Those of you out there in the wonderful world wide web that own Apple Macbook's may just be in for a fantastic little treat today. Recently, I upgraded my Macbook and I thought it would be of some value to document the process so other people could learn from my mistakes. I took some notes during the whole ordeal and after all was said and done I had a much better laptop, all in all.

A Little Backstory

Last year, I purchased a Macbook. This fancy little machine was the answer to my prayers. It quickly became 2007's most significant purchase, excluding my fiance's wedding ring. Before I purchased the Macbook, however, I had some thinking to do.

I considered the options available, and ended up choosing the right Macbook for my needs at the time. It was around this time that I wrote my guide to buying your new Macbook or Macbook Pro. That article is a little bit out dated now, but it provides some of the reasoning behind my purchase.

I bought the cheapest Macbook available. I could not justify spending an extra three or four hundred dollars to get a DVD burner, an extra bit of RAM, and an insignificant amount of hard drive space. Apple seems to gouge the hell out of hardware prices. It was then and there that I decided I would upgrade a bit later when the time was right, instead of forking out the cash immediately.

Specs Before Upgrading my Macbook

• Macbook (13.3") Core 2 Duo @ 2.0 GHz
• 80 GB Hard Drive
• 1 GB RAM

Specs After Upgrading my Macbook

• Macbook (13.3") Core 2 Duo @ 2.0 GHz
• 250 GB Western Digital Scorpio 5400 RPM 8 MB Cache (~$135)
• 4 GB Crucial RAM Kit DDR2 @ 667 MHz ($100)

These parts were all ordered from NCIX, the only company that I order from online. They have always had great customer service to go hand in hand with their great pricing. I recommend you give them a look if you buy computer parts on any kind of regular basis.

How to Upgrade Your Macbook

The first and most important step is to make sure you have your data backed up. This can be accomplished several different ways, but I opted to simply copy my internal 80 GB drive to the 250 GB drive before installing it. This way, when I install the drive and start my computer, it recognizes everything and I don't have to worry about losing anything.

Step 1
Put the new hard drive into some kind of USB or firewire enclosure that will allow you to access it from your Macbook. I used a Vantec Nexstar SATA 2.5/3.5 inch Hard Drive Docking Station, which did the trick quite well.

Step 2
Download Carbon Copy Cloner. This software is amazing for creating a bootable backup of your Macbook. It took just under one hour to back up approximately 50 GB. You create a bootable backup onto the new drive, so that when you put it in your Macbook, you will still have all of your data.

Step 3
Format the new drive to Mac OS Extended (Non Journaled). If you do not do this, the storage device probably will not show up in your Carbon Copy Cloner application.

Step 4
Do the backup. At this point, it's about as simple as choosing "bootable backup" and hitting backup now. If you have any trouble just let me know in the comments and I will see if I can help. I don't claim to be an expert, but I will do what I can.

Step 5
Replace the hardware. Obviously the trickiest of the steps. Make sure you have a Torx bit around to take the encasement off of the hard drive. I did not have one and was forced to use a wrench. I don't recommend this however, as it does not leave the prettiest looking equipment.

Step 6
Party!

Note: There are some important asides I wanted to make about this installation process. The first of which is that you should follow Apples PDF. You can locate it here. This pdf does not explain every single aspect in detail, but it should show you enough of the basics to get a good understanding of what it is you are doing.

The RAM on the Macbook is extremely tricky to insert. You must push evenly on both sides, with stronger force than you would probably deem necessary, in order to make the RAM seat correctly. Use this guide to learn how to install the memory specifically.

The hard drive is very easy going. You take off the L-bracket, pull the hard drive out using the tab, and then slide it back in when you are done. Be careful not to do this upside down, as I spent about twenty minutes trying to put the hard drive in the wrong way.

I believe that is it! You should be ready to go with your upgraded Macbook. If you have any questions, comments, etc. make sore to leave them here for me.

Note: Following the advice on this site is done at your discretion. I caution you to look to other resources before attempting these installs. If you do not feel comfortable with the install, I'd suggest finding someone to help you who knows a little bit more about these things.

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[photo: discoweasel]

Your motherboard is probably the single most important item in your computer. It handles all of the communication between all of your devices. Everything is connected to the motherboard in some way or another.

There are some important things to take into consideration when determining the motherboard you would like to use. I will go through some of the most important things in a list below, and hopefully it will help you better understand what you need with your motherboard, and maybe even save you some hard earned cash.

One quick note before we get into the details of your motherboard. Always try to allow yourself room for upgrading to newer technologies if possible. Because the motherboard is the component that interfaces all of your other pieces, if at any time later you want to upgrade a specific component of your machine (new CPU for instance), you may encounter problems. Your new chosen CPU may not fit in your old motherboard, which causes you to upgrade. At that point, some of your other components (RAM for example) may not work with the new motherboard. You've now had to shell out money for three separate components rather than one.

Socket

The socket on your motherboard is where your CPU sits. Visit my article on how to choose your processor for some more information on that topic. The socket is important because it lets you know what CPU will fit with your chosen motherboard. It is also important to know how old the type of socket is, to ensure it will last you in years to come. For instance, when I first built my desktop computer, dual core processors were just coming out and were very expensive. I chose to go with a socket 939 motherboard, as it supported the new dual core chipsets that were hitting the market with their steep prices. Initially I went with a single core AMD Athlon 64 3000+, and later, after prices dropped I transitioned to an AMD Athlon X2 64 4200+ dual core.

RAM Slots

This is where your computers memory fits in. You can read more about choosing your RAM on another post in this series. RAM is very important to the overall system performance, so you should always try to get the best you can for the amount of money you are spending.

PCI-Express, AGP or PCI slots

PCI-Express and PCI slots can be used for various devices, and are located on the top of your motherboard. AGP slots are used for graphics acceleration, but is considered old technology now. If you do any gaming, a PCI-Express card and compatible motherboard is recommended. PCI slots act as expansion bays for other devices, such as sound cards and network cards, to name a few.

Integrated Peripherals

These are components of your computer that are important, and can sometimes be included on your motherboard. These are also considered "on board peripherals". Some of the items that can come on your motherboard natively are a sound card, video card, network card, USB, firewire, bluetooth, SATA disk controllers, and perhaps some more. It is important here that you determine what you need to have on there, so you purchase a motherboard that has the features you need, and lacks the features you do not. For instance, when I purchased my motherboard I wanted one that had no video card on it. This is because I already had a video card, so I had no need for the on board video card. These types of sacrifices on your motherboard can drastically reduce the price you pay for the component, without lessening the experience. You can check out my post on choosing your video card as well as choosing your network card to help you determine if you need those separate to your motherboard or not.

What is the BIOS

BIOS stands for a couple different things, but my preferred usage of the term is for a Basic Integrated Operating System. What the BIOS does is initiate all of the hardware components required to use and load the programs on your computer. The process in which this is done, is called the POST (power-on self test), and eventually transfers control over to what is known as a boot loader. The boot loader then chooses the operating system to start, and up comes the windows XP loading screen, Mac OS X Apple, or a Linux loading screen.

Some important changes can be made in the BIOS. Before the POST, the user can enter the BIOS settings and change various properties, such as the boot sequence. Be careful doing this, as it can cause major problems if done incorrectly. The BIOS runs everything before you get into the operating system you chose, so if it breaks you have a major problem.

This concludes the series on Choosing the Right Computer for you. If you have any questions, feedback, etc. Don't hesitate to send an email to thetechjuice@gmail.com or post a comment here.

Previous: Choosing the Right Network Card

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This piece of fancy hardware is what connects your computer to the various people and places on the interweb. It is often overlooked when purchasing a new computer, so I thought it might be appropriate to give it a small section in my series on how to choose the best computer for you.

What is Wireless B? Wireless G? Wireless N?

Essentially what the B, G or N in the wireless router or wireless Network Card (or NIC) mean, is the class of the wireless signal that is being sent out and received. Wireless technology is still blooming, and only with the introduction of wireless g have we been able to connect wireless at a similar or even faster rate than your typical Ethernet connection. For comparison purposes, I will put a small chart below with some information.

Class	Speed	Range
802.11b	11 Mbit/s	~38 meters (124 ft)
802.11g	54 Mbit/s	~38 meters (124 ft)
802.11n	248 Mbit/s	~70 meters (229 ft)

As you can see, there is a significant speed increase between the most popular types. There is also a range increase when you jump from wireless G to wireless N. What this means, is depending on the speed you want, and the range you need, you can make a more informed decision about purchasing this component.

What Does a Router do? Why do I Need it?

Very common questions, and relatively difficult to answer in non technical terms. I will try my best though. The router acts as a gateway for your cable modem. It determines what is allowed into your home as well as what is allowed out of your home, as far as data is concerned. In the case of wireless routers, they are the stations that broadcast the signal to which you are connecting. Your router itself does not provide the Internet, but rather it routes the traffic into your modem. Your modem provides the connection, and your router is basically a traffic cop.

A router is necessary to connect multiple computers to a single broadband connection. It also is useful as a firewall, as it deters malicious attempts to enter your home network. A router can also be used to set schedules for times of the day that your kids (for instance) are not allowed to access the Internet, or blocking sites that have certain keywords in the domain. Needless to say it is a useful device, and one I feel every person connected this way should have.

Which Router do I Get?

First you should decide on which class of wireless you would like, and you will model your computers and router to that accordingly. If you absolutely must have the bandwidth capabilities provided by 802.11n, then by all means go that route. Purchase a wireless-N router, and make sure your computer has either a wireless N card in it already, or if it doesn't you can purchase one. Wireless N tends to be more expensive than wireless G, but can be worth the money if it suits your needs.

What Network Card?

As long as the network card matches the signal if your router, it does not really matter what brand you get. Having said that, a wireless G network card can connect to your wireless N router. The router scales down and speaks at slower intervals so that the slower wireless G technology can understand it. What this means is your connection will be as slow as the slowest device incorporated.

Upgrading your home network from a wired set up to a wireless one can be a costly procedure. This is especially true if you have multiple computers that need to receive attention in order to work with the wireless router. Also, most wireless routers come with ports in the back for regular hard connections as well, so that option is still there.

If you have any questions or feedback let me know in the comments.

Previous: How Much Hard Drive Space do you Need?

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We're getting close to the end of the series on How to Choose the Best Computer for you, and we're at the lovely subject of storage. When I say storage, I am referring to the media on which you store your every day files. Generally speaking this will be on a hard disk drive, and will be inside your computer.

With that in mind, I would like to go into some of the various things to consider when purchasing a hard drive, or comparing different drives to each other.

RPM (Revolutions Per Minute)

This is one of the main factors determining the speed of your drive. This is what essentially translates into the data transfer rate of your hard drive. Most hard drives for desktop computers sit at the 7200 RPM range, but can go as high as 15,000 RPM. The higher RPM drives, such as the Western Digital Raptors, are faster, but have a significantly higher price tag on them.

Hard Disk Cache

This, as explained before in my article on CPU's, is essentially the buffer between the CPU and the hard drive. The cache stores frequently accessed data as well as fetched data so that the CPU can access it much faster. Cache memory is extremely fast, and is used to help speed up the process of getting data from the hard drive to the CPU.

SATA versus ATA

This is the interface that connects the hard drive to the motherboard. SATA is essentially an ATA drive with a serial connection, which increases the bandwidth available to the card to transfer data. If your computer supports SATA it is recommended that you get a SATA drive instead of a ATA (previously known as IDE), as there is a noticeable speed increase in SATA drives.

Solid-State Hard Drives

A recent advancement in technology, and probably the most significant advancement in hard drives in many years, is the development of solid-state technology. This is a hard drive that has no moving parts. A typical SATA or ATA hard drive has moving head that reads and writes to the disk, and thus is limited to the speed at which it can physically move inside of the component. A sold-state drive on the other hand, is only limited to the bandwidth that is provided to it. What this gives you, is a hard drive that gives you near instant random read/write access, with a faster startup time as no moving parts are needed. SSD's are completely silent, as their are no moving parts. Another benefit to solid state hard drives is the fact that there is a constant speed across all sectors on the drive. This means that file fragmentation has little effect on the performance of the drive. One of the only major concerns for solid-state drives are their write limitations. Flash memory typically has 300,000 - 500,000 maximum write sequences that it can perform, before it essentially breaks. You can see some more information on this here.

Overall Capacity

The capacity of the drive is measured in Gigabytes, and varies from around 40 or 60 GB at the economist levels, up to 1000 GB. You can purchase 1000 GB external drives, but many times what the manufacturer has done to save money, is put two 500 GB drives into the enclosure, and connected them together. What this means is that the performance on the split drive is hindered. Determining how much space you need is relatively easy. For average users, storing music, images, word documents, and perhaps some movies, anything at around 60 GB or greater should suffice. If you play a lot of games, download torrents, and generally install many applications, it might be wiser to bump up as high as you can go in your price range. A good medium for desktop computers right now is around 250 GB, and on laptops 80 GB. If at any point you need to bump this space up, or would like some kind of back up solution, you can pick up a 500 GB external drive for relatively cheap.

Hopefully this has cleared up some of the concern about the storage space in your computer. If you have any more detailed questions email me or leave a comment.

Next: Choosing the Right Network Card

Previous: How to Choose your CPU

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The CPU is the workhorse of the computer. It takes all of the information that requires processing, and processes it. This makes it one of the most important components to your computer, and you should definitely think about which CPU is right for you. Here I will attempt to explain some of the properties that CPU's have, so you can make a more informed decision.

CPU Clock Speed

The CPU clock speed is the number of cycles that the CPU does per second. Lately, this is measured in gigahertz, and is an important number when it comes to your CPU. Faster clock cycles means that the CPU can process things quicker. It is important to note that when you are comparing CPU cycles, you should know that two different CPU architectures cannot directly be compared. If the architecture is the same, a CPU with a clock speed of 2.0 GHz will be twice as fast as a CPU that is clocked at 1.0 GHz.

Cache

Cache is used to lower the access time of frequently used memory by the CPU. It is smaller and faster than RAM and is very good at speeding up the CPU. There are two levels of cache, one is the L1 cache and the other is the L2 cache. L1 cache is used directly by the cores of the CPU while L2 cache is a buffer in the Bus Interface. Generally speaking, when comparing two processors of the same type, the higher the cache is the better. This does not mean however that an AMD processor with 2Mb of cache versus an Intel processor with 1Mb of cache is better. The processors should be compared directly to the chips of the same family.

What is Multi Core Processing? (Dual Core, Quad Core, etc.)

This is when the CPU has multiple cores on one die (the term for the chip). It allows for each core to handle threads concurrently. This means that although a multiple core system is better for multitasking, it may not necessarily be faster when given a single task. Much of this speed increase or decrease can be attributed to the software, and whether or not it takes advantage of multi threading applications. A thread is a given process that the CPU has to finish. When the term multi-threading is used it is referring to the ability to have a program split up threads into different chunks, and allow one processor to handle one thread while the other handles another thread. A dual core processor with both cores at 2 GHz can possibly perform as well as a single core that is clocked at 4GHz, however like I stated before, this is dependent on the software and how the processing is handled.

So Which CPU do I Choose?

Well, this really depends. As of late, CPU manufacturers have been spewing out cheap dual cores that have small amounts of cache. This is because cache is so expensive, making it the easiest way to cut corners on production cost. This means that although you may see a dual core processor with 2.4 GHz on that laptop you want to buy for $799, it is highly likely that the manufacturers have decreased the cache size in order to drop the hefty price tag down. I don't want you to think I am saying not to purchase this machine, I merely want you to recognize that you get what you pay for, as with most things in life. If a CPU appears to be drastically more powerful than all of the others in it's price range, I'd venture on the side of caution.

I hope this information was beneficial to you and helped to clear up some of the areas concerning CPU decisions. If this helped you (or didn't) feel free to let me know in the comments.

Next: How Much Hard Drive Space do you Need?

Previous: Choose the Best Operating System For You

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A video card is the pinnacle of your computer hardware when it comes to gaming and graphic design. A good video card takes the load off of the CPU and uses it's own built in GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) to process all of the graphics necessary. It is important to realize that even though the graphics card is probably the most important component in your computer as far as gaming is concerned, computer components tend to work on the theory that a chain is only as good as its weakest link. If you have a fantastic graphics card, but the rest of your computer is mediocre, the system will bottleneck and the graphics card won't be able to fulfill the duties it is assigned as completely.

Many motherboards come with a built in video card that provides basic graphics processing using some shared system resources. This will definitely suffice for users who don't plan on playing games or doing any extensive graphics or video editing. These on board video cards are great for people who browse the internet, check their email, do their word processing tasks, or generally don't do anything extensive graphically.

Shall we get in to the important aspects of video cards? We shall.

Graphics Processing Unit (GPU)

The GPU is the workhorse of the graphics card. It is measured in MHz, as well as how many pipelines it has. The higher the clock rate is, the faster the GPU. The more pipelines it has, the more bandwidth the GPU can handle. This is typically what determines how fast the card is able to run without taking into account the speed of the memory.

Video Memory

Video memory is important because it determines how much textures and graphics can be stored at one time without having to load more from the hard drive, as well as how fast these are transferred to and from the GPU to be processed. A high amount of video memory does not necessarily mean a card will be faster. The video memory speed is measured in MHz, and as usual the higher the number the faster the memory is. Video memory works similar to the systems RAM, and you can find some more information about that here.

Maximum Resolution

This is the maximum output that the video card can do. It can not output higher than your monitor, so it is important to know the maximum of both. Check out How to Choose a Monitor for some more information about that.

PCI-Express versus AGP

PCI-Express is a relatively new interface for video cards. It is the slot in which your video card fits on your motherboard. When you are choosing your video card, it is important to remember that AGP is old technology, and is slower than PCI-Express. Ensure your motherboard supports PCI-Express before purchasing a PCI-Express video card. It is also important to know that many computers that come previously assembled have an open PCI-Express slot, but use on board video memory. This allows them to sell the computer a little bit cheaper, and provide the user a chance to upgrade video capabilities if they decide to.

What is SLI?

SLI is an acronym for Scalable Link Interface. It allows the installation and use of up to four separate video cards. These cards are used simultaneously to handle all of the graphics processing. SLI is great for those who can afford it, but keep in mind that not all games are optimized for SLI.

What if I Want Two Monitors?

If you want two monitors, all you have to do is make sure that the video card you purchase has two VGA or DVI outputs on the back of it. Then you can refer to this page to help you pick the two that you want. Two monitors are absolutely great for multi-tasking. They have many different uses and applications. My favorite program to use to control both monitors is UltraMon. It is simple, and allows for on the fly customization as well as hot keys.

I hope that helps clear up some of the more relevant issues that are associated with purchasing a new video card for your computer, or comparing video cards inside two computers you are choosing between. If you have any questions send me an email, or leave some comments!

Next: How to Choose the Best Operating System for You

Previous: How to Choose RAM for Your Computer

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RAM is one of the most important components in your computer when it comes to general speed and every day use. RAM allows for you to have applications open, which are stored in your RAM (Random Access Memory).

RAM is significantly faster than your hard disk drive, which is the drive that stores your operating system and files. It is also considered what is referred to as volatile memory, meaning it clears on shut down of the device.

So, now you can see that upgrading your RAM will increase the amount of applications that you can run simultaneously, as well as diminish the need for programs to swap data in and out of RAM to make use of the limited space.

Do I Need More RAM?

First, you must determine if you actually need more RAM. If you look at your task manager (Ctrl + Alt + Del), and check out the performance tab, you can see the current amount of memory you have, as well as the memory available to be used. If you are consistently using 75% or more of your RAM at your peak usage, I would recommend an upgrade.

What Does the Speed of the RAM Mean

The speed of the RAM is measured in MHz, and refers to the speed of the clock cycle. The faster the better. Having said that, it is important to reference your mother board's manual to determine the speed that is compatible with your computer.

What is Dual-Channel?

Dual channel RAM is essentially RAM that uses two 64-bit data channels to the CPU. This results in twice the bandwidth that allows for data to be transmitted to the RAM. Dual channel is definitely better, so if your motherboard supports it (again, check the manual) you should make sure you are taking advantage.

What Does the Amount of Pins Mean for RAM?

RAM comes in different sizes. RAM for laptops is a different size than the RAM for a desktop computer. Again, you must check your manual to make sure you get the correct pins associated with your motherboard.

There you have it. I hope this was of some help to those looking to buy a new computer, picking up some new RAM, or comparing different sticks of RAM to each other.

If you see anything here that is inaccurate, or needs a change, let me know in the comments.

Next: How to Choose a Video Card

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First, let me say that an appropriate monitor for what you do is important. You have to stare at it all day long, and it should make your desk or workspace aesthetically pleasing.

If however, you want to choose a monitor based on a little bit more information than that, read on for some of the specifications of monitors and what they mean exactly.

Maximum Resolution or Native Resolution

This is the maximum number of pixels that a monitor can produce, presented horizontally and vertically. This is important for several reasons. The higher the resolution, the higher the overall image quality of the picture is. It is also important because you generally want to run everything at your monitor's native resolution. Running software at resolutions lower than the native resolution causes images and text to appear blurry. If you plan on playing games, or doing some kind of graphic design a higher resolution is better.

Keep in mind running games at high resolutions puts more strain on the graphics card. If you have a great monitor but a terrible graphics card, you simply won't play the latest games at your monitor's native resolution. For instance, I run my 21.6" Samsung LCD at 1680x1050. I also have an EVGA GeForce 8800 GTS as my video card, so I don't run into issues with this resolution (yet).

Contrast Ratio

The contrast ratio of a monitor can be summed up as the ratio of the lightest colour to the darkest color. What this means, is that the higher your contrast ratio is, the brighter brights will look, and the darker darks will look. Because this is also impacted by the lighting of the room you are in, it likely does not have as much of an impact as the resolution does. The only time you will generally notice a difference between higher and lower contrast ratio's on monitors is if you compare them side by side.

Response Time

This is the time in which it takes a pixel in the monitor to turn from black, to white, to black again. It is measured in milliseconds, which by most standards is pretty fast. The faster the response time is, the less likely it is you will notice trails on images or other visual artifacts. I recommend you try to stay clear of monitors that have a response time higher than 8 ms, as you may notice trails and artifacts. If a monitor has G2G or GTG response time, it is the same as explained above, but goes from gray, to white, to gray, and is a more accurate measurement of typical usage.

Refresh Rate

An LCD monitor is not effected by refresh rate, as they have LED back lighting and do not exactly "refresh" as older CRT monitors did. This specification is outdated, and I would not pay any particular attention to the refresh rate of a given monitor.

I believe that covers most of the questions that one would ask when purchasing a new computer. If this helped you (or didn't) please let me know in the comments.

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Next: How to Choose RAM for your Computer

The prices of desktop and laptop computers are dropping. There is not a better time to go out and pick up a brand new computer than right now. Having said that, sometimes it can be pretty confusing, even for technical people, to determine what the distinct differences are between two or more computers.

It is important to realize that in this article (and the other articles in the series) I will be referring to premade computers. If you want to learn about building your own computer, perhaps I will write a series on that. For now though, I'll focus on premade and put together computers from manufacturers such as Dell, HP, Sony, Apple, etc.

The topics I will cover in this series are:
(links will be provided as they are published)

Monitors
RAM
Video Cards
Operating Systems
Processors
Storage Devices
Network Cards
Motherboards

If you feel I missed something, or have any comments about anything written here, leave a comment or drop me an email at thetechjuice@gmail.com