Gab's homework

[gabriella]

Hi all

I am struggling a bit with the following:

Please list the specifications of computers on the current market/compare commercial PCs with respect to application and value for money

Please could anyone give me some pointers/links etc.... so that I can finish the assignment?

Many thanks!!

Gabs xx

 

[itsme]

Is this of any help Gabsx



http://www.forrester.com/findresearch/results?N=50089

 

[gabriella]

To be absolutely honest here - I am not sure what I am looking for or where to look for it.

I understand the concept that commercially bought PCs are not always good VFM and also understand the reassurance that some purchasers are looking for via high street stores etc..... But as to application, specification and the like I haven't the foggiest notion and that's where I am hoping some of you good people can help me with some pointers.

Quite honestly I wouldn't know what was a reasonable/average specification for a PC.

Gabs xx

 

[Me__2001]

does the 'comercial' mean workstation or just any pre built system ?

i think the best place to look is on the Dell site, they range from the £500 budget PC to £3k gamers, if they need to be from more than one source then look at some of the machines sold by evesham and mesh

 

[gabriella]

To be honest Me 2001 that's a good question!!!

Some of the assignments and the way the questions are phrased are possibly a bit ambiguous (bit like my previous post about platforms which I took to mean OS and the like and the college meant the likes of PDAs, mainframes, servers etc....)

So, to answer your question, I don't know BUT I think what they mean are PCs bought on the high street/internet but I could be wrong!!!!

Thanks for the link to the Dell site, will check it out.

What I am not sure about is what the average spec for a home user computer would be....any suggestions???

Thanks again

Gabs xx

 

[floppybootstomp]

Bit vague them questions of yours ain't they?

I would assume they're talking about machines used in the workplace which would range from a simple word processing workstation to a high end machine used for something like CAD or graphics design.

And of course computers are also used in the movie industry, but I digress.

You could start with a machine using an AMD Sempron or Intel Celeron or similar, 512Mb RAM and integrated graphics, up to an AMD FX or dual core processor/Top of the range Pentium, 4Gb RAM and dual graphics cards in SLI mode with a multi monitor display.

And then of course there's twin CPU boards, such as Tyan make.

I don't really understand the second part of the question. Are they asking you to compare different brands and models of computers in the workplace against each other where they're used for different jobs?

If so, it looks as if you have some research to do.

Try looking at the Dell site and also at Misco's site, they sell a lot of work PC's. Staples may be worth a look as well.

 

[floppybootstomp]

PS: Link to Misco: Misco

 

[Quadophile]

If you need to uderstand the assignment given to you and also do the required job this link may help you.

http://www.itreviews.co.uk/guide/hguide1.htm




Edited after posting

When I read this thread only one response was there, now after looking for the link and coming back and posting my message, I find scores of responses

 

[gabriella]

Thanks Flops!!

Yep, them questions are very vague and I have another 2 to do (minimum) for next Thursday!!!

The words 'whatever floats your boat' in relation to the questions seems apt - i.e. do your own thing!!!!! No doubt I will be lashed at college tomorrow night if I have gone way off the mark with this latest mission!!!!

Gabs xx

PS I only wanted to learn how to build and maintain a computer, not get some higher education qualification in essay writing!!!!!!

 

[floppybootstomp]

Hehe, what next - a dissertation?

Quad's link is good.

 

[gabriella]

Hi Quad

The link's great but it is opening as extremely large text - how can I make it smaller so I can read through the information and select what I need quickly???

Many thanks

Gabs xx

 

[gabriella]

Hi again Quad - I have sorted the text size issue now!!

Gabs xx

 

[ukJAG]

Hi all

I am struggling a bit with the following:

Please list the specifications of computers on the current market/compare commercial PCs with respect to application and value for money

Please could anyone give me some pointers/links etc.... so that I can finish the assignment?

Many thanks!!

Gabs xx

Hi Gabs,

I might be able to help. I work for a support team on a Trading Floor in the city. We are forever buying HP servers and desktops. I can get you the price and spec of our latest machines if that helps, and explain what they are used for?

 

[muckshifter]

What I am not sure about is what the average spec for a home user computer would be....any suggestions???

Start here ...
http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/products/compare.aspx/dimen?c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&l=en&s=dhs

Have a look at the 'spec' of the £299 ... work your way up the list ... the "Great For" should help.

Just change Dell's name for any other brand name you can think of ... they all do the same.

As for the question ... I'm still trying to figure it out.


Floppy, Gabs will probably have to do a 40,000 word dissertation at course end.

 

[gabriella]

Thank you all you kind souls who have helped me with this assignment. I too am not sure about the question and have decided to frame it from the home PC perspective. If that's not right and I won't know that till tomorrow, I shall have to review my thinking/research.

UKJag - yes please - I would really appreciate your kind offer of help.

I hate to warn people about this but I will have roughly one of these assignments a week to do till May. Some of it I can manage ok (like the first part of my current assignment which was about peripherals) but where the question is (in my view) ambiguous or I am not sure, I will struggle. I appreciate everyone's forbearance especially if people are thinking words to the effect of 'this is so easy/boring' or whatever!!!!!

I really had not appreciated the amount of written work which in itself I can manage (the written stuff that is) if I know what I am talking about.

Good job I am still not back at work just yet!!!!

Let's hope there's no more work set tomorrow as I still have another 2 to do for next Thursday and I haven't even started looking at them yet!!!!!

Good night all and many thanks again.

Love

Gabs xx

 

[muckshifter]

Gabs,

Do you get these thing at the end of the day as you walk out the door? 'cos we ain't 'arf confused at the questions ... can you not ask for a little more clarification from the Tutor?

 

[gabriella]

Hi Mucks

There's a couple of things I should clarify....

I am sort of playing 'catch up' with the rest of the class cos I didn't start until week 6 (combination of no places available/I was in hospital/recovering) so the class have covered some stuff when I wasn't there. The other thing is that Doncaster College uses an online learning system called Blackboard and the way it's supposed to work is that the handouts and assignments are online which you can access from home/wherever. So, as we are leaving the tutor says: 'please do week x homework for next week and you will find the handouts online'. That sounds great till you get home, read the question and then find that there's little/none/irrelevant course documentation to help you.

For example, the current assignment is a mix of desribing peripherals and how they work with costings (that bit was fine) and then the seconed bit about specification etc.... There were no course documents to go with the spec bits.

There are literally hundreds of documents online so that's where it gets difficult.

I will raise the issue tonight with him and I am so grateful for people's patience and help.

It's not that I am completely clueless, rather that I (and others on the forum too) find some of these questions ambiguous. Had I known the amount of written work involved, I might have considered whether this was the course for me to be honest, but I am started now and I do want the end result.

Thanks again.

Gabs xx