Computer Upgrade, Case Study Example

As Jean Jones is already familiar with the Windows XP Professional operating system and successfully runs her business where Adobe Photoshop and Flash are the main software’s used, her next PC needs to have a faster processor, an excellent graphics card, enough memory in the hard disk, adequate RAM (Random Access Memory) modules, capability to write information on portable storage media and good connectivity in order to enhance her productivity and procure more business. In addition she needs an adequate uninterrupted power supply system (UPS) to prevent the risk of losing data during work.

In order to meet her requirements Jean can either go in for a preassembled, branded machine, which are available in plenty or build her own system by selecting the right components according to her needs. Her first choice however has to be between a desktop or a laptop as most of the portable models available today are capable of handling multitasking and complex operation which were until now limited to the desktop models only. But since Jean operates primarily from her home, a desktop would be an ideal choice. As Jean’s business requires her to fiddle with photos, videos and flash movies, her PC must have an excellent graphics handling capability. Certain midrange desktops available in the market today possess such capabilities and can meet her needs. If better graphic capability than what such machines possess is required, she has an easy option of adding a high end PCI- Express or AGP card onto an available slot. However, as the latest branded PC’s come preloaded with either Windows Vista or the newly launched Windows 7 operating system, she can easily switchover to use these later operating environments to do the work she previously did on Windows XP. The Windows 7 particularly is a much acclaimed and easy to use operating system already as suggested by software reviewers during its beta testing.

Two branded machines which would suit Jean’s requirements are:

1. The HP TouchSmart 600xt series PC: This machine in its basic configuration comes at a price of around $ 1400 and has an Intel dual core processor with a maximum speed of 2.93 GHZ, 4-8 GB DDR3 RAM at 1066 MHz, hard drive capacity ranging from 640 GB to 1 TB, a high end Nvidia graphics card, DVD burner/Blue Ray disc, Bluetooth and a wireless networking card besides preloaded security software (hp.com)
2. A cheaper, but equally capable option could be the Acer Aspire machine at a price of $ 420 (newegg.com). This machine has an Intel Core 2 Duo processor at 2.66 GHz, 4 GB DDR 2 RAM, a whopping 750 GB SATA II hard drive, an Nvidia GeForce graphic card, super multilayer DVD optical drive, Windows Vista operating system and a wireless networking card.

Any of the above two machines are capable of meeting Jean’s requirements and are capable of handling both Photoshop and Flash software’s most efficiently. Moreover the large capacity hard disks are capable of storing tremendous amount of work, which can nevertheless be saved on removable media like DVD’s, Blue Ray disks or the modern flash drives. However, as an alternative Jean can go in for a tailor made system which uses only the required and the most apt equipment for her needs. In order to build such a system, she needs to select a motherboard, a processor (CPU, either Intel or AMD), an adequate power supply, the right capacity hard drive, adequate RAM modules, an efficient graphics card, an optical drive and an affordable operating system not below Microsoft Windows Professional. The following tabulated selection can suffice her needs:

A comparative chart showing the price comparisons of the most vital components of the above three systems are given below:

From the chart, it is evident that all the major features offered by the branded PC can be obtained in an assembled system. There are minmal differences in terms of performance in the above three machines except that the storage capacity is maximum in the assembled one. However variations can be made in secondary components such as RAM, the graphics card, hard drive capacity, optical drive etc. in order to suit one’ needs according to budget at hand or the capabilities desired.The advantage in buying a preassembled branded system system is that it comes with a warranty and any subsequent damage to the machine can be got repaired free of cost. If, budget is a constraint, the Acer machine described above would meet the needs of Jean. If she is capable of investing in a high end machine, then the HP model offers the latest gadgetry as well as security software.

Recommendation

In my view the Acer machine is the best choice for jean as it shares the processor capability of the other two, possesses a high end graphics card which is sufficient to handle her software, has a whopping 750 GB hard drive and last, but not the least, is the best priced machine available for the qualities desired by Jean.

Works Cited

Acer Aspire, PC model viewed at: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883103222

HP TouchSmart 600xt series, PC model viewed at: http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/computer_can_series.do?storeName=computer_store&category=desktops&a1=Category&v1=All-in-One+PCs&series_name=600xt_series&jumpid=in_R329_prodexp/hhoslp/psg/desktops/All-in-One_PCs/600xt_series

PC components, types and prices obtained from www.tigerdirect.com