Kori Boyer LIS 451LE Concept Paper 1: Hardware For my comparisons, I looked at three different manufacturers (HP, Toshiba
and eMachines). I looked at three desktop systems and one laptop. While I didnt have exact user groups in mind while looking for systems to compare, I knew that price would likely lead me to very different systems (and thus would fulfill the needs of very different users). For this reason, I included price in my comparisons. In the end, I found four very different systems and would match them with the following user groups: Gamers, or those who do graphics-heavy work (HP Elite HPE-400y), your average American family with one or two young children (HP Pavilion p6714y Desktop), a college-student or traveling business person (Toshiba Portege, which is the laptop I looked at) and finally the elderly trying to stay connected with family, or a user who needs the bare bones software (eMachines EL1850-01e). Below is a quick comparison chart. I will look at each of the specifications in detail (some in more detail than others) and describe why each machine suits the need of the intended user group.
HP Elite HPE-400y
HP Pavilion p6714y Desktop Desktop/tower HP - 20" Widescreen FlatPanel LCD Monitor
Toshiba Portege
eMachines EL1850-01e Desktop/tower eMachines - 18.5" Widescreen FlatPanel LCD Monitor
Form Monitor
Desktop/tower HP - 20" Widescreen FlatPanel TFT-LCD Monitor
Weight in pounds (of tower/CPU) CPU type/speed
11.9 AMD Phenom II 3.0 GHz 4000MHz (System Bus)
9.8 AMD Athlon II 3.0GHz 1000MHz (System Bus)
Laptop 13.3 inch screen High-definition widescreen LEDbacklit TFT with TruBrite technology (1366 x 768) 3.2 Intel Core i3 2.4GHz N/A
12 Intel Celeron 2.2GHz 800MHz (system bus)
CPU speed vs. FSB speed
Type/size of storage
1TB SATA (7200 rpm) 8GB (expandable to 16GB) DDR3 SDRAM Cache Memory: 2MB on die Level 2 + 6MB shared on die Level 3 ATI Radeon HD 5450 512MB DDR3 dedicated Built-in wireless LAN (802.11b/g/n), USB ports: 7 (3 front, 4 rear)
1TB SATA (7200 rpm) 4GB DDR2 SDRAM Cache Memory: 2MB on die Level 2
500GB SATA (5400 rpm) 4GB (expandable to 8GB) DDR3 Cache Memory: 3MB
500 GB SATA (7200 rpm) 2GB (expandable to 4G) DDR3 Cache Memory: 512K on die Level 2
Type/characteristics of memory
Type/characteristics of video
Other hardware features
NVIDIA GeForce 6150 SE Up to 1919MB total available (allocated by Windows 7) USB ports: 6 (2 front, 4 rear)
Mobile Intel HD
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X4500HD 256MB (shared) USB ports: 7 (5 front, 2 rear)
Battery life: Up to 8 hours, USB ports: 3
Other general considerations Price $949.98 $499.98
Built in webcam, Energy Star qualified $699.99
$399.98
*All information taken from www.bestbuy.com
As I stated, three of the machines I looked at were desktop systems. I matched the laptop with a college student or a professional who does a lot of traveling. The portability of a laptop is its selling feature for these two groups. At just 3.2 pounds, this Toshiba is perfect for someone on the go. The college student needs something that fits in his/her dorm, something they can take to classes or the library, et cetera. A traveling professional likely has a desktop system at their work or home for more extensive computing, but needs something for when he/she is on the road. Looking at the monitors/screen size, again the laptop provides a compact way to view and process documents. Both of the HP machines are 20, but the one that is paired with the Elite (for gamers/graphics enthusiasts) has, among other additional features, an anti-glare coating. This gives it the edge over the HP Pavilion monitor because gamers tend to spend more
time on the computer. The eMachines screen is slightly smaller, which is perfectly fine for someone who doesnt spend a lot of time on the computer. Looking at the processors, there is quite a bit of diversity between the four systems. The HP Elite and the HP Pavilion both have ADM processors while the Toshiba laptop and the eMachines house Intel processors. Upon quick look at the ADM processors, it would appear that they run at the same speed (3.0 GHz). When you look at the system bus, however, its worth noting that the HP Elite processor is four times as fast (4000 MHz compared to 1000 MHz). This will mean that the Elite has faster processor performance despite having the same clock speed. This is why the Elite is better suited to gamers and the Pavilion will be more than adequate for the average family. I looked at the differences between the Phenom II and the Athlon II, but without knowing exactly which processor from the line (different number of cores, etc), I cannot explicitly compare the two. Looking at the ADM website, however, it appears that the Phenom II is much higher-end than the Athlon series. The Phenom II series, for example, offers processors with up to six cores. This again illustrates the better fit for the gaming community. Looking at the two Intel processor systems also gives us insight into the potential users. The laptop has an Intel Core i3 with a clock speed of 2.4 GHz while the eMachines has an Intel Celeron processor with a clock speed of 2.2 GHz. While the Toshiba didnt have any information about system bus speed, the eMachines listed this at 800 MHz. When we compare this to the two ADM processors, we can see that the eMachines cannot compete in the speed department; it has both a lower clock speed and system bus speed. To the elderly, or bare bones computer users, however, this is more than enough to get the internet and simple software programs running seamlessly. Models of the two processors vary, but the i3 is almost twice as
fast and has 1-2 more MB of cache memory. Again, for older users who need only run 1-2 programs at a time, the Celeron will be more than adequate, but for a larger family, more computing power is needed and thus the Pavilion is better suited to their needs. Each of the systems uses a Serial ATA hard drive. Each desktop system hard drive runs at 7200 revolutions per minute, but the laptop only runs at 5400rpm. This means that the desktop systems have slightly improved storage. The major difference between each of these systems that really points them toward different users is their memory. The HP Elite had by far the most memory and was most expandable. Three of the machines had DDR3 synchronous dynamic RAM. The machine that didnt, the HP Pavilion, has DDR2 SDRAM. This means the HP Elite, Toshiba and eMachines will transfer twice as many words per clock cycle than the Pavilion. Also interesting to note, the Pavilion did not specify that the memory could be expanded. This may be considered a fault as the family grows older and the children have more involvement with technology. Of course, external hard drives are an option. When looking into cache memory, the HP Elite also had the highest amount. This will allow the computer to buffer the transition between CPU and the main memory. It was also the only system that had any cache memory on level 3. Again, this helps gamers create seamless game transitions and speed up system performance. The lowest cache memory by far was the eMachines at 512MB. This, however, is okay for those who arent too familiar with computers. They will be less likely to be moving quickly through programs and will not need the added cushion of cache memory as much as a multi-tasking user. The gamers are easily the most invested in the video card and the HP Elite will not disappoint. This system seemed to be the only one that offered up more than average in the video card department. While I had a difficult time finding exact speeds, refresh rates, etc for
each of the graphics cards, it is important to note that the Elite was the only system that had memory explicitly allotted to the graphics functionality. Each of the other machines either did not specify or indicated that the memory was shared or allocated. With more memory dedicated solely to the graphics, the system will be able to run games more smoothly because it will not have to use other system resources to do so. Wrapping up the comparisons, I looked at several things that might coax one user group to a system. One of the most compelling features about the HP Elite was the built-in wireless capabilities. This is definitely a marketable feature for game enthusiasts. I also noted that the laptop was the only machine that was Energy Star rated, so that may have an impact on environmentalist consumers. Overall, each of the machines had something to offer for their intended user group. Whether youre looking at a high-speed game-ready system or just a simple plug n play style computer for basic needs, each system has its user. It is important to consider not only Am I getting what I need?, but also to consider Am I getting more than I need?. By thinking about each of the components separately, one can match those with the needs of the user to make the best fit possible.
Works Cited Thompson and Thompsons Repairing and Upgrading your PC www.bestbuy.com www.amd.com www.intel.com
