Even if you consider yourself to be a computer neophyte, these terms are among the most helpful to understand when looking for a new computer. Knowing what you’re dealing with keeps you from feeling overwhelmed with technical jargon and makes for a more enjoyable buying experience!

Processor: Also known as the CPU (Central Processing Unit), this is the primary chip in the computer. Usually expressed in MHz or GHz to represent speed. Apple currently uses both the PowerPC processor manufactured by IBM or Motorola (the G4 and the G5 respectively) and the Intel Core processor from Intel. If you compare two iMacs, both with Intel Core Duo processors, the one with the higher clock speed (MHz or GHz) will be faster. Intel and AMD both make processors for Windows based computers as well. To compare processor speed you have to compare two processors of the same family. In the case of the Intel processor Apple uses, it is the Core Duo processor. You cannot compare it to a Pentium, a Xeon, or a Celeron processor as all four process data differently. As Apple transitions completely to Intel processors, and the major PC manufacturers start using the new Core Duo processor, it will be easier to make a technical comparison between them.

Hard Drive: The hard drive is a rotating disk where your information is stored. You can think of it as your filing cabinet. All of your information is stored there. The larger the hard drive, the more data you can store. You might want to consider a large capacity hard drive if you are interested in audio, video, or plan on storing large quantities of photos (i.e. one hour of digital video = 18GB of hard drive space). Out of the box, the software (the operating system and bundled software) installed on your new computer takes up approximately 10GB of space, depending on model.

RAM: Also commonly referred to as “memory.” If you think of the hard drive as your filing cabinet, think of the RAM as the desk where you work with your files. Programs and files you work with are loaded into RAM as you use them. When you close programs or files, your available RAM increases. The more programs and files that you want to work with determines how much RAM you should have installed in you computer. Out of the box, most standard models have adequate RAM to run the installed programs, get on the internet, do word processing, etc. If you intend to do large amounts of audio, video, or photography, you should consider increasing your RAM. For more information about what amount of RAM is right in your computer, ask one of our sales consultants.

Combo Drive: A combo drive is an optical drive that can play DVD video and data discs, as well as burn CDs. You can also play CD-ROM and DVD-ROM media. Additionally, you can burn (record) CD-R and CD-RW media. Every Mac today has at least a combo drive installed.

SuperDrive: The SuperDrive is Apple’s definition of their DVD-R drive. It has the same features as the Combo Drive, but adds the capability of burning DVD-R media. In the newest models, Apple’s drives now support DVD-RW media, as well as the +R format (as explained below). The SuperDrive allows you to record a home movie that you could play in your home DVD player. DVD discs can hold 4.7GB of data-- more than six times the capacity of a CD.

DVD Media: There are many types of DVD media on the market, and Macintosh computers have historically only supported DVD-R media (rather than DVD+R). However, Apple has now added the +R capability to their newest generation of computers. Before buying a SuperDrive computer, check to see which format(s) it supports. In addition, a burner has a “speed rating” which determines how fast, or how long, it takes to burn a disc. The faster the rating, the faster it burns. If you have an 8x DVD drive, you will need 8x DVD media to achieve that speed. An 8x drive CAN use 4x media and write at the slower speed, but will NOT work the other way around. To do so could cause harm to your DVD drive.

If you feel confused or don’t understand a term used in refering to a computer, always feel free to ask. Some things you should know, while others aren’t as important, but if you don’t ask, you won’t know either way!