100+ Essential PC Building Terms Defined

4K

A high definition resolution, commonly measured as 3840 x 2160 pixels.

AIO (All-in-One)

Often refers to a computer that houses all its components in the monitor, though can also refer to other equipment like printers and CPU coolers.

Air cooler

CPU coolers that use a heat sink and fans to move hot air away from the CPU (different from liquid cooling).

AMD

A leading brand in CPU and GPU hardware, including Ryzen CPUs and Radeon graphics cards.

Aspect ratio

The ratio of horizontal pixels to vertical pixels (e.g., 16:9 or 4:3).

ASRock

Manufacturer known for motherboards, GPUs, and industrial PCs.

ASUS

Manufacturer known for GPUs, motherboards, and monitors.

ATX (Advanced Technology eXtended)

The most common motherboard form factor. ATX motherboards tend to be known as full-sized motherboards, compared to microATX or Mini ATX.

be quiet!

Manufacturer of low-noise power supplies, cases, and cooling hardware (like CPU coolers).

BIOS (Basic Input/Output System)

Firmware used to initialize hardware during the booting process. If no operating system is installed on a computer, you will see the BIOS screen.

Boot drive

The drive that the operating system is installed on.

Bottleneck

When a component in a PC reaches its performance limit and other hardware is unable to perform at maximum capacity as a result.

Case

Used to house PC components. They come in different form factors and designs.

Case fan

Fans that screw into a PC case to help pull cold air into the case, and push hot air out.

Chip

Silicon component used in many components, like CPUs and GPUs, allowing them to function.

Chipset

A motherboard's firmware, used to determine compatibility with other components.

Clock speed

The speed at which components run, often measured in MHz or GHz.

CMOS (Complementary Metal-oxide-semiconductor)

Built-in memory on a motherboard that stores BIOS settings.

Cooler

A component designed to reduce temperatures of other components inside a PC case.

Corsair

One of the leading PC component and peripheral brands, known for its RGB flair.

CPU (Central Processing Unit)

The main processor that controls a PC. It interacts with other components like the GPU.

DDR (Double Data Rate)

Followed by a number (e.g., DDR4 or DDR5), this represents the generation of RAM.

DIMM (Dual In-line Memory Module)

A circuit board containing memory chips, usually known as RAM.

DIMM slot

The slots on a motherboard that house RAM.

DisplayPort

A digital interface that sends audio and video in one cable. It supports higher refresh rates over HDMI.

DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling)

NVIDIA technology that's used for video rendering to enhance images and upscale them.

EATX (Extended ATX)

Motherboards that are larger than ATX motherboards, often used for very high-end PCs.

EVGA

Manufacturer known for components like PSUs and GPUs.

FHD (Full High Definition)

A video resolution measuring 1920 x 1080 pixels.

Firmware

Software embedded into the read-only memory of hardware.

Flash

The process of updating a chip's firmware. You can flash a BIOS to update it to the latest version, for example.

Form factor

Referred to as the shape or size of a component. Motherboards, for example, come in different sizes, as do PC cases.

FPS (Frames per Second)

The number of individual frames outputted per second on a display.

FreeSync

Adaptive synchronization technology from AMD that support dynamic refresh rates.

G.Skill

Hardware manufacturer known for its RAM.

GHz (Gigahertz)

Often used to refer to clock speeds. 1GHz is equal to 1,000,000,000Hz.

Gigabyte

Hardware manufacturer known for motherboards and graphics cards.

GPU (Graphics Processing Unit)

The chip that produces images you see on a monitor. Some CPUs come with integrated graphics, but most require a dedicated graphics card.

Graphics card

The component that houses the GPU, which produces the on-screen image. Often used to mean GPU, though the two are technically different.

G-Sync

NVIDIA's variable refresh rate technology.

GTX (Giga Texel Shader eXtreme)

A line of NVIDIA graphics cards, often used in mid-range PCs.

HDD (Hard Disk Drive)

A mechanical storage device capable of holding lots of data, though they are slower than an SSD.

HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface)

A common digital interface for connecting devices to displays. It sends audio and video together.

Hz (Hertz)

A unit of frequency, typically used to describe refresh rates.

I/O (Input/Output) shield

Included with the motherboard, this metal plate clips into the side of a case to cover the motherboard ports.

Integrated graphics

Graphics that are built in to a CPU, enabling the production of an image on-screen without a dedicated graphics card.

Intel

One of the leading CPU manufacturers known for its Core CPU line.

Liquid cooling

Also known as water cooling, this is a method of using liquid to reduce computer temperature, rather than fans.

M.2

A form factor for SSDs and replaces the mSATA standard.

microATX

A motherboard form factor. Smaller than ATX boards, but often the cheapest form factor you can purchase.

MHz (Megahertz)

Often refers to RAM and GPU clock speeds. 1MHz is equal to 1,000,000Hz.

Modular

Components (often power supplies) with detachable cables.

Monitor

The screen that a computer connects to.

Motherboard

The board that connects all the components together, distributing power to them and allowing them to interact with each other.

MSI

A popular component manufacturer known for graphics cards, motherboards, PSUs, and gaming laptops.

Noctua

A premium air cooler manufacturer, developing low-noise solutions.

NVIDIA

One of the leading graphics card manufacturers, known for its GTX and RTX line of cards.

NVMe (Nonvolatile Memory Express)

A storage protocol used for SSDs, offering fast transfer speeds.

NZXT

Manufacturer of PC cases, peripherals, and cooling.

ODD (Optical Disc Drive)

A disc reader that can be installed in a PC to read CDs and DVDs.

OS (Operating System)

The software that's installed on a PC and allows you to manage files and access applications. The most common operating systems include Windows, Linux, and macOS.

Overclocking

Increasing the speed at which a component can run at to improve performance. For example, you can overclock RAM to run at higher speeds than you get as standard.

PCB (Printed Circuit Board)

A board that connects electronic components. The motherboard is a PCB.

PCIe (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express)

A slot type in the motherboard, like PCIe x16. The number reflects the amount of PCIe lanes.

Peripheral

A component that isn't part of a PC, but can be used with it, like a keyboard, mouse, and webcam.

Phanteks

Hardware manufacturer known for CPU coolers, cases, and fans.

PNY

Component manufacturer known for graphics cards and NVMe drives.

POST (Power-on Self-test)

Once power is provided to the motherboard, a POST is run by the BIOS to ensure everything is running correctly.

Pre-built

A computer that has been assembled prior to the customer receiving it.

PSU (Power Supply Unit)

Provides electricity (power) to all of the components connected to a motherboard.

PWM (Pulse Width Modulation)

Some fans are equipped with this technology, allowing them to adjust speed based upon component temperature.

QHD (Quad High Definition)

Monitors or displays with a 2560 x 1440 resolution.

RAM (Random Access Memory)

Often referred to as just memory, RAM holds data temporarily and stores it short-term until the CPU needs it.

Ray tracing

Realistic rendering graphics technology that's used for lighting.

Razer

One of the most popular PC component manufacturers, known for its gaming keyboards and mice.

Resolution

The number of pixels displayed on a screen, often expressed in a width by height measurement.

RTX

A line of NVIDIA graphics cards like the 5000 and 6000 series.

Samsung

One of the largest chip manufacturers, also well-known for producing NVMe SSDs.

SATA (Serial Advanced Technology Attachment)

An interface that connects adapters to mass storage devices like hard drives.

SFF (Small Form Factor)

Refers to smaller components or PCs.

SFX

A smaller PSU, different from a standard (ATX) form factor.

Socket type

The type of socket (pin connector) that a motherboard uses. Some sockets only support specific hardware models.

SODIMM (Small Outline Dual In-line Memory Module)

A smaller version of DIMM, often used in laptops.

SSD (Solid-state Drive)

A non-mechanical, flash-based storage drive. SSDs are faster than HDDs, but are more expensive per gigabyte.

SteelSeries

Popular peripheral manufacturer known for its headphones and keyboards.

Stock cooler

The CPU cooler that comes with the CPU; often less powerful and efficient at cooling than aftermarket CPUs.

TB (Terabyte)

1TB is equal to 1,024 gigabytes (GB), which is made up of 1,024 megabytes (MB).

TBW (Terabytes Written)

An estimate of the total bytes that you can write to an SSD in its lifetime.

TDP (Thermal Design Power)

The amount of heat a component will produce or dissipate.

Thermal paste

A paste applied between the CPU and its cooler, designed for creating optimal heat transfer.

Thermal throttling

When a component reduces its clock speed for safety, based on how much heat is being generated.

TKL (Tenkeyless)

Keyboards that don't include a number pad and are smaller than full-size keyboards.

Tower

Another term for a PC case.

U.2

An interface standard for connecting SSDs to a computer.

UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface)

The interface between the operating system and computer firmware. It's a BIOS replacement.

UHD (Ultra HD)

Refers to monitors with a 3840 x 2160 resolution, also known as 4K.

Ultrawide

Ultrawide monitors come with higher than normal aspect ratios, like 21:9 rather than 16:9.

USB (Universal Series Bus)

A common connection type for connecting components like keyboards, mice, headsets, and other peripherals.

VRM (Voltage Regulator Module)

Regulates the amount of voltage sent to hardware like the CPU and GPU.

Wi-Fi

A type of network connection that allows wireless internet connectivity.

XMP (Extreme Memory Profile)

A pre-defined memory profile for simple overclocking of RAM.