Author: Neftaly Malatjie

  • 114047 LG 1.10 Hard drive

    Storage capacity determines how much information can be stored for later use. More hard disk space means you can store more programs and data. In modern PCs it is measured in Gigabytes (GB) but are reaching up to Terabytes (TB).

    Hard disk speed is normally expressed in revolutions per minute (rpm). The rpm is how fast the disk is spinning and varies from 5400 rpm – 15000 rpm.

    Other specifications

    • Ports: A computer system need to send and receive information from peripheral devices. Aport is a piece of technology that is used to connect external devices to a computer.
    • Parallel: used mainly to connect printers but can also be used to connect certain scanners and external hard disks.
    • Serial: Used to connect certain types of mouse, modem and printers.
    • Universal Serial Bus (USB) Used to connect around 127 devices including printers, scanners, flash drives and digital cameras. There are USB-1 and USB-2 (this one is faster).
    • Firewire/IEEE 1394: used to transfer video images from digital devices.

     

    Expansion Slots

    Expansion slots are sockets found on the motherboard and are used to insert additional circuit boards (cards). They can be used for adding more memory, graphics facilities and other special devices. There are three types of expansion slots:
    1) Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) – used to attach sound cards, network cards and video cards.

    2) Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) – mainly used for graphics cards
    3)Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) – used for attaching modems and not commonly seen on most modern computers

    Determining feasibility

    As stated above the system specifications must be tested for feasibility. A feasibility is an analysis of how successfully the installation can be completed, using the specifications of the computer system.


  • 114047 LG 1.9 The CPU or processor

    The two name features of CPUs that you need to be aware of are its speed and type. 

    The processor speeds of most of today’s PCs are measured in GHz (GigaHertz). 1 GHZ means that it can execute approximately 1 billion instructions per section.

    The CPU type determine the type of application for which a particular type of processor is used. The two most popular companies that currently produce CPUs are Intel and AMD but are also manufactured by Centaur Technology, Tlbrus and Transmeta Corporation. Intel processors are little more expensive than AMD’s due to the small difference in performance.

    Main Memory

    The capacity of a computer’s memory determines the number of programs that it can hold at a time, which affects the performance of a computer system. More memory indicates that it can hold more programs at a time. Modern PCs memory capacity is measured in GB (Gigabytes).

    There are two main types of RAM – SDRAM (Synchronous Dynamic RAM) and RDRAM (Rambus Dynamic RAM). RDRAM are faster and more expensive than SDRAM abd are used mainly for high performance computers.

    Wordsize determines the number of bits that can be stored and processed at a time by the CPU. Most modern PCs have a word size of either 32-bit of 64-bit.

    RAM speed determines how fast the chip updates the data that it contains. In modern PCs it is measured in MHz (MegaHertz) and is usually above 400MHz.

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  • 114047 LG 1.8 SYSTEM SOFTWARE

    The planning process must review the specification of the computer system inorder to identify and explain feasibility of the specification. The capacity of a computer’s memory determines the number of programs that it can hold at a time, which affects the performance of a computer system.

  • 114047 LG 1.6 SESSION 1: PLAN THE INSTALLATION OF SYSTEM SOFTWARE

    On completion of this section you will be able to Plan the installation of system software for a multi-user networked operating system. 

    1. The plan reviews the specification of the computer system software in order to identify and explain the feasibility of the specification. 
    2. The plan specifies milestones and estimates the time and resources required for the installation. 
    3. The plan ensures that the installation is scheduled to minimise disruption to the users. 
    4. The plan identifies tasks that are vulnerable to standard risks, and assesses the probability and impact of those risks. 

  • 114047 LG 1.5 HOW YOU WILL BE ASSESSED

    This programme has been aligned to registered unit standards.  You will be assessed against the outcomes of the unit standards by completing a knowledge assignment that covers the essential embedded knowledge stipulated in the unit standards.  When you are assessed as competent against the unit standards, you will receive a certificate of competence and be awarded 9 credits towards a National Qualification.