generally and others by special order.
Printers
If you have ever wondered what is the difference between the two types of printers, Laser and Inkjets, perhaps this information will help clarify the differences.
Laser printers work on the concept of toner (powder) being arranged magnetically on a drum and then transferred to a sheet of paper. The toner is 'cured' by applying heat to it and bonding it to paper just as it leaves the printer...ah nice, warm paper on cold hands!
Inkjet printers work by spraying the wet ink (usually colours) onto a piece of paper. The cartridges are set inside a moving device that we call print heads and crosses back and forth across the paper. When the paper comes out of the inkjet printer, it may be wet and can be subject to smearing from handling or from water.
Cables and Adapters
We simply have the best selection in town. There are too many to list - but if you need a cable or adapter, odds are we have it and at the best price too!
