Kirk Steers

Configuring two or more hard drives in a RAID (Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks) setup can increase performance and/or provide automatic protection against data loss from drive failure. RAID used to be expensive, hard to implement, and limited to businesses with dedicated IT departments. Now, motherboards in most desktop PCs support RAID, and Windows 7 provides software RAID that requires no special hardware at all. The technology is easily within the reach of the wallet and skills of any reasonably tech-savvy PC user.

What type of RAID do I want?

RAID comes in a number of flavors--or levels--that offer data protection, enhanced performance, or both. In addition to the seven core levels (RAID 0 through RAID 6), you'll encounter a number of variants and combinations. Some controllers (and dedicated external storage and NAS boxes) can layer and even abstract RAID levels, allowing you to mix and match different capacity drives and add capacity without any additional configuration.

If you want to identify a USB device on your system, use Nirsoft's handy utility USBDeview. This freebie provides names, serial numbers, USB ports, and other useful information for keeping track of all your connected gadgets.

--Kirk Steers

Fierce competition between Intel and AMD has pushed prices for many CPUs well below $100, making a processor upgrade more practical for older PCs.

Determine which replacement CPUs your system's motherboard can use by running the Intel Chipset Identification Utility.Start by finding out which CPUs your PC's motherboard supports; check the device's documentation, or visit the manufacturer's Web site.For Intel CPUs, identify your chip set with the Intel Chipset Identification Utility; for either Intel or AMD hardware, use SiSoft's Sandra 2007 Lite.