Table of Contents

Table of Contents Dear Reader Introduction to Finding the Right Parts Finding the Right Parts Introduction to My First Time My First Time Introduction to Battlefield 2 Battlefield 2 Introduction to Though the Panama Canal Though the Panama Canal

Dear Reader

My name is Matthew Downsworth and I grew up on a small island where I was home schooled by my mom and dad. I liked being home schooled because I could get done with my work fast and I could work around a schedule. In the 6th grade I went to public school to give it a shot and to make more friends. After the 6th grade I did some scholastics testing because I was having a lot of problems with schoolwork and understanding what was being taught. The test showed that I was Dyslexia and my weak points were reading, writing, and English. To help me out my mom and dad took me out of public school to work on my weak points in a way that I could understand and I could take my own time.
For high school I decided that I wanted to go to public school so I could graduate with my friends. Because of my parents help in home schooling, public school was not too hard and I would be able to graduate with my friends. When I was about to graduate friends and teachers said that the most important time of your life is what you do after high school and what you pick to do will change your life forever. Well I chose to go to college and try to get a degree in computer because I enjoy working on and with computers. Ever since I left high school many things have changed in my life and I have learned a lot.
I went to Skagit Community College after high school. It was very different from high school but since it was on the island I had a lot of high school teachers teaching me at the college. After two years at Skagit I decide that I wanted to get off the island and go to a real college because everyone at the Skagit campus was running on island time and the teachers did not care too much. I researched colleges and decided that I would go to Everett Community College.
This quarter I decided to take an English class even though I do not like writing or English because it is difficult for me. When I took English 97 at Everett Community College things just seemed to click and the material was starting to make sense in writing and English. This whole quarter has been like a puzzle where the pieces are just falling in to place and things are making sense. I have learned a lot about sentence format and writing papers.
In English 97 we had to do many different things to help improve our self’s in this quarter, the class had to do different kinds of journal writing assignments, post blog's on a website and do MWA which is major writing assignments. During this class we went over many different types of ways to write papers, like narrative, descriptive, process, and a few other types. A narrative is where you tell a story about something real or not real. Were as a descriptive is where you describe something that you have experienced. Then a process is how to tell the order of something like a perfect day or how to build something. At the end of the class we have to do an e-portfolio, which consists of four writing assignments that we have done in class. For the four writing assignments we had to have a major writing assignment, a descriptive, a blog or a journal and a writer's choice.
For this assignment I have picked papers that show my new strengths in my writing and English that I have acquired in English 97 class. Also I felt very strong about the pieces I pick because I felt that I learned a lot from writing them. This assignment I think shows a lot about me, and what I learned in English 97. I hope that you will enjoy all the assignments that I have picked and thank you for tanking a moment out of your day to read my e-portfolio.

Introduction to Finding the Right Parts

This assignment was my last major writing assignment and it was a process paper. This paper was based about the process of something that we know how to do, and it is to tell other people how to do it the same way you did. I picked this piece because I think I learned from writing this paper, and also because I think this paper will show the best of my new writing strengths using words to tell a step-by-step process instead of numbers. I think that is shows a clear step-by-step process of how to build a computer. For example if I tell you that “the first thing you have to pick out what type of computer you want and need.” Also that “if you do not stop and check to make sure that all your parts are compatible with each other.”

Finding the Right Parts

Not many people know how to build a computer because there are lots of requirements in order to achieve this task. But in doing so you can learn more about computers and be able to upgrade your computer when it is needed. I will go over the step-by-step process of how to find the right parts for your computer. There are many things you have to do and if you do not do them in that order, then you will have a computer that does not work and you will have wasted your money. The list starts with what kind of computer, then research and buying the parts to make the computer. I will go over all these steps in depth.

First off you need to find out what the computer is going to be used for; there are many different types of computers. There are gaming computers, multi-media computers, graphing computers, and basic computers. To build a gaming computer you need to make sure that the video card is excellent quality has lots of memory, a good processor, and a fast hard drive. For a multi-media computer it depends, a little on whether you are using the computer for movies or music. For movies you want a good video card and for music you want a good sound card and for both you will need a lot of memory and a big hard drive. Also for the basic computer you do not need everything just the basics, and it is the cheapest out of all the different kinds of computers. So figure out what you are going to use your computer for the most.

Once you have figured out what kind of computer you are going to use, then you need to go and find the parts necessary to make the computer. I chose to use on line stores to find and order my computer parts. There are two stores I recommend if you are looking to build your computer the first is www.newegg.com as they are very friendly and help out every way possible. They have people’s reviews on products that buyers have purchased. The other is www.xoxide.com because they have a lot of cool products that they sell and they are good if you want to customize your computer or add your own touch to the computer.

There is a certain order that you need to follow when you are finding your computer parts. The first thing you need to look for is a processor this will help you decide what motherboard you will need. There are two types of processors you can choose from: AMD and Intel; it is up to you to pick one. I prefer to buy Intel because my brother works for them and he tells me about all the new upgrades for processor and which is the latest model. The main thing you have to think about is how fast you want your computer to run and which one comes with a good price.

Once you have chosen your processor you will then need to look for a motherboard, which will fit your processor socket type. I recommend buying a motherboard that is made from Asus because they are very reliable. There are a lot of little things you can customizes with your motherboard to make it fit your own needs. Also, when buying a motherboard I recommend getting one that does not have an integrated video card because they are not as good as one that you can buy and it just takes up space on the motherboard.

After you have your motherboard picked out you will need to pick a memory card, which will fit your motherboard chip set. The more memory the better and faster the computer runs. It is recommended that you get 2GBs or more memory to run the computer successfully. I recommend that you buy a Kingston or Crosair brands for you memory because they are the best and most reliable.

Then you will need to pick out a video card that will fit your motherboard. Remember to pick a video card that fits the computer you are building. For the video card I recommend that you get a card that is an Nvidia chip set manufacturer and made by Asus because that is the most reliable and compatible video card. Also consider getting a physics card to improve your graphics.

The next thing you will need is a CD/DVD player/burner. To this I recommend just getting one or two that have a good reverse and that fit your needs. If it has good reverse it means that other people have used them and they work well. After the CD/DVD player you will need to get a hard drive and there are a lot of different hard drives out there to pick from. I recommend getting a hard drive that has a SATA connection because it is faster connections between the motherboard and the hard drive. Make sure that you get a hard drive that is made by Western Digital they are the best.

Now that you have the hard drive you will need to get a power supply. If you can afford it, get the new power efficient power supply. All I recommend to do is make sure that it is over 500w so that you do not short out your computer. Also make sure that it is an ATX type of power supply because they will fit more computer cases. The other types of power supply are less common and are not very compatible

Once you have a power supply you will need to get a case. This is where you get to pick how your computer will look. This part is where you can really define your computer because there are so many different types of cases. I recommend that you pick a full size ATX type case because they are easy to work with. The case will also fit your motherboard and your power supply.

You might need to get some cooling for your case and memory, and you will also need to get a heatsink and fan processor. For your case you should pick fans that will fit. If you need to get cooling for your memory I recommend that you get copper memory heatsinks. You can tell you need cooling if it does not have any heatsink. You will need to make sure the processor heatsink and fan fits the socket type to make it run cooler because cooler is better.

You are almost done with finding your parts now you have to get a monitor. I recommend that you get a CLT monitor because they are flat and save space. The size of the screen is up to you and how much you are willing to spend. The brand I recommend is Asus because they have a good warranty.

Last of all you will need a keyboard and mouse. The main thing that you should think about when you are looking for a mouse and keyboard is comfort. Another thing to think about is if you need a special keyboard and mouse for your computer. I recommend that you get a wired keyboard and mouse because you do not have to worry about battery and wireless failing.

Once you have all the parts, you will need to get an operating system and programs. I recommend XP professional because it is the most reliable and bug free operating system. Last but not least get any programs that you will need for your computer system. Once you have done all that go and order all the parts and programs you need so you can begin to build your computer. Now that you have completed your ordering and have all your parts there is not much left to do but build the computer? You now know how to research and find the right parts for your new computer. So you can save money because you do not have to pay for someone to make your computer. That is the process of building your own computer and saving money. It is not an easy process but it is worth it if you can because you can customize your computer to your exact personal needs. The first time is the hardest but after a few times it becomes really easy and you will know what you are looking for. It will also be easy to upgrade your computer because you know what you have and what you will need to upgrade your computer.

Introduction to My First Time

This assignment was my tenth journal that I had to write and it was to tell a fist time experience. I wrote this journal about half way through the quarter. I picked this because this paper is about the first time I built a computer and I will never forget it. The strengths about this paper are that it shows how I felt as well as what I had to do. For example I showed the process with words like “first I had to find all the parts.” Also that it was step by step of what I did the first time I built my first computer.

My First Time

The first time I built a computer was a cool experience. I had to do a lot of things to build my first computer. I was very excited because I had always wanted to build a computer and now it was coming true. The first thing was I had to find all the parts and make sure they would work together. That was the hardest it consisted of a lot of research and time. Then I had to order the parts and pay for them. After I ordered the parts I had to wait for them to arrive and make sure that nothing was damaged from shipping. Next I had build the computer following the instructions. Make sure to follow them closely so that you do not destroy any of the parts you have ordered. After building the computer I had to plug it in to see if it works. I had several feelings while I was putting together this computer. One of the feelings was excitement and being proud that I was able to accomplish doing something I liked, but I was also scared that I might totally mess it up. The reason why I built the computer was it was a birthday gift for my girlfriend. I also did it so that I could learn how to make computers. Now I want to build and work on computers for a career because of the first time I made a computer.

Introduction to Battlefield 2

This was my fourth blog and it is about a game that I like to play a lot. I wrote this near the end of the quarter and it is a good generalization of the game. I picked this blog because it describes the basics of the game so if you were to play this game you would know what to do. The strengths of this paper were that it uses good descriptive words about the game and how it works. For example I tell about all the different soldiers you can be if you decided to play the game. Another thing is how the game works, you are trying to work as a team to win and get points to get better weapons.