Evaluating Hardware, Memory, Processing & Storage

1. S
Assessing Hardware
& Evaluating Memory,
Processing & Storage
CSC 103

2. Initial Buying
Considerations
 Desktop vs Laptop
 Netbooks, Ultrabooks
(Chromebook, MacBook Air)
 Tablets
 Phones

3. Moore’s Law
 Moore’s Law – Processor capacity
will double every 2 years
 Refers to an observation made by Intel
co-founder Gordon Moore in 1965. He
noticed that the number of transistors
per square inch on integrated circuits
had doubled every year since their
invention.

4. The CPU Subsystem
How the
CPU works…

5. The CPU Subsystem
 Composed of control unit and
arithmetic logic unit (ALU)
 Control unit coordinates activities of all
computer components – “brain”
 ALU is responsible for a math operations
and logic comparison operations
 Registers – memory on the CPU used by
control unit & ALU for storing instructions
and data

6. CPU Processes
1. Fetches data from RAM
2. Decodes instructions into bits
3. Executes the instruction
4. Stores result in RAM
before next instruction

7. CPU Factors
 Clock Speed measured in GHz
– billions of steps per second
 Number of cores
- Single, Dual Core, Quad Core
Hyperthreading – instructions can overlap
and be processed faster
 Cache Memory – Like RAM for the CPU –
temporary storage that speeds up processing
(Level 1, 2 & 3)

8. Evaluating Memory
volatile
 RAM – Random Access Memory
Volatile temporary
storage – short term
memory – speeds
up instructions
– think of memory
like counter space
when cooking

9. Evaluating Memory
non-volatile
 ROM – Read Only Memory
–non-volatile
- Handles boot instructions, etc.
 Hard Drives – are non-volatile
storage spaces – but slower

10. Memory Speed
Fastest
Access

11. Evaluating Storage Needs
250 GB – 500 GB – 1TB
 The OS – 20-30 GB
 Applications – 50 GB
 Data – 10-20 GB
 Photos – 40-50 GB
 Music & Video – 100-150 GB

12. Larger Storage Considerations
 Cloud Storage
- Can offset some photo, music, video storage
 Flash Storage – SSD Cards & Drives
 Multiple Internal Hard Drives (RAIDS)
- Redundant Array of Independent Disks
 External Hard Drives
better for back-up purposes

13. Hard Drives vs SSD
 Magnetic Hard Drives – Spinning platters
that are magnetized to write data
- Spin at 7200 RPMS, 4TB capacity
- Lots of moving parts, slower
 Solid State Drives – Charged electronic
transistors that store data
- faster, less chance of crashing,
- run cooler, 1 TB capacity

14. Audio & Video
Considerations
 Video Cards – use DVI or HDMI Ports
Come with VRAM (Video RAM 1-2GB)
 Video Cards are more important for
gaming, 3D software, video editing
software (Nvidia GeForce, AMD Radeon)
 Sound Cards, 3D Sound Card
Music Recording/Editing

15. Final Consideration
 Buy what you think you will need
3-5 years from now
 You will only gather more photos, music,
video, software, games
 Operating Systems will require more
space and more RAM with each upgrade