Section 1.5- 1.10

I've done an additional two and a half hours of tutorials and note taking within the past two days. Section 1.5 went over a concept that I had never heard of before- RAID- or a Redundant Array of Independent Disks. The tutorial went over RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, and Nested RAID (or RAID 1+0). RAID is a method of storing data over multiple disks to gain redundancy (reliability in case of an error) and efficiency (writing data over multiple disks takes much less time than it takes to write a whole file on one disk). The tutorial went over 4 different RAID methods, and outlined their differences. 1.6 taught about CPU socket types, CPU characteristics, and methods of cooling the CPU. The first section went over the different sockets for AMD and Intel processors that have appeared over the years- and how to identify them on a motherboard. The next section then described how to rate the speed of a processor, explained cache memory levels, and then went over model-unique characteristics such as hyperthreading (a performance upgrade by Intel), virtualization support (to run multiple operating systems on one client), and integrated graphics processing units. The last part of 1.6 went over heat sinks, on-board fans, case fans, and liquid coolant to bring temperatures down inside of a computer. 1.7  briefly taught about different interfaces and case sockets- like USB ports or SATA ports for hard drives. 1.8 was about powering computers, and what happens when you plug in your computer to an outlet. Once you plug in your computer, the power supply within your computer then turns the alternating current from the outlet into direct current- which computer components can use. The power supply also is responsible for distributing the power correcting and regulating the Watt output. 1.9 taught about designing custom computer systems- and choosing appropriate components for certain situations. For example, an office employee who uses their computer mainly for document writing will need a computer build that is much less intensive than a video-editor- who may need specialized audio and video cards. Lastly, 1.10 discussed computer displays- and which might be best for certain situations. For example, a Plasma screen displays color accurately and has a good response time, but uses a lot of power and may not work well in high-altitude locations. LCD displays use less power, but since they always have a back-light, they don't display dark colors accurately. After going through Section 1 of my second group of tutorials, I've noticed a huge increase in my knowledge of computer hardware. Going back through the pictures I took of our desktop, not only was I able to identify what each component was but also how it functioned. I would say that this is the greatest sign of my overall improvement. With these additional two and a half hours, I now have a total of 27.5 hours.