CS 105P

Buying a Personal Computer

CIT105P Rubrics
Assignment 10: PC Wish List
Model Descript3
Component Details3
Reasons for Choice4
Total 10

For this assignment, you will be creating a shopping list (or Wish List) of components to buy that special computer you have always wanted. You can use a flyer, newspaper ad, or PC Website from any of the major computer suppliers, to make your selection.

Below, you will find some questions you will want to consider when shopping for a new PC. Further below, you will find some example Wish Lists of PC systems.

Once you have reviewed the questions and picked out a system unit, copy the relevant information into a Word document.

Include a couple of sentences describing why you chose this particular system. (Remember that cost may be a factor.)

Email your Wish List and reasons for your selection.

desktop computer desktop monitor Laptop front view

When we say computer we mean a machine large enough to get work done easily. No tablets. No smartphones. We are looking for an efficient production machine and that means a full-size keyboard and a good-sized screen with a good pointing device. That means an office-type desktop or a decently-sized laptop. Yes, it is possible to do a lot on a smartphone or a tablet but the form factors add difficulties you don't need. Just writing a letters and checking them become tedious, time consuming, exasperating and tiring in the extreme. Think of all the letters and message you type up in a typical business day.

Using a phone for business work would be like choosing to build a a model ship in a bottle instead of building the ship on a workbench with adequate working space. A tablet isn't much better for production such as typing and drawing. You will still need a keyboard for any real amount of work and that means a separate unit flying around, either via USB port or through Blue Tooth.

There is another factor which is that the more screen space available the more you have in front of you at one time. With a phone it is like looking through a keyhole all the time and trying to keep in mind the parts of the room you can't see at any one time through that keyhole. For those of you too young to remember when doors were opened with skeleton keys which had worked inside large round holes through the doorway, Google up a few keyhole pictures or look at some old time mystery movies.

-

  1. First step in buying a computer is to examine your needs and try to anticipate how you will use the machine.
  2. Second step is to determine how much you want to spend.
  3. Operating System: PC or Macintosh? (Sometimes depends on software you want to run.) Possibly also Chrome or Linux.

Typical configurations for computer specifications in 2016

 

A few configurations for comparison from 1998 to 2000