Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
The OS Component
The OS component is found in most modern OSs since Windows 95. In some cases, sys-
tem manufacturers have provided extensions to the OS for their specific hardware. Such
is especially true for notebook systems, for example. Be sure you load these extensions if
your system requires them.
It is the responsibility of the OS to inform users of conflicts that the BIOS can't resolve.
Depending on the sophistication of the OS, the user then could configure the offending
cards manually (onscreen) or turn off the system and set switches on the physical cards.
When the system is restarted, it is checked for remaining (or new) conflicts, all of which
arebroughttotheuser'sattention.Throughthisrepetitiveprocess,allsystemconflictsare
resolved.
Note
Because of revisions in some of the PnP specifications, especially the ACPI specification, it
can help to ensure that you are running the latest BIOS and drivers for your system. With
the flash ROM used in most PnP systems, you can download the new BIOS image from the
system vendor or manufacturer and run the supplied BIOS update program.
Motherboard Selection Criteria (Knowing What to Look For)
I am often asked to make recommendations for purchases. Without guidance, many in-
dividuals have no rhyme or reason for their selections and instead base their choices
solely on magazine reviews or, even worse, on some personal bias. To help eliminate this
haphazard selection process, I have developed a simple motherboard selection checklist.
It helps to think like an engineer when you make your selection. Consider every aspect
and detail of the motherboards in question. For instance, you should consider present us-
age as well as future uses and upgrades. Technical support at a professional (as opposed
to a user) level is extremely important. Check for manual and driver downloads: Are they
easytofindanduptodate?Thefollowinglistincludessomeofthemostimportantcriteria
to consider when selecting a motherboard:
Motherboard chipset —The motherboard chipset is the backbone of a system and is
perhaps the single most important part of the motherboard. Compare the features of
the available chipsets to ensure that the board will do what you want. For example,
some chipsets include support for faster memory, PCIe 2.x cards, SATA 6Gbps drives,
andoptionalRAIDcapabilities. Ispendthemosttimedecidingonmynextchipsetbe-
cause it affects and influences virtually every other component in the system.
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