Geek SpeakWhat’s Really Important

By Benjamin DavidsonComputer Technician

Electronic Futures/CompuSmart

Topics Covered

• Hardware Overview– Priority Hardware – Part 1– Secondary Hardware – Part 2

• Software Overview– Applications – Part 1– Security – Part 2

• Buying Intelligently– Priorities – Part 1– Look Out! – Part 2

• All About AMD• Where to Research• Upgrading• Question Period

Priority Hardware

• Processor– Performs most calculations on system– Importance often exaggerated relative

to rest of system

• RAM (Memory)– Temporary storage place for active

programs and data – the more RAM you have, the more applications can be easily opened at once (multitasking)

• Hard Drive– Permanent storage – the more space,

the more room for documents– Performance impact not critical

Monitor MouseSpeakers Keyboard

Optical Drive Motherboard Video Card

Secondary Hardware

Applications

• Office– Microsoft Office dominates market– Competitors may have issues with MS Office documents– Different feature sets, terms of use, and price points

• Multimedia– Brighten, enhance, alter, or repair photographs with

Adobe Photoshop or Jasc Paint Shop Pro– Splice together professional video collections with Adobe

Premiere or Ulead VideoStudio

• Publishing– Create universal documents with Adobe Acrobat– Produce your own websites with Microsoft Frontpage

Security

• Antivirus– Norton Antivirus and McAfee VirusScan

• Antispyware– Adaware SE Plus and Webroot Spy Sweeper

• Firewall– Norton Personal Firewall, hardware router

• Backup– CD-R or DVD-R disc– External hard drive

• Warranty– Duration of warranty– Turn-around time of warranty hardware– Issues with “middle-man”

Priorities

• Workstation– Processor, RAM and warranty are priorities. Consider

investing in quality keyboard and mouse.

• Server– Warranty duration and turnaround is highest priority.

RAM, followed by motherboard and CPU are priorities.

• Gaming System– Video card highest priority, followed CPU and RAM. Use

quality mouse and keyboard.

• Media Centre– Speakers and monitor are priorities, and hard drive

space. Look for a Windows Media Centre Edition PC. Consider wireless keyboard/mouse.

Look Out!

• Important– Onboard video/no AGP slot– Proprietary designs– Specifics of processor (not

just frequency)

• Not important– Designed for Windows XP– Internet ready– Free software– Unproportionally high

amount of RAM

All about AMD

• Use a performance rating (PR) system rather than naming chips by clock speed (GHz)

• Often a better value than Intel, especially in budget systems

• First to offer 64-bit processors for desktops

• Lower power consumption and heat than comparable Intel CPUs except for Intel’s Pentium and Celeron M series, designed for laptops

Where to Research

AnandTech

TomsHardware CompuSmart

CNet

Manufacturer

Upgrading

• General– What is the brand and model number of your computer?

What operating system does it us?

• Processor– What socket or slot does your motherboard use? What

is the maximum front side bus speed it supports?

• RAM– What type of RAM does your system use? What is the

speed of your current RAM? What is your processor’s FSB?

• Hard Drive– Does your computer support SATA? Does it support

larger hard drive capacities (32GB+)?

Thank You!

If you have any questions or comments,please feel free to contact me at

Electronic Futures/CompuSmartbend@compusmart-terrace.ca

Phone: (250) 635-7767Fax: (250) 635-7174