1. Mr C Johnston ICT Teacher www.computechedu.co.uk
BTEC IT Unit 02 - Lesson 08 Recommending Computer Systems
Mr C Johnston
ICT Teacher

2. Session Objectives
Know key considerations to be taken into account when recommending an ICT system,
Understand the process involved to recommend an ICT system for business.

3. Read the BTEC Book – Unit 2 pages 18 and 19

4. Key Considerations Cost User requirements
Cheap as chips vs reliability
Backup support
User requirements
Operating system
Application software
Networking
Support
Outputs required and in what format
Integration with other systems
Processing power
Storage capacity
Accessibility for disabled users
IT competence of the intended users
Training requirements
Often there will be some form of compromise when recommending the system which suits the organisation the best

5. The Process
NB. Requirements are a list of tasks which the user wishes the computer to perform

6. User Requirements Example
“Humphrey is a retired art teacher who is thinking of setting up a business filming peoples weddings, and producing a souvenir DVDs from the footage taken. He will edit the video clips, add titles and music to make a professional product. The DVDs will also need high quality cover which he proposes to make. Artwork, sound effects and music for the DVDs could come from a variety of sources including the internet. Bookings could also be made by and his accounts will need taking care off so he can track income and outgoings.” He has asked you for help deciding on a computer.
What are his user requirements:
Import video from his camera
Edit wedding video footage, add titles and music,
Compile the edited video into DVD format adding titles and effects,
Edit sound effects and music for the DVDs which will be added, to the DVDs,
Put completed DVD files onto DVD and burn multiple copies,
Manipulate graphics for DVD titles and covers,
Import graphics from photos and hand drawn artwork,
Produce DVD covers and output them in high quality colour print,
Connect to the internet so s can be viewed and resources downloaded,
Keep track of his business finances.

7. User Requirements to Hardware / Software
Look at each requirement and work out the hardware and software needed to complete the task – compile a list adding to it for each task.
“Edit wedding video footage, add titles and music”
Hardware / Software Requirements based on user requirements:
A fast processor to handle the demands of editing video,
A large hard disk drive to store video files which are notoriously large,
A substantial amount of RAM that will support the demands of the video editing,
A graphics card which is capable of reproducing quality graphics at a good rendering speed,
A sound card so the system can reproduce the sound,
An over standard size monitor so he can easily and clearly see to edit the video,
An operating system which is capable of supporting all the hardware and allowing the required tasks to be performed,
Software which allows videos to be edited in a variety of different methods to produce professional finished results including the adding of titles and special effects,
Sound editing software so sound effects and music can be edited before being adding to the video,
Multimedia Keyboard so text for titles within the video can be added,
Optical mouse to control the computer and run commands.

8. Why not complete this in groups
Practise
Why not complete this in groups
Read through this brief from a past assignment list the user requirements and recommend key hardware and software required to meet these
John Waine is student who has just started his A-Levels. His parents have decided to purchase him a computer to assist with his studies but are unsure what exactly to buy or how to configure it. John has decided to study ICT, Art/Design and German A-Levels at college and is a dedicated fan and player of online game RuneScape and also talks to friends via . At weekends John is an active member of the local Conservative Party and spends his time campaigning about local issues by handing out flyers in town, which he has designed. His other hobbies include photography, making his own music, playing computer games and making home movies – his favourite band is girls allowed. John uses the Office 2003 suite at college, although the Office 2007 conversion pack has been installed.

9. Starting P4
Read through the assignment brief and make a list of all the tasks which Wee Promote need their system to be able to do – these are the user requirements.
Based on the user requirements for Wee Promote make a generic list of all the hardware and software required…. Use adjectives such as large and fast to help describe the required components,
You should consider:
NIC, GFX, RAM, SOUND, POWER SUPPLY, PROCESSOR, KEYBOARD/MOUSE, HDD, MOTHERBOARD, COOLING, OPTICAL DRIVE, CARD READER, CASE, MONITOR, PRINTER, SPEAKERS, OTHER INPUT DEVICES
ALL SOFTWARE APPLICATIONS NEEDED

10. Specification
Based on your initial finding produce a detailed specification using the table below as help
Item
Exact Specification
Price and Link
Justification
Alternatives and Justification
Processor
Motherboard

11. What To Produce For Task 4…
List of tasks the company want to perform,
Hardware and software specification full details of each component – suggest alternatives for merit,
Quotation for a system which meets the requirements including any additional components,
Justification of why the system has been chosen.
P4 - Recommend a computer system for a given business purpose
M2 - Justify choice of computer system to meet a given business purpose
For P4, you could present the evidence as a report or presentation. The choice of components should be briefly explained but may not make reference to all the user requirements. It is important that the final specification includes all the necessary hardware and software components for the system to work.
For M2, you must justify why the system set up was chosen, eg cost, and suggest alternative set ups (at least one) and discuss why they could also be appropriate. The reasons for the choices should be clearly explained and referenced to the user need. Any optional extras must be justified.

12. Example #1…
Company produces wedding videos. They combine video from different sources, add graphics and edit sounds to produce the final result.
Item
Exact Specification
Price and Link
Justification
Alternatives and Justification
Motherboard
AMD CPU FX GHz Bulldozer 4 Core Socket AM3+
£83.60
I chose this type of processor because it matches the motherboard. This will be beneficial as its got several cores and lots of GHz. As the company will be creating wedding videos they will need to be able to see them in HD – this CPU will allow them to do this
I could have used an Intel core I7 however it is a lot more expensive.
Motherboard
AMD CPU FX GHz Bulldozer 4 Core Socket AM3+
£83.60
I chosen a fast multicore processor as it will help the company to produce there videos. The multicore means that several processes can occur at the same time which will speed up large processes such as adding effects to the video. The speed is also fast – this again will ensure that actions are completed swiftly for example changing between programs and writing DVDs
I could have used an Intel core I7 however it is a lot more expensive and in benchmarking tests has a similar performance to this cheaper AMD model. The I7 CPUs also use a different motherboard socket which means it not compatible with the one I have chosen.

13. Example #2…
Company produces wedding videos. They combine video from different sources, add graphics and edit sounds to produce the final result.
Item
Exact Specification
Price and Link
Justification
Alternatives and Justification
RAM
16GB 204 Pin DIMM 2800MHz
£88
I chose this type of RAM as it has a good storage capacity and will become useful for the company as they will need to save a lot of documents, images, videos, music etc. so it is necessary for them to have a lot of storage
An alternative would be less RAM this is not as good as they could store less
RAM
16GB - 2 x 8GB 204 Pin DIMM 2800MHz
£88
I chosen 16GB of RAM as the company will need to have lots of programs open at the same time and more RAM will mean less time when switching between programs. Also large video files will open so the more RAM there is the more of the file open in RAM and less in the swop file on the HDD making the machine quicker…. I have chosen 2800MHz as this matches the fastest bus speed of my chosen motherboard and the RAM will not slow it down
I could have chosen just a single 8GB memory module however I doubt it would be enough for the company. As they will be using lots of programs at the same time and opening large files it would slow the machine down. I could have chosen more RAM but the motherboard only supports 16GB maximum