Geek Trivia: Before The Term Coffin Came To Be Synonymous With Burial Casket, It Referred To?

Pastry Dishes Royal Bed Chambers Underground Studies Diving Bells

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A look at top Democratic presidential candidates' stances on tech issues like breaking up Big Tech, digital privacy, encryption and backdoors, and Section 230 (Lauren Feiner/CNBC)

Lauren Feiner / CNBC:
A look at top Democratic presidential candidates' stances on tech issues like breaking up Big Tech, digital privacy, encryption and backdoors, and Section 230  —  - Voters from 14 states and one U.S. territory will decide which Democratic candidate to support for the presidential nomination on Super Tuesday.

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K Health, whose AI-powered primary care app lets patients in 47 US states chat with doctors, raises $48M Series C, bringing its total raised to $97M (Mary Ann Azevedo/Crunchbase News)

Mary Ann Azevedo / Crunchbase News:
K Health, whose AI-powered primary care app lets patients in 47 US states chat with doctors, raises $48M Series C, bringing its total raised to $97M  —  K Health, a primary care consultant powered by artificial intelligence, announced this morning it has raised a $48 million Series C round.

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Union of Concerned Scientists study: ride-hailing trips today result in an estimated 69% more climate pollution on average than the trips they displace (Andrew J. Hawkins/The Verge)

Andrew J. Hawkins / The Verge:
Union of Concerned Scientists study: ride-hailing trips today result in an estimated 69% more climate pollution on average than the trips they displace  —  Union of Concerned Scientists recommends more electric cars and pooled trips  —  Uber and Lyft have weathered criticism about pollution …

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eMarketer: in the US, TikTok is expected to grow 21.9% YoY to 45.4M MAU in 2020, down from 97.5% growth in its breakout year of 2019 (eMarketer)

eMarketer:
eMarketer: in the US, TikTok is expected to grow 21.9% YoY to 45.4M MAU in 2020, down from 97.5% growth in its breakout year of 2019  —  More than 20% of social users will use TikTok this year … After nearly doubling its US user base last year, growth for TikTok will slow in the coming years …

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How to Set a Default Zoom Level in Microsoft Edge

The latest version of the Microsoft Edge browser is based on Google’s Chromium software, and the two share many features including the ability to set default zoom levels for one site or every site. Here’s how.

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How to Turn On the Startup Chime on Your New Mac

Since 1984, Apple computers played an endearing sound when powered on. This tone became a cultural calling card for the platform, but with the rise of automatically-booting Macs in 2016, Apple decided to remove this feature. If you miss the chime, there is a way to turn it back on. Here’s how.

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An excerpt from the book "The Hacker and the State", which includes details about North Korea's hacking campaigns against banks across the world (Ben Buchanan/Wired)

Ben Buchanan / Wired:
An excerpt from the book “The Hacker and the State”, which includes details about North Korea's hacking campaigns against banks across the world  —  They scored $80 million by tricking a network into routing funds to Sri Lanka and the Philippines and then using a “money mule” to pick up the cash.

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How to Play Old Flash Games in 2020, and Beyond

Adobe is killing Flash at the end of 2020, but Flash games are an important part of internet history. Thankfully, a community project called Flashpoint is stepping up to save them. Here’s how you can keep playing all your favorites for the foreseeable future.

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5 Games You Can Use the Konami Code in This Weekend

Kazuhisa Hashimoto, the creator of the now-famous “Konami Code,” passed away recently, much to the sadness of gamers everywhere. So this weekend, why not honor him by playing a few of your favorite games and throwing the Konami code at them? You’d be surprised how often it will work. We have five suggestions if you aren’t sure where to start.

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5 Best Puzzle Sites for Logic Riddles and Lateral Thinking Brain Teasers

Much like your body, your mind too needs a regular workout to remain fighting fit. These websites are full of free puzzles, riddles, and brain-teasers to activate those brain cells.

Many studies have shown that having a sharper brain in later life is linked to regularly solving word and number puzzles. Meanwhile, coming up with solutions to riddles and brain-teasers will develop your lateral thinking skills.

But more than anything else, puzzles are a fun and entertaining way to give your mind a little bit of exercise for free.

1. Puzzle Prime (Web): Large Variety and Collection of Brain Teasers

Puzzle Prime is choc-a-bloc with all types of puzzles and brain teasers. The website also hosts a forum for puzzle-related discussions as well as a fun activity center with webcomics, jokes, and other entertainment. But the brain teasers are the main attraction.

The website hosts puzzles across categories like insights, riddles, deduction, practical, math, detective, chess, lateral, and science. You can also choose a difficulty level (which is useful if you’re showing the website to kids) or go through all the puzzles in that section. Then just click again to reveal the solution so that you aren’t stuck for ages.

There’s a separate section for Casual Puzzles, which include mazes, rebuses, hidden object puzzles, and movie conundrums. All of these are printable activities for children, but I have to admit, they’re fun for grown-ups too.

If you fancy yourself to be a great detective like Sherlock Holmes, try Puzzle Crime. This is an interactive story with a new clue to solve at each level, as you embark on a journey to figure out a whodunnit. It’s a fun activity for both adults and kids.

2. Puzzle Choice (Web): Classic Printable Puzzles

You don’t always want to solve puzzles online. If you want to print them out as activities for children (or as a party or trip activity for adults), Puzzle Choice has some of the best classic brain teasers available for free.

There are nine categories to print from, namely crossword, word search, sudoku, logic puzzles, brainteasers, number, wordplay, quizzes, and kids’ games. None of the categories have a huge collection, but the variety of printables is large enough to keep anyone occupied and entertained for a few days.

Each of these printable puzzles also has an online version that you can play in your browser. Puzzle Choice also has a separate category for Online Games, which includes a few arcade video games along with other puzzles. The website isn’t mobile-friendly though, so I would advise playing these on a laptop or desktop.

Puzzle Choice is great for also getting a bunch of printable crossword puzzles and a daily new one. But if that’s what you want, there are better options in our list of the best crossword puzzle apps and sites.

3. Matchstick Puzzles (Web): Logic and Lateral Thinking Classics

One of the classic forms of brain teasers is to use match sticks to set a difficult problem that requires either logic or lateral thinking. In case you’ve never seen one before, it usually takes the form of matchsticks placed in a certain shape, and you have to move or remove some to meet the objective.

Matchstick Puzzles is a large collection of these problems, including both famous problems as well as original ones. There are currently 92 different riddles, each showing the arrangement of the sticks and asking a question. Click the post to find a deeper description, and then you can click again to reveal the solution.

It’s best to attack these with your own box of matchsticks. Place your sticks on a table as indicated in the puzzle and try it out. It makes a great activity for children, but some of them are difficult for adults too.

4. Puzzling Stack Exchange (Web): Forum for Daily Puzzles

Question-answer platform Stack Exchange hosts a dedicated forum called Puzzling. Puzzlers ask questions, answer tough riddles, and even try to come up with solutions for unanswered mysteries. It’s an amazing community for anyone interested in puzzles.

The website posts new questions every day. The questions are diverse, hitting basic logic, math, and wordplay, along with advanced topics like mathematics, programming, design, science, and much more. The presentation is interesting too, letting commenters hide their answers to avoid spoilers. Mouse over any comment to reveal the solution offered.

You can browse the website without registering, but you will need a free Stack Exchange account to comment or ask questions. As always, there is an “Unanswered” section for questions that haven’t yet been resolved. Think you can solve a riddle or puzzle that has stumped hundreds of other users?

5. Gpuzzles (Web): Interview Puzzles by Google, Apple, and Others

Tech startups and other modern companies are famous for asking tough puzzles in interviews when hiring a new candidate. Many of these questions have gone viral as a way to test your intelligence. Genius Puzzles, or Gpuzzles, collects these interview puzzles in one place, along with a collection of other riddles and brain teasers.

The interview puzzles are organized by company names, which include Google, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Flipkart, Samsung, Yahoo, Adobe, Oracle, and Intel. Each of the questions has an answer as well, but you can also dive into the comments to see alternative solutions and lateral thinking by others.

Apart from interview questions, Gpuzzles hosts a variety of puzzles and riddles, as well as a cool collection of inexplicable illusions. The Daily Challenge is a fresh puzzle every day. The answer is revealed the next day, giving you the time to come up with a solution and perhaps discuss it in the comments.

More Puzzle Zones Are Out There

If these five haven’t already quenched your appetite for brain food, then don’t worry, we have more websites for you to check out. You’ll get printable puzzles, YouTube videos of logic questions, and even a classic puzzle-based video game at these puzzle places for brain twisters and logic riddles.

Read the full article: 5 Best Puzzle Sites for Logic Riddles and Lateral Thinking Brain Teasers

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How to Install The Sims 4 Mods and the Best Mods to Try

The Sims 4 is still one of the best simulation games available, even years after its release. You can also buy The Sims 4 expansion packs to expand the game. However, these cost money.

Thankfully, you can expand The Sims 4 for free using mods and custom content. So, in this article we show you how to install The Sims 4 mods and list the best The Sims 4 mods to try.

What Are The Sims 4 Mods and Custom Content?

In terms of The Sims 4, mods and custom content (CC) are not the same thing.

Mods (sometimes called script mods) means modifications. These change or add to the functionality of the game, like changing how Sims behave or adding a new career.

Custom content (or CC) is things like furniture, hair styles, or textures—stuff that you can use when designing a Sim or a house.

You can also download lots. These are houses or places. They don’t necessarily use custom content, but instead save you having to build something from scratch.

How to Download and Install The Sims 4 Mods and CC

Most downloadable content for The Sims 4 comes in compressed file types like ZIP or RAR. Windows can handle ZIP files by default, but you will need a free program like WinRAR for anything else. Here are the best tools to open RAR files.

You need to move all mods and custom content into a specific folder. Press Windows key + R to open Run and input the following:

\Users\%username%\Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 4

You should see a Mods folder here. If you don’t, click New folder to create it.

Extract the contents of your download into this Mods folder. You can store things within subfolders, but don’t go deeper than one level (a new sub-folder for each mod is the simplest approach).

The only exception is for house lots. These files have extensions like .blueprint, .bpi, and .trayitem. They don’t go in the Mods folder. Instead, go to the top The Sims 4 folder and place them in the Tray folder.

To uninstall anything, close the game and simply remove the associated files.

How to Enable Mods and CC in The Sims 4

To enable mods and CC in The Sims 4, first launch the game.

Click the menu button (three horizontal dots) in the top-right of the screen. Then, click Game Options > Other.

Here, tick Enable Custom Content and Mods and Script Mods Allowed.

To finish, click Apply Changes. You will need to restart the game for the changes to take effect.

A Mods panel will then open when you launch the game, listing which mods are enabled. If you don’t want to see this, untick Show At Startup.

You don’t need to do this for any lots you download. To find these, click the gallery icon (photo album) in the top-right and click My Library. If your lots use custom content, ensure that Include Custom Content is ticked on the left.

How to Update Mods and CC in The Sims 4

Mods and CC are usually disabled after The Sims 4 updates. This is because there’s a risk that a mod isn’t compatible with the latest version of the game. Follow the instructions above to enable them again.

Unlike the game itself, mods don’t automatically update. When a mod breaks then you will need to check where you got it from to see if there’s a new version. If there is, download it, and replace the original files. If there isn’t, remove the files until there’s an update.

The Best The Sims 4 Mods to Try

There are lots of great places to download The Sims 4 mods and CC from. These include Mod The Sims, The Sims Resource, and Sims Catalog.

Here are some of the best The Sims 4 mods from these sites and beyond.

1. MC Command Center

MC Command Center does so much, we’d be here all day describing it. Essentially, it lets you control every aspect of your Sims—and even grants minor control to usually non-playable characters. For many, this mod includes what the base game should have. You can ban clothes, control pregnancies, remove homeless ghosts, and more.

2. Meaningful Stories

This mod redesigns the mood and emotions system of The Sims 4. In the base game, your Sims will be joyful because of a nice lamp one minute, then angry from a faulty shower the next. This mod makes your Sims’ lives more meaningful (and challenging), with emotions that reflect real life—a first kiss creates true happiness, while a depressive rut can last for days.

3. Have Some Personality Please!

One of the big differences between The Sims 3 and The Sims 4 was the switch towards more emotion-driven gameplay.

This mod makes your Sims personality more natural. No longer will they chat to each other about random things. Instead, they will act based on shared traits, moods, and relationships. The mod also includes more interactions with pets.

4. Slice of Life

As the name of this mod suggests, it aims to bring The Sims 4 closer to reality. It does this by adding a range of emotions, the ability to get drunk, the chance to get acne, the menstrual cycle, colds and flu, and memories. And that’s not everything! You’ll wonder how you played the game without this mod.

5. Don’t Wash Dishes Where You Angry Poop

This mod isn’t as radical as some of the others listed here, but it fixes an incredibly annoying behavior that Sims in the game possess. Now you can set which sinks your Sims can or can’t wash up in. No longer will they pick up their finished dish from the table and then head to the bathroom to wash it in that sink. Rejoice!

Get More From The Sims 4 With Expansion Packs

There are lots of free The Sims 4 mods available, but they don’t usually offer the same game-changing depth that the official expansion packs do.

While the expansion packs do cost money, they add new features like pets or weather, plus objects, clothes, hairstyles, and more.

If you’re struggling to decide which The Sims 4 expansion packs to buy, check out our guide to all of The Sims 4 expansion packs.

Read the full article: How to Install The Sims 4 Mods and the Best Mods to Try

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Apple Family Sharing Explained: What You Need to Know and How to Use It

Apple’s Family Sharing is a way to make your apps, movies, subscriptions, and more available to all the people in your family. You can also use it to control the screen time or content restrictions for your children’s devices. What’s more, it can even let you keep an eye on the location of all your loved ones.

We’ve written this guide to explain everything you need to know about setting up and using Apple’s Family Sharing service. Let’s take a look at how it works.

What Is Family Sharing?

Family Sharing lets you connect up to six different Apple ID accounts together. These accounts form your Family Sharing group, which you can use to save money by sharing various Apple purchases and services, including:

• Apps, movies, TV shows, songs, and books
• Apple Music family plan subscriptions
• Apple Arcade, Apple News+, and Apple TV channel subscriptions
• iCloud storage

Since everybody has their own account, you don’t need to share your password with other people. You can also access content in your Family Sharing group from any device you use with your Apple ID: iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, or even a Windows PC.

Image Credit: Apple

Alongside shared purchases and services, Family Sharing automatically creates a shared reminders list, shared calendar, and shared photo album for you all to use. With permission, you can even use Family sharing to see the location of everyone in your group, as well as all their Apple devices.

Finally, with Family Sharing, parents or guardians can manage the Screen Time or Content & Privacy Restrictions for any children under 18 in the group. With Ask to Buy turned on, they can also approve or deny App Store and iTunes purchases their kids want to make.

You Can’t Share Everything

Unfortunately, not everything is available to share with Family Sharing. Before purchasing an app, scroll down to the Information section in the App Store to check that it supports Family Sharing.

Notably, you also can’t share in-app purchases or subscriptions for non-Apple services.

How to Set Up Family Sharing

Whoever creates the Family Sharing group becomes the Family Organizer. This person chooses who is and isn’t allowed in the group, and also chooses which services or purchases you share with Family Sharing.

If the Family Organizer chooses to share App Store and iTunes purchases, they must also agree to pay for new purchases that anyone in the Family Sharing group makes.

It’s easy to set up Family Sharing from an iPhone or Mac, provided it’s running at least iOS 8 or OS X Yosemite, respectively.

Set Up Family Sharing on an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

1. Go to Settings and tap [Your Name] at the top of the screen. If you don’t see your name, choose to Sign in to your [device] using your Apple ID account.
2. Tap Set Up Family Sharing, then choose Get Started and choose the first feature you want to use with Family Sharing. You may need to add a payment method to your Apple ID account if you don’t already have one.
3. Follow the onscreen prompts to complete the setup and Invite Family Members, which you can do using iMessage or by asking them to sign in on your device.
4. After creating your group, the Family Sharing settings appear beneath your name. You can also tap Add Family Member to add more people to your family.

Set Up Family Sharing on a Mac

1. Open the Apple menu and go to System Preferences > Family Sharing.
2. You should see instructions to Set up Family Sharing; click Next and follow the onscreen prompts to complete the setup. You may need to add a payment method to your Apple ID account if you don’t already have one.
3. Once the setup is complete, click Add Family Member and enter the name, email address, or Game Center nickname of the first family member you want to add.
4. Use the sidebar in System Preferences to edit the various Family Sharing settings. Go to Family to add more people to your Family Sharing group.

Set Up a Child’s Account in Family Sharing

Children under 13 cannot create their own Apple ID accounts. However, with Family Sharing, the Family Organizer can create a child’s account for them. Apple limits the apps and media based on your child’s age and automatically turns on Ask to Buy. This means they can’t download or purchase anything without permission, even if it’s free.

To create a child’s account, open the Family Sharing settings on your device and follow the prompts to add a new family member. Select the option to Create a Child Account. Then create an iCloud email address, a password, and security answers for your child.

As a Family Organizer or parent/guardian in the Family Sharing group, you can remotely approve or deny App Store and iTunes purchases, track your child’s Screen Time, or edit the Content & Privacy Restrictions for your child’s device.

Apple’s Family Sharing Features Explained

After creating your Family Sharing group, you will see a lot of different features and services you can choose to use with it. This many options can seem a little overwhelming at first, so we’ve explained each Family Sharing feature below.

Purchase Sharing

If you want to share apps, movies, TV shows, songs, and books in your Family Sharing group, you need to turn on Purchase Sharing. When doing this, the Family Organizer must agree to pay for any future purchases people in your Family Sharing group make.

Family members get to keep their purchases after leaving the Family Sharing group, even if the Family Organizer paid for that purchase originally.

To view another person’s purchases, open the App Store or iTunes Store app and go to the Purchases page. You should see each of your family members’ names; tap one to view or download their purchases.

Purchase Sharing lets your family access everything you’ve ever bought or downloaded, even if you did so before joining the Family Sharing group. If you want to hide a particular purchase from your family, swipe on that purchase and choose to Hide it.

iCloud Storage

Apple gives everybody 5GB of free storage to use with their Apple ID account. Each family member can decide to expand their storage for a small monthly fee, or you can choose to share a single storage plan across your Family Sharing group.

To share iCloud storage with Family Sharing, you either need the 200GB or the 2TB plan. When a family member chooses to share iCloud storage, Apple doesn’t add their free 5GB to the shared plan.

Location Sharing

With Location Sharing turned on in Family Sharing, you can use the Find My app on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac to check where your other family members are. You can also use Find My to locate your family members’ missing Apple devices.

Each family member can choose whether they want to share their location from the Family Sharing settings on their device.

You should be careful with this setting. When Location Sharing is turned on, anyone in your Family Sharing group can use the Find My app to mark your devices as lost or remotely erase them.

Screen Time

Turn on Screen Time to monitor any children in your Family Sharing group under the age of 18. You can choose to set App Limits, Communication Limits, Downtime, and Content & Privacy Restrictions on your children’s devices.

Family Sharing also gives you regular usage reports so you can keep an eye on how much your children use their devices.

Apple Music, TV Channels, Apple Arcade, and Apple News+

Apple now offers a lot of different subscription services. And except for Apple Music (which requires a family plan), you can share any of these subscriptions with your Family Sharing group at no extra cost.

For example, if you subscribe to Apple Arcade, everyone else in your Family Sharing group can also access Apple Arcade games without needing to sign up for their own subscription.

To share Apple Music, you need to pay a little bit more to get a Family Sharing plan. It still works out cheaper than paying individually, though.

Apple Isn’t the Only Company to Offer Family Sharing

Plenty of other companies offer sharing services similar to Apple’s setup. Now that we’ve explained how to use Apple’s Family Sharing service, it’s worth taking a moment to learn what’s on offer elsewhere as well.

That way, you can be certain you’re getting the best service for your particular needs. For instance, if you use more Google apps than Apple ones, you might have a lot more to gain from setting up a Google Play Family Sharing group instead. Don’t forget that many streaming services have family plans, too.

Read the full article: Apple Family Sharing Explained: What You Need to Know and How to Use It

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How to See the Exact Time Your WhatsApp Message Was Read

It’s simple to find out if your WhatsApp message was read thanks to the checkmarks alongside every message. However, did you know you can also check the time on WhatsApp messages to see when the other person saw them?

In this article, we’ll show you how to check the WhatsApp seen time for your messages.

How to View Message Seen Time on WhatsApp

To see what time your WhatsApp message was read, first, open WhatsApp on your phone. Find the message that you’re interested in, then long-press on it.

When you do this, you’ll see some new icons appear along the top bar. Tap the three-dot Menu button, then choose Info. This will display the Delivered and Read times for your message. Of course, Delivered is when your message arrived on their device, while Read indicates when the recipient actually opened it.

You can do this in both one-on-one chats and group messages. In group chats, you can see the delivered and read times for each individual. Tap their name in the list for full details. However, note that you can’t get message read times for other people’s messages.

If the person hasn’t read your message yet, you’ll see a dash under the Read field. However, you might run into a case where the WhatsApp message info says “read” but has no time. In this case, the other person has probably turned off WhatsApp read receipts. Which is one of the ways to use WhatsApp while maintaining your privacy.

Turning off read receipts prevents WhatsApp from showing when you’ve seen messages. This is why there’s no time, even though the message says “read.”

You can turn off read receipts yourself by going to Settings > Account > Privacy and disabling the Read Receipts slider. Doing this also prevents you from seeing read receipts from others. Keep in mind, however, that read receipts are always on for group chats.

View Message Read Time on WhatsApp Web

You can follow a similar process using WhatsApp Web to see what time someone read your WhatsApp message. Simply open the relevant chat and mouse over the message you’re interested in. Click the small arrow that appears in the top-right corner, then choose Message info.

You’ll then see a similar screen showing you the Delivered and Read times for your message. Unlike the mobile app, you can only see Read times in group chats, not the Delivered times. And remember, if the message says “read” but has no timestamp, the other person probably has read receipts turned off.

WhatsApp Read Times Give You More Information

While you probably don’t care about this info all the time, knowing exactly when someone read your WhatsApp message can be useful. You might want to make sure they arrived at a destination safely, for example.

And if there’s no time displayed, make sure your own read receipts are enabled to make this work in the future.

For more help with WhatsApp, take a look at our list of essential WhatsApp tips and tricks you should know.

Read the full article: How to See the Exact Time Your WhatsApp Message Was Read

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The Basic Parts of a Computer and How to Upgrade Them

You know how to use a computer, but how familiar are you with what’s inside?

As complicated as the inner workings of computers may seem, they’re only made up of a few key pieces. But what are they? What are the different parts of a PC?

We’re going to show you how to identify your computer’s parts by name.

What Are the Basic Parts of a Computer?

A PC consists of several discrete components that are designed to work together. With a desktop computer, these components can be relatively easily replaced—less so on a laptop. This is due to the dimensions of portable computers, their power and cooling requirements, and a lack of standardization.

Fortunately, this isn’t a problem with desktop PCs. Designed to last longer, desktop computers can be customized and upgraded by replacing any or all components.

But what are these components called? Most computers ship with seven different parts:

• Motherboard (also known as the “mainboard”)
• Memory (RAM)
• Processor (CPU)
• Power Supply Unit (PSU)
• Storage device (e.g. the hard drive)
• Removable storage (optical drive, or even USB)
• Cooling fans

You’ll also find PCs with two additional, optional components:

• Graphic card (also known as a GPU or video card)
• Sound card (usually integrated, discrete cards are available for specialist use)

These parts are not necessary in most cases as the motherboard can replicate their purpose. However, discrete, dedicated cards offer improved processing and performance.

Understanding the Parts of a PC

Below we’re going to look at each of these parts in more detail and where they’re situated. You’ll also get an idea about how to upgrade them. This will give you the information you need to replace the parts yourself.

Note that we’re only looking at the basics of computer parts. This is not as a comprehensive description of your PC’s interior. When buying new parts, you need to be aware of component compatibility. Our guide to buying PC parts with PC Part Picker will explain this further.

IMPORTANT: Before opening your PC and handling any PC parts, power the computer down and unplug it from the mains. You should also learn about anti-static precautions to safeguard your equipment.

Motherboard

Your motherboard (also known as the mainboard) is where all the components plug into.

It has slots for the CPU, RAM, storage devices, and video and sound cards. If you are a beginner, we wouldn’t advise you to upgrade your motherboard yourself. It requires full compatibility with not just the other components, but also the PC case.

However, the other components covered here require you to unplug things from the motherboard.

Random Access Memory (RAM)

RAM is temporary (or short-term) memory and concerned with overall system performance and speed. RAM modules are of long sticks that plug directly into your motherboard. The computer’s guidebook or motherboard manual will tell you how much the maximum amount of RAM supported by your system.

Upgrading RAM depends on how many slots you have and the maximum size each slot supports. Some computers require that you have the same amount of RAM in each slot. Check the PC’s manual to confirm this.

Swapping RAM is straightforward: unclip the catches at either (sometimes one) end of the slots, and pull the RAM out. Thanks to a notch, replacement modules will only fit one way. Line the new module up with the notch, and press firmly into the slot until the catches lock it in place. Check they’re secure and you’re done.

Central Processing Unit (CPU)

If a computer was a human, the CPU would be the brain. It is the single most important part of a computer. The CPU processes data, calculations, and controls most of the other components.

CPUs sit on the motherboard in a dedicated socket. It is important to know that these sockets are often specific to particular generations of CPU. They’re also specific to CPU manufacturers (AMD or Intel).

Once secured on the motherboard, a CPU is cooled with a cooling unit, usually a heatsink and fan. However, other PC cooling solutions are available.

Like the motherboard, it is unwise to upgrade your CPU yourself if you are a beginner. In most cases, upgrading your CPU will require a new motherboard, along with a heat sink and perhaps other components.

Find out more in our guide to how a CPU works.

Power Supply Unit (PSU)

Providing power to the PC is the PSU, usually found at the back of the PC case. A look at the back of your computer will show you where the power cable is attached. There is usually an on-off switch on this, in addition to the power switch on the front of the computer.

PSUs power the motherboard and CPU via dedicated cables. SATA power cables power everything else in the computer. PSUs are rated by the amount of power they supply (e.g. 600 watts).

It is important that your computer is powered properly. If it isn’t, components will not work correctly, and the system will soon fail.

To upgrade your PSU, first research the specifications of the video card and CPU. You also want to make sure you get the proper connectors for your system. The PSU can be replaced by first disconnecting all internal cables. Follow this by removing the screws that secure it to the PC case.

Fixed Storage Device (Hard Drive or SSD)

Data is retained on your PC in a storage device. For decades a hard disk drive (HDD) has served this purpose, but PCs increasingly rely on other devices. These are usually Solid State Storage (SSD) devices, compact 2.5-inch devices that look just like HDDs.

HDDs and SSDs are found at the front of the PC’s case and connected to the motherboard via SATA cables. Drives required two cables: one for power, one for data. Older disk drives rely on wider ribbon cables, known as PATA, with an IDE connector for data. They’re powered by Molex plugs.

If a HDD or SSD dies or you plan to upgrade to a larger capacity storage device, they can be easily swapped out. Just make the necessary backup precautions, before you unplug the device and remove the securing screws/clips. The SSD or HDD can then be replaced.

Removable Storage: DVD-ROM or Blu-ray

Image Credit: William Hook/Wikimedia

Increasingly uncommon on laptop computers, desktops still seem to ship with an optical drive. This is known as removable storage, typically a DVD-ROM or Blu-ray drive, with read and write capabilities.

Upgrading an optical drive is simple. Unplug the cables, unscrew, or unlock the drive from its housing, the push it out the front of the case.

A USB stick or SD card, both based on flash RAM, are also removable storage. PCs frequently ship with a card reader and USB ports on the front. Replacing a card reader is simple—again by unplugging and pushing through from the back to pull it out.

Cooling Fans

An oft-overlooked PC part is the cooling fan. At least two are required: one for the CPU, and another for the case.

The purpose of the CPU fan is to keep the CPU cool. Because it gets hot inside a computer, motherboard fans draw cool air in; additional fans draw the heated air out.

In most cases there should be a fan on the back of the case, another on the side or the front. Many cases come with fans built in, but these are usually low grade. Superior fans can be installed, designed to replace or complement the existing cooling solution.

Cooling fans are usually powered by a cable from the PSU and are secured to the case with screws. Many fans ship with built-in LEDs to pimp your PC case.

Graphics Card (GPU)

Also known as a video card, the graphics card or GPU (Graphic Processing Unit) links your computer to a display. While older PCs employed a VGA port, current computers use HDMI to connect to HD displays.

In most cases the video out port is connected to an integrated graphics card on the motherboard. However, this isn’t always the case.

Modern games require better graphics cards. As such, gamers, video editors, graphic designers, and other specialists employ dedicated graphics cards. GPUs slot into a dedicated PCI-Express (PCIe) slot on the PC’s motherboard. This overrides the motherboard’s GPU.

Graphics cards are prone to compatibility issues such as size specifications, slot placement, motherboard type, processor speed, and power intake. However, upgrading is as simple as removing the securing screw and clip, unplugging the GPU and slotting the replacement in its place.

Sound Card

On the back of your PC you will typically find three to five small circular ports. These are usually colored. In some cases, you might also find them on the front of your PC.

These are the audio ports, connected to your computer’s sound card. Like the video card, a sound card is usually integrated into the motherboard. However, for specialist use such as gaming and audio development or recording purposes, a dedicated sound card might be used.

Sound cards offer various audio improvements, such as advanced audio processing and Dolby 7.1 surround sound. Like the GPU, the sound card slots into a PCIe slot on the motherboard (a different slot to the GPU, however).

A new sound card has minimal compatibility issues.

Now You Know the Different Parts of a Computer

By now you should know the names of the various PC parts in your computer. You should also be able to recognize them too, as well as have an idea as to how they can be replaced.

Congratulations! You’re on the road to understanding how to service your own computer and save money. It might even lead to you building your own one day.

But this article is not about how to build a computer. If you’re ready to do that, consult our guide on how to build a PC.

Read the full article: The Basic Parts of a Computer and How to Upgrade Them

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