Buying A Computer Essay Research Paper COSC

Buying A Computer Essay, Research Paper

COSC 1401.004 TTH Mrs. Armstrong April 29, 1998 Buying a Computer Choosing the computer components What should I look for. First I will consider of the following components since the are the most important components to in order to help the computer work faster and better. – Processor (MHz)- Memory- CD-ROM Now, we have already established the necessity of a computer, and we have decided where one should go to purchase a computer. What else do we need to know. Well, a student buying a computer needs to know what to buy. What computer components should a student interested in a personal computer look for. What should I look for. In the initial stages of determining what sort of computer you need to get, at some point you need to ask yourself, what am I going to be using the computer for. Whether you intend to write papers for class, surf the World Wide idea of what the minimum requirements the computer needs to have. For this report, we are looking at the requirements of a typical student. That is, one who will be using a Windows version of some word processing program, as well as other programs found in the Microsoft Office97 package, anticipating internet use, animated presentations, high-level graphics and multitasking. What Type of Configuration Do You Need. Most computer systems, particularly the higher-end models, come in more than one configuration, desktop, mini tower, or tower. The configuration you chose depends mainly on the amount of expansion you plan to do in the future. Most tower configurations tend to have a greater amount of expandability than do desktop models as well as larger power supplies to handle additional internal components, such as multiple hard drives, CD-ROM drives, and tape drives. Also, the amount of space that you have in your office or home also needs to be taken into consideration. Tower configurations are made to be placed on the floor (except for the mini tower models), whereas desktop models are made to sit on the surface where the keyboard and monitor are located. Other than expandability and maybe a larger internal power supply, whether the computer is a desktop, mini tower, or tower configuration, it’s still the same computer. Here is a detailed look at some important components that one should consider: Processor (MHz) A processor is the “brain of your computer.” The megahertz (MHz) number means several things. First of all, the higher the number, the longer the computer will remain modern and the less likely it will be to become obsolete. The megahertz number represents the speed of your computer. Data flows through a computer under the control of a clock signal measured in Megahertz. The least expensive machines come with a 133 MHz Pentium. Over the last few years, Intel continued to reduce the price of CPU chips every three months, even when there was no competition. Eventually AMD and Cyrix reappeared with viable alternatives. An Intel Pentium with MMX is at least 10% faster than an Intel Pentium without it running at the same clock speed. The overall speed of a computer is affected by several things, but most notably the clock speed of the microprocessor and the speed and size of the instruction/data bus. The clock speed is the rate at which the microprocessor processes information and this is measure in millions of cycles per second (MHz). From slowest to the fastest there is the Pentium, Pentium with MMX technology, Pentium Pro, and the Pentium Pro II. If we compared the speed of these four Pentium class processors, assuming that they all had the same clock speed, it would go something like this. The 200 MHz Pentium processor with MMX is about 128% faster than the 200 MHz Pentium, the 200 MHz Pentium Pro is about 120% faster than the 200 MHz Pentium with MMX, and the 233 MHz Pentium Pro II is about 120% faster than the 200 MHz Pentium Pro (based on Intel’s data). What is MMX technology. MMX technology is based on a technique called Single-Instruction, Multiple-Data (SIMD). What this means is that microprocessors that use this technology receive 8 bytes of data as one package and this package of data is processed using a single instruction. Microprocessors that do not use the MMX technology would receive the 8 bytes of data, one at a time, and then would process each byte individually. Basically what this does is speeds up multimedia and communication software applications such as audio, graphics, video, and data communications. If one is only using the computer for word processing, creating simple spreadsheets, or just surfing the Web, much of a difference in the speed would not really be noticed. However, if one is using the computer to manipulate some graphic images, edit sound files, run a statistical analysis package, or compile some programming code written in Visual Basic or Visual C, then a big difference would be seen. So, if you only intend to use the computer for word processing, E-mail, and maybe an occasional spreadsheet or two, then the type of microprocessor that you get doesn’t really matter. Every machine has the power to handle ordinary applications. Most consumers will not notice the difference between a 200 MHz MMX machine and one with an older 133 MHz chip. What brand to get: What brand of microprocessor does the computer have, type and speed. Intel is the leading manufacturer of microprocessors, but microprocessors are also manufactured by other companies such as Cyrix and AMD.