COMP.

6217 Hardware Technology

Late assignments will not be marked.

Type of
Due Date/Time Marks Weighting
Assessment

Assignment 5 p.m. Friday 16th April 2021 (Week 8) 100 30%

Learning outcomes assessed:

a. Evaluate a wide range of hardware components.

This assignment must be a product of your own work. Your lecturer will submit every
assignment in to Turnitin to check for plagiarism.

You are to work in a team of 2 to produce a report and PowerPoint presentation, which you
will both present in class (Presentation date in week 9. Day to be advised) in a presentation
of not more than 10 minutes. Your report and presentation will detail your findings for the
following investigation:

Gaming/Media PC Build Requirements

Note: - Compare and contrast support manuals relating to the hardware components

Your findings are to be based on the hardware in the questions below only and not
the operating system. However, you should use operating system and game software
requirement specifications to inform your hardware selections

In order to do this, you will need to look up the specifications for the games you want
to play and their OS and hardware requirements. Critically examine component
manuals, research on relevant questions and document your results in a report. You
will need to make a list of criteria relating to your hardware components and you will
need to justify your criteria choices. Your selections and justification for them will
form the basis of your 10-minute presentation.

The following questions will contain points which must be addressed in your
assignment. All listed points must be addressed within your report. Some of these
points will state (report and presentation). These points must be addressed in your
presentation as well.

No brand names or prices are required for this assignment.

1
Q 1 In choosing a case for a new computer there are several different case sizes available,
from mini ITX to full tower. There are several things you need to consider before
choosing a case. Getting things wrong here could mean a difficult build or additional
expense later. Styles and sizes vary within these form factors but certain rules always
apply.
What are these rules? (report only)
What is your selected case? (report and presentation) (Marks 10)

Q 2 Choosing the motherboard (mainboard) in your PC is the foundation of everything else

you plan to add, so it makes sense that you ensure you choose the best option.
The motherboard you choose for your Gaming/Media PC needs to be up to variety of
tasks, be able to support a number of components, and be suitable for daily use.
Complete a list of your recommended minimum specification for the motherboard,
including on-board peripherals? (report and presentation) (Marks 15)

Q 3 The choice of the Central Processing Unit (CPU) is the key to the building of a new PC
and will, in most cases, dictate the rest of the components required.
Explain what needs to be taken into consideration when choosing a CPU. (report and
presentation) (Marks 15)

Q 4 The lack of sufficient Random Access Memory (RAM) has the potential to be a real
power and bottleneck for your PC build. Getting it right is just as important as choosing
the right CPU or graphics card.
Explain Double Data Rate (DDR), RAM speed and Matched Pairs. (report)
What is the memory limit for Windows 10 32bit, and the memory limit for Windows 10
Pro 64 bit? (report)
How much RAM would you need for your Gaming/Media PC? (report and presentation)
Why would you need this amount? (report and presentation) (Marks 12)

Q 5 There is a choice of storage devices available today.

Explain the difference between a Hard Disk Drive (HDD), Solid State Drive (SSD),
M.2 SSD and a Hybrid Solid State Hard Drive (Hybrid SSHD) (report)
Your selection of storage device (report and presentation) (Marks 10)

2
Q 6 Choosing a graphics card can be very confusing with power and performance statistics
to get your head around.
Who are the two main manufactures of graphics cards? (report)
Why are Video Memory, Clock Speed and Memory Bus important to a graphics card?
(report)
Sometimes the physical size of the Graphics card is a problem. What is the problem?
(report)
Your choice of video card & why? (report and presentation) (Marks 12)

Q 7 With many types of connections available between the graphics card and the monitor.
Create a list showing the characteristics and differences between a High-Definition
Multimedia Interface (HDMI) and Display Port connections?
(report and presentation) (Marks 10)

Q 8 There are several things to consider before purchasing a Power Supply Unit (PSU).
What is the main role of the PSU?
How is the minimum power requirements of the PSU decided? (report)
What is the difference between a wired and a modular PSU? (report)
Your choice of PSU (report and presentation) (Marks 10)

Q 9 Correct APA referencing is used in your report. (Marks 6)

Students are reminded to read pages related to assessment rules, including rules for
dishonest work, at Toi Ohomai.

This assignment must be uploaded to the Moodle upload link for this assignment on the
course pages by the due and time.

You may use images in your PowerPoint presentation but if these are not your own they
MUST be referenced in the report bibliography. Please note: Google Images is not an
adequate site for reference purposes. The source of the original image MUST be used
instead

Please choose a relatively clean PowerPoint template design for your presentation. The
template graphics should not obscure any of your content

Your presentation must contain an introductory slide containing a title and introducing the
team members

Make sure that your student ID is in the header on every page and a page number in the
footer of your work.

3
 Marking Schedule
Standard Your
Marking Criteria
Marks Marks

Q 1: Choice of Computer Case 10

a. What are the rules 8

b. Your selection 2
Q 2: Choosing the Motherboard 15

List of your recommended minimum specifications 15

Q 3: Choice of the Central Processing Unit (CPU) 10

a. Explain what needs to be taken into consideration when choosing a

8
CPU.

b. Your selection 2

Q 4: The lack of sufficient Random Access Memory 12

a. Explain Double Data Rate (DDR), RAM speed and Matched Pairs. 5

b. What is the memory limit for Windows 10 PRO 32bit and the
2
memory limit for Windows 10 Pro 64 bit?

c. How much RAM would you need for your Gaming/Media PC? 5

Q 5: There is a choice of storage devices available today 10

a. Explain the difference between a Hard Disk Drive (HDD), Solid

State Drive (SSD), M.2 SSD and a Hybrid Solid State Hard Drive 8
(Hybrid SSHD)

b. Your Selection 2

Q6: Choosing a graphics card 12

a. Who are the two main manufactures of graphics cards? 2

b. Why are Video Memory, Clock Speed and Memory Bus important to
6
a graphics card?
c. Sometimes the physical size of the Graphics card is a problem.
2
What is the problem?

d. Your selection 2

Q7: With many types of connections available between the

10
graphics card and the monitor.
Create a list showing the characteristics and differences between a
High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) and Display Port 10
connections?

4
Q8: There are several things to consider before purchasing a
10
Power Supply Unit (PSU).

a. What is the main role of the PSU? 2

b. How is the minimum power requirements of the PSU decided? 4

c. What is the difference between a wired and a modular PSU? 2

d. Your Selection 2

Q 6: Referencing and Citing 6

Use correct in-text Citation in accordance to the APA 6 writing style.
List References in full accord with the APA 6 writing style; group them by
6
media used (e.g. published texts, published reports, magazines, Moodle,
Internet, …) Includes references used in presentation
Total 100

Weighting 30%