Unit 2 Task 5 D1

D1;

Different software utilities improve the performance of your computer system as they can speed up your computer and can protect your computer from viruses.

Security virus protection and firewalls; These improve the performance of your computer system as they protect it from getting any viruses. The purpose of security virus protection is to protect your computer operating system from trojan horses taking over. If viruses and trojan horses were able to infect your operating system, you would lose control over your computer. You would also lose access to your files and documents. Viruses can also shut your computer system down so that is why it is important to install security virus protection.

Clean up tools for removal of cookies, internet history and defragmentation; After using your computer system on a daily basis over a long period of time, your computer can be slowed down due to the build up of internet history and cookies. To remove these, you can use clean up applications. You can also format the computer and reinstall files to increase the speed of your computer and improve the computer speed. Fragmentation can also decrease the performance of your computer as it makes the hard drive do extra unnecessary work. Disk Defragmentation runs on a particular schedule however you can defragment your computer manually if needed. Deleting the internet history will also increase the speed and performance of your computer as it creates more memory available and if you were on a public computer, all of your personal details will be removed from the computer system which will make it safe.

Drive Formatting; By formatting a computers hard drive you can create space on the hard drive to store extra files. There is also space for more things to be saved When you have formatted your computers drive, the performance of the computer will increase incredibly and will be more efficient. Over long periods of time the computers hard drive can get viruses, but to make sure this does not happen, reformatting the computer system is a good idea.

unit 2 Task 5 M3, D2

The MacBook Pro 5.1 scored rather low considering the high quality product that it is supposed to be. As you can see the Ram scored 108 which shows that the computer system has quite a good random access memory. The Ram speed is also good as it can process up to 2687 MB per second. Overall the RAM score shows that the computer can access the memory fast and you can save things quickly.

The Computer Processing Unit test scored 187. This scored the best on the whole test meaning that it is the best component of the computer. The CPU holds all the components together so scoring well on this test was vital as all of the components are connected. The processor is Intel Core 2 Duo with 2530 MHz. The processor helps to process the information through the computer so the faster the processor the quicker the computer will run.

The NovaBench test showed that the MacBook Pro scored a low 29. The graphics speed was 70 3D Frames per second. The graphics the MacBook uses is the NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT. I would’ve thought that the graphics score would be higher using this graphics card.  Overall the graphics on the MacBook Pro scored average however I expected a better result

The NovaBench test showed that the Hardware Tests scored 16. The Drive Write speed was 40 MB per second which is remarkably slow when the best technology is supposed to be used. The Primary Partition Capacity is 223GB.

D2

The test taken on the MacBook Pro 5.1 in 2011 scored 340 on the NovaBench test altogether. To improve this score I would use the Intel Core i7 processor which runs at 2400 MHz. This would speed your computer up as you can save things quickly and the computer system can process the information quicker.

I would also increase the RAM to 8192 MB which would increase the memory size and enable you to save more files. By increasing the RAM you would also increase the saving speed to 8999 MB per second.

To improve the CPU I would use a different integer operations speed, and also increase the speed of the floating point operations. This would speed up the computer overall and increase the speed of the processing.

I would keep the graphics the same as that scored quite well considering the age of the MacBook. However if this was an issue I would change the graphics card and that would increase the pixels per inch. It would also make the screen clearer.

Unit 2 Task 6 M2

Another computer system that I would recommend is the Lenovo C260 all-in-one PC. This is because it uses Windows 8.1 and has 4GB of memory. It has a screen size of 19.5 inches and has an LED screen. The Lenovo has 1TB of hard drive memory. This will cost you £319.99, which is extremely cheap and good if you have a budget. It is definitely a good value for money.

I would recommend an iMac because it has everything that you would find on a normal laptop. Also it has everything built in so you do not need to spend extra money on little things such as software. Also iMac uses the most up to date software and are especially good if you are a graphic designer. The graphics on an iMac are exceptional and are so simple to use it is an all-round simple computer. Also the screen is big enough for you to see as it has Retina 5k display. It has a 27 inch screen so it is just the right size for you to use. iMacs have an 8GB memory so you can do lots of things and still have enough space for more. You can get iMacs from £1599.

The computer system which I would recommend the most is the Lenovo C260 over the iMac. I would recommend the Lenovo laptop as it is more portable than the iMac. Also the iMac would set you back £1599 whereas the Lenovo laptop would only cost you £319.99. Although the Lenovo is cheaper, the iMac has 4GB more memory. This is not an issue as you can buy an external hard drive fairly cheaply and it would still be a lot less than the iMac in total. The Lenovo runs using Windows 8.1 which I also find easier to use compared the iMac software. In terms of graphic design, the iMac is better but you can install new software and use a better graphics card in the Lenovo - which will be more cost effective than the iMac.

Unit 2 Task 6 P4

 P4;

Computer/Monitor- I would recommend an iMac because it has everything that you would find on a normal laptop. Also it has everything built in so you do not need to spend extra money on little things such as software. Also iMac uses the most up to date software and are especially good if you are a graphic designer. The graphics on an iMac are exceptional and are so simple to use it is an all-round simple computer. Also the screen is big enough for you to see as it has Retina 5k display. It has a 27 inch screen so it is just the right size for you to use. iMacs have an 8GB memory so you can do lots of things and still have enough space for more. You can get iMacs from £1599.

Keyboard- The keyboard I would recommend would be the Apple Mac Numeric keyboard as it goes with the computer I previously recommended. The keyboard is also slim and the keys are big enough for you to type. The keyboard has many functions such as numerics and USB port cable. This is a good feature as you can plug it into your iMac and into other computers that have USB ports. It is an elegant keyboard and goes with the computer that you already have. This would cost you £40

Mouse- I would recommend the Magic Mouse by Apple as it goes along with the computer and keyboard that I have recommended. It is a multi-touch mouse meaning that you can swipe and scroll through web pages etc just by using the mouse. The mouse uses bluetooth and can be easily connected to your computer. The mouse uses a Laser Tracking Engine which means that you can use the mouse on almost any surface as it is really sensitive and effective. The Magic Mouse is also very modern and sleek. This would cost you £59

Digital Camera-  The camera that I would recommend is the Nikon D3200 DSLR. This is because it comes with a zoom lens and has 24.2 megapixels. Also the camera has six scenes that you can choose from to make sure that you have a good scene for the setting where you are taking the photos. It has a processor that is Exceed 3. You can also put a timer on the camera so you can wait up to 20 seconds to take the photos to get the right image. The camera has 1080p high definition so the quality is excellent. This camera would cost you £339.

Scanner- The scanner that I would recommend would be the Epson V370 perfection Flatbed Scanner. This is because it offers many things such as 4800x9600 dpi of optical resolution. The scanner has a 180-degree hinge so you can scan from bulky textbooks and even 3D objects. The scanner also enables you to access documents and scan them through a cloud storage system, this is a very good feature as you can scan documents as and when you need them. You can also scan items to email, and the scanner is rather thin so it can be portable. This scanner will cost you £84.99 which is a very good price.

Graphics tablet- The graphics tablet that I would recommend is the WACOM Intous Pro. This is because it has 8 ExpressKeys and multitouch support. It has an active area of 158x98mm and a pressure level of 2048. It has a professional  touch and is high performing. It is compatible with Windows 8. The graphic tablet has a tilt sensitivity of 60 degrees. It is compatible with iMac. This would cost you £180.

Printer-  The printer that I would recommend is the Canon Pixma Wireless Inkjet Printer. This is an all-in-one printer as it allows you to send documents to print from tablets, phones and computers. You can also print from social networking sites through Cloud print. The printer allows you to print, copy and scan. The features include; 6cm colour display, fast printing speeds of 12.2 ipm and software that you can install onto your computer so that you can organise documents to print. This is a good feature as you are able to know which files have been print/copied or scanned. It costs £60

Vinyl Cutters- The vinyl cutter that I would recommend is the PixMax Vinyl cutter, Weeding pack & Flexistart 11. I would recommend this because it has optical eye built in for lazer guiding. It comes with a 12 month guarantee and a protective cover to maintain its appearance. This is also compatible with other Mac products e.g. iMac. It also has a 28 inch surface so that you have a wide area to work with. This would cost you £400.

Projector- The projector that I would recommend is OPTOMA HD141X Full HD Home Cinema 3D projector. It is ideal for watching films, playing video games and includes built in speakers for all round AV flexibility. I would recommend this because it has 1920x1080p HD and the picture is really clear. The viewing size is 41.8 inches and can go up to 300 inches. This will cost about £450 but it is really worth the money.

Vector Software- The Vector Software that I would recommend is Adobe Illustrator. This is compatible with both Windows and Mac so it can be used on most computers. This gives you 20GB of storage on the cloud. Other features include; Advanced 3D editing and image analysis tools, Mercury Graphics engine and all new Smart Sharp-pen. This costs £200.

Bitmap Software- The Bitmap software that I would recommend is Adobe Photoshop and Premier Elements 12. This is because it gives you a huge range of editing options and is compatible with both Windows and Mac. This costs £110 and I would strongly recommend it as it can be downloaded and works exceptionally well.

Desktop Publishing - The desktop publishing software that I would recommend is Serif. This is because it has several templates available to use and is good for graphic designing. Also Serif has an array of visual tools and you can even add your own images to add a personal touch. This will cost you £30.