Task 1- Aims and Purposes My aims and purposes are put here because john needs a computer with different accessories and programs which are necessary for his learning and day to day life. As his I. T. consultant I have to decide what computer and accessories he will need. I will need to John’s computer will need to be fast and have a good graphics card, as John is a dedicated fan of online game Runescape. In John’s spare time he likes taking photos, making music and making movies and playing games so his computer has to have a lot of memory to save his photos and movies, he needs to be able to store music, he likes listening to Girls Aloud.

The computer should also be in different languages because he is studying German for A-Levels. He needs to have a good internet connection because he uses games and plays runescape. He is a member of the local conservative party and needs to print flyers, so he will need Microsoft office and will also need a printer. He also likes making his own music and movies so he will need programs such as Cubase to make music and Adobe Premiere to make movies. He will also use editing programs such as adobe Photoshop. He also needs programs for his art/design A-Level such as Picasso.

His computer also needs anti-virus software so his computer is protected from viruses. Task 2- Hardware Requirements- Input devices Item Description Why Required? Keyboard A keyboard is made up of keys used to insert numbers, text and punctuation, it is also has other keys. Most keyboards are qwerty keyboards because researchers have found that this is the preferred layout for a keyboard. Keyboards are made so hands are laid out in a natural, comfortable position. John needs to use email, design flyers and generally use a keyboard to type in text. He can also use a keyboard to play computer games like runescape.

It is hard to use a computer without a keyboard. A keyboard is also very easy to use and doesn’t take a lot of practice to get it right. But too much use of a keyboard can cause RSI (Repetitive strain Injury). Mouse A mouse is used to control what happens on the screen. There is generally 2 buttons left click selects an item and right click brings up a relevant menu. Most people are used to using a mouse so no one would need any training to use a mouse. But overuse of a mouse can lead to repetitive strain injury. To navigate and select different items and while playing runescape a mouse is needed.

A computer can be used without a mouse but it is very difficult because he needs to select things quickly. A mouse usually has three buttons one right click, one left click and on scroll button but a new mouse will sometimes have a back button which can be used in an internet browser, this will make johns research much quicker. Joystick Joysticks are used while playing computer games. They are used for navigating in different directions. Joysticks can be moved in many different directions and it tells the computer what to select it generally has at least two buttons on it.

To play some computer games he will need to use the joystick to move (Good for racing or aeroplane games). A joystick is for games which john likes to play; it controls the object in a game e. g. the car in a racing game. Microphone A microphone detects sounds which are then sent to the computer. The better the microphone the better the quality of the sound that comes out from the speakers when playing back the sounds recorded. He needs to talk to his friend and he likes to record music. And he uses a microphone to record the sound of videos.

If John has a good microphone it will be able to detect all the sounds and voices that John wants to input in the computer. Webcam and Digital Camera They are both used to record or take pictures. It would need to have a high megapixel because the higher the megapixel, the better the quality. No film is needed for modern day cameras and picture can be viewed immediately after the picture has been taken. He needs a digital camera to record his home movies and he needs a webcam to make a video call with his friend. Cameras are usually quite expensive but as technology is developing they are becoming cheaper.

The picture taken from cameras can take up a lot of memory space. Graphics Tablet A graphics tablet is a board where you can draw/sketch drawings. Designers and illustrators often use graphics tablets. They can be extremely accurate, so drawings made can be precise. It would be useful for him to have this because it would make it easier to design flyers and could be helpful with his art/design A-level. Johns art/design A-Level will require him to do accurate and great pieces of art work and a graphics tablet can give him precision. Task 2 Hardware Requirements- Output Devices Item Description.

Why required? Monitor The monitor shows what is going on through thousands of pixels. Recently LCD monitors have become common. Large monitors make it easier to use a computer; it is probably one of the most useful items that come with a computer. He needs a monitor to view what he is doing. He needs a widescreen HD monitor as he likes making movies. John needs a monitor which is at least 720p, maybe LCD as they are good quality, but the best quality screens are the ones that are 1080p. Ink-Jet Printer This is an output device what can print out work. It is fast and ink is cheap to replace.

They operate by heating the ink when it’s going through the nozzle. He needs to print out flyers and he also needs to print out his work. Ink-jet printers are very useful for home-use as it is cheap and easy to use. But ink-jet printers do not have high quality printing. Speakers Speakers are output devices which project sound out loud so 1 or more person can hear it. But sometimes speakers can often disturb other people who doing work or are busy. To listen to his music out loud and watch his homemade movies. Text can be converted and be projected out loud through speakers.

Computers often have internal speakers but they are not of very high quality so John needs separately bought speakers. Headphones Headphones are output devices used to listen to music or movies, when no one else can hear it. They are small loudspeakers which go on the outside of the ear or the inside of the ear depending on the type of headphones. To listen to his music or watch movies without anybody in the room listening to it. Headphones are very useful when John wants to listen to his own personal sounds when he doesn’t want anyone else to hear. Task 2- Processing devices Item Description Why Required?

Graphics Card This makes the computer appear on the screen. Different graphics cards add different functions; some are made for 3d or 2D. Graphics card He needs a good graphics card, as he likes playing games. If he has a better graphics compute will be a higher quality. If john wants to play games in 3d he needs a 3D graphics card and a 3D monitor. Central Processing Unit (CPU) The CPU is the brain of the computer; it makes all the decisions, searches and does calculations. It processes instructions. The CPU contains a tiny quartz clock which ticks; every time it ticks one instruction is sent.

The more ticks per second the more instructions are sent. The computer wouldn’t work without this and the higher the GHz, the faster the computer responds to processes. John needs at least a processor with higher than 3GHz because that will carry out 3 billion instructions per second. Motherboard The motherboard is where all the components are connected together. The motherboard houses the sound card, graphics card, RAM, ROM, Network interface and hard disk. He needs the motherboard for the computer to work and to use the computer. And he needs it to plug anything in it e. g. Mouse.

The motherboard connects all of the components together, so without this nothing would work because none of the connections between wires will be made. Sound Card A sound card is a computer expansion card that facilitates the input and output of audio signals. The term sound card is also applied to external audio interfaces that use software to generate sound, as opposed to using hardware inside the PC. He could use the sound card to transfer the sounds from the computer to the output device. John needs a good sound card so when the sound is projected from the computer to the speakers or headphones the quality of the sound will be clear.

ROM ROM stores permanent data about the computer which cannot be changed by the user. The data on the ROM cannot be deleted unless the computer is rebooted. He needs this to make the computer save all the permanent memory, used to start up the computer. Without the ROM the computer wouldn’t start up as it contains the operating system to start up the computer. RAM RAM stores temporary memory and helps the computer to run. A typical ram is about 1-2GB. The ROM chip is used to hold data that cannot be changed by the user. Without the RAM the computer wouldn’t be able to run, the higher the RAM more processes can be happening at one time.