Milestone 2: MilleniAds
Julia Horne
University of Southern New Hampshire
MilleniAds is a startup company that is focused on producing various graphics such as sales flyers, brochures, and business cards. There is a need for 9 PC’s, 2 laptops, and a tablet. The machines must allow for a lot of multitasking, the employees need to be able to have several programs open and not have to worry about performance. There also needs to have an upgraded video card as the business is in graphic design. A storage device is needed as there will be a lot of documents and works need to be saved. All financials including sales and transactions will need to be saved. There are many stages to graphic design each of which needs to be saved to something that will not fail. Hard copies of things will need to be produced for documentation and project sales. The server will need to support the use of the VPN by the mobile employees. Finally, the tablet will need also need to have several applications open and be able to handle the writing, drawing, inserting, and displaying graphics.
A central processing unit has many options. Intel is the biggest producer of most CPU’s that are used today. There are dual, triple, or quad processors. “Multi-core systems enable the operating system to run multiple applications simultaneously. Without multiple processors, applications appear to run at the same time, but must wait their turn for processing time from the single processor.” (TestOut) There are the I5 or I7, both typically run the same. Adobe also runs better on the I5 or I7. Another component is whether the CPU is 32 bit or 64 bit. The biggest difference in this case, between the two is the amount of memory that they support. 32 bit supports up to 3-4 GB of memory. The 64 bit can support more than 4 GBs (Computer Hope, 1).
Next is the memory, RAM is the most common. Random access memory is a type that can be access randomly at any time by any applications. SRAM is faster and requires less power. It also able to save the information even while the power is turned off. The typical installation of memory ranges between 16 and 32 GB. 16 is optimal for small gaming and basic functions. The 32 GB is prime for a lot of photo and video editing since the computer needs to complete more tasks.
There are two options for the graphics on the computers. There are integrated graphics or dedicated graphics cards. The integrated uses CPU and RAM for processing, this process can slow down the machine as there another component that needs to be powered. A dedicated graphics card frees up the RAM that would be allocated to the processing if it was integrated graphics. Integrated graphics are cheaper, but slower than a dedicated graphics card. (Testout)
Finally, there are several kinds of storage devices options for MilleniAds. Hard disk drives can hold a lot of data and are typically cheaper than other storage devices. HDD are more prone to damage because of the moving parts, proving that they are more prone to failure. Solid state drives are drives that have no moving parts so they are less prone to breaking. They are also smaller and faster than hard drives. SDD’s are of course more expensive than the HDD because of portability and speed. Next in order to produce hard copies of things there are optical drives and flash drives. Optical disks are a hard copy produced by an optical drive. The disks can only hold a limited amount of data. Flash drives are very be small and portable. They also can hold more data than an optical disk.
The list that will follow are the suggestions that go along with MilleniAds specific hardware requirements. A focus was put on the speed of the machines, productivity, and memory. The users need to have many applications open, most of which require a lot of memory.
The CPU should be an intel I7 as most of the business is done on adobe products. A quad processor for maximum apps to be open while work is being done. 64 bit instead of 32 because it supports more memory, which is one of the important requirements. For the RAM 32 GB since most work is done on photos and a variety of graphics. Next, a dedicated graphics card frees up the memory so that high definition graphics can be worked on and displayed. It is more expensive but is worth it so that the employees can work on an up to date system. Storage is the second most important piece of hardware. A solid-state drive does not have any moving parts which is prime since most users will be moving around a lot. It is also much faster than the other alternatives. Continuing with hard copies of the produced works, flash drives come in a variety of forms: sd cards or memory sticks. Anything that an optical drive would produce is past its time, most clients would not even have a CD/DVD drive. Flash drives can also be erased and used again if needed. These above suggestions apply to all of the machines that MilleniAds will need to buy: 9 PC’s and 2 laptops should have all of the mentioned proposed hardware requirements. The tablet has only a limited amount of options for hardware, so the suggestions will be very small
Resources :
“What Is the Difference between a 32-bit and 64-bit CPU?” Computer Hope. N.p., 26 Apr. 2017. Web. 28 May 2017.
What hardware is needed
11 pcs
2 monitors a piece
1 server for the vpn
Completed works should be saved on the cloud – with high memory
Tablet – need to draw and display graphics and easily upload
Most of what needs to be done can be done on a basic machine. But the bulk of the business is graphic design – so the computer needs to be set up to comply with the requirements
Microsoft Surface Pro Tablet
For suggestions :
The Adobe Apps used by most graphic designers rely less on GPU (even though some features are enhanced by it) and rely heavily on Processor and Ram
(https://creativepro.com/advice-on-building-your-own-custom-graphic-design-pc/)
RAM- need to add more memory as a lot will be happening on a daily basis
-Need to have multiple programs open
– Need to perform multimedia processes
– Windows 10 Pro operating system takes up a lot of memory
– a lot is happening
SRAM OR DRAM
8-16GB
16-32GB
DVD Burner- needed on the 8 pcs so that hard copies can be made for clients
Also on 2 laptops
Graphics-
Integrated or On Board graphics means using your CPU and System RAM for graphics processing.
The difference is fairly large. Dedicated Graphics lets you use significantly more robust Graphics Processing Units (GPU) along with an amount of RAM that is reserved for use by the GPU (VRAM or Video RAM.) Using a dedicated graphics card frees up system resources (RAM) that would otherwise be allocated to video processing in systems that offer shared graphics.
Storage- 128-256 GB
http://www.storagereview.com/ssd_vs_hdd
SSD drive or none
Solid state drives have no moving parts so there is no spin up, unlike normal hard drives it has no moving parts
Benefits: no defrag needed
Lighter, quiet, use less power than HDD