Computer Memory

When your computer’s main storage drive starts to fail, there will sometimes be an indication or two that it is about to happen. It could be that it’s a very gradual slowdown or a more marked deterioration in performance, but in either sense, a bit of investigation is needed to assess the health of your computer’s non-volatile memory.

Self Monitoring Analysis and Reporting (aka SMART) technology is a capability integrated into most modern computers that enable the user to keep an eye on the health of your of its systems. It can be used to assess the health of both conventional Hard Disk Drives (HDDs) and Solid State Drives (SSDs).

Third-Party App
Whilst SMART is built into every Windows computer, viewing the information isn’t as straightforward as it could and as result of this, it’s usually better to try a third-party application rather than view very basic info via a command prompt.
 
We hold no affiliation with any of these types of software and as such, we can’t vouch for the reliability or efficacy. However, judging by the many positive reviews, apps like HD Tune and GSmartControl are the kind of utility software you are looking for that supports the SMART facility.

Health check
Although the layout and procedures of each brand of open source software will differ, they will work along the same lines. With each, there will be a way to begin the health check and a way to view status information. Whichever you choose, there will be clear indications that a problem exists with either your HDD or your SSD.

There will obviously be gradations of health and you might see notifications relating to areas of caution to be aware of if it detects that your non-volatile memory is beginning to deteriorate.

It could be that your Hard Drive or SSD is literally about to fail or the info displayed could point to a failure months or even years into the future. However, armed with this information, you can take whatever steps you need to a) backup all of your important data and b) look at replacing the hardware as necessary.

Constant Monitoring
That is about the long and short of it for this useful type of diagnostic software, but some will also have a useful feature that can be used as an early warning system for potential issues. Running silently in the background as SMART programs can notify you when the status of any of your drives change. Again, the steps for each 3rd party app will differ, but will all do pretty much the same thing.

ASRock Incorporated is a Taiwanese manufacturer of Home Theatre PCs (HTPCs), industrial PCs and motherboards. Currently, a subsidiary of parent organisation Pegatron, the company came into being back in 2002 and is headed by founder and CEO, Ted Hsu. The company primarily focuses on the research, development, and creation of Industrial computer hardware for the global market.

ASRock formerly represented an R&D arm of Asus Computers, which was created to provide competition to OEM hardware giants Foxconn. Illustrating a diverse portfolio, ASRock branched out into the D.I.Y. sector after the company’s floating on the Taiwan Stock Exchange in 2007.

2nd Parent Company
3 years later, ASRock again came under the umbrella of a larger corporation, this time Pegatron, a Taiwan based electronics firm. Since then, the company has grown significantly and is now an established supplier of servers, HTPC motherboards, and consumer electronics to over 90 countries across Asia, Europe and the US.

Celebrity Involvement
The company today stands as the 3rd biggest manufacturer of motherboards in the world and has had celebrity assistance in creating a supreme gaming-oriented motherboard. Johnathan Wendel, who goes under the handle “Fatal1ty” has been crowned FPS World Games Champion a record 12 times. He has been involved with the development of their hardware for a number of years, as has Nick Shih, HWBOT ‘overclocking’  champion.

The X299 Taichi XE
The net result of the involvement of this kind of insight can be seen when looking at the specs offered by one of their latest creations, the X299 Taichi XE motherboard, featuring:

• DDR4 4400+ RAM
• XXL Heat Pipe & Aluminium Alloy Heatsink
• The ability to support X Series Processor Family (Intel Core)
• Dual Power connectors
• 7.1 channel Realtek Audio
• Dual Intel Gigabit LAN

Product Range
As well as supplying motherboards, ASRock is also a vendor of desktop ‘mini computers’, something they have done with distinction, being named on the 2012 shortlist for Taiwanese ‘Brand Award’ for the very first time. It was a good period for the company, as its products became ETDC (External Trade Development Council) endorsed in 2013.

Market Share
ASRock enjoys a significant share of the global market, standing at around 38% and it attains this via retail channels in a traditional store environment and online. On a national level, the company is rated number 1 in Korea and number 2 in Japan, both of which are significant and influential markets.

What lays ahead for the Taiwanese giant? Well, for this relative newcomer to the IT hardware manufacturing world, it seems like the sky's the limit and ts long term future is assured (as much as it ever can be).