2.4. MODERNIZATION AND CONFIGURING CTS

2.4.1. MODERNIZATION

Modernization is a set of measures carried out to improve the operational and consumer properties of a PC. The purpose of modernization is:

• Improving PC specifications
• Giving the PC additional consumer properties.

The reason for the upgrade is:

• The obsolescence of PC hardware
• New software with new PC hardware requirements
• The need to perform new functions using a PC

Modernization is performed in the following way:

• Hardware upgrade
• Installation of additional adapters
• Software upgrade

Before the upgrade, you need to find out:

• Its economic feasibility: upgrading or purchasing a new PC (the cost of upgrading should not exceed the cost of a new PC).
• How does upgrading a single PC element affect PC hardware in general?

Hardware upgrades are performed by replacing some PC elements and typically include:
Power supply upgrade:

It is carried out in order to increase the power of the power supply unit (PSU) and is carried out before the installation of new equipment (if required).

When choosing the power of the power supply unit, a preliminary assessment of the power consumption of the PC is performed, taking into account the newly installed equipment

CPU	60-120WT
Memory elements	50W
Video adapter	60-100W
Devices on the bus (max) PCI	57W
TOTAL:	400W

When choosing a new power supply unit, its forms should be considered - a factor, i.e. the possibility of its use with this motherboard and data CPU.

Main versions of ATX power supplies:

• ATX 1.3
• ATX 2.0
• ATX 2.01
• ATX 2.02
• ATX 2.03
• ATX 2.1

Cooling system upgrade

The main direction of modernization is to improve the reliability of the system as a whole by facilitating the thermal regime and reducing the PC noise level.

The existing system can be replaced (usually air-cooled) with a more efficient one.

The following cooling systems are applied (each of the systems has its advantages and disadvantages):

• Nitrogen systems (liquid nitrogen)
• Hydrogen systems (water cooling)
• Cryogenic systems (freon)
• Aerogenic systems with Peltier elements
• Air cooling systems.

BIOS System Upgrade

It is performed by reprogramming the chip containing the old BIOS version with the new version. As a rule, this is required when installing a new type of CPU, memory, HDD of greater capacity or with the aim of improving the stability of the system as a whole. Reprogramming is done with the help of special utilities, usually bundled with the motherboard. The new BIOS version can be obtained on the manufacturer's website.

Processor upgrade

Before installing the new MP, it is necessary to find out what types of processors the motherboard supports. To produce motherboards designed to work with MPs of any one type is not economically viable, therefore, they are all universal, that is, they are designed to install different MPs with different clock frequencies and supply voltages. Different connectors are used to install various MPs. Information about which MPs the motherboard supports can be found in the technical documentation for the board.

The configuration of the motherboard depends on the type of MP and is determined by the BIOS settings, choosing the CPU for upgrading, consider the following parameters and make sure that the motherboard is compatible with them:

• CPU power supply;
• Clock frequency of the system bus;
• CPU clock speed CPU socket type.

On some modern motherboards, setting the clock frequency and the multiplicity factor is done by software using the BIOS Setup program. Replacing the CPU can in some cases double the efficiency of the system.

Memory upgrade

Conducted with the aim of improving the efficiency of the system as a whole or meeting the requirements of the new software. Performed by:

• Increase memory;
• Increasing the clock frequency (overclocking);
• Changing the mode of operation (providing support for DDR mode).

Before performing the work, it is necessary to find out whether this type of memory is supported by the motherboard and its maximum installed capacity.

OCD upgrade

Conducted to increase the amount used for data storage. Performed by:

• Substitutions for larger storage capacity;
• Install additional storage.
• Installing a drive with a new type of interface (for example, switching from ATA to SATA);
• Raid arrays organization.

Installation of additional adapters

Adapter installation and reconfiguration is considered a standard operation when installing a PC. Often there is a need to change the old adapter to a new one or install an additional adapter. Before you buy a new adapter, you should clarify which expansion slots are available on the motherboard.
Upgrade the video adapter

Currently, most video cards are designed for installation in the AGP slot or PCI-Expres

You can upgrade the video adapter in one of the following ways:

• Install the three-dimensional graphics accelerator with an existing video adapter;
• Install a new video adapter;
• Add memory;
• Install TV - tuner;
• Install a video capture device.

The choice of video adapter depends on the type of model installed: if it is outdated, then it is better to purchase a “full” video card, and not an accelerator of three-dimensional graphics.
TV tuner upgrades

Almost all modern video adapters cannot install a TV tuner or video capture device. Therefore, they are purchased in the form of separate boards that fit into the slots of the motherboard.

Modern Chipset for video adapters have a high degree of integration, that most multimedia functions are more convenient and cheaper to implement on one powerful graphics processor. There were powerful unified video adapters that can solve almost any task: from digital video playback to hardware accelerated 3D graphics.

Modernization of the software (software) is made with the purpose   giving the system new consumer qualities and more fully using the capabilities of the PC hardware.

Performed by:

• Replacing the operating system with a more modern one;
• Replacing old versions of applications with new ones;
• Installing additional software.

When installing a new software, it is necessary to ensure that the newly installed software is leasing.

2.4.2. CONFIGURING VTS

Configuring SVT is performed using the BIOS program

Essentially, the BIOS is a "intermediate layer" between the software and hardware parts of the system. Most BIOS users mean device drivers. In addition to the system, there are also BIOS adapters that are loaded at system startup.

The BIOS (basic input / output system) —the basic input-output system — is software built into the computer that is accessible to it without accessing the disk. On the PC, the BIOS contains the code necessary to control the keyboard, video card, disks, ports, and other devices. When working under DOS, Windows 95/98, the BIOS manages the main devices, when working under OS / 2, UNIX, WinNT, Win2k, XP, the BIOS is practically not used, performing only the initial check and configuration.

So, the basic input / output system is a combination of all types of BIOS, as well as loadable device drivers.

The BIOS is the interface between the hardware and the operating system.

The BIOS in most PC-compatible computers performs four basic functions.

1. POST — self-test when powering up the processor, memory, chipset, system logic, video adapter, disk controllers, disk drives, keyboards, and other vital components of the system.
2. BIOS Setup Program (Setup BIOS) - configures system parameters. This program starts when you press a certain key (or key combination) during the POST procedure.
3. System Boot Loader - perform a search for the master boot sector on disk devices. If the last two bytes of this sector (its signature) are 55AAh, this code is executed.
4. BIOS - a set of drivers designed to interact with the operating system and hardware during system boot. When running DOS or Windows in crash protection mode, device drivers are used only from the BIOS.

Part of the BIOS BIOS Setup Setup Program, regardless of the BIOS manufacturer, contains the following main sections that can be used to configure and configure a PC:
Bios Features Setup   BIOS)

In this section, you configure the processor, the boot process and computer testing, the keyboard, the mouse type setting, the order of polling devices at boot.

Chipset Features Setup ( Chipset Setup )

In this section, the chipset is configured for working with RAM, some PCI bus operation parameters, parallel port operation modes, and hard disk controller (IDE) operation modes are set.

PnP / PCI   Configuration   Setup   (Configuration setting   PCI   and   PnP)

In this section, you configure the support for the standard Plug & Play (setting interrupts, equipment priorities, etc.).

Power   Management   Setup   (Power Management Setup)

In this section, you configure the computer power management: switching to sleep mode, turning off the monitor, disks, controlling the frequency of the processor in various modes, turning on the computer on a schedule, waking up from sleep mode, etc.

Frequency / Voltage   control   (Frequency and Voltage Monitoring)   The frequencies of the processor, memory, PCI bus, and the voltage of the processor, memory are set.