Help welcomed for A-Level IT Coursework

[kingnathski88]

Hello again all,

Just wandered if anyone would like to help with my Design Specification and justification for my A-Level IT coursework. basically i have to build a computer system for a user that i have found, and compile a list of components and software that i need, then describe and justify why i have chosen them. So basically all i would like is some reccomendations and/or sentences of why certain parts will be better, so i am looking at advantages to put into paragraphs really.

heres what i have chosen:

1GB RAM

Asus Motherboard

300 GB Sata Hard Drive

CD+DVD R/W Combo

Graphics Card, Radeon

3.2 GHZ Pentium 4 Intel Processor

Sound Card
TV card?
Case

P.S.U


All the parts are to come off ebuyer, have to try and get all parts compatible,

thanks in advance!

 

[ChrisIMRIE]

This sounds familiar to my work from my AVCE course... i'm sure a one Mr Postill will be able to help when he comes online (christopherpostill)

 

[gabriella]

I shall be watching this thread with great interest as I am doing a similar course (but not A level) at the moment and the information may be really useful for me too!!

Gabsx xx

 

[bodhi]

You should start by determining what the user will use the system for and then try and develop a system which will meet the user requirement.

 

[Me__2001]

if they only want a system for office work then that system is overkill, what are their requirments for the system ?

 

[kingnathski88]

Ah rite, yes first off the course is an Vocational award, so i think its AVCE???


And my user goes by the name of Joe, he runs a local disco/dj business and wants a system to use for this aswell as web and photo editing/designing for himself and others.

• So i have gone Intel as chris in other threads said Intel for multitasking and Athlon for gaming
• Big hard drive as he will convert all his music to this
• Reasonable amount of RAM, although not great amount, i have to keep this 'realistic' apparently
• Was looking at Asus motherboard to go with RAM, HDD, CPU and needs to take SATA HDD and have space for graphics card, sound card and a TV card or whatever, so that he will be able to project what he has on the pc to a big screen, via projector on to a wall

does this help some more?

 

[muckshifter]

"What are the Customers needs?" "what is their budget?"

Drop the 'combo' drive and use a Dual-Layer DVDRW ... it's a standard now, only "cheap" builders will use a combo drive, and will do/read anything.

Always try and use the best motherboard they can afford, it is the heart of the system ... skimp on that and you have a crap system.

AMD give you better value for your money ... and, a lot of AMD systems are proving themselves over Intel. An AMD motherboard will accommodate several different CPUs, allowing for a better 'upgrade' path ... so if you started with a Sempron, one can easily move up to a Dual-Core if given the right MB in the first place. Intel do not always have that flexibility.

1gig of RAM is a standard these days, make sure you can give them a reliable & stable make of ram ... tempt them, if budget permits, to go for 2gig ... up-n-coming programs like MS XP64bit & Vista will thank you for it. But it can be upgraded later anyway.

64bit systems have become a standard, however, with AMD, 754 should be avoided in favour of 939 ... be careful also with Intel ... use the latest chip design if budget permits.

PSUs are very often overlooked items, but have a major roll in the stability of a system ... don't skimp on it and insure at least it is SLi ready, even if you are not using that technology straight away it is a good investment for any upgrade.

Sound ... well if you took time to get the right MB and your 'customer' is not a composer then on-board sound will be very good ... in fact most MB these days are 5.1 surround sound anyway.

TV card ... not needed really, buy them a nice combo TV separately and give it as a free gift ... better still, look for a decent printer instead.

I'll skip cases ... too overpriced and are more an individual preference.

Make sure the hard drive is SATA II ... 200gig is fine, but a 300 sounds better.

Now ... graphics cards? Well, here is one of the biggest expense to a system ... personally I think everybody is being lead by 'market hype' and unless your "customer" is wanting to render 3d animation then some of last years cards will be fine ... I don't care what the "game players" think about this, that or whatever, I have seen good standard cards do the job just as well. If needed then one can upgrade at a later stage, 'cos you gave them the right MB in the first place. Right!

 

[kingnathski88]

slow it down mucks, tha came out of the blue


I like the drive suggestion

Should i really go AMD then

the tv card is a need as it will play a roll in the discos and wen he dj's and so forth

 

[muckshifter]

slow it down mucks, tha came out of the blue

I like the drive suggestion
Should i really go AMD then
the tv card is a need as it will play a roll in the discos and wen he dj's and so forth

You caught me in a good mood.

It's not a TV card you need but look at the ATI "All in Wonder" cards ... an FX5200 with SVideo out will do.

Floppy should be able to shed a better light in the DJ side of things ...

 

[kingnathski88]

Thanks, by the way, the budget for the whole system is around 600-750 including a monitor, but the better priced the better, cheers

 

[muckshifter]

Should i really go AMD then

We can argue pink is black and blue is red all day ... if you're blind you ain't gonna see it.

Most people will listen to what you are suggesting ... then when you hit them with the ££££ they fall over backwards.

You wanna play the numbders game, fine by me, carry on ... I've had enough of the AMD v Intel game ... I know what I would choose.

 

[muckshifter]

Thanks, by the way, the budget for the whole system is around 600-750 including a monitor, but the better priced the better, cheers

It is possible ... but you are going to have to look very hard to keep the price down. It won't be an SLi system then, not needed anyway, but at least try for 939

You know, my nForce2 2500 will do it all no bother ... £300 to you.

 

[kingnathski88]

Sorry, i dont know whether i made it clear, we dont make the system i am designing etc,,,,,,we build one that the exam board deem appropiate as it saves time and money

 

[muckshifter]

i have to keep this 'realistic'

Then I would tailor the system for what it need to do ... and despite what I just said above a 754 64bit system will come in around 500 including monitor.

 

[floppybootstomp]

Does your price have to cover an operating system? Like Win XP?

All a DJ would probably need is the ability to change audio file formats, there's quite a lot of free software out there that can do this (within Windows, anyway). Audacity is free and will do the job.

Last time I looked there were also quite a few free software DJ mixers as well.

You don't really even need an AIW card, nice as they are. If all you want to do is feed audio and video to a projector all you need is S-Video out, which most graphics cards have anyway.

Considering the computer's role, I'd spend no more than £70.00 on a video card, perhaps as little as £50.00.

 

[kingnathski88]

sorry, yes it needs an OS, will probably get XP Pro or Home, not fussed

 

[ChristopherP]

Would this by any chance be the one with Zippo Games in?

I would copy you my coursework, BUT i don't think that would be legal! and dont want to be failed

Just say WHY you chose the components over others, and why the end user would need them.

Is it AVCE Unit 4?

 

[kingnathski88]

Yeah, u got it mate, i know but whether i am stupid or teacher is just asking for lots of detail, mind you most of my mates copied stuff of the net with no relevance to what the exam spec sheet asked

 

[muckshifter]

sorry, yes it needs an OS, will probably get XP Pro or Home, not fussed

oh bugger that ... get Linux for free and earn some extra brownie points from the "board".

You want a "sound system PC" cheap ... Linux has all the software needed that would blow you away ... AND ... a cheap PC will run it all.

Do TWO proposals ... Windows based & Linux based ... then see which is more cost effective.

 

[kingnathski88]

But i dont have the foggiest about linux, and it would be easier to do window based, although i see your point