Can someone please give me a basic computer tutorial?

I am going to become a computer geek and I know nothing at all about computers. I need to know basic stuff, like how much memory, RAM, and speed is a good amount and what all those stupid abbreviations mean! Thanks!Can someone please give me a basic computer tutorial?
CPU - Central processing unit. This is the central part of the computer. I won't call it the brain because it is not smart. A human has to tell it everything it ever does. It basically does all of the math and all of the decision making in the computer. Everything else just does what the CPU tells it to. The CPU also has a tiny bit of memory on it called a ';Cache'; There are actually two of these. L1 cache is very fast, but also very expensive, so there is very little of it. L2 cache (L2 stands for layer 2) is less expensive, but also slower. There is more of this. Any deeper than this into the CPU requires a much longer explanation.





Memory: There are many kinds of memory such as the caches on the CPU. There is flash memory, RAM (random access memory), hard drives, and many more. Memory is just a generic term for anything you can store data in (by data I mean numbers, though you can use these numbers to symbolize more complex things like letters and sentences as long as everyone agrees before hand that A=1, B=2, etc).





Motherboard - Often called MOBO. This is what everything in the computer connects to. The CPU sits on this, as does the RAM. Video cards, sound cards, etc all plug into this. The power supply, hard drives, and cd drives all connect to this through cables (cable just means more than one wire).





RAM - Random access memory. This is MUCH larger than the CPU cache, but also much slower. It is much cheaper, so you get a lot of it (often two thousand times more). This is your somewhat-quick place to store large ammounts of information, since the CPU cache can't fit that much.





HDD - Hard disk drive. This is a little box with a spinning disk inside it. It is kind of like a CD, but where a CD uses a laser and different colors of light as information, the hard drive actually uses magnets to store information. In the end, it still is used to store numbers, just like all other memory. Hard drives are much slower than even memory, but once again they are cheaper, so you buy a large one to store all the information you are not using at a given moment.





CD drive - The call this ';optical storage';. That just means that it uses light as a method for storing information. No, it is not actually storing beams of light, but the way light reflects of the shiny metal inside it means something.





Video card - this combines its own RAM, CPU (called a GPU for graphics processing unit), and some other stuff all on one card. The video card is used to do complex graphics calculations in order to display complicated things on the screen. Since it is designed specifically for graphics it can do all of the common graphics math very quickly and efficiently. This is called being ';optimized'; for graphics. The CPU is actually a ';general-purpose'; processor, so it is designed to do anything you could ever want to do okay, but specialized hardware will always outperform it at very specific tasks.





Finally, Binary: Binary is just a way of representing numbers. They are still the same numbers, they just look different. You know how you use the numbers 0123456789 to represent numbers? That is called a ';decimal'; system, because there are ten (and deci means ten). Binary only uses two symbols to represent numbers (bi means two). These numbers are the famous 0 and 1.


Decimal 0 = Binary 000


Decimal 1 = Binary 001


Decimal 2 = Binary 010


Decimal 3 = Binary 011


Decimal 4 = Binary 100


Decimal 5 = Binary 101


Decimal 6 = Binary 110


Decimal 7 = Binary 111


You know how 005 is just five with some extra zeros? Well that is true in binary too. So 001 = 1. The trick with binary is that after 1 you run out of symbols. What do you do in decimal when you hit 9 and no longer have any bigger symbols? You roll over to the next digit! So in binary, to get bigger than 1, you need to roll over to 10! This looks like a ten, but in binary the bigger digit is only worth two! This means that 10 = 2


Can you guess what 11 is equal to in decimal then? 3! And if we roll over another digit? well 100 is 4. Why? Well you can think of it this way:


In decimal 10 is ten times 1. 100 is ten times 10. 1000 is ten times 100. So each digit is worth ten times the next smaller digit. In binary, it is the same with twos. So 10 is twice 1. 100 is twice 10. And 1000 is twice 100! Get it? So then you can just add up the worth of each value. 111 in binary, then, is 4 + 2 + 1 = 7.


Get it? Don't worry if not. Binary is hard for a lot of people to wrap there heads around. Doing some basic binary math can help, though. Search google for examples!Can someone please give me a basic computer tutorial?
As for security knowledge, check out http://www.crappycomputer.com/





RAM = Random Access memory, which is where currently running/temporary information is stored. An example would be, while running internet explorer or microsoft office, data and information about the files or pages you are looking at, would draw on your RAM. Windows Vista systems optimally should have at least 2 gigs of RAM to run well. XP systems can run well on over 1gig. Most average laptops offer up to 4, some now offering more.





Your harddrive is also measured in gigabytes, and can be anywhere from 60 gigs, to 500 gigs. Mine is 320, the average for a laptop is probly around 150, and desktops higher. Your harddrive also has an RPM speed, which is how fast your hard drive operates. This is usually 5400 RPM or 7200 RPM, both being fine.





You also have a processor speed, which helps when it comes to multitasking and performing operations quickly. This is usually between 1.6 and 3.4 gigahertz. Dual Core processor means you actually have two processors, meaning they can handle twice as much at once. Quad-core means four cores.
WOW There is life wayyyy to much stuff so i will give you a basic overview (VERY VERY BROAD OVERVIEW) of what you asked in your qustion.


1)Memory is measured in gigabytes or gb


2) Memory is stored on an internal hard drive it can be expanded with an exturnal hard drive


3)Ram is measured in gb


4) 2 gb of ram is standardon laptops


5) 250gb is a decent hard drive


6)speed is determined by available RAM and processor power


I believe this answers your qustion, ask your supervisor if by a computer geek you mean be on the geek squad.


-I Give Answers
The best thing to do to start to learn is go to a website like Tigerdirect.com and find all the pieces you need to build a computer.





Make sure they are all compatible. Like the RAM with the Motherboard. Remember everything has to be compatible with the motherboard or it wont work.





You need Motherboard, CPU, RAM, Video Card, Power Supply, Hard Drive, Optical Drive, Case, and what ever else you can think of!
Ha ha, well the more the merrier??? I am afraid that it is an acquired taste but to get you started down the road of all things nerdy... A gig of RAM is ';standard'; right now with a shift in the direction of two gigs. Windows 7 (the next version of Windows in the works from the Microsoft camp) will require 1 gig of RAM + 16 gigs of Hard Drive. Obviously extra wont hurt. As for the abbreviations... try Wikipedia and http://www.webopedia.com/.





Happy nerding,


Sam
uhh...





RAM-random acess memory


CPU-Central processing unit


MOBO-mother board


PSU- I think it's power supply unit


STFU- shut the *** up! (lol)


HDD- hard drive disk


LOL- laugh out loud


MB-megabbytes


GB-gigabytes


AMD-a brand


Intel- another brand


CMABA- choose me as best answer!