Term Paper on "Computer / How Soon Till IT's Outdated"

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computer / How soon till it's outdated

The study informs that selecting a computer system to buy is an individual choice, which will differ from person to person. Due to the high rate of technological obsolescence, the value of the computer bought today goes down remarkably in a very limited duration of time period. Therefore the purchase of the Computer must be influenced by the requirement analysis of the usage that the computer will be put to. Therefore, it is wise to buy a computer system which fulfils the present requirement and permits one to upgrade to a better system in future. Prior to going for an upgrade, it is first of all needed to self-question what the benefit from upgrading a particular system is. Thus the study suggests some of the recommendations of important items to concentrate upon at the time of purchasing the computer system.

Issue:

Prior to going for an upgrade, it is first of all needed to self-question what the benefit from upgrading a particular system is. For instance, in case one has run out of space, you most probably wish to upgrade the storage capacity of your computer. On the other hand, in case a particular system does not fulfill the memory needs of a specific application, one would most probably like to upgrade one's computer's memory. Prior to delving into the details of the upgrade, one needs to identify the needs to find out what elements are at present inside the computer. This does not always indicate that one needs to make a detailed list of each of the things that goes into making the system, rather than on the spares that one have chosen to upgrade. The easiest and the extremely correct manner to identify the components at present in a particular system are to look forward to avail the services computer manufacturer. Documentation must be refereed to which might have been supplied with the system, or get in touch with the manufacturer straightaway through telephone or through the Internet.

Discussion:

The purchase of the Computer must be influenced by the requirement analysis of the usage that the computer will be put to. The replies will govern the feature and price of the computer. Creating typed documents, browsing the Internet, checking e-mails and creating simple graphs does not require a latest computer. In case somebody is publishing a book through the use of Desktop Publishing i.e. DTP, engaged in high quality graphics and video, browsing the Internet featuring multimedia, or playing the recent 3-D video games one should be purchasing the most powerful computer one is able to afford. While one determines his requirement specifications, it is crucial not to purchase a lot in excess than one is able to utilize. Due to the high rate of technological obsolescence, the value of the computer bought today goes down remarkably in a very limited duration of time period. It might make more economic sense to substitute your current computer sooner rather than to buy more than one might be using in the following year or a couple of years.

Computers possess a very little value after four or five years down the line. Supposing one buys a $1,600 computer in a particular year and uses it for four years, it is going to cost $300 per year. In case one purchases an $800 computer and budget it for two $400 years, one should be considering a new computer in two years while a $800 computer may be loaded with features which might not be available for the $1,600 computer available today. In case a person is new to computer and still not sure of what one will in fact utilize it for, you may consider a cheap used computer to have a little bit of experience. When one becomes aware about your requirement, one will be able to arrive at a more important choice. It is not advisable for buy second-hand computer as older computers are more problematic to use and will only bother a new user.

Home PCs are considered as an investment in oneself, one career and one's family. One should procure a computer as it permits oneself to perform things one could not be able to perform otherwise. In case one lingers and postpones one's purchase, one loses the worth of that computer in satisfying the needs at the present moment. Being a professional one's time has a value. If a $400 per year is able to save your time and/or enhance one's output, is it worth it. Usually, Computers lets us to perform improved quality of work rather than saving time. It might be also found that one can make different preferences for the use of one's time with a computer. Browsing the Internet might divert some of the time people spent viewing television. Utilizing online reference sources may save one from visiting the library for referencing textbooks.

Selecting a computer system to buy is an individual choice, which will differ from person to person. One should be able to diligently assess one's requirements, an individual's knowledge, and the current monetary resources prior to starting to search for a computer system. Always it has to be bore in mind that computer technology is moving ahead at a blazing speed. Despite procuring the latest and the best system in the market having all the specifications, it will shortly be outdated or come down a great extent in prices. Therefore, it is wise to buy a computer system which fulfils the present requirement and permits one to upgrade to a better system in future. Generally, a 'mid-level priced' computer system is the ideal buy for one's money. A computer system at the higher end does not give value for money and a low-end system will be obsolete very quickly. Some of the recommendations of important items to concentrate upon at the time of purchasing the computer system are stated in the adjoining lines.

Power Supply: It has to be made sure that use of the powers supply is done which fulfils all the needs of the buyer, both present and future. It must have all the connectors necessary to set off internal additions that are made at a later stage. Getting a minimum of 250W power supply 300W or higher preferred. Any compromise made in the power supply could result in some serious computer problems.

The CPU: The microprocessor most generally known as the Central Processing Unit (CPU) is the brain of the computer. The CPU is the one of the most costly parts in the computer and is recognized by a number like 286,386, 486 and Pentium. Every CPU has a number linked with it which is measured in megahertz (Mhz) or gigahertz (Ghz) where maga stands for a million while giga stands for a billion. The more the CPU megahertz number, the faster is the capability of the chip to process information. The older family of CP chips, 486 or below has been discontinued production. Nowadays the most popular of the newer chips are the Pentium IV and Celeron chips made by Intel. Celeron chips are much cheaper compared to Pentium IV depending on the speed. In case one intends to use an immense amount of heavy-duty graphics (e.g multimedia, Autocad) or use for a lot of computer games, the Pentium is the ideal choice or else a Celeron is enough. As a number cannot be copyrighted Intel selected the name Pentium way back in the year 1992 to make a distinction of its chip from other chips in the market.

System Board: The System Board is usually known as the Mother Board. This Board behaves like the communication highway of the computer. Every other components and devices in the computer system are connected to the Mother Board. They utilize the Motherboard to convey and get information. Usually, every Mother Board is devised to host a given type of CPU. For instance a Pentium chip cannot be put into a 486 motherboard. This is the reason for which when one upgrades one's system's CPU with a standard chip, one has also to change the Motherboard-unless the motherboard was particularly devised to deal wit an upgrade. Specific upgrade chips are present that have been specifically devised to take one to the hire processing level without changing the motherboard, but this will not be a genuine upgrade because of the architectural restrictions of the Motherboard.

Each Motherboard has expansion slots built into it. In these slots there are different cards which are plugged into. These cards are computer devices, which appear like mini motherboards. There are different types of cards, which can be fitted into the motherboard, for example video card or sound card. It has to be ensured that the motherboard will allow one to upgrade seamlessly. A lot of the newer motherboards currently have the video card or modem directly build into the system board to decrease manufacturing costs as also lower production cost or enhance performance. It… READ MORE

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