Glossary

AGP: Acronym for accelerated graphics port, a bus interconnect standard designed by Intel for the high-speed transfer of graphics data and the storage of 3D texture data within a system's primary RAM. Most current 2D and 3D graphics accelerators are designed for the AGP bus standard.
AMD: Advanced Micro Devices is the second largest personal computer microprocessor manufacturer, with models covering nearly all market segments in the computing industry. AMD is currently Intel's strongest competitor. Their rivalry helps ensure lower CPU prices across the board.
Athlon: A 32-bit microprocessor architecture manufactured by Advanced Micro Devices. The high-performance Athlon is marketed as direct competition to Intel's Pentium III and Pentium 4 architectures. Both the Pentium and the Athlon lines have undergone multiple revisions since their original release.
Bandwidth: A measurement of the amount of information processed or transferred within a given timeframe, usually measured in megabytes per second. Bandwidth is synonymous with throughput.
Benchmark: A test designed to measure the performance of either hardware or software components.
Binary: A mathematics system composed of ones and zeros that is the basis of modern computing technologies.
Bus: A collection of wires designed to transmit data across various components within a computing platform. The front-side bus connects the processor, memory, and chipset computing components. The back-side bus connects the front-side bus to expansion peripherals, such as drives or graphics accelerators.
Cache: A specialized type of memory designed to store data temporarily so it can be accessed quickly during buffering operations. Cache is generally designed around static random access memory (SRAM) and, unlike similar dynamic random access technologies, it does not require continuous refresh updates.
Capacitance: A measurement of the ratio of electrical charge transferred across two conductors, or the amount of charge an isolated conductor can effectively store.
CFM: Cubic feet per minute, a measure of a fan's ability to move air. The higher the CFM rating, the more volume of air can be moved in any given time and the cooler your system will be. Note that higher CFM generally means greater noise.
Chipset: A combination of integrated circuit devices designed to route, control, and transfer information across various operating buses found in today's systems. Common designs incorporate two distinct but interconnected hubs: the Northbridge and Southbridge controllers.
Circuit: A configuration of electrically or magnetically connected components or devices.
Clock Speed: A measurement of how many times an integrated circuit can change its operating state within a given timeframe, usually measured in megahertz, or millions of cycles per second.
Convection: A process of thermal dissipation using a liquid or gas medium to transfer heat away from a given substance to another region or medium.
Cyrix: Cyrixoriginally existed as an independent manufacturer of Intelcompatible microprocessors, but this smaller corporation was acquired by VIA Technologies in 1999. The Cyrix product name is often associated with the latest processors offered by VIA, though these newer architectures share little in common with the older Cyrix platforms.
Die Size: A measurement of the width of internal pathways within an integrated circuit device, usually measured in nanometers.
DDR SDRAM: Acronym for double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory. DDR memory technologies employ a signaling technique capable of transferring data along both the rising and falling edges of each clock cycle, thus offering a theoretical 2x improvement in memory bandwidth over conventional SDRAM.
FSB: An acronym for front-side bus. The FSB connects the processor to the memory and other components in a PC.
GHz: An acronym for gigahertz, or one billion cycles per second. One GHz is equal to 1000 MHz. See MHz.
Integrated Circuit: An electronic device composed of multiple transistor circuits, originally developed by Texas Instruments and Fairchild Semiconductor in the 1950s.
Intel: The world's largest developer and manufacturer of personal computer microprocessors. Intel maintains the dominant market share across all platforms, and is often considered to be the leading authority in microprocessor design.
ISA: An aging bus standard that is rapidly disappearing in today's computing platforms. ISA offers minimal bandwidth and is best suited for low bandwidth devices, such as modems or sound cards.
Latency: The amount of time that elapses for a process to take place, or the time delay involved with one component waiting for another to finish a process.
Memory: A device designed to store data. Primary storage is composed of a series of integrated circuits that hold data short term (while a PC is in operation). Secondary storage is composed of physical disks (hard drive, CD-ROM, etc.) and similar devices designed for the long-term archiving of information.
MHz: An acronym for megahertz. One MHz is equal to one million Hertz, or cycles per second. Processor clock speeds are measured in megahertz, but don't be fooled: there are many other factors that determine a processor's performance than the MHz speed alone.
Microprocessor: A logical controlling integrated circuit chip composed of multiple transistor pathways, generally based on a silicon substrate with aluminum or copper circuit interconnects. Same as processor or central processing unit (CPU).
Multiplier: An internal value that correlates the front-side bus speed to the operating speed of the microprocessor. Example: Pentium III 800e = 100 MHz FSB x 8 Multiplier.
Multiplier Lock: Implemented by processor manufacturers to prevent users or dishonest retailers from overclocking processors through changes in the CPU multiplier setting.
Nanometer: One billionth of a meter.
Overclock: To operate a microprocessor at speeds beyond its original equipment manufacturer (OEM) rating.
Pentium: A 32-bit microprocessor architecture manufactured by the Intel Corporation. The Pentium series has undergone multiple revisions and redesigns over the years, so the name is more a marketing trademark than an architecture designation.
PCI: Acronym for peripheral component interconnect, a bus standard developed by Intel to be scalable to 66 MHz and 64 bits. Most current-generation personal computing architectures employ a 33 MHz, 32-bit PCI bus standard.
RDRAM: Acronym for rambus dynamic random access memory. Rambus memory is designed for extreme operating speeds up to and exceeding 800 MHz. It offers a substantial bandwidth advantage over original SDRAM technologies.
SDRAM: Acronym for synchronous dynamic random access memory. SDRAM is designed for high-speed operation, and thus provides consistent data flow between the processor and memory buses.
Transistor: A semiconductor device designed to archive or amplify signals, thus creating a logic storage and manipulation circuit. The original transistor was developed by Bell Labs in 1947.
Voltage: A measurement of a circuit's electromotive force or potential difference.
Wattage: A measurement of power required for the operation of a circuit.