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A Hardware Threepack

Posted by michael on from the tab-A-in-slot-B dept.

Johnath writes: "This just happens to be a great time to be a hardware junkie. For those interested in learning more about the metal under their PC's hood, Tom's Hardware has a great intro to PCB manufacturing, Ars Technica has recently written an architectural study of the P4, and ExtremeTech has a decent look at the South Bridge." The circuit board article is really good - explains it better than the textbooks I've seen.

4 of 51 comments (clear)

  1. Making your own PCB by bheilig · · Score: 3, Informative

    I have used Express PCB twice and have been happy with their quality and response time. They have a free CAD PCB design tool available for download. This is great for small, do-it-yourself projects requiring better manufacturing than Radio Shack kits can provide. They create two-sided boards complete with vias.

    What other services are available?

    I have a really great quote, but I'm not going to tell you. -- me

  2. Re:Eh... What??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    No.....

    Conformal Coating is the clear plastic that is sprayed on the circuit board after it has been stuffed with parts and soldered. The original author was correct with his definition of solder mask.

    Conformal coating is usually used to prevent oxidation.

  3. Re:"Great time"? by AA0 · · Score: 2, Informative

    only a uninformed person would think Nvidia, Nvidia, Nvidia. The Radeon 8500 was previewed... and it makes the GF3 look like a POS. It has many many features, incredible results, and huge theoritical numbers. The chip isn't finished yet, but the preview at Tom's Hardware is showing good results... and the drivers are still very early. The Radeon 7500 is matching the GF2 pro quite well too, but its pretty cheap.

    In september, when its released... it should be impressive, if ATI gets their proper gpu manufacturing working first. Nvidia doesn't touch them in terms of picture quality either.

    ATI has switched to a unified driver architure with the Radeon series. Their win2k performance is up to theit win9x performance... its looking good for them, seeing how cheap they are compared to Nvidia.

  4. Solder mask vs. conformal coating by Animats · · Score: 4, Informative
    They're two different things. A solder mask is a (usually green) layer that covers the parts of the board that don't need solder. This allows closer spacing between traces, because the solder mask protects them from solder bridges. Solder masks are for wave-soldered boards with through-hole components; surface mount boards use a different technique.


    A conformal coating is a thick, usually clear, protective layer that goes on after the components are inserted and soldered. It protects the board against water and other environmental hazards. Boards in computers usually don't get a conformal coating, but automotive, marine, and aerospace electronics usually do.
    You can get conformal coatings in spray cans and do it yourself, which can be useful if you're building electronics that has to survive wet environments.