The manufacturer that produced the processor.

A family of processors is a group of processors produced by one company over a short period of time e.g. Intel Pentium processors.

The model number for the processor in a computer.

The number of central processing units (‘cores’) in a processor. Some processors have 1 core, others have 2 (e.g. Intel Core Duo) or more (e.g. the Intel Xeon E7-2850 has 10 cores).

The turbo boost is an automatic, managed accelleration of the processor when one of the cores is overloaded.

The speed that the microprocessor executes each instruction or each vibration of the clock. The CPU requires a fixed number of clock ticks, or cycles, to execute each instruction. The faster the clocks rate, the faster the CPU, or the faster it can execute instructions. Clock Speeds are usually determined in MHz, 1 MHz representing 1 million cycles per second, or in GHz, 1 GHz representing 1 thousand million cycles per second. The higher the CPU speed, the better a computer will perform.

Mechanical component(s) that provides mechanical and electrical connections between a microprocessor and a printed circuit board (PCB). This allows the processor to be replaced without soldering.

A bus is a communication system that transfers data between components inside a computer, or between computers. The system bus rate is the speed at which data is transferred in this communication system.

The process which is performed by the processor e.g. CPU (Central Processing Unit).

Operating modes for the processors that place restrictions on the type and scope of operations for certain processes run by the CPU. This design allows the operating system to run with more privileges than application software.

Number of processors in the product.

A computer’s memory which is directly accessible to the CPU.

The maximum internal memory which is available in the product.

The type of internal memory such as RAM, GDDR5.

The slots and size of the memory for the CPU.

Number and type of memory expansion slots, including connector and memory module descriptions.

The frequency at which the memory (e.g. RAM) runs.

ECC means Error Correction Code, and it is memory that is able to detect and correct some memory errors without user intervention.

The total amount of data that can be stored on the device.

Used for the storage of data e.g. HDD (hard disk drive), SSD (solid-state drive).

An optical drive uses laser to read optical discs such as CDs, DVDs and Blu-Ray. Some types of optical drive are: CD ROM drive, CR-RW (CD writer) drive, DVD-ROM.

Amount of storage drives built into the device.

The number of hard drives built into the device.

The maximum storage capacity of the hard disk, usually measured in bytes e.g. GB.

The way that a hard disk drive (HDD) is connected to the rest of the computer through a ‘bus’ such as ATA or SCSI.

The rotational speed of a hard disk expressed in rotations per minute. The faster the better.

Graphics hardware which is built into the motherboard or CPU, as opposed to a separate graphics adapter (video card). On-board graphics uses CPU and RAM for graphics processing.

A graphics adapter (often known as a video card) generates images for a display. A discrete graphics adapter plugs into the motherboard, and usually produces much better graphics than an integrated graphics adapter. There are various models of discrete graphics adapters.

“Graphic adapter” is the hardware that produces images on a display. “On-board” means that the graphics adapter is intergrated inside the motherboard.

The feature may not be available on all computing systems. Functionality, performance, and other benefits of this feature may vary depending on system configuration.

An Ethernet LAN (Local Area Network) interface is present, for a wired conection via a cable.

The different speed levels of the Ethernet LAN connection.

Popular technology that allows an electronic device to exchange data or connect to the internet wirelessly using radio waves.

Number of USB 2.0 ports (connecting interfaces) in the device. USB 2.0 was released in April 2000 (now called “Hi-Speed”), adding higher maximum signaling rate of 480 Mbit/s (effective throughput up to 35 MB/s or 280 Mbit/s), USB 2.0 ports are usually black.

Digital Visual Interface (DVI) is a video display interface to connect a video source to a display device, such as a computer monitor.

Number of DisplayPorts. A DisplayPort is a digital display interface developed by the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA). The interface is primarily used to connect a video source to a display device such as a computer monitor, though it can also be used to carry audio, USB, and other forms of data.

Number of Ethernet LAN (RJ-45) ports (connecting interfaces) in the device. Ethernet LAN (RJ-45) ports allow a computer to connect to the ethernet.

The socket where a microphone is connected to the device.