From the computer geek who wants to buy the requisite components of a machine and put it together himself to the casual user who wants to upgrade one aspect of his computer, computer parts are at the foundation of the build or upgrade. Such components are varied, from the “guts” of the computer, such as the motherboard, chipset, power supply and fan, to more easily accessed parts like memory sticks, video cards, sound cards, network interface cards (NIC) and a host of others. Regardless of whether you’re doing a simple memory upgrade or building a box from scratch, researching and purchasing the proper components is imperative.

Even more important is to make sure to match an intended video card, sound card or other hardware upgrade to the type of slots available on your computer’s motherboard. Among the types of video/graphics cards available are PCI Express, PCI Express 2.0, AGP, PCI and SLI video cards. A video card upgrade is particularly popular for many users as they upgrade their monitors or if they are into gaming. Some popular manufacturers include NVidia, EVGA, Diamond Multimedia, ATI Technologies and PNY, to name just a few.

Another popular upgrade that necessitates careful research of computer parts is a memory upgrade. It is important to first know how many memory slots are available on your computer’s motherboard before purchasing memory because the number of slots available will dictate how many memory “sticks” you buy as well as how much memory is available on each stick. Understanding the type of memory your computer takes is also of the utmost importance. Some memory types include DDR RAM, DDR-Dual Channel, DDR2 RAM, DDR3 RAM, ECC Memory, to name a few.

Those building a computer from the ground up require a greater number of components, ranging from the case itself to the motherboard, chipset, hard drive, etc. Those taking this approach have the luxury of purchasing what they consider to be the “best” products at each stage and can “mix and match” parts to make a super-machine of their choosing.

Finally, perhaps the most-purchased upgrades revolve around various so-called computer peripherals, which typically include printers, monitors, speakers, external hard drives, scanners, microphones, cameras, external network cards, etc. The trend now among desktop computers is to use widescreen LCD monitors that are sleek, take up little room on a table or desk, and come in much higher resolutions than their CRT predecessors. LCD monitors ranging from 17” to 23” are becoming fairly standard now, with more savvy users and technophiles often employing larger monitors and dual monitor displays via a KVM switch.

It’s something about the Midwest. Maybe it’s corn-feeding, the beer, or the cheese – kids out here are just bigger. That means they also to be much better at football. State universities like University of Michigan, University of Ohio, Kansas State, and University of Iowa combined send hundreds of kids to the NFL each year. Many of these players come from the same states they play for, raising an interesting possibility – is there something about certain areas that makes their students better athletes and superior football players?

Consider this. Starting in high school, Michigan football players have already made it through a number of cuts. The first cuts aim at weeding out any inferior athletes or players. A subsequent round of cuts is implemented at bigger schools that separate the students with enough talent and athleticism to play in college from other students, whose careers will probably end after high school. Among the former group, further divisions are made between Division 1, Division 2, and Division 3 material in order to create “strings” of players – starters, relief bench players, and backup bench players. By the time a recruiter for a big NCAA school comes to watch a game, literally a dozen players have been eliminated for each player that does actually play the starting position on offense, defense, or special teams.

What is it that makes some players better than others? Can it really just be a matter of Midwestern genetics, diet, and the obsession with football? Many of the coaches I’ve talked to who coach high school Michigan football players agree that beyond determination to become a better player and a better athlete, beyond natural ability and natural athleticism – studiousness can make a borderline college player into Division 1 material. Since football requires players to read other teams’ tactics and to respond to those in literally milliseconds, varsity players who take the time to study the game and their opponents will have a tremendous advantage, especially since – as they learn from watching instead of from a coach – they will internalize what they learn and be able to implement it with great efficacy.

All an aspiring college athlete needs to do is take the advice of the great Midwestern coaches. A real love for football will make it easy to watch games played by great teams and the thousands of high school football video clips that are available online. Just by viewing, a player can intuit the common mistakes made by players and learn to avoid them, while also noting even just a few of techniques and strategies used by winning players to blow out opponent after opponent.