Soldato
Hi everyone, I Just wanted to put together a list of Abbreviations & Acronyms commonly used on the hardware sections of the OCUK forums to help out new users understand what the heck we are talking about. The ones I have compiled so far are of a technical nature and relate to hardware, but will be adding things that do not refer to hardware, but are used often.
I am going to try and put together as many as I can with decent definitions, but I would greatly appreciate any help identifying ones I missed, providing definitions and correcting/improving on existing definitions.
Here we go:
AGP - Accelerated Graphics Port; A legacy graphics card connection. It has since been superseded by PCI Express (PCIe) but many people still own older motherboards or graphics card that use this interface. AGP cards have still been created after the widespread adoption of PCIe to cater for the market of people with older motherboards who just want a graphics card upgrade. The most recent AGP card widely sold is the amd 4650 agp version which allows agp users to decode hd video and play many modern games.
apu - accelerated processing unit; the amd term for their new "fusion" cpus which include the cpu and graphics core onto the same package. this allows for better links between graphics and cpu, and allows a reduced system power requirement and latencies as both of these key processors are included on the same package. however, information from amd indicates that the graphics cores used on apus will not compete with the high-end discrete graphics cards - so for the time being at least, most gamers will not be best served using an apu - but others with less graphics focused needs will find them very useful.
ata or ata/133 - please see pata.
atx - advanced technology extended; is a computer form factor specification laid down by intel. it sets out standard sizes and connections for motherboards and power supply units and defines minimum quality of power supply output voltages. in relation to motherboards; atx is the standard, full-size motherboard layout. there are smaller standard motherboard sizes such as micro-atx and mini-itx and a few larger ones such as e-atx. in terms of power supplies - all atx psus have the same height and width, only the depth varies between models, therefore almost any atx psu will fit in a standard atx midi tower or full tower case.
bios – basic input output system; as the name suggest this is the very basic software present on the motherboard. the bios loads before anything else, allows for fine control of the hardware and allows the operation of the main os. the bios is of great interest to computer enthusiasts as its manipulation is the basis for overclocking and allows the user great control of the basic function of the computer hardware.
boot - bootstrap load; the process which loads up a modern computer. it is a bootstrapping process where a simple program (the bios) loads up a much more complex program (the operating system). if a computer "fails to boot", then there is something significantly wrong with either the hardware or software and further investigation should find the issue that needs to be resolved.
brick, bricked - the result of a flash that went wrong, say you pulled the power cable out partway through. or you tried to flash with the wrong file. generally means rma time, or buy a new one.
bd - blu-ray disk; a high capacity optical disk which typically contains up to 25gb (single layer) or 50gb (dual layer) of data. these disks can only be read in a blu-ray drive as dvd and cd lasers are of the wrong wavelength (as the name implies - a blue laser is used for bd). blu-ray disks are most typically encountered as video disks as they can hold entire films in high quality 1080p resolution, which takes up a great deal of space, they are also used as game disks for the ps3 console.
bleeding - getting the air out of a watercooling system.
bsod – blue screen of death: looks a lot like this. if you see it – then something is wrong with your system. the codes and text displayed in a bsod can help you diagnose your problem.
cat5e - category 5e cable; a standard high signal integrity cable - it is often used for ethernet (networking) since long runs can be used (up to 100m without a repeater). with supported devices, cat5e can be used for gigabit ethernet (1000mbps) connections. also, recently cat5e has been utilised in systems to inexpensively extend hdtv connections, with "hdmi over cat5e" systems.
cf- crossfirex; this is the amd technology to link two or more amd graphics cards of the same family together to produce a significant increase in performance over a single card of the same type. cf does not double the performance when a second card is introduces, however it does increase it considerably (the recent amd hd 5870 exhibits a ~60% increase in performance at common resolutions when a second card is added). within current generation platforms the only chipsets that can support at least pcie v2 x8x8 crossfire (the recommended minimum speed) are amd 790gx, 790fx, 890gx, 890fx, 990x, 990fx and intel p55, x58, p68, z68 and x79 – though check individual board models.
cfm - cubic feet per minute; standard unit used to measure the volumetric flow rate of cooling fans.
chipset - traditionally this is the microchip (or collection of microchips) that connects the cpu to other key internal components such as the memory, graphics card, storage drives and input devices. however, recently more of the functions of the chipset have been moved onto the cpu itself (including the memory controller and pci-express controller), this improves performance (since the cpu cores and "chipset" components are linked closer) and also reduces overall manufacturing costs. current generation motherboards still do have chipsets (also called the pch), but on the motherboard the hardware is more of a glorified southbridge (sb), mainly controlling storage devices, networking and i/o, with most of the heavy lifting done onboard the cpu.
cmos, "cmos reset"- complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (reset); like a really tame version of flashing the bios. you force the computer to load default values for things like frequency and which drive to boot from, so undoing whatever damage you've just done. depending on your type of motherboard the process is either moving a jumper on the board for a few seconds or pushing a button (your motherboard manual will tell you how to do it).
cpu – central processing unit; the cpu is the component in which the majority of the calculations in a computer are carried out. these calculations can be in the form of applications, games and many other programs.
cpuz, cpu-z - a popular piece of software used for reporting voltages, ram timings and other useful information. to improve on this one needs to measure the voltage directly, and even then cpu-z and multimeter tend to agree with each other. follow this link to download the software.
CUDA - Compute Unified Device Architecture; This is a Nvidia designed parallel computing architecture. This allows the the raw processing might of modern Nvidia graphics cards to be be harnesses for general computing tasks that would usually be reserved for the much more multi-purpose CPU. Some examples of tasks which can be done with CUDA include video transcoding, distributed computing (like folding@home), game physics calculations and modelling climate change. Other architectures that make use of the computational power of graphics cards include DirectCompute and OpenCL.
DDR - Double Data Rate; A RAM technology which allows data to be transferred on both the rising and falling edges of the clock pulse. This increases the data rate by a factor of two compared to single data rate (SDR) RAM. Due to this, manufacturers often quote "effective" clockspeed of the RAM instead of the actual clockspeed (for example this ram is actually running at 800mhz). for normal use this is not an issue, but must be understood when overclocking and varying the memory clockspeed.
dimm – dual in-line memory module; standard layout of memory modules. often used to refer to physical memory modules as a whole or the slots they interface with on the motherboard – usually ddr3 or ddr2 modules which use a 240pin dimm design (though the different types of ddr are not compatible).
doa – dead on arrival; when a component arrives to a user non-functional. if bought from a reputable seller this can be immediately returned and a working replacement sent.
dp - display port; this is a graphics interface that is becoming more widely adopted due to its compact size and high bandwidth. modern graphics cards are increasingly including one or sometimes more display port (or mini-display port) connections to hook up displays. version 1.2 of the technology offers a bandwidth up to 17.28 gbit/s. compared to hdmi at 10.2 gbit/s, this allows for support of much higher display resolutions, running multiple monitors off one port and high resolution stereoscopic 3d.
drm - digital rights management; software used by content companies (online music stores/labels, video download services, games download stores/publishers, most software companies) to protect their content from being used by those who haven't been authorised. there are a variety of ways drm has been implemented, some include requiring to log in to online service to access the content, others set a limit to the number of installs that are allowed, while others restrict the number of devices the content can be on. the different drm services are very different and have garnered widely varying responses from the online public. services such as steam are generally seen as the best way drm has been implemented (game activation requires to only go online once, can log in and download from anywhere, no download limits, extensive multiplayer gaming and comunity support features) while services such as the one currently used by ubisoft among the least popular (requirement of always being online to play the game - even if the game is only single player, ubisoft servers need to be online or game won't work). due to many of the complications produced by drm services, there has been a movement of drm-free content from several companies. one of the most high-profile is apple - which in 2007 unveiled drm-free music on its itunes store and now all music available through itunes has no drm, although video download still use drm.
dsr - distance selling regulation; a law in the uk which protects customers who use internet based or mail order retailers and allows buyers to examine goods as they would in a shop. it entitles the customer to return an item for a full refund if the buyer notifies the retailer within 7 working days of the item being delivered. the retailer will refund the buyer with the full cost of the item plus the amount charged for the initial delivery - this must be done within thirty days of notification. the costs of returning the item to the retailer are the responsibility of the buyer (though the retailer may arrange for collection of the item from the buyer). under dsr buyers are allowed to open and use the items and retailers can not charge buyers "restocking" or "repacking" fees - though buyers are required to "take reasonable care" of the items while in their possession, including packaging them so they will arrive un-damaged to the retailer.
d-sub - d-subminiature; an analogue video connection offered on most laptops and many desktops. also known as a vga connection.
dvd – digital versatile disk; optical storage disk technology which is currently one of the standard ways of storing, transferring and playing data. disks are available in “+ , “-“ and “ram” formats and single layer and dual layer. single layer disks can hold ~4.7gb while dual layer disks can hold ~8.5gb. the different formats of dvd are technically incompatible with each other, but for several years now standard dvd drives have been capable of reading single and dual layer disks as well as both “+” and “-“ formats. *dvd speeds are characterised with a scale that goes from 1x to 24x (1.32mb/s to 31.68mb/s).
dvd-r – dvd recordable (- type); first type of dvd and developed by pioneer – it was developed to be similar in design to cd-r/rw so easy for manufacturers to create new devices. this recordable type can only be written on once – so deleting data and rewriting is not possible. this type is usually cheaper than rw (rewritable) type disks.*
dvd+r – dvd recordable (+ type); a slightly newer technology compared to dvd-r/rw developed by philips and sony which, while identical to dvd-r for most users, offers greater accuracy when burning disks. as with dvd-r, the recordable type is write-once – so no deleting or rewriting.
dvd-rw – dvd rewritable (- type); the same as *dvd-r, but with the ability to delete the data from a disk and write fresh data. these disks are usually rated to slower speeds than their recordable counterparts and usually cost more per disk.
dvd+rw – dvd rewritable (+ type); these disks are the “+“ counterpart of the dvd-rw.*
dvd-ram – dvd random access memory; an older and less popular variant of dvd disks which is rewritable and accurate, but the downsides are that the media is expensive, there aren’t many high-speed disks available and not many dvd drives are compatible with it.
dvi - digital visual interface; standard digital video output connection from modern graphics cards. it comes in single link (limited to 1920x1200@60hz) and dual link (2560x1600@60hz or 1920x1200@120hz) varieties and is compatible with hdmi. when converting between dvi and hdmi (or vice versa) there is no image quality loss. unlike hdmi, dvi cannot carry audio signals. dvi is hdcp compliant.
edo dram simm - extended data output dynamic random access memory single inline memory module; old type of 72pin ram
esata - external serial advanced technology attachment; a standard data connection to connect external storage devices such as external hard drives, cameras and memory sticks. please see "sata" for more details.
eyefinity - this is an amd/ati technology that allows up to six monitors (depending on gpu outputs) to be connected up to a single graphics card (or a multi graphics card system). the technology does not treat each monitor as an individual sceen, but all the monitors together as a single screen. this means the system works with most moderns games fine and allows for a very immersive experience due to the massive screen size and total resolution. however, to run modern games smoothly on even a three monitor eyefinity setup requires serious graphics power - so expect to pay for at least a single top-end amd graphics card for such an arrangement. eyefinity was first introduced alongside the hd 5800 series graphics cards and has appeared in all subsequent top and middle-end amd graphics cards.
firewire - please see ieee 1394
flash (verb): copying data to the motherboard or graphics cards main controller chip, the "bios".
furmark - a stress testing software that runs a complex fur creation simulation on the graphics card to put this component under as much stress as possible. at the same time the gpu temperature is monitored and the test can be automatically shut down if it goes too high. this test is a great way to see if a graphics card is the cause of stability issues during games and also a good way to evaluate the effectiveness on a new gpu cooler. please find a link to the software here.
fps- (1) first person shooter ; a genre of games where the user’s perspective is from the eyes of the protagonist. often a weapon such as a rifle is shown on the lower part of the screen to depict the weapon the user has equipped. examples include call of duty, doom and crysis.
(2) frames per second; the number of frames of a game or application a computer system can render in one second. this is often used as a metric to score the performance of hardware as more powerful hardware should help provide greater fps. also, with a higher fps the game appears more fluid and thus immersive and enjoyable – so a high fps number in modern games is very much desired.
fsb - front side bus; the data channel that traditionally carries information between the cpu and the motherboard chipset. one of the simplest and most popular methods of cpu and memory overclocking is to increase the clockspeed of this bus, the proportion the bus speed is increased directly relates to the speed of the cpu and memory (unless cpu or memory multipliers are changed). recently with the change in cpu design to bring the memory controller onto the cpu means that "fsb" is increasingly obsolete, however other buses are now used that can be used for the same overclocking function as the fsb, these include the base clock (bclk) on the intel nahalem platform and hyper transport link (ht) on all modern amd cpus, often these are referred to as "fsb" as the term is so widely understood.
gfx - graphics (card); please see gpu
glycol, ethylene glycol, antifreeze - generally used for the same reasons as a kill coil.
gpu – graphics processing unit; technically the gpu is the microprocessor that lies at the heart of a graphics card, but often ”gpu” is used as short way to refer to the graphics card as a whole.
gpuz, gpu-z - graphics card analogue of cpu-z. please follow this link to download the software.
hdd – hard disk drive; these mechanical drives store data on magnetic platters. the data remains even when the computer is powered down, therefore whenever an application, a game or windows is loaded – the information is retrieved from the “hdd” and moved into working memory (ram).
hd - (1)high definition; this is a term used mainly in the tv and home entertainment realm to express display and video resolution. hd ready (the bear minimum for hd) is 1280x720 resolution by progressive scan or 720p. 1080i (1920x1080 interlaced) is aslo part of the hd standard and is most used in hdtv broadcasts due to the high resolution and the relatively low bandwidth. "full hd" or 1080p (1920x1080 progressive scan) is at the top-end of the current "hd" standard with blu-ray video presented in 1080p and the higher-end tvs offering support for this resolution. in terms of pcs, "hd" isn't really as ridgid as it is with tvs. monitors which supported 1920x1200 (a resolution bigger than 1080p) have been widely available for over a decade and now 2560x1600 and 2560x1400 monitors are becoming increasingly popular. however, due to the wide recoginition of tv "hd" and 1080p - the majority of modern monitors sold are 1080p models.
(2) hard disk - please refer to hdd
hdcp - high-bandwidth digital content protection; a form of advanced copy protection where for certain content all components and software in the chain from saved content to display device must be compliant with the standard to allow playback. the main usage of hdcp is with blu-ray video. this means that the playback software, graphics card, display cable, and display device must all be hdcp compliant - ensure this is the case before you invest in a new monitor or blu-ray drive.
hdmi - high-definition multimedia interface; is a standard interface that allows the transmission of digital video and audio signals. an increasing number of graphics cards and monitors use this interface. the 1.3 version has sufficient bandwidth to transmit 2560x1600@60hz. hdmi is also hdcp compliant and electronically compatible with dvi - therefore converting between dvi and hdmi connectors results in no image quality loss. hdmi can carry a sound signal.
hsf – heat sink + fan; the standard method to cool cpu and gpu microprocessors. the heatsink spreads the heat load of the hot processor, thus cooling it. the fan aids with the convection of the heat away from the heatsink. intel and amd both provide a hsf with the “retail” versions of their cpus, these work fine at stock settings. however, if an individual want to overclock or run the system quieter – an aftermarker hsf is strongly recommended (these can be found here).
htpc - home theatre pc; a computer usually hooked up to a large tv (usually hd) and a speaker system. the uses of these pcs vary greatly between users, most use them for watching downloaded, streamed, dvd and blu-ray movies and tv content, however many people also use them for as a portal to the world wide web in the living room, a music player, a gaming system or a voip communication tool.
ibt - intel burn test; one of many stress testing applications. currently a favorite as it generates a lot of heat and tends to crash sooner than prine95. 20 loops at maximum memory is considered a good sign of stability. please follow this link to download the software.
IDE - Internal Drive Electronics - Legacy storage drive interface which uses a 40pin ribbon type connection. Often referred to as PATA (Parallel AT Attachment ) to differentiate it from the current storage interface standard SATA (Serial AT Attachment )
IEEE 1394 - This is a connection interface standard similar to USB. It is well know by the name for Apple's implementation which is called Firewire. This connection is usually used to transfer data between computers, and connect computers to external devices to transmit or recieve data. Firewire 400 and 800 are the most well known implementations - the number after the name representing the maximum transfer speed in Mb/s.
IGP - Integrated Graphics Processor; This is a graphics chip which is included on the motherboard. This allows the use of the computer without requiring a discrete graphics card. Such integrated graphics chips are usually relatively low power devices, and as such are generally fine for standard desktop work - but insufficient for applications that require considerable graphics processing or gaming. There are specific exceptions to this where a motherboard manufacturer has integrated a low-medium power graphics card into the motherboard, such implementations are usually sufficient for HD video deconding or light gaming - but do not rival even medium level discrete graphics cards in terms of graphics power due to heat, power and cost considerations. The current trend is away from IGPs, as both AMD and Intel are beginning to use graphics processors which are included on the CPU die - not the motherboard. These graphics processors will have the advantage of a very close link with the CPU and share the cooler of the CPU.
IHS - Integrated Heat Spreader; This generally refers to the copper plate on top of a modern CPU. This plate is in thermal contact with the CPU cores (which when in operation produce a lot of heat) and interfaces with the CPU heat sink. The main purpose of the IHS is to spread the heat from the physically small CPU cores to a large area, from there the HSF has an easier job removing the heat. Often the IHS is convex to allow easy interface with the stock HSF. However, this does not provide optimal thermal contact if the user plans to overclock and use an aftermarket CPU cooler. To allow for better thermal contact the IHS can be "lapped", where this convex copper plate is mechanically flattened by removing excess material, usually lapping is also done to the HSF to ensure the best possible thermal contact.
IIRC - If I Remember Correctly
IMO - In My Opinion
IMHO - In My Humble Opinion
I/O - Input/Output; This term can refer to either the ports that connect to the input and output devices (peripherals) or the peripherals themselves. These peripherals includ keyboard, mouse, speakers, monitor and modem.
IPS – In Plane Switching; A TFT LCD technology that is more expensive than TN, but provides excellent colour reproduction, very good viewing angles and good blacks. Most modern models also provide good responsiveness – so can be good for playing games, however some models do suffer from high input lag, which makes them less desirable for fast-paced gaming. The main drawback of IPS panels is price, the H-IPS Dell U2410 costs ~£460 – this is more than double the cost of a 24in monitor using a TN panel. However, recently cheaper, more responsive IPS panels have come to market. One example is the 23in E-IPS dell u2311h, at ~£260 it is still more expensive than tn panels of a similar size, however it does allow benefits of ips to be affordable by more users. . please read this article for further information on panel technologies.
isp - internet service provider; company that rents usage of internet connections to individuals and organisiations. usually isps charge a fixed fee for usage over a period of time (often billing is done on a monthly basis) and enforce a usage cap. many isps offer "unlimited" services but also implement a "fair usage policy" which discourages usage which they deem "excessive" and is enforced by either warnings, internet speed reductions, charges or disconection.
jumper - a little bit of plastic with metal inside, that connects two pins together on a hard drive or motherboard. moving them around will change how the device behaves, see the manual for details.
kill coil - a piece of silver ribbon/wire that acts to stop algae/bacteria growing in a watercooling loop.
lapping - lapping is a machining operation where two surfaces are rubbed together with an abrasive between them. for our uses this operation is used on cpu heatsinks and the heatspreader (ihs) of the cpu to flatten the surface and allow for better thermal contact. when done on cpus and heatsinks which are not flat (such as many intel cpus and coolers like the true) lapping can allow for a significant reduction in load temperatures, especially when using high power and overclocked cpus. standard lapping procedure usually involves wet&dry sandpaper, a very flat surafce, a fair bit of elbow grease and a bit of patience.
lcd - liquid crystal display; is a form of flat display which makes use of the light modulating properties of liquid crystals to create pixels of varying colours. when used together a lcd panel is formed that can be used as a computer or tv display unit. lcds do not provide any light, so for most computer uses lcd panels are backlit with either a cold cathode fluorescent lamp (ccfl) or an array of led. subsets of lcd panel technologies which are frequently mentioned are tn film, va and ips.
led- light emitting diode; these are small semiconductors that illuminate when current is passed through them in the correct direction. they are used extensively in computers as indicator lights due to their small size, low power and long lifetime. recently the have been used in monitors and tvs as backlights. often these displays are advertised as “led tvs” however the “led” just refers to the backlight – the panel used is still an lcd. current generation led backlights are use an edge-lit array of leds to provide the backlightling - this keeps costs down and minimizes the thickness of the display. these edge-lit panels offer thickness and power consumption benefits over standard ccfl backlights, but in general the image quality is not improved. newer "full array" led backlights allow for local dimming in panels, this does lead to visible improvement in image quality due to much better real contrast ratios and deeper blacks.there are also tvs and monitors coming to market which do use leds as the primary display method – however these oled displays are currently very expensive (an 11in oled tv from sony costs £2500).
legacy - old tech still in use. out of date and often obsolete hardware or software, but is still used today for a variety of reasons.
llc - load line calibration; : mechanisms to avoid vdroop, because it annoys overclockers no end. if your cpu is stable at 1.2v, but after 6 hours of prime it droops to just below 1.2v, rage ensues. intel/amd do not design their chips expecting this sort of power supply, so ymmv.
mini-dp - mini-display port; see dp
mobo – motherboard; the central circuit board where cpus, graphics cards, ram and other components are connected to.
mm - members market; a private market exclusively for ocuk members with more than 250 posts and 90 days on the forum. the market is overseen vigorously by the dons and bad behaviour is not tolerated. if you do plan to use the mm, make sure you have a good read of the rules before use.
ms, m$ - microsoft; technology company, makers of windows os, office applications and a few games boxes.
nb - northbridge; is the chip that traditionally links the ram and pcie graphics to the cpu and is often referred to as the "chipset" or "mch". it also links to the southbridge, facilitating data transfer between the sb and the cpu but prioritising nb fuctions. in recent years the memory controlling done by the nb has been moved onto the cpu to improve performance and reduce latency and some platforms (such as the intel p55) have moved the control of the pcie graphics onto the cpu as well. with such systems the northbridge is simply a glorified southbridge.
nas - network attached storage; . this can be very basic or an entire computer dedicated to the task, all nas means is that there's a hard drive available over a network. often people use small dedicated nas boxes with a number of hard drive run in a raid array (often raid 5) to provide good quality, large capacity, reliable networked storage.
nda - non-disclosure agreement; a confidentiality agreement between two parties where specific information and material may be shared between the two parties, but not with third parties. for our purposes these agreements are usually used by hardware and software companies to allow retailers, reviewers and other crucial parties information and/or access to their new technology under the legal agreement that they will not release this information to the public until the release of the product (or another specified date).
oc – overclock; to run a component above its rated clock speed. this usually results in increased performance, but requires care, extra cooling and can reduce the lifetime of the component. causing damage to a component via overclocking is possible, but usually very rare if care is taken and the built-in safeguards used by modern components.
odd – optical disk drive; used to refer to (usually) the dvd drive of a computer, though could also refer to a blu-ray or cd drive, which also use optical disks and are in widespread use.
op - original poster, original post; a quick way to refer to either the first post or the person who posted it.
os – operating system; the core software used in the computer to allow the user to access the programs they wish to use. desktop examples include windows, mac os and linux.
p95, orthos - prime95; tried and testing stress-testing software. generally run overnight. please follow this link to download to software.
pata - parallel advanced technology attachment; older storage interface still supported by many current motherboards. pata devices use wide "ribbon" cables and have a maximum throughput of 130mb/s. for dvd drives this is more than sufficient and not a performance bottleneck, however hdds are now becoming faster than this speed.
pebcak - problem exists between keyboard and chair; one of the most difficult hardware/software errors to resolve. reboot suggested.
pci - peripheral component interconnect; this is an older motherboard connection that is still widely used on modern motherboards. the link speed is limited to 133mb/s, which is more that sufficient for sound cards, tv cards and most other non-graphics add-in cards. however, if you do invest in a pci card now, bear in mind that future motherboards will likely not support it (such as the upcoming s1155 sandy bridge).
pch - platform controller hub; this is an intel family of microchips which incorporate the traditional functions of the southbridge and the tasks of the northbridge which have not been moved over to the cpu. the pch was implemented to prevent a bottleneck between the cpu and the rest of the board with the ever increasing performance of cpus. the pch was first introduced on lga1156 "nahalem" systems, and is now implemented in "sandy bridge" lga1155. it is expected to be implemented in future sandy bridge and ivy bridge systems as well.
pcie - peripheral component interconnect express; this is the current standard for pc add-in cards. most modern motherboards have at least one x16 slot for the primary graphics card, some have a second or third x16 slot for the addition of more graphics cards for running many monitors or to link them together in crossfirex or sli arrangements. please bear in mind that a slot which is physically x16 may only run at x8 or x4 speed and therefore can bottleneck performance in multi-gpu arrangements - therefore always check this first before buying a motherboard for use with crossfirex or sli. the general rule with current dx11 graphics cards is that you want at least x8 pcie ports. pcie ports can also be used for other cards such as sound cards, tv cards, raid cards and many more. each x1 slot (v2) has a bandwidth of 500mb/s and any pcie device can function in any pcie slot of the same or larger size. pcie is incompatible with original pci.
pcmcia- personal computer memory card international association; laptop expansion port, for add in components such as wi-fi or modems.
physx - this is an nvidia technology that make use of nvidia graphics card processing power to calculate complex physics interations in modern games to provide a more realistic and enjoyable gaming experience. physx can be done on a single primary gpu (using a small proportion of the graphics power to calculate the physics) or on a separate nvidia graphics card (does not need to be the same type as the primary card, as they do not run in sli). however, currently very few games make use of physx, so purchasing a separate card primarlity for physx is generally not advised. physx does not work on amd/ati graphics cards.
post - power on self test; it's all the mad stuff that scrolls past when you first turn the computer on, listing your processor, hard drives and so forth. or you might see a large image with "gigabye" or similar written on it instead, which is prettier though less informative. "wont post" generally means you push on and nothing happens.
psu – power supply unit; a discrete component that provides stable dc power to the components in the computer.
pt nuke - copper sulphate, in water. same effect as a kill coil.
pwm - pulse width modulation; a method to vary fan speed (or any motor speed) using a constant frequency signal with a varying proportion between the "on time" and the "off time". fans that use pwm have 4 pins (instead of the usual 3) and must be placed in 4 pin fan slots to work with pwm enabled. pwm allows the speed of the fan to be varied more precisely than reducing the voltage and is much more effective and efficient for low speed operation.
±r - recordable disk; this abbreviation is used to show that a optical drive can burn recordable (write once) disks of either + or - type.
rad - radiator; a radiator is a key part of a watercooling loop - which the liquid passes through, divides up the flow to greatly increase the surafce area and is cooled due to radiation and convection. watercooling radiators are often utilised with fans, to provide a stead stream of cool air to greatly increase convection of heat from the radiator.
raid - redundant array of inexpensive (or independent) disks; raid is not a backup, but it is a way to link several hard disks together to increase performance and in some cases offer a measure of redundancy.
raid 0: needs at least 2 drives, moves data around faster. no capacity lost, but if one drive fails all your data is gone.
raid 1: needs at least 2 drives, likely to be zero change in speed but you only have the capacity of one drive. if one drive dies, you don't loose any data. this is frequently confused with a backup.
raid 5: needs at least 3 drives, preferably more. tends to be faster than a single drive when they're all working, and slower when one has failed. rather overspecified for home use, but nice to have in a nas or home server.
ram - random access memory; the working memory of a computer system. this memory area holds information so it is readily accessible to the cpu. ram is much faster than the hard disk, but the ram memory is volatile - so when it looses power, the data held on it is also lost. for practical uses games and applications are loaded onto the ram from the hard disk so they can be easily worked on, it is crucial to have sufficient ram to accommodate your workload or the system will default to "virtual memory" which is using the hdd as ram - which is much slower.
res - reservoir; part of a watercooling loop which supplies liquid to the loop at all times.
rma - return merchandise authorisation; the returns procedure undertaken to send a faulty item back to the retailer or manufacturer. the customer must receive back either the returned item, a new item of the same type or a different item of the same or better performance.
router - normally means one of the boxes you can buy with a modem, router, switch and access point all built in. this isn't ocuk only though. mentioned because some of them let you plug in a usb hard drive, so acting as a nas (as well as all the other things).
rpm - revolutions per minute; a unit for rotational speed. in computer terms its is often used in relation to cooling fans and hard disk drives (hdds). for a 120mm cooling fan under 800rpm is generally considered slow (low noise, but low air flow rate), between 800 and 1400 is average and above 1400rpm the fan is considered fast. the noise and flow rate of each fan is not solely governed by the rotational speed, but also the bearing type and fin design. for hard disk drives 5400rpm is the rotational speed of most storage drives (drives which do not need to be very fast, but cool and quiet), 7200rpm is the standard rotational speed for desktop 3.5in hard disk drives and generally provides a good balance of data speed, noise and heat. there are drives of 10,000rpm or more, but these are becoming much less popular now as they usually very expensive, hot and noisy and most ssds beat them in performance.
rtfm - read the ******* manual; usually an expression of exasperation by a seasoned tech-head at a question by a less technically knowledgeable user. the issue usually regards something relatively basic and could have been identified if the user had consulted the manual first. however, this expression is not usually used on the forums as it is generally considered rather hostile and not the best way to encourage the participation of new users (who usually do not know as much about computers as the seasoned vets).
±rw - rewritable disk; this abbreviation is used to show that a optical drive can burn rewritable disks of either + or - type.
sata - serial advanced technology attachment; sata is the standard interface used for connection of storage devices to a modern computer. such storage devices include hdds, ssds, dvd drives and blu-ray drives. the speed of the sata revision 2 interface is 3gbps and for the newer sata revision 3 runs at 6gbps. sata 2 has a maximum throughput of around 280mb/s- therefore a single hdd can use one of these slots without worrying that the interface will in any way limit the drive. however, this is not the case for newer ssds with maximum read and write speeds of 300mb/s and over, therefore in these cases the new sata 3 interface is preferred. another type of sata is esata (external sata) which is used to connect external devices to the computer easily and provide a connection much faster than usb2.
sb - southbridge; is a chip on the motherboard which controls input/output (i/o) functions such as ethernet connections or controlling storage devices. the southbridge does not connect directly to the cpu, but connects to the northbridge. this is so performance critical tasks which are carried out in the northbridge can be given priority. in general usage the sb is often referred to because some models support raid and can operate as a raid controller, newer sbs are also being released or revealed that natively support new interfaces such as sata 6g and and usb3, if if the sb cannot control such new interfaces an additional controller chip is required which usually connects to the pcie bus, almost always such chips perform worse than a sb that natively supports the technology.
so-dimm – small outline dual in-line memory modules; is a small memory module layout which is often used to refer to the memory modules themselves, which are made for laptops or other relatively small computers. the current most popular type is 204pin sodimm which is used for ddr3 memory.
spd - serial presence detect; is a standardized way to automatically access information about a computer memory (ram) module. the spd is contained on a small chip on the memory module and is accessed by the bios during post so that the features of the ram such as speed, voltage and timings can be determined and provided for by the bios. recently, extra space of the spd chips have been used by many memory manufacturers to include higher performance memory profiles on ram sticks. one example of this is "xmp" (extreme memory profile) which can be activated within the bios of supported motherboards. this allows for simple and effective memory "overclocking" - often with ram modules which are advertised (and usually designed and tested) to run at higher speeds than the basic spd would indicate.
ssd – solid state drive; this performs the same function as an hdd, but is generally much faster and more expensive per gigabyte. as well as moving files faster, the non-mechanical nature of the drive allows responsiveness many times better than the fastest hdd.
sli – scalable link interface; this is the nvidia technology to link two or more nvidia graphics cards of the same model together to produce a significant increase in performance in games over a single card of the same type. sli does not double the performance when a second card is introduced, however it does increase it considerably (the recent nvdia gtx 460 exhibits a ~70% increase in performance at common resolutions when a second card is added). Within current generation platforms, the only chipsets which support SLI are Intel P55, X58 and Nvida 980a for the AM3 platform. Please be aware that it is suggested that two PCIe v2 ports each running at x8 speed are used with current generation SLI setups or performance will be lost because the interface bottlenecks the cards.
S/PDIF - Sony/Philips Digital Interconnect Format; A digital audio protocol that is used by many devices to transmit audio signal between devices. In relation to PCs, sound cards and motherboards often include optical and phono (RCA) connections to output digital audio to speaker systems. On some graphics card, a S/PDIF connection must be made from the motherboard to the graphics card to allow for audio to be transferred over a HDMI connection - however current generation graphics cards have done away with this requirement.
Steam- A PC gaming digital distribution system built and run by Valve corporation. It is by far the most popular method to legally buy and download PC games in the world and offers a wide catalogue of titles and a steady stream of amazing deals (especially during the major holidays). With steam you have one account name and password and you can only log into your account on one PC at a time. However, you can log in anywhere in the world and on any number of computers and download the games you own as many times as you like. Therefore, if you always have an internet connection you will never loose your games or "run out of installs" like with many other DRM systems.
Stress Test - A process that uses an application to put a component or range of components under the maximum load as possible, often running repetitive calculations to use up all possible computional power. These tests are used to stress the components as much or more than real-world usage will. Therefore, if you extensively stress test your machine and it remains stable then you can assume that it will be able to handle future workloads without an issue. Please see "IBT", "Prime95" and "Furmark" entries for examples of popular stress testing software.
T line, fill line, drain line - A T shaped junction, where the tubing coming out of the middle doesn't go anywhwere. Obviously enough these are used for filling, or draining the system.
TFT- Thin-Film Transistor; The technology used in modern LCD monitors. Often TFT is used as shorthand to describe a TFT LCD monitor.
TIM - Thermal Interface Material; Otherwise known as "thermal paste", this material is applied in a very thin layer between hot PC components and their metal coolers. This include the CPU (CPU IHS) and the CPU cooler/heat sink, the GPU and the graphics heat sink/cooler and the motherboard chipset and heat sink. Popular TIMs are Arctic silver 5 (AS5) and Arctic cooling MX3, follow the instructions provided for their application.
TRUE - Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme; A high-end CPU heatsink. The TRUE was the market leading air cooler for many years with excellent cooling performance and solid construction, it is still considered to be among the very best CPU heatsinks.
TTIUWP - This Thread is Useless Without Pictures; Pretty much what it says on the tin. Usually it is decalred by a poster when something hilarious/unlikely is described by the original poster without any photographic evidence. Similarly - POIDH: Pics Or It Didn't Happen.
TN – Twisted Nematic; A TFT LCD technology that produces good value and responsive monitors. The main drawback of the TN technology is that colours viewed by a user shift when the user is not looking at the monitor square on. Along with the widespread use of 6 bit panels in mainstream TN monitors – these monitors are not ideal for use that requires colour accuracy or viewing by several people. For most users mainly interested in playing games, TN panels are a good choice. Please readthis article for further information on panel technologies.
TRIM - Allows the SSD to handle garbage collection - so the performance of the SSD is not degraded with time. The bottom line is - if you are getting an SSD, you want it to have a drive which supports TRIM.
UEFI - Unified Extensible Firmware Interface; This is a new version of the BIOS used on some of the most recent motherboards. Compared to the traditional BIOS, UEFI allows for higher resolutions, mouse support and graphical menus. It is also can be much more flexible than the traditional BIOS which was originally designed only with desktop PCs in mind.
UPS - Uninterruptible power supply; A power supply which a PC can connect to. It consist of a large battery and power circuity and its main function is to provide solid power to a computer if there is a power cut, blackout or brownout. This allows the user time to complete what they are doing, save their work and shut down the machine. Without the UPS important data may be lost in such circumstances.
USB - Universal Serial Bus; One of the main Input/Output (I/O) connections on modern computers. Four generations of USB have been used, the earliest was USB 1.0 with a signalling rate of ~0.18MB/s, later USB 1.1 was introduced which supported ~1.5MB/s. Most current generation USB devices use USB 2.0 which supports a signalling rate of ~57MB/s, however the new USB 3.0 standard has been created and devices are now appearing which support this new version, which has a signalling rate of ~570MB/s.
VA – Vertical Alignment; A TFT LCD technology that is more expensive than TN, but provides good colour reproduction, good viewing angles and very good blacks. The main drawback of this technology is the relatively high price and poor responsiveness, also some model suffer from high levels of input lag. This makes these panels very well suited to professional applications, video playing and less for gaming. Please read this article for further information on panel technologies.
Vcore, Vid - CPU voltage; The "main" voltage applied to the cpu, the one quoted on specifications and used for estimating power consumption. This is often the only voltage that needs to be changed for minor overclocks.
Vdimm - The voltage applied to your ram. Generally you want this set to whatever is printed on your ram, then undervolt it if you can without losing stability.
Vdrop - This is normally taken as the difference between the cpu voltage requested in the bios and that reported by cpu-z, and can be considered a calibration problem if you like. More logically it's the same as vdroop, the bios voltage is the voltage applied when the processor is turned off, and in when in windows it's drawing a little current, so the voltage droops a little bit.
Vdroop - When a component draws more current from an imperfect power supply (yours isn't perfect), the voltage across it falls. This is normal, and what Intel & AMD are designing for. If you're wating cpu-z, then you start a stress test, the cpu voltage should decrease.
VGA - Video Graphics Array; Is a term used for the standard 15 pin analogue video conection used to connect PCs and laptops up to monitors and TVs -it is also known a D-sub. VGA connections can be used with 1920x1200 signals and can go much higher depending on the quality of the cable. Another use of the term "VGA" is the legacy video resolution of 640x480, this is very low resolution for a modern PC monitor, but modern mobile phones are starting to use resolutions around this level.
VoIP - Voice over Internet Protocol; Voice communication which makes use of the internet, instead of the telephone system to make voice calls. Such calls made between two (or more) individuals using internet connected devices pay no fee for the call, except for the data used to their Internet Service Provider (ISP). Such calls usually use little bandwidth (~70kbps) and for users with broadband connections are usually considered "free". The market leader VoIP client is Skype, but many others exist.
Vid (alternative) - Vid can also refer to the "default" voltage, the one the processor requests from the bios at stock settings. A low "vid" in this sense is considered a good thing.
VRM - Voltage regulator module;An electronic device that provides a microprocessor its required supply voltage. VRMs are referred to on OCUK mainly in terms of graphics cards (though they do exist on motherboards for CPUs as well) as the dedicated graphics microprocessors require extensive voltage regulation for correct operation. Also, during operation these graphics VRMs become very hot and require extensive cooling (especially if the card is overclocked). It is crucial that when installing a new graphics card cooler that the VRMs are taken into account and cooled appropriately along with the GPU chip and video RAM modules. For motherboards, it is similarly important that the VRM modules supplying power to the CPU are kept cool. Often motherboards include heatsinks over these components and such cooling can be required when heavily overclocking a CPU.
Vsync - Vertical Synchronisation; Is a graphics option which forces the graphics card to draw each frame when the monitor refreshes to a new image - the main benefit is that it eliminates tearing where two images are on screen at the same time, creating a "tear" where they join. However, to resolve this Vsync introduces latency as the image produced by the graphics card is held in a buffer until the next refresh cycle begins and in fast paced games and where the graphics card framrate is below the monitor refresh rate then the actual perceived framerate is reduced by Vsync and the video feels less fluid (compared to when VSync is turned off).
WC – Water Cooling; An advanced form of cooling for PCs. A loop is constructed which includes a pump, a radiator, a reservoir, “waterblock” and a liquid coolant. The waterblock is the part which interfaces with the PC component requiring cooling. Several of these componenst cans be used within each “loop” and several loops can be used for one system. Custom Water cooling performs better than even the best air coolers (HSF) and usually runs quitter. However, a full WC system is usually expensive and complex to install – also there is a chance of leaks due to improper installation or hardware failure.
Win 7 - Microsoft Windows 7; The most recent version of the windows operating system produced by microsoft. Generally considered a good OS and a big step up from the dog that is vista.
x64 (x86-64) - This is an extension of the x86 instruction set and crucially uses 64 bit word sizes (compared to 32 bit used in standard x86) and specific 64 bit operating systems have been created (and are now mainstream) which utilise 64 bit (such as Windows XP/Vista/7 64 bit versions). This requires 64 bit capable hardware to run, however all mainstream AMD and Intel CPUs have been 64 bit compatible since AMD64 and Intel Core 2 Duo. The main benefit to users provided by 64 bit operating systems is the ability to address more memory than is possible with a 32bit OS. With 32 bit this limit is 4GB (with Windows), in contrast the theoretical limit with 64 bit is truly massive - but processors do artifically limit the ammount of memory adressed, with AMD64 the limit is a mere 256TB. Also, when using a microsoft operating system, the limit of memory usable is limited by the software - with Windows 7 Home premium 64 bit only 16GB, while Professional and upwards is limited to 192GB.
XMP - Extreme Memory Profile; "High performance" memory profiles included in the SPD chip of certain RAM modules and activated within the BIOS of supported motherboards. This allows RAM modules to rapidly set up to run faster than the standard SPD profile suggests. Usually high performance RAM will run at a lower "default speed" when first inserted into a PC, to run the modules at their "rated speed" users would have to manually enter the new voltage, timing and frequency figures into the BIOS manually. To simplify this procedure XMP allows users to simply select an XMP profile within the BIOS (sometimes there are more than one), save the settings and restart the PC. When the PC restarts the RAM modules will be running at the faster speed.
+1 - (Usually following a quote from a previous poster); A poster concisely expressing that they wholeheartedly agree with the quoted (or previous) statement.
120Hz – This refers to the refresh rate (the rate at which a display updates the image on screen) of a monitor. Standard LCD monitors refresh at 60Hz, for most applications this is fine – but for users playing competitive fast paced games where the image is changing rapidly 60Hz can be insufficient. As such, manufacturers have been bringing out monitors with a refresh rate of 120Hz recently to allow for much more fluid movement in such applications. Another usage of a 120Hz monitor is 3D, where each eye sees a separate 60Hz picture, the 3D effect is created by varying the perspective of%
I am going to try and put together as many as I can with decent definitions, but I would greatly appreciate any help identifying ones I missed, providing definitions and correcting/improving on existing definitions.
Here we go:
AGP - Accelerated Graphics Port; A legacy graphics card connection. It has since been superseded by PCI Express (PCIe) but many people still own older motherboards or graphics card that use this interface. AGP cards have still been created after the widespread adoption of PCIe to cater for the market of people with older motherboards who just want a graphics card upgrade. The most recent AGP card widely sold is the amd 4650 agp version which allows agp users to decode hd video and play many modern games.
apu - accelerated processing unit; the amd term for their new "fusion" cpus which include the cpu and graphics core onto the same package. this allows for better links between graphics and cpu, and allows a reduced system power requirement and latencies as both of these key processors are included on the same package. however, information from amd indicates that the graphics cores used on apus will not compete with the high-end discrete graphics cards - so for the time being at least, most gamers will not be best served using an apu - but others with less graphics focused needs will find them very useful.
ata or ata/133 - please see pata.
atx - advanced technology extended; is a computer form factor specification laid down by intel. it sets out standard sizes and connections for motherboards and power supply units and defines minimum quality of power supply output voltages. in relation to motherboards; atx is the standard, full-size motherboard layout. there are smaller standard motherboard sizes such as micro-atx and mini-itx and a few larger ones such as e-atx. in terms of power supplies - all atx psus have the same height and width, only the depth varies between models, therefore almost any atx psu will fit in a standard atx midi tower or full tower case.
bios – basic input output system; as the name suggest this is the very basic software present on the motherboard. the bios loads before anything else, allows for fine control of the hardware and allows the operation of the main os. the bios is of great interest to computer enthusiasts as its manipulation is the basis for overclocking and allows the user great control of the basic function of the computer hardware.
boot - bootstrap load; the process which loads up a modern computer. it is a bootstrapping process where a simple program (the bios) loads up a much more complex program (the operating system). if a computer "fails to boot", then there is something significantly wrong with either the hardware or software and further investigation should find the issue that needs to be resolved.
brick, bricked - the result of a flash that went wrong, say you pulled the power cable out partway through. or you tried to flash with the wrong file. generally means rma time, or buy a new one.
bd - blu-ray disk; a high capacity optical disk which typically contains up to 25gb (single layer) or 50gb (dual layer) of data. these disks can only be read in a blu-ray drive as dvd and cd lasers are of the wrong wavelength (as the name implies - a blue laser is used for bd). blu-ray disks are most typically encountered as video disks as they can hold entire films in high quality 1080p resolution, which takes up a great deal of space, they are also used as game disks for the ps3 console.
bleeding - getting the air out of a watercooling system.
bsod – blue screen of death: looks a lot like this. if you see it – then something is wrong with your system. the codes and text displayed in a bsod can help you diagnose your problem.
cat5e - category 5e cable; a standard high signal integrity cable - it is often used for ethernet (networking) since long runs can be used (up to 100m without a repeater). with supported devices, cat5e can be used for gigabit ethernet (1000mbps) connections. also, recently cat5e has been utilised in systems to inexpensively extend hdtv connections, with "hdmi over cat5e" systems.
cf- crossfirex; this is the amd technology to link two or more amd graphics cards of the same family together to produce a significant increase in performance over a single card of the same type. cf does not double the performance when a second card is introduces, however it does increase it considerably (the recent amd hd 5870 exhibits a ~60% increase in performance at common resolutions when a second card is added). within current generation platforms the only chipsets that can support at least pcie v2 x8x8 crossfire (the recommended minimum speed) are amd 790gx, 790fx, 890gx, 890fx, 990x, 990fx and intel p55, x58, p68, z68 and x79 – though check individual board models.
cfm - cubic feet per minute; standard unit used to measure the volumetric flow rate of cooling fans.
chipset - traditionally this is the microchip (or collection of microchips) that connects the cpu to other key internal components such as the memory, graphics card, storage drives and input devices. however, recently more of the functions of the chipset have been moved onto the cpu itself (including the memory controller and pci-express controller), this improves performance (since the cpu cores and "chipset" components are linked closer) and also reduces overall manufacturing costs. current generation motherboards still do have chipsets (also called the pch), but on the motherboard the hardware is more of a glorified southbridge (sb), mainly controlling storage devices, networking and i/o, with most of the heavy lifting done onboard the cpu.
cmos, "cmos reset"- complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (reset); like a really tame version of flashing the bios. you force the computer to load default values for things like frequency and which drive to boot from, so undoing whatever damage you've just done. depending on your type of motherboard the process is either moving a jumper on the board for a few seconds or pushing a button (your motherboard manual will tell you how to do it).
cpu – central processing unit; the cpu is the component in which the majority of the calculations in a computer are carried out. these calculations can be in the form of applications, games and many other programs.
cpuz, cpu-z - a popular piece of software used for reporting voltages, ram timings and other useful information. to improve on this one needs to measure the voltage directly, and even then cpu-z and multimeter tend to agree with each other. follow this link to download the software.
CUDA - Compute Unified Device Architecture; This is a Nvidia designed parallel computing architecture. This allows the the raw processing might of modern Nvidia graphics cards to be be harnesses for general computing tasks that would usually be reserved for the much more multi-purpose CPU. Some examples of tasks which can be done with CUDA include video transcoding, distributed computing (like folding@home), game physics calculations and modelling climate change. Other architectures that make use of the computational power of graphics cards include DirectCompute and OpenCL.
DDR - Double Data Rate; A RAM technology which allows data to be transferred on both the rising and falling edges of the clock pulse. This increases the data rate by a factor of two compared to single data rate (SDR) RAM. Due to this, manufacturers often quote "effective" clockspeed of the RAM instead of the actual clockspeed (for example this ram is actually running at 800mhz). for normal use this is not an issue, but must be understood when overclocking and varying the memory clockspeed.
dimm – dual in-line memory module; standard layout of memory modules. often used to refer to physical memory modules as a whole or the slots they interface with on the motherboard – usually ddr3 or ddr2 modules which use a 240pin dimm design (though the different types of ddr are not compatible).
doa – dead on arrival; when a component arrives to a user non-functional. if bought from a reputable seller this can be immediately returned and a working replacement sent.
dp - display port; this is a graphics interface that is becoming more widely adopted due to its compact size and high bandwidth. modern graphics cards are increasingly including one or sometimes more display port (or mini-display port) connections to hook up displays. version 1.2 of the technology offers a bandwidth up to 17.28 gbit/s. compared to hdmi at 10.2 gbit/s, this allows for support of much higher display resolutions, running multiple monitors off one port and high resolution stereoscopic 3d.
drm - digital rights management; software used by content companies (online music stores/labels, video download services, games download stores/publishers, most software companies) to protect their content from being used by those who haven't been authorised. there are a variety of ways drm has been implemented, some include requiring to log in to online service to access the content, others set a limit to the number of installs that are allowed, while others restrict the number of devices the content can be on. the different drm services are very different and have garnered widely varying responses from the online public. services such as steam are generally seen as the best way drm has been implemented (game activation requires to only go online once, can log in and download from anywhere, no download limits, extensive multiplayer gaming and comunity support features) while services such as the one currently used by ubisoft among the least popular (requirement of always being online to play the game - even if the game is only single player, ubisoft servers need to be online or game won't work). due to many of the complications produced by drm services, there has been a movement of drm-free content from several companies. one of the most high-profile is apple - which in 2007 unveiled drm-free music on its itunes store and now all music available through itunes has no drm, although video download still use drm.
dsr - distance selling regulation; a law in the uk which protects customers who use internet based or mail order retailers and allows buyers to examine goods as they would in a shop. it entitles the customer to return an item for a full refund if the buyer notifies the retailer within 7 working days of the item being delivered. the retailer will refund the buyer with the full cost of the item plus the amount charged for the initial delivery - this must be done within thirty days of notification. the costs of returning the item to the retailer are the responsibility of the buyer (though the retailer may arrange for collection of the item from the buyer). under dsr buyers are allowed to open and use the items and retailers can not charge buyers "restocking" or "repacking" fees - though buyers are required to "take reasonable care" of the items while in their possession, including packaging them so they will arrive un-damaged to the retailer.
d-sub - d-subminiature; an analogue video connection offered on most laptops and many desktops. also known as a vga connection.
dvd – digital versatile disk; optical storage disk technology which is currently one of the standard ways of storing, transferring and playing data. disks are available in “+ , “-“ and “ram” formats and single layer and dual layer. single layer disks can hold ~4.7gb while dual layer disks can hold ~8.5gb. the different formats of dvd are technically incompatible with each other, but for several years now standard dvd drives have been capable of reading single and dual layer disks as well as both “+” and “-“ formats. *dvd speeds are characterised with a scale that goes from 1x to 24x (1.32mb/s to 31.68mb/s).
dvd-r – dvd recordable (- type); first type of dvd and developed by pioneer – it was developed to be similar in design to cd-r/rw so easy for manufacturers to create new devices. this recordable type can only be written on once – so deleting data and rewriting is not possible. this type is usually cheaper than rw (rewritable) type disks.*
dvd+r – dvd recordable (+ type); a slightly newer technology compared to dvd-r/rw developed by philips and sony which, while identical to dvd-r for most users, offers greater accuracy when burning disks. as with dvd-r, the recordable type is write-once – so no deleting or rewriting.
dvd-rw – dvd rewritable (- type); the same as *dvd-r, but with the ability to delete the data from a disk and write fresh data. these disks are usually rated to slower speeds than their recordable counterparts and usually cost more per disk.
dvd+rw – dvd rewritable (+ type); these disks are the “+“ counterpart of the dvd-rw.*
dvd-ram – dvd random access memory; an older and less popular variant of dvd disks which is rewritable and accurate, but the downsides are that the media is expensive, there aren’t many high-speed disks available and not many dvd drives are compatible with it.
dvi - digital visual interface; standard digital video output connection from modern graphics cards. it comes in single link (limited to 1920x1200@60hz) and dual link (2560x1600@60hz or 1920x1200@120hz) varieties and is compatible with hdmi. when converting between dvi and hdmi (or vice versa) there is no image quality loss. unlike hdmi, dvi cannot carry audio signals. dvi is hdcp compliant.
edo dram simm - extended data output dynamic random access memory single inline memory module; old type of 72pin ram
esata - external serial advanced technology attachment; a standard data connection to connect external storage devices such as external hard drives, cameras and memory sticks. please see "sata" for more details.
eyefinity - this is an amd/ati technology that allows up to six monitors (depending on gpu outputs) to be connected up to a single graphics card (or a multi graphics card system). the technology does not treat each monitor as an individual sceen, but all the monitors together as a single screen. this means the system works with most moderns games fine and allows for a very immersive experience due to the massive screen size and total resolution. however, to run modern games smoothly on even a three monitor eyefinity setup requires serious graphics power - so expect to pay for at least a single top-end amd graphics card for such an arrangement. eyefinity was first introduced alongside the hd 5800 series graphics cards and has appeared in all subsequent top and middle-end amd graphics cards.
firewire - please see ieee 1394
flash (verb): copying data to the motherboard or graphics cards main controller chip, the "bios".
furmark - a stress testing software that runs a complex fur creation simulation on the graphics card to put this component under as much stress as possible. at the same time the gpu temperature is monitored and the test can be automatically shut down if it goes too high. this test is a great way to see if a graphics card is the cause of stability issues during games and also a good way to evaluate the effectiveness on a new gpu cooler. please find a link to the software here.
fps- (1) first person shooter ; a genre of games where the user’s perspective is from the eyes of the protagonist. often a weapon such as a rifle is shown on the lower part of the screen to depict the weapon the user has equipped. examples include call of duty, doom and crysis.
(2) frames per second; the number of frames of a game or application a computer system can render in one second. this is often used as a metric to score the performance of hardware as more powerful hardware should help provide greater fps. also, with a higher fps the game appears more fluid and thus immersive and enjoyable – so a high fps number in modern games is very much desired.
fsb - front side bus; the data channel that traditionally carries information between the cpu and the motherboard chipset. one of the simplest and most popular methods of cpu and memory overclocking is to increase the clockspeed of this bus, the proportion the bus speed is increased directly relates to the speed of the cpu and memory (unless cpu or memory multipliers are changed). recently with the change in cpu design to bring the memory controller onto the cpu means that "fsb" is increasingly obsolete, however other buses are now used that can be used for the same overclocking function as the fsb, these include the base clock (bclk) on the intel nahalem platform and hyper transport link (ht) on all modern amd cpus, often these are referred to as "fsb" as the term is so widely understood.
gfx - graphics (card); please see gpu
glycol, ethylene glycol, antifreeze - generally used for the same reasons as a kill coil.
gpu – graphics processing unit; technically the gpu is the microprocessor that lies at the heart of a graphics card, but often ”gpu” is used as short way to refer to the graphics card as a whole.
gpuz, gpu-z - graphics card analogue of cpu-z. please follow this link to download the software.
hdd – hard disk drive; these mechanical drives store data on magnetic platters. the data remains even when the computer is powered down, therefore whenever an application, a game or windows is loaded – the information is retrieved from the “hdd” and moved into working memory (ram).
hd - (1)high definition; this is a term used mainly in the tv and home entertainment realm to express display and video resolution. hd ready (the bear minimum for hd) is 1280x720 resolution by progressive scan or 720p. 1080i (1920x1080 interlaced) is aslo part of the hd standard and is most used in hdtv broadcasts due to the high resolution and the relatively low bandwidth. "full hd" or 1080p (1920x1080 progressive scan) is at the top-end of the current "hd" standard with blu-ray video presented in 1080p and the higher-end tvs offering support for this resolution. in terms of pcs, "hd" isn't really as ridgid as it is with tvs. monitors which supported 1920x1200 (a resolution bigger than 1080p) have been widely available for over a decade and now 2560x1600 and 2560x1400 monitors are becoming increasingly popular. however, due to the wide recoginition of tv "hd" and 1080p - the majority of modern monitors sold are 1080p models.
(2) hard disk - please refer to hdd
hdcp - high-bandwidth digital content protection; a form of advanced copy protection where for certain content all components and software in the chain from saved content to display device must be compliant with the standard to allow playback. the main usage of hdcp is with blu-ray video. this means that the playback software, graphics card, display cable, and display device must all be hdcp compliant - ensure this is the case before you invest in a new monitor or blu-ray drive.
hdmi - high-definition multimedia interface; is a standard interface that allows the transmission of digital video and audio signals. an increasing number of graphics cards and monitors use this interface. the 1.3 version has sufficient bandwidth to transmit 2560x1600@60hz. hdmi is also hdcp compliant and electronically compatible with dvi - therefore converting between dvi and hdmi connectors results in no image quality loss. hdmi can carry a sound signal.
hsf – heat sink + fan; the standard method to cool cpu and gpu microprocessors. the heatsink spreads the heat load of the hot processor, thus cooling it. the fan aids with the convection of the heat away from the heatsink. intel and amd both provide a hsf with the “retail” versions of their cpus, these work fine at stock settings. however, if an individual want to overclock or run the system quieter – an aftermarker hsf is strongly recommended (these can be found here).
htpc - home theatre pc; a computer usually hooked up to a large tv (usually hd) and a speaker system. the uses of these pcs vary greatly between users, most use them for watching downloaded, streamed, dvd and blu-ray movies and tv content, however many people also use them for as a portal to the world wide web in the living room, a music player, a gaming system or a voip communication tool.
ibt - intel burn test; one of many stress testing applications. currently a favorite as it generates a lot of heat and tends to crash sooner than prine95. 20 loops at maximum memory is considered a good sign of stability. please follow this link to download the software.
IDE - Internal Drive Electronics - Legacy storage drive interface which uses a 40pin ribbon type connection. Often referred to as PATA (Parallel AT Attachment ) to differentiate it from the current storage interface standard SATA (Serial AT Attachment )
IEEE 1394 - This is a connection interface standard similar to USB. It is well know by the name for Apple's implementation which is called Firewire. This connection is usually used to transfer data between computers, and connect computers to external devices to transmit or recieve data. Firewire 400 and 800 are the most well known implementations - the number after the name representing the maximum transfer speed in Mb/s.
IGP - Integrated Graphics Processor; This is a graphics chip which is included on the motherboard. This allows the use of the computer without requiring a discrete graphics card. Such integrated graphics chips are usually relatively low power devices, and as such are generally fine for standard desktop work - but insufficient for applications that require considerable graphics processing or gaming. There are specific exceptions to this where a motherboard manufacturer has integrated a low-medium power graphics card into the motherboard, such implementations are usually sufficient for HD video deconding or light gaming - but do not rival even medium level discrete graphics cards in terms of graphics power due to heat, power and cost considerations. The current trend is away from IGPs, as both AMD and Intel are beginning to use graphics processors which are included on the CPU die - not the motherboard. These graphics processors will have the advantage of a very close link with the CPU and share the cooler of the CPU.
IHS - Integrated Heat Spreader; This generally refers to the copper plate on top of a modern CPU. This plate is in thermal contact with the CPU cores (which when in operation produce a lot of heat) and interfaces with the CPU heat sink. The main purpose of the IHS is to spread the heat from the physically small CPU cores to a large area, from there the HSF has an easier job removing the heat. Often the IHS is convex to allow easy interface with the stock HSF. However, this does not provide optimal thermal contact if the user plans to overclock and use an aftermarket CPU cooler. To allow for better thermal contact the IHS can be "lapped", where this convex copper plate is mechanically flattened by removing excess material, usually lapping is also done to the HSF to ensure the best possible thermal contact.
IIRC - If I Remember Correctly
IMO - In My Opinion
IMHO - In My Humble Opinion
I/O - Input/Output; This term can refer to either the ports that connect to the input and output devices (peripherals) or the peripherals themselves. These peripherals includ keyboard, mouse, speakers, monitor and modem.
IPS – In Plane Switching; A TFT LCD technology that is more expensive than TN, but provides excellent colour reproduction, very good viewing angles and good blacks. Most modern models also provide good responsiveness – so can be good for playing games, however some models do suffer from high input lag, which makes them less desirable for fast-paced gaming. The main drawback of IPS panels is price, the H-IPS Dell U2410 costs ~£460 – this is more than double the cost of a 24in monitor using a TN panel. However, recently cheaper, more responsive IPS panels have come to market. One example is the 23in E-IPS dell u2311h, at ~£260 it is still more expensive than tn panels of a similar size, however it does allow benefits of ips to be affordable by more users. . please read this article for further information on panel technologies.
isp - internet service provider; company that rents usage of internet connections to individuals and organisiations. usually isps charge a fixed fee for usage over a period of time (often billing is done on a monthly basis) and enforce a usage cap. many isps offer "unlimited" services but also implement a "fair usage policy" which discourages usage which they deem "excessive" and is enforced by either warnings, internet speed reductions, charges or disconection.
jumper - a little bit of plastic with metal inside, that connects two pins together on a hard drive or motherboard. moving them around will change how the device behaves, see the manual for details.
kill coil - a piece of silver ribbon/wire that acts to stop algae/bacteria growing in a watercooling loop.
lapping - lapping is a machining operation where two surfaces are rubbed together with an abrasive between them. for our uses this operation is used on cpu heatsinks and the heatspreader (ihs) of the cpu to flatten the surface and allow for better thermal contact. when done on cpus and heatsinks which are not flat (such as many intel cpus and coolers like the true) lapping can allow for a significant reduction in load temperatures, especially when using high power and overclocked cpus. standard lapping procedure usually involves wet&dry sandpaper, a very flat surafce, a fair bit of elbow grease and a bit of patience.
lcd - liquid crystal display; is a form of flat display which makes use of the light modulating properties of liquid crystals to create pixels of varying colours. when used together a lcd panel is formed that can be used as a computer or tv display unit. lcds do not provide any light, so for most computer uses lcd panels are backlit with either a cold cathode fluorescent lamp (ccfl) or an array of led. subsets of lcd panel technologies which are frequently mentioned are tn film, va and ips.
led- light emitting diode; these are small semiconductors that illuminate when current is passed through them in the correct direction. they are used extensively in computers as indicator lights due to their small size, low power and long lifetime. recently the have been used in monitors and tvs as backlights. often these displays are advertised as “led tvs” however the “led” just refers to the backlight – the panel used is still an lcd. current generation led backlights are use an edge-lit array of leds to provide the backlightling - this keeps costs down and minimizes the thickness of the display. these edge-lit panels offer thickness and power consumption benefits over standard ccfl backlights, but in general the image quality is not improved. newer "full array" led backlights allow for local dimming in panels, this does lead to visible improvement in image quality due to much better real contrast ratios and deeper blacks.there are also tvs and monitors coming to market which do use leds as the primary display method – however these oled displays are currently very expensive (an 11in oled tv from sony costs £2500).
legacy - old tech still in use. out of date and often obsolete hardware or software, but is still used today for a variety of reasons.
llc - load line calibration; : mechanisms to avoid vdroop, because it annoys overclockers no end. if your cpu is stable at 1.2v, but after 6 hours of prime it droops to just below 1.2v, rage ensues. intel/amd do not design their chips expecting this sort of power supply, so ymmv.
mini-dp - mini-display port; see dp
mobo – motherboard; the central circuit board where cpus, graphics cards, ram and other components are connected to.
mm - members market; a private market exclusively for ocuk members with more than 250 posts and 90 days on the forum. the market is overseen vigorously by the dons and bad behaviour is not tolerated. if you do plan to use the mm, make sure you have a good read of the rules before use.
ms, m$ - microsoft; technology company, makers of windows os, office applications and a few games boxes.
nb - northbridge; is the chip that traditionally links the ram and pcie graphics to the cpu and is often referred to as the "chipset" or "mch". it also links to the southbridge, facilitating data transfer between the sb and the cpu but prioritising nb fuctions. in recent years the memory controlling done by the nb has been moved onto the cpu to improve performance and reduce latency and some platforms (such as the intel p55) have moved the control of the pcie graphics onto the cpu as well. with such systems the northbridge is simply a glorified southbridge.
nas - network attached storage; . this can be very basic or an entire computer dedicated to the task, all nas means is that there's a hard drive available over a network. often people use small dedicated nas boxes with a number of hard drive run in a raid array (often raid 5) to provide good quality, large capacity, reliable networked storage.
nda - non-disclosure agreement; a confidentiality agreement between two parties where specific information and material may be shared between the two parties, but not with third parties. for our purposes these agreements are usually used by hardware and software companies to allow retailers, reviewers and other crucial parties information and/or access to their new technology under the legal agreement that they will not release this information to the public until the release of the product (or another specified date).
oc – overclock; to run a component above its rated clock speed. this usually results in increased performance, but requires care, extra cooling and can reduce the lifetime of the component. causing damage to a component via overclocking is possible, but usually very rare if care is taken and the built-in safeguards used by modern components.
odd – optical disk drive; used to refer to (usually) the dvd drive of a computer, though could also refer to a blu-ray or cd drive, which also use optical disks and are in widespread use.
op - original poster, original post; a quick way to refer to either the first post or the person who posted it.
os – operating system; the core software used in the computer to allow the user to access the programs they wish to use. desktop examples include windows, mac os and linux.
p95, orthos - prime95; tried and testing stress-testing software. generally run overnight. please follow this link to download to software.
pata - parallel advanced technology attachment; older storage interface still supported by many current motherboards. pata devices use wide "ribbon" cables and have a maximum throughput of 130mb/s. for dvd drives this is more than sufficient and not a performance bottleneck, however hdds are now becoming faster than this speed.
pebcak - problem exists between keyboard and chair; one of the most difficult hardware/software errors to resolve. reboot suggested.
pci - peripheral component interconnect; this is an older motherboard connection that is still widely used on modern motherboards. the link speed is limited to 133mb/s, which is more that sufficient for sound cards, tv cards and most other non-graphics add-in cards. however, if you do invest in a pci card now, bear in mind that future motherboards will likely not support it (such as the upcoming s1155 sandy bridge).
pch - platform controller hub; this is an intel family of microchips which incorporate the traditional functions of the southbridge and the tasks of the northbridge which have not been moved over to the cpu. the pch was implemented to prevent a bottleneck between the cpu and the rest of the board with the ever increasing performance of cpus. the pch was first introduced on lga1156 "nahalem" systems, and is now implemented in "sandy bridge" lga1155. it is expected to be implemented in future sandy bridge and ivy bridge systems as well.
pcie - peripheral component interconnect express; this is the current standard for pc add-in cards. most modern motherboards have at least one x16 slot for the primary graphics card, some have a second or third x16 slot for the addition of more graphics cards for running many monitors or to link them together in crossfirex or sli arrangements. please bear in mind that a slot which is physically x16 may only run at x8 or x4 speed and therefore can bottleneck performance in multi-gpu arrangements - therefore always check this first before buying a motherboard for use with crossfirex or sli. the general rule with current dx11 graphics cards is that you want at least x8 pcie ports. pcie ports can also be used for other cards such as sound cards, tv cards, raid cards and many more. each x1 slot (v2) has a bandwidth of 500mb/s and any pcie device can function in any pcie slot of the same or larger size. pcie is incompatible with original pci.
pcmcia- personal computer memory card international association; laptop expansion port, for add in components such as wi-fi or modems.
physx - this is an nvidia technology that make use of nvidia graphics card processing power to calculate complex physics interations in modern games to provide a more realistic and enjoyable gaming experience. physx can be done on a single primary gpu (using a small proportion of the graphics power to calculate the physics) or on a separate nvidia graphics card (does not need to be the same type as the primary card, as they do not run in sli). however, currently very few games make use of physx, so purchasing a separate card primarlity for physx is generally not advised. physx does not work on amd/ati graphics cards.
post - power on self test; it's all the mad stuff that scrolls past when you first turn the computer on, listing your processor, hard drives and so forth. or you might see a large image with "gigabye" or similar written on it instead, which is prettier though less informative. "wont post" generally means you push on and nothing happens.
psu – power supply unit; a discrete component that provides stable dc power to the components in the computer.
pt nuke - copper sulphate, in water. same effect as a kill coil.
pwm - pulse width modulation; a method to vary fan speed (or any motor speed) using a constant frequency signal with a varying proportion between the "on time" and the "off time". fans that use pwm have 4 pins (instead of the usual 3) and must be placed in 4 pin fan slots to work with pwm enabled. pwm allows the speed of the fan to be varied more precisely than reducing the voltage and is much more effective and efficient for low speed operation.
±r - recordable disk; this abbreviation is used to show that a optical drive can burn recordable (write once) disks of either + or - type.
rad - radiator; a radiator is a key part of a watercooling loop - which the liquid passes through, divides up the flow to greatly increase the surafce area and is cooled due to radiation and convection. watercooling radiators are often utilised with fans, to provide a stead stream of cool air to greatly increase convection of heat from the radiator.
raid - redundant array of inexpensive (or independent) disks; raid is not a backup, but it is a way to link several hard disks together to increase performance and in some cases offer a measure of redundancy.
raid 0: needs at least 2 drives, moves data around faster. no capacity lost, but if one drive fails all your data is gone.
raid 1: needs at least 2 drives, likely to be zero change in speed but you only have the capacity of one drive. if one drive dies, you don't loose any data. this is frequently confused with a backup.
raid 5: needs at least 3 drives, preferably more. tends to be faster than a single drive when they're all working, and slower when one has failed. rather overspecified for home use, but nice to have in a nas or home server.
ram - random access memory; the working memory of a computer system. this memory area holds information so it is readily accessible to the cpu. ram is much faster than the hard disk, but the ram memory is volatile - so when it looses power, the data held on it is also lost. for practical uses games and applications are loaded onto the ram from the hard disk so they can be easily worked on, it is crucial to have sufficient ram to accommodate your workload or the system will default to "virtual memory" which is using the hdd as ram - which is much slower.
res - reservoir; part of a watercooling loop which supplies liquid to the loop at all times.
rma - return merchandise authorisation; the returns procedure undertaken to send a faulty item back to the retailer or manufacturer. the customer must receive back either the returned item, a new item of the same type or a different item of the same or better performance.
router - normally means one of the boxes you can buy with a modem, router, switch and access point all built in. this isn't ocuk only though. mentioned because some of them let you plug in a usb hard drive, so acting as a nas (as well as all the other things).
rpm - revolutions per minute; a unit for rotational speed. in computer terms its is often used in relation to cooling fans and hard disk drives (hdds). for a 120mm cooling fan under 800rpm is generally considered slow (low noise, but low air flow rate), between 800 and 1400 is average and above 1400rpm the fan is considered fast. the noise and flow rate of each fan is not solely governed by the rotational speed, but also the bearing type and fin design. for hard disk drives 5400rpm is the rotational speed of most storage drives (drives which do not need to be very fast, but cool and quiet), 7200rpm is the standard rotational speed for desktop 3.5in hard disk drives and generally provides a good balance of data speed, noise and heat. there are drives of 10,000rpm or more, but these are becoming much less popular now as they usually very expensive, hot and noisy and most ssds beat them in performance.
rtfm - read the ******* manual; usually an expression of exasperation by a seasoned tech-head at a question by a less technically knowledgeable user. the issue usually regards something relatively basic and could have been identified if the user had consulted the manual first. however, this expression is not usually used on the forums as it is generally considered rather hostile and not the best way to encourage the participation of new users (who usually do not know as much about computers as the seasoned vets).
±rw - rewritable disk; this abbreviation is used to show that a optical drive can burn rewritable disks of either + or - type.
sata - serial advanced technology attachment; sata is the standard interface used for connection of storage devices to a modern computer. such storage devices include hdds, ssds, dvd drives and blu-ray drives. the speed of the sata revision 2 interface is 3gbps and for the newer sata revision 3 runs at 6gbps. sata 2 has a maximum throughput of around 280mb/s- therefore a single hdd can use one of these slots without worrying that the interface will in any way limit the drive. however, this is not the case for newer ssds with maximum read and write speeds of 300mb/s and over, therefore in these cases the new sata 3 interface is preferred. another type of sata is esata (external sata) which is used to connect external devices to the computer easily and provide a connection much faster than usb2.
sb - southbridge; is a chip on the motherboard which controls input/output (i/o) functions such as ethernet connections or controlling storage devices. the southbridge does not connect directly to the cpu, but connects to the northbridge. this is so performance critical tasks which are carried out in the northbridge can be given priority. in general usage the sb is often referred to because some models support raid and can operate as a raid controller, newer sbs are also being released or revealed that natively support new interfaces such as sata 6g and and usb3, if if the sb cannot control such new interfaces an additional controller chip is required which usually connects to the pcie bus, almost always such chips perform worse than a sb that natively supports the technology.
so-dimm – small outline dual in-line memory modules; is a small memory module layout which is often used to refer to the memory modules themselves, which are made for laptops or other relatively small computers. the current most popular type is 204pin sodimm which is used for ddr3 memory.
spd - serial presence detect; is a standardized way to automatically access information about a computer memory (ram) module. the spd is contained on a small chip on the memory module and is accessed by the bios during post so that the features of the ram such as speed, voltage and timings can be determined and provided for by the bios. recently, extra space of the spd chips have been used by many memory manufacturers to include higher performance memory profiles on ram sticks. one example of this is "xmp" (extreme memory profile) which can be activated within the bios of supported motherboards. this allows for simple and effective memory "overclocking" - often with ram modules which are advertised (and usually designed and tested) to run at higher speeds than the basic spd would indicate.
ssd – solid state drive; this performs the same function as an hdd, but is generally much faster and more expensive per gigabyte. as well as moving files faster, the non-mechanical nature of the drive allows responsiveness many times better than the fastest hdd.
sli – scalable link interface; this is the nvidia technology to link two or more nvidia graphics cards of the same model together to produce a significant increase in performance in games over a single card of the same type. sli does not double the performance when a second card is introduced, however it does increase it considerably (the recent nvdia gtx 460 exhibits a ~70% increase in performance at common resolutions when a second card is added). Within current generation platforms, the only chipsets which support SLI are Intel P55, X58 and Nvida 980a for the AM3 platform. Please be aware that it is suggested that two PCIe v2 ports each running at x8 speed are used with current generation SLI setups or performance will be lost because the interface bottlenecks the cards.
S/PDIF - Sony/Philips Digital Interconnect Format; A digital audio protocol that is used by many devices to transmit audio signal between devices. In relation to PCs, sound cards and motherboards often include optical and phono (RCA) connections to output digital audio to speaker systems. On some graphics card, a S/PDIF connection must be made from the motherboard to the graphics card to allow for audio to be transferred over a HDMI connection - however current generation graphics cards have done away with this requirement.
Steam- A PC gaming digital distribution system built and run by Valve corporation. It is by far the most popular method to legally buy and download PC games in the world and offers a wide catalogue of titles and a steady stream of amazing deals (especially during the major holidays). With steam you have one account name and password and you can only log into your account on one PC at a time. However, you can log in anywhere in the world and on any number of computers and download the games you own as many times as you like. Therefore, if you always have an internet connection you will never loose your games or "run out of installs" like with many other DRM systems.
Stress Test - A process that uses an application to put a component or range of components under the maximum load as possible, often running repetitive calculations to use up all possible computional power. These tests are used to stress the components as much or more than real-world usage will. Therefore, if you extensively stress test your machine and it remains stable then you can assume that it will be able to handle future workloads without an issue. Please see "IBT", "Prime95" and "Furmark" entries for examples of popular stress testing software.
T line, fill line, drain line - A T shaped junction, where the tubing coming out of the middle doesn't go anywhwere. Obviously enough these are used for filling, or draining the system.
TFT- Thin-Film Transistor; The technology used in modern LCD monitors. Often TFT is used as shorthand to describe a TFT LCD monitor.
TIM - Thermal Interface Material; Otherwise known as "thermal paste", this material is applied in a very thin layer between hot PC components and their metal coolers. This include the CPU (CPU IHS) and the CPU cooler/heat sink, the GPU and the graphics heat sink/cooler and the motherboard chipset and heat sink. Popular TIMs are Arctic silver 5 (AS5) and Arctic cooling MX3, follow the instructions provided for their application.
TRUE - Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme; A high-end CPU heatsink. The TRUE was the market leading air cooler for many years with excellent cooling performance and solid construction, it is still considered to be among the very best CPU heatsinks.
TTIUWP - This Thread is Useless Without Pictures; Pretty much what it says on the tin. Usually it is decalred by a poster when something hilarious/unlikely is described by the original poster without any photographic evidence. Similarly - POIDH: Pics Or It Didn't Happen.
TN – Twisted Nematic; A TFT LCD technology that produces good value and responsive monitors. The main drawback of the TN technology is that colours viewed by a user shift when the user is not looking at the monitor square on. Along with the widespread use of 6 bit panels in mainstream TN monitors – these monitors are not ideal for use that requires colour accuracy or viewing by several people. For most users mainly interested in playing games, TN panels are a good choice. Please readthis article for further information on panel technologies.
TRIM - Allows the SSD to handle garbage collection - so the performance of the SSD is not degraded with time. The bottom line is - if you are getting an SSD, you want it to have a drive which supports TRIM.
UEFI - Unified Extensible Firmware Interface; This is a new version of the BIOS used on some of the most recent motherboards. Compared to the traditional BIOS, UEFI allows for higher resolutions, mouse support and graphical menus. It is also can be much more flexible than the traditional BIOS which was originally designed only with desktop PCs in mind.
UPS - Uninterruptible power supply; A power supply which a PC can connect to. It consist of a large battery and power circuity and its main function is to provide solid power to a computer if there is a power cut, blackout or brownout. This allows the user time to complete what they are doing, save their work and shut down the machine. Without the UPS important data may be lost in such circumstances.
USB - Universal Serial Bus; One of the main Input/Output (I/O) connections on modern computers. Four generations of USB have been used, the earliest was USB 1.0 with a signalling rate of ~0.18MB/s, later USB 1.1 was introduced which supported ~1.5MB/s. Most current generation USB devices use USB 2.0 which supports a signalling rate of ~57MB/s, however the new USB 3.0 standard has been created and devices are now appearing which support this new version, which has a signalling rate of ~570MB/s.
VA – Vertical Alignment; A TFT LCD technology that is more expensive than TN, but provides good colour reproduction, good viewing angles and very good blacks. The main drawback of this technology is the relatively high price and poor responsiveness, also some model suffer from high levels of input lag. This makes these panels very well suited to professional applications, video playing and less for gaming. Please read this article for further information on panel technologies.
Vcore, Vid - CPU voltage; The "main" voltage applied to the cpu, the one quoted on specifications and used for estimating power consumption. This is often the only voltage that needs to be changed for minor overclocks.
Vdimm - The voltage applied to your ram. Generally you want this set to whatever is printed on your ram, then undervolt it if you can without losing stability.
Vdrop - This is normally taken as the difference between the cpu voltage requested in the bios and that reported by cpu-z, and can be considered a calibration problem if you like. More logically it's the same as vdroop, the bios voltage is the voltage applied when the processor is turned off, and in when in windows it's drawing a little current, so the voltage droops a little bit.
Vdroop - When a component draws more current from an imperfect power supply (yours isn't perfect), the voltage across it falls. This is normal, and what Intel & AMD are designing for. If you're wating cpu-z, then you start a stress test, the cpu voltage should decrease.
VGA - Video Graphics Array; Is a term used for the standard 15 pin analogue video conection used to connect PCs and laptops up to monitors and TVs -it is also known a D-sub. VGA connections can be used with 1920x1200 signals and can go much higher depending on the quality of the cable. Another use of the term "VGA" is the legacy video resolution of 640x480, this is very low resolution for a modern PC monitor, but modern mobile phones are starting to use resolutions around this level.
VoIP - Voice over Internet Protocol; Voice communication which makes use of the internet, instead of the telephone system to make voice calls. Such calls made between two (or more) individuals using internet connected devices pay no fee for the call, except for the data used to their Internet Service Provider (ISP). Such calls usually use little bandwidth (~70kbps) and for users with broadband connections are usually considered "free". The market leader VoIP client is Skype, but many others exist.
Vid (alternative) - Vid can also refer to the "default" voltage, the one the processor requests from the bios at stock settings. A low "vid" in this sense is considered a good thing.
VRM - Voltage regulator module;An electronic device that provides a microprocessor its required supply voltage. VRMs are referred to on OCUK mainly in terms of graphics cards (though they do exist on motherboards for CPUs as well) as the dedicated graphics microprocessors require extensive voltage regulation for correct operation. Also, during operation these graphics VRMs become very hot and require extensive cooling (especially if the card is overclocked). It is crucial that when installing a new graphics card cooler that the VRMs are taken into account and cooled appropriately along with the GPU chip and video RAM modules. For motherboards, it is similarly important that the VRM modules supplying power to the CPU are kept cool. Often motherboards include heatsinks over these components and such cooling can be required when heavily overclocking a CPU.
Vsync - Vertical Synchronisation; Is a graphics option which forces the graphics card to draw each frame when the monitor refreshes to a new image - the main benefit is that it eliminates tearing where two images are on screen at the same time, creating a "tear" where they join. However, to resolve this Vsync introduces latency as the image produced by the graphics card is held in a buffer until the next refresh cycle begins and in fast paced games and where the graphics card framrate is below the monitor refresh rate then the actual perceived framerate is reduced by Vsync and the video feels less fluid (compared to when VSync is turned off).
WC – Water Cooling; An advanced form of cooling for PCs. A loop is constructed which includes a pump, a radiator, a reservoir, “waterblock” and a liquid coolant. The waterblock is the part which interfaces with the PC component requiring cooling. Several of these componenst cans be used within each “loop” and several loops can be used for one system. Custom Water cooling performs better than even the best air coolers (HSF) and usually runs quitter. However, a full WC system is usually expensive and complex to install – also there is a chance of leaks due to improper installation or hardware failure.
Win 7 - Microsoft Windows 7; The most recent version of the windows operating system produced by microsoft. Generally considered a good OS and a big step up from the dog that is vista.
x64 (x86-64) - This is an extension of the x86 instruction set and crucially uses 64 bit word sizes (compared to 32 bit used in standard x86) and specific 64 bit operating systems have been created (and are now mainstream) which utilise 64 bit (such as Windows XP/Vista/7 64 bit versions). This requires 64 bit capable hardware to run, however all mainstream AMD and Intel CPUs have been 64 bit compatible since AMD64 and Intel Core 2 Duo. The main benefit to users provided by 64 bit operating systems is the ability to address more memory than is possible with a 32bit OS. With 32 bit this limit is 4GB (with Windows), in contrast the theoretical limit with 64 bit is truly massive - but processors do artifically limit the ammount of memory adressed, with AMD64 the limit is a mere 256TB. Also, when using a microsoft operating system, the limit of memory usable is limited by the software - with Windows 7 Home premium 64 bit only 16GB, while Professional and upwards is limited to 192GB.
XMP - Extreme Memory Profile; "High performance" memory profiles included in the SPD chip of certain RAM modules and activated within the BIOS of supported motherboards. This allows RAM modules to rapidly set up to run faster than the standard SPD profile suggests. Usually high performance RAM will run at a lower "default speed" when first inserted into a PC, to run the modules at their "rated speed" users would have to manually enter the new voltage, timing and frequency figures into the BIOS manually. To simplify this procedure XMP allows users to simply select an XMP profile within the BIOS (sometimes there are more than one), save the settings and restart the PC. When the PC restarts the RAM modules will be running at the faster speed.
+1 - (Usually following a quote from a previous poster); A poster concisely expressing that they wholeheartedly agree with the quoted (or previous) statement.
120Hz – This refers to the refresh rate (the rate at which a display updates the image on screen) of a monitor. Standard LCD monitors refresh at 60Hz, for most applications this is fine – but for users playing competitive fast paced games where the image is changing rapidly 60Hz can be insufficient. As such, manufacturers have been bringing out monitors with a refresh rate of 120Hz recently to allow for much more fluid movement in such applications. Another usage of a 120Hz monitor is 3D, where each eye sees a separate 60Hz picture, the 3D effect is created by varying the perspective of%
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