1. Technology in Action Alan Evans Kendall Martin Mary Anne Poatsy Eleventh Edition Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.

2. Technology in Action Chapter 6 Understanding and Assessing Hardware: Evaluating Your System Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.

3. Chapter Topics Your Ideal Computing Device Evaluating the CPU Subsystem Evaluating the Memory Subsystem Evaluating the Storage Subsystem Evaluating the Video and Audio Subsystems Evaluating System Reliability and Making a Final Decision Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 2

4. Your Ideal Computer New technologies emerge quickly Should you upgrade your system? Should you buy a new computer? Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 3

5. Your Ideal Computer (cont.) Things to consider –Speed –Moore’s Law –System components –Hard drive storage capacity Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 4

6. Your Ideal Computer (cont.) Huge number of choices –Tablets –Ultrabooks –Netbooks –Tablet PCs –Laptops –Desktops Mobility versus processing power Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 5

7. Your Ideal Computer (cont.) Desktop – Best value – 24-inch or larger monitor – More reliable – Easier to expand and upgrade – More difficult to steal Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 6

8. Your Ideal Computer (cont.) Computers usually last 2 years How easy it is to upgrade System evaluation Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 7

9. Evaluating the CPU Subsystem CPU –Located on motherboard –Processes instructions –Performs calculations –Manages flow of information –Intel Core processors Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 8

10. Evaluating the CPU Subsystem (cont.) Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 9

11. Evaluating the CPU Subsystem: How the CPU Works Composed of two units –Control unit –Arithmetic logic unit (ALU) Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 10

12. Evaluating the CPU Subsystem: How the CPU Works (cont.) Machine cycle –Fetch –Decode –Execute –Store Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 11

13. Evaluating the CPU Subsystem: CPU Factors CPU’s processing power –Clock speed Overclocking –Cores –Cache memory Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 12

14. Evaluating the CPU Subsystem: CPU Factors (cont.) Hyperthreading Multiple cores Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 13

15. Evaluating the CPU Subsystem: CPU Factors (cont.) Cache memory Cache memory levels –Level 1 cache –Level 2 cache –Level 3 cache Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 14

16. Evaluating the CPU Subsystem: CPU Factors (cont.) CPU Benchmarks Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 15

17. Evaluating the CPU Subsystem: Measuring the CPU (cont.) Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 16

18. Evaluating the Memory Subsystem Random access memory (RAM) ROM memory Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 17

19. Evaluating the Memory Subsystem (cont.) Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 18

20. Evaluating the Memory Subsystem: The RAM in Your System Types –Double data rate 3 (DDR3) –Double data rate 5 (DDR5) Memory modules Dual inline memory modules (DIMMs) Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 19

21. Evaluating the Memory Subsystem: The RAM in Your System (cont.) Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. RAM –Computer’s physical memory –Measured in gigabytes 20

22. Evaluating the Memory Subsystem: The RAM in Your System (cont.) Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. SuperFetch 21

23. Evaluating the Memory Subsystem: The RAM in Your System (cont.) Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 22

24. Evaluating the Memory Subsystem: The RAM in Your System (cont.) Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 23

25. Evaluating the Memory Subsystem: Adding RAM Motherboard –Specific number of slots for memory cards Operating system –Imposes own RAM limit Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 24

26. Evaluating the Memory Subsystem: Adding RAM (cont.) Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 25

27. Evaluating the Storage Subsystem Temporary storage –RAM Permanent storage –Hard drives –Solid state drives (SSDs) –Optical drives –External hard drives Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 26

28. Evaluating the Storage Subsystem: Mechanical Hard Drives Largest capacity More economical Most systems can support more than one Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 27

29. Evaluating the Storage Subsystem: Mechanical Hard Drives (cont.) Coated platters stacked on a spindle Data saved as pattern of magnetized spots of 1s and 0s Patterns of spots are translated into data Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. Access arms 28

30. Evaluating the Storage Subsystem: Mechanical Hard Drives (cont.) Access time Optical drives –Faster access time Large-capacity drives DVD drive Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 29

31. Evaluating the Storage Subsystem: Mechanical Hard Drives (cont.) Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 30

32. Evaluating the Storage Subsystem: Solid State Drives Fast access times Run with no noise Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 31

33. Evaluating the Storage Subsystem: Solid State Drives Generate little heat Require little power Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 32

34. Dig Deeper How a Mechanical Hard Drive Works Track (concentric circles) Sector (pie-shaped wedges) Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 33

35. Dig Deeper How a Mechanical Hard Drive Works (cont.) Read/write heads Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 34

36. Dig Deeper How a Mechanical Hard Drive Works (cont.) Access time has two factors –Seek time –Latency Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 35

37. Evaluating the Storage Subsystem: Optical Drives Tiny pits burned into the disc by high-speed laser Optical media Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 36

38. Evaluating the Storage Subsystem: Optical Drives (cont.) Optical media formats External optical drives Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 37

39. Evaluating the Storage Subsystem: Your Storage Capacity and Needs Hard drive capacity Need enough to store: –The OS –Software applications –Data files –Digital libraries Other options –External hard drive Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 38

40. Evaluating the Storage Subsystem: Your Storage Capacity and Needs (cont.) Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 39

41. Evaluating the Storage Subsystem: Your Storage Capacity and Needs (cont.) Redundant array of independent disks (RAID) –RAID 0 –RAID 1 Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 40

42. Evaluating the Storage Subsystem: Your Storage Capacity and Needs (cont.) Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 41

43. Evaluating the Video Subsystem: Video Cards Video display depends on two components Ports Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 42

44. Evaluating the Video Subsystem: Video Cards (cont.) Video memory Screen Resolution dialog box –Advanced Settings Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 43

45. Evaluating the Video Subsystem: Video Cards (cont.) GPU Specialized to handle: –3D graphics –Image and video processing Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 44

46. Evaluating the Video Subsystem: Video Cards (cont.) Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 45

47. Evaluating the Video Subsystem: Video Cards (cont.) Multiple video cards can be used Manufacturers –Nvidia: SLI –ATI: Crossfire Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 46

48. Evaluating the Video Subsystem: Video Cards (cont.) 3-D panels Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 47

49. Evaluating the Audio Subsystem Speakers and a sound card 3-D sound technology Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 48

50. Evaluating the Audio Subsystem Surround sound Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 49

51. Evaluating the Audio Subsystem (cont.) Dolby Digital 7.1 Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 50

52. Evaluating the Audio Subsystem (cont.) Audio MIDI Interface box Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 51

53. Evaluating System Reliability Performance problems Try to fix before buying new machine Proper upkeep and maintenance Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 52

54. Evaluating System Reliability (cont.) Remove unnecessary files Reliable antivirus package Run spyware and adware removal programs Run the Disk Defragmenter utility Configured to run automatically Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 53

55. Evaluating System Reliability (cont.) System problems –Troubleshooting Check RAM Refresh System restore Microsoft Knowledge Base Search Google Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 54

56. Evaluating System Reliability (cont.) Latest version of software increases reliability Upgrade or update OS, browser software, and application software Problem Steps Recorder Automatic updates Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 55

57. Evaluating System Reliability (cont.) Upgrade OS –Increases in reliability –Might require hardware upgrades Additional RAM Updated graphics processor Larger hard drive –Windows 8 upgrade automatically checks system compatibility Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 56

58. Making a Final Decision How closely does your system meet your needs? How much would it cost to upgrade your system? How much would it cost to purchase a new system? Price both scenarios to determine better value Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 57

59. Making a Final Decision: Getting Rid of Your Old Computer Benefits of maintaining two systems Environmental impact –Mercury –Cadmium Donate Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 58

60. Making a Final Decision: Getting Rid of Your Old Computer (cont.) GigaBiter Remove all data before donating –Remove everything and reinstall Windows Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 59

61. Chapter 6 Summary Questions 1.What kind of computer is best for me? Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 60

62. Chapter 6 Summary Questions 2.What does the CPU do, and how can I evaluate its performance? Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 61

63. Chapter 6 Summary Questions 3.How does memory work in my computer? Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 62

64. Chapter 6 Summary Questions 4.How do I evaluate how much memory I need? Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 63

65. Chapter 6 Summary Questions 5.What are the computer’s storage devices? Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 64

66. Chapter 6 Summary Questions 6.How do I evaluate my storage devices? Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 65

67. Chapter 6 Summary Questions 7.What components affect the quality of video on my computer? Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 66

68. Chapter 6 Summary Questions 8.How do I know if I need better video performance? Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 67

69. Chapter 6 Summary Questions 9.What components affect my computer’s sound quality? Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 68

70. Chapter 6 Summary Questions 10. How can I improve the reliability of my system? Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. 69

71. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Printed in the United States of America. Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.