Building or Buying

Give three advantages to building a PC and three advantages to buying a PC.

Buying:

Convenient - Saves time. It allows you to buy a preconfigured system that contains all the components inside.

Bundled with OS and other software - Usually is bundled with an Operating System and some software. Usually the software can range from a multimedia player to antivirus.

Warranty and support - Most computers come with warranty, so if your computer breaks down, or you just have trouble with a certain component, you can easily call up tech support or bring it back to the store for some help.

Building:

Cheaper - Cuts out the middle man, so that when you're buying specific parts, you're not also paying for the license for that company to use it on their computer system. Also, you pay for what you need, so this allows people to get the only things they need for their computer at a cheaper cost.

Customizable - You get what you want. All the components are bought and installed by you, so that you're putting in what you NEED in. With this route you have a wide selection of different parts for different tasks, like graphics cards for example. You wouldn't really need a high end QUAD SLI Nvidia graphics card if you're just using the computer to go on Facebook and play the occasional Farmville or other flash game timewaster. However if you're a gamer and you're not on a budget, GO FOR IT!

Satisfaction - Building a PC is a valuable learning system. Also, the satisfaction of building something from scratch and having it work is a great feeling.

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I believe building your own computer is the best option. However, it's not the best for most people. to build a computer, you must have a vast knowledge of computer components and electronics experience. You must know what plugs in to where, if it's compatible, what the parts are for, the power supply, etc. Nonetheless, building a computer is usually cheaper as it cuts out the middle man, and it doesn't leave your computer with "bloatware" that's usually bundled with preconfigured system. You may have to pay for your OS, but it's a nice fresh install instead of having all that bundled junk that HP users usually have. Also, with building your own computer, you get to have what you want, meaning that you can customize every single aspect about your computer. Building could take a lot of time, but it's cheaper and rewarding in the long run.


Mark Kyrnin Building Vs. Buying a Personal Computer [Online]Available http://compreviews.about.com/od/general/a/BuildvsBuy.htm Accessed March 26, 2010

Introduction to Computer Systems

What do you already know about computer systems?

I know quite a lot about computer systems, having used Windows 98/ME/XP/Vista/7 since I can remember and of course, troubleshooting many PCs and laptops that my relatives have told me to fix.

What do you want to learn about computer systems?

I want to learn more about the internal components of the computer, while I do have knowledge of the parts and what it does, I want to learn how to build my own computer, and learn how to do advanced stuff like BIOS editing.


1. What is the tower? - What does it look like? - What is its function? A tower, shown here, is an enclosure that houses the internal parts of a computer. These parts could range from the Hard Drive, CPU, fan, etc.



2. What is RAM? - What does it look like? - What is its function? - What does RAM stand for?

RAM stands for Random Access Memory which allows the computer to perform processes that require it to access and save memory randomly.


3. What is a Hard Drive? - What does it look like? - What is its function?

A hard drive is a disk drive that holds and stores information on a magnetic or optical disk that reads and writes information on it.


4. What is a DVD and DVD drive? - What do they look like? - What is their function?

a DVD usually stands for Digital Versatile Disc which allows people to store large files on a disk. A DVD drive allows a computer to "accept" and interpret information on a DVD.


5. What is a Ethernet cable? - What does it look like? - What is its function?

An Ethernet cable looks like an oversized phone cable, which is used for Local Area Networks and connecting to your modem or router.


6. What is a motherboard? - What does it look like? - What is its function?

A motherboard is the primary circuit board that "holds" and allows connections to necessary computer interfaces.


7. What is an IDE and SATA cable? - What do they look like? - What is their function?

Both are different ways for connecting a Hard Drive to the motherboard.


8. What is USB? - What does it look like? - What is its function? - What does USB stand for?

USB stands for Universal Serial Bus allows many computer peripherals, such as a mouse, keyboard, printer, etc. to be connected through a "universal" input.


9. What is a video card? - What does it look like? - What is its function?

A Video card is responsible for generating and outputting images to display. Some video cards also support video capturing, allowing you to record videos on your computer.


10. What is a PCI card? - What does it look like? - What is its function? What does PCI stand for?

a PCI card could be many different computer peripherals, such as a network card, sound card, video card, usb ports, etc. They all are able to connect through the motherboard using a PCI system.

Magazine - GQ

The Images I only used 3 different images.

2 of them was my recent picture from the Snowball formal dance.

and the other was the GQ logo, which can be found here:

GQ Logo (Online Image) Available http://www.mavenmedia.co.za/images/gq_logo.jpg, March 3rd, 2010

to summarize, I did many things on this image.

First, I carefully cropped Camden and myself from our formal pictures, and placed it in a blank transparent new image.

Then, to match GQ's style, I added a gray background and tried making our bodies blend in with the background seamlessly.

then I added the GQ logo and change the colours to match what we were wearing and the overall colour scheme of the magazine.

Finally, I then added some finishing touches, such as different article titles, and "hooks" in the GQ style. I went through many of these magazines in order to fully emulate what their style is.

For some text, I added some glows in order for some more clarity around the dark areas of the magazine. however, due to jpeg compression it seems like the text still looks a bit blurry still...

I chose GQ because I like their colour themes on their magazines. Also, I've seen quite a lot of celebrities that has been on the covers of GQ.

CD Cover

Alright, here's my CD Cover:

Images I used:

Flame (Online Image) Available http://grace-stock.deviantart.com/art/Flame-Stock-III-106713035 December 18,2008

Rick Astley (Online Image) Available http://mddpartycrew.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/picture-2.jpg March 1,2009

I believe I deserve a 4 because I used quite a lot of effects using minimal images.

The Artist name was inspired by a famous move by the Character called Akuma from the Street Fighter videogame series.