Welcome!Computer 101Session 2WithLaura Crichton

Laura Crichton Associate of Applied Science

Baker College Computer Programming

Computer Enthusiast!!

Agenda Buying a computer

What are your needs? Answer to last weeks question ‘What do

I look for when buying a computer’

Buying a Computer So many options!! Desktop vs Nettop Vs Laptop vs Netbook vs

Tablet Each person is going to have their own preferences

Maybe even a couple of preference Choose the one that is right for you

Few common things all computers share Components

CPU RAM (Memory) Storage

Desktop Systems Monitor Case Keyboard, Mouse

Extras Speaker, printers, joysticks

Desktop Considerations Advantages Easily upgradable

components make it the best investment

More USB ports

Disadvantages Big Not very portable Can be noisy Can use a lot of

power

Laptops vs Netbooks Laptop = Notebook

Larger screen size More powerful hardware

Netbook Smaller screen size Smaller keyboard Slower processor Limited USB ports

Laptop & Netbooks - Considerations Advantages Portable Allow for internet

access anywhere there is a Wifi Connection

Disadvantages Only a few components

are upgradable RAM Hard drive

Expensive to fix Prone to being dropped Might not have DVD

player Might not have a

numeric keypad

Nettop = MiniPC or MicroPC Advantages Low power

consumption Very quiet Price ($200-400)

(not including monitor)

Great for email Basic interneting

Disadvantages Limited processing

power means it won’t do a lot of things at once

Tablets Generally operated by touch/finger

gestures 5”-10” size Generally Android operating system

Ipad runs Mac (iOS7) Windows tablet

Tablet Considerations Advantages Total portability—

under a pound Very small—fit in

any bag Loads of free apps

Disadvantages Nearly impossible to

upgrade hardware = disposable

Surface subject to scratches

Small amount of storage

There are a lot of poor quality, cheap tablets out there

CPU CPU – Central Processing Unit

AMD vs Intel

Number of Processors/Cores Parallel processing

Intel i5 has 4 cores 3.6GHz ($180-$220) AMD Phenom has 6 cores, 4.1GHz ($139) Intel Xeon, 6 core, 2.6GHz ($649) (specialized for servers) Intel Xeon has 12 cores (not released yet)

Measured in Hertz – speed Now measuring in GHz (Gigahertz) Many sites will show benchmarks, which measures performance. http://www.tomshardware.com/t/cpus/

RAM – Random Access Memory Largely dictates how fast programs will

load & how many programs can be running at the same time before things become very slow.

Measured in Gigabytes (GB) - Capacity Also measured in speed (MHz) 2x4GB DDR3 1600 ($85)

Storage Hard drive

Capacity Measured in Gigabytes (GB)

1TB is ~ 1000 GB 3TB Western Digital ($135)

Operating System & other Software Windows 7/8/8.1 Mac Linux (not very likely) No operating system

Purchase system separately. Windows 7 is currently $139-$350

MS Office Full version currently $500

Finding a balance

Cost Value CPU (speed, type) RAM (speed, amount (GB)) Hard Drive (space, GB or

TB) Software & OS Battery (Laptops/netbooks) Extended Warranty? Refurbished?

Often include manufacturers warranty

Before Purchasing Research and read reviews! Research

http://www.tomshardware.com/t/cpus

Newegg.com http://www.newegg.com/All-Desktop-PCs/SubCategory/ID-10

Tigerdirect.com http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/category/category_tlc.asp?CatId=2627&cm_re=

Desktops-_-Spot%2001-_-New%20Desktops

Bestbuy.com