1.9 Given a scenario, select the appropriate components for a custom PC configuration, to meet customer specifications or needs 19

Here are important principles to keep in mind when customizing a system to meet customer needs:

-- Meet applications requirements. Consider the applications the customer will use and make sure the hardware meets or exceeds the recommended requirements for these applications. Consider any special hardware the applications might require such as a joystick for gaming or a digital tablet for graphics applications. -- Balance functionality and budget. When working with a customer's budget, put the most money on the hardware components that are most needed for the primary intended purposes of the system. For example, if you are building a customized gaming PC, a RAID hard drive configuration is not nearly as important as the quality of the video subsystem. -- Consider hardware compatibility. When selecting hardware, start with the motherboard and processor. Then select other components that are compatible with this motherboard.

Here are the features and hardware you need to consider when customizing a home server computer: -- Use a processor with moderate power. The Intel Core i5 or Core i3 works well. A moderate amount of RAM is sufficient, for example, 6 to 8 GB. -- Storage speed and capacity need to be maximized. Use hardware RAID implemented on the motherboard to provide fault tolerance and high performance. Make sure the motherboard supports hardware RAID. Use fast hard drives (at least 7200 RPM) with plenty of storage capacity. Make sure the case has plenty of room for all the hard drives a customer might require.

-- Network transfers need to be fast, especially for streaming videos and movies. Make sure the network port is rated for Gigabit Ethernet (1000 Mbps). All other devices and computers on the LAN should also use Gigabit Ethernet. -- Printer sharing needs to be an available resource. A USB printer can be connected directly to the computer and then you can use Windows to share the printer with others on the network. How to share printers is covered later in the text. Alternately, some routers and switches provide a USB port that can be used to connect a USB printer to other computers on the network. -- Onboard video works well. Recall that onboard video is a video port embedded on the motherboard and does not perform as well as a good video card. Because the computer is not likely to be used as a workstation, you don't need powerful video. -- Windows 7 can be used as the OS, but Windows 8 provides additional features. Windows 8 offers Storage Spaces, which can hold large multimedia files on multiple hard drives. In addition, if the customer plans to use the computer to back up files on client computers, know that Windows 8 File History is easier to implement and use than the Windows 7 Backup and Restore utility.

A custom-built HTPC needs to include these features: -- Application software. The application controls the user interface and plays and records music and video. Examples of HTPC software include Windows Media Center, which is a free upgrade for Windows 8 Pro and integrated into Windows 7/Vista, Kodi (kodi.tv), and Plex (plex.tv). -- HDMI port to connect video output to television. And be sure to use a high-quality HDMI cable. -- Cable TV input. The best solution is to use a TV tuner card to connect the TV coax cable directly to the computer. Most TV tuner cards include a remote (see Figure 19-52). Some TV tuner cards are also video capture cards that offer the ability to record video and audio input. If the customer plans to use a TV cable box between the TV coax cable and the HTPC, you need to provide a way to make the connection. Most TV cable boxes have an HDMI output port. Realize this won't work with the HDMI port on a motherboard because these ports are output ports and you need an input port. To input to the computer using an HDMI port, you can use a video capture card that has an HDMI input port (see Figure 19-53).

-- Satellite TV input. This setup requires a satellite set-top box supplied by the company providing the satellite TV service. The best solution is to use a TV tuner card to receive input from the satellite set- top box. Make sure the types of ports on the computer and the box match up. -- Internet access. A way to receive streaming video from the Internet. To connect to the Internet, use a Gigabit Ethernet port or Wi-Fi connection. -- Remote control. A way to remotely control the HTPC because most likely the user will be sitting across the room from the computer. You can use a wireless keyboard and mouse, although the range for these devices might be too short. Some TV tuner cards include a remote. Also consider an app you can download to a smart phone to make it work as the remote. -- Low background noise. Because these computers don't perform complex calculations, you don't need as much processor or RAM power as in other systems. For example, you can use the small Intel Atom processor with 4 GB of RAM. Therefore, you won't need an extensive cooling system. You do, however, want a system that runs quietly. You can reduce noise by using SSD hard drives and low-speed fans or no fans at all. -- Surround sound. The system should support surround sound using at least six speakers located around the room. In Figure 19-54, you can see the preferred location for six speakers. Three popular variations of surround sound are 5.1 (uses up to six channels and speakers), 7.1 (uses up to eight channels and speakers), and 9.1 (uses up to 10 channels and speakers). Most sound cards and motherboards support six channels or ports for sound. -- Case form factor. An HTPC should be small enough to fit on a shelf in an entertainment center, and several companies make HTPC cases specifically for this purpose. The HTPC case shown in Figure 19-55 accommodates a MicroATX, mini-ITX, or mini-DTX motherboard and power supply. (A mini-DTX motherboard is slightly wider than the mini-ITX board.) The case has drive bays for 3.5-inch and 2.5-inch drives.

People who use these systems might be an engineer working with CAD software to design bridges, an architect who designs skyscrapers, a graphics designer who creates artistic pages for children's books, or a landscape designer who creates lawn and garden plans.

Examples of the applications these people might use include AutoCAD Design Suite by Autodesk (usa.autodesk.com) or Adobe Illustrator by Adobe Systems (www.adobe.com). These graphics-intensive, advanced applications perform complex calculations, use large and complex files, and can benefit from the most powerful of workstations. Because rendering 3D graphics is a requirement, a high-end or ultra-high-end video card is needed.

Here is a breakdown of the requirements for these high-end workstations:

-- Use a motherboard that provides quad channels for memory and plenty of memory slots and install a generous amount of RAM. In the ad shown in Figure 19-47, the system has 64 GB of installed RAM. For best performance, you can install the maximum amount of RAM the board supports. -- Use a powerful multicore processor with a large CPU cache. In the ad shown in Figure 19-47, the Intel Fourth Generation i7 processor, which is rated for high-end workstations and servers, has six cores and a 15-MB cache. This processor can handle the high demands of complex calculations performed by advanced software. -- Use fast hard drives with plenty of capacity. Notice the system in Figure 19-47 has two hard drives. The solid-state drive holds the Windows installation. The moderately fast second hard drive has a capacity of 2 TB to accommodate large amounts of data. For best hard drive performance in any system, be sure the motherboard and hard drives are all using SATA III. -- Use a high-end video card. To provide the best 3D graphics experience, use a high-end video card. Probably the best chipset manufacturer for high-end video cards is NVIDIA (www.nvidia.com). The ad in Figure 19-47 mentions the Quadro 6000. The Quadro family of graphics processors has the best-performing GPUs on the market, and the Quadro 6000 is the best Quadro currently sold (see Figure 19-48). It uses a PCIe ×16 slot and has 12 GB of GDDR5 video memory using a 384-bit video bus. The card has four HDMI ports and one DVI port. The card alone costs almost $4,000 and accounts for a major portion of the total system cost, which is almost $10,000

A smart TV is a television that has the ability to run apps, store data, and connect to the Internet.

A set-top box offers a regular television the ability to be "smart."

Audio- and video-editing applications are not usually as power-hungry as CAD/ CAM and graphics applications. The major difference in requirements is that most audio and video editing does not require rendering 3D graphics; therefore, you can get by with a not-so-expensive graphics card and processor.

Customers might require a Blu-ray drive and dual monitors. Recall that the best LCD monitors that provide the most accurate color are LED monitors with a class IPS rating. Figure 19-49 shows the specs for one customized video-editing workstation by ADK Media Group (

Here are the requirements for a desktop computer that will be used to run multiple virtual machines:

Each VM has its own virtual processor, so it's important the processor is a multicore processor. All dual-core or higher processors and all motherboards sold today support hardware-assisted virtualization (HAV). This technology enhances the processor support for virtual machines and is enabled in UEFI/BIOS setup. Some virtual machine management programs are designed so that each VM that is running ties up all the RAM assigned to it. Therefore, you need extra amounts of RAM when a computer is running several VMs. Each VM must have an operating system installed, and it takes about 20 GB for a Windows 8/7/Vista installation. In addition, you need hard drive space for each application installed in each VM. Make sure you have adequate hard drive space for each VM.

One way to implement virtualization is to use virtual machine management software, called a hypervisor, which creates and manages multiple virtual machines (VMs).

Examples of hypervisors used on a desktop computer include VMware Workstation or Player, Windows Virtual PC by Microsoft, and Oracle VirtualBox. Each VM managed by a hypervisor has its own virtual hardware (virtual motherboard, processor, RAM, hard drive, and so forth) and can act like a physical computer.

The virtualization server provides a virtual desktop for users on multiple client machines.

Most, if not all, processing is done on the server, which provides to the client the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI).

Gaming computers benefit from a powerful multicore processor and a high-end video card and sound card. Gamers who are also computer hobbyists might want to overclock their CPUs or use dual video cards for extra video performance.

Take extra care to make sure the cooling methods are adequate. Because of the heat generated by multiple video cards and overclocking, liquid cooling is sometimes preferred. LGA 2011

A Home Theater PC (HTPC) is designed to play and possibly record music, photos, movies, and video on a television or extra-large monitor screen. Because these large screens are usually viewed from across the room, application software is used to control output display menus 19 and other clickable items in fonts large enough to read at a distance of 10 feet.

This interface is called a 10-foot User Interface. An HTPC is also known as a media center appliance

Here is what you need for a mid range to high-end audio/video-editing workstation:

Use a motherboard that supports dual, triple, or quad channel memory running at least at 1600-MHz RAM speed. Use a Core i7 or higher processor. Install at least 16 GB of RAM; more is better. Select a good video card that has a GeForce GTX graphics processor or better. GeForce is a family of graphics processors designed by NVIDIA that is not as high end as the Quadro graphics processors but still gives good video performance. Most users will require dual or triple monitors. You might need to consider dual video cards for optimum video performance or for more than two video ports. Use a good sound card, such as the Creative Sound Blaster Zx sound card. This sound card uses a PCIe slot. Before you purchase, research reviews online for a good sound card. Use a double-sided, dual-layer DVD burner and possibly a Blu-ray burner. Install one or more fast and large hard drives, running at least 7200 RPM

A thin client

a computer that has an operating system but has little computer power and might only need to support a browser used to communicate with the server. The server does most of the processing for the thin client. To reduce the cost of the computer, configure it to meet only the minimum requirements for Windows.

A thick client, also called a fat client,

a regular desktop computer or laptop that is sometimes used as a client by a virtualization server. It can be a low-end or high-end desktop or laptop. It should meet the recommended requirements to run Windows 8/7 and any applications the user might require when it is being used as a stand-alone computer rather than a VM client.