Identify two graphics-related hardware upgrades to the system described below. Describe the potential benefits these upgrades will bring when working with graphic images.
System specification
Intel Pentium D 'Dual Core X2' CPU (5.3 Ghz)
VIA Chipset 1066 Mhz Motherboard - slots available: AGP8x (1), PCI (3), RAM (2); ports available: LAN (1), USB (6)
512 MB RAM
80 GB HDD (SATA300)
18X DVD+/-RW Dual Layer & Dual Format
onboard UniChrome PRO 3D Graphics with 64 MB shared memory
mouse and keyboard
15" flat screen
cheap inkjet printer
The first and obvious upgrade to this computer system would be to change the existing onboard UniChrome PRO 3D Graphics with 64 MB shared memory with a dedicated more adequate graphics card. The graphics card which is already installed in this system is very poor, it has small memory which is also shared meaning the system is constantly going to be relying on the RAM whenever you are using a graphics application, this will result in very slow performance. I would replace this component with a ATI Radeon HD 3850 Pro Turbo 512MB GDDR3 (AGP) graphics card. This would drastically improve system performance, firstly because the card is dedicated and doesnt require any of the systems RAM also because the speed of the card is 720MHz which allows fast trasnfer between the graphics card and the systems other components. Secondly this card uses the AGP interface slot which makes it fully compatiable with the motherboard already installed in the system. This price of this card (£155.09 ) isn't particulalry expensive for what it is and compared to the other cards available.
My next alteration would be to the systems RAM. I would upgrade the system to 2GB DDR2 (Corsair 2GB DDR2 Value Select PC2-5300C5 Dual Channel Kit (2x1GB) ) which would cost £29.36. This is considerably cheap and will benefit the system greatly. With a dedicated graphics card and 2GB of DDR2 RAM the computer will be able to function very efficiently and won't rely on shared components. Loading times would be reduced due to the memory upgrade, as well as the ability to run more applications at once.
Thursday, 17 April 2008
Software
PAINT SHOP PRO - Paint Shop Pro is a raster graphics editor, which in later editions became a vector graphics editor too. Corel is the company behind the paint shop pro series. Used alot by home computer users due to the low price in which it is retailed at due to the lack of content compared to programmes such as photoshop. However there are many third party applications and downloads avaible which contain features similar to those in photoshop, so this software is very useful and fully expandable.
PHOTOSHOP - Currently the leading commercial editing and manipulation software available for graphical production, photoshop features alot of content used by a wide range of people, from professionals to home users. Developed by adobe, photoshop hosts hundreds of editing features from simple light filters to layers, which allow the image to be cut up and edited on top of the existing image without affecting it. The standard save format in photoshop is alot larger than standard formats such as .jpg, as it uses its own specific file type (.PSD).
Here is my example of using layers in Photoshop;
As you can see I have inserted a film character on top of this office image, however he is layered behind the desk partition.
PHOTOSHOP - Currently the leading commercial editing and manipulation software available for graphical production, photoshop features alot of content used by a wide range of people, from professionals to home users. Developed by adobe, photoshop hosts hundreds of editing features from simple light filters to layers, which allow the image to be cut up and edited on top of the existing image without affecting it. The standard save format in photoshop is alot larger than standard formats such as .jpg, as it uses its own specific file type (.PSD).
Here is my example of using layers in Photoshop;
As you can see I have inserted a film character on top of this office image, however he is layered behind the desk partition.
Image Types
BITMAP IMAGES - A bitmap image is simply a drawing built up of pixels. Each individual pixel has its own colour which produces an image. Alternatively a bitmap image can be called "raster graphics."
VECTOR GRAPHICS - Vector graphics are an alternative to bitmap images, which is the representation of images as in an arrangement of pixels, as it is usually used for the representation of photographs. Vector graphics tend to be very accurate too. There are various advantages with using vector graphics, firstly saved files are small, secondly, when vector images are re-sized it does not affect the quality of the image and does not pixelate it.
VECTOR GRAPHICS - Vector graphics are an alternative to bitmap images, which is the representation of images as in an arrangement of pixels, as it is usually used for the representation of photographs. Vector graphics tend to be very accurate too. There are various advantages with using vector graphics, firstly saved files are small, secondly, when vector images are re-sized it does not affect the quality of the image and does not pixelate it.
Computer Harware
RAM - it is essential for the computer system to have a large ammount of RAM, perhaps 2GB DDR2 minimum. This would be needed when using large graphics files (which are usually large as standard) in software used to edit and manipulate such files. A system with poor ram, for example, 512KB of standard DDR would struggle to run such programmes and would crash often, as well as increasing loading times drastically.
PROCESSOR - the processor is what performs the desired tasks and calculations so it is very important that it is of a good specification. Core components to look out for when chosing a processor include, a high amount of cache (prefferably, 2mb L2), and the amount of cores the processor has, if it has more than one, and finally the clocking speed ( at least 2.0ghz if using a dual core, or a high 3.6ghz HT single core).
GRAPHICS CARD - this component is also an essential when using a computer system for graphics design or similar applications. firstly it is important the graphics card is dedicated and of a good memory size, for example a nvidia 8800 gt (512mb GDDR3) would be adequate. Also when looking for a suitable graphics card make sure to take attention of the speed of the card and not just the memory, as a card which can produce visually stunning graphics can also have a slow transfer speed, which can result in lag. Intergrated graphics ( sometimes called "shared") are not advised as they use the systems RAM because they tend to not hold enough memory to produce desired modern day graphics.
HARD DRIVE - graphics files tend to be very large in size so it is essential that the hard drive is of a large size too. Alongside the actual files being large, you also need space to store install graphic applications and software. It is also important that the hard drive is of a fast speed so that files can be recalled quickly and efficiently.
PROCESSOR - the processor is what performs the desired tasks and calculations so it is very important that it is of a good specification. Core components to look out for when chosing a processor include, a high amount of cache (prefferably, 2mb L2), and the amount of cores the processor has, if it has more than one, and finally the clocking speed ( at least 2.0ghz if using a dual core, or a high 3.6ghz HT single core).
GRAPHICS CARD - this component is also an essential when using a computer system for graphics design or similar applications. firstly it is important the graphics card is dedicated and of a good memory size, for example a nvidia 8800 gt (512mb GDDR3) would be adequate. Also when looking for a suitable graphics card make sure to take attention of the speed of the card and not just the memory, as a card which can produce visually stunning graphics can also have a slow transfer speed, which can result in lag. Intergrated graphics ( sometimes called "shared") are not advised as they use the systems RAM because they tend to not hold enough memory to produce desired modern day graphics.
HARD DRIVE - graphics files tend to be very large in size so it is essential that the hard drive is of a large size too. Alongside the actual files being large, you also need space to store install graphic applications and software. It is also important that the hard drive is of a fast speed so that files can be recalled quickly and efficiently.
Thursday, 10 April 2008
Flash Drive
Mainly used via USB. a flash drive can transfer data to various computer systems within a network.
Storeage Devices.
Flash cards can be used to store videos or still images taken or recorded by a digital camera.
Digital Camera.
A digital camera can be used in various types of ways, firstly it can record videos, and secondly, more obviously it can take still images. If desired the images or videos can then be uploaded to a computer system and edited or stored with appropriate software.
Graphics Tablet.
A graphics tablet allows the user to draw in an almost near natural format by using an electronic pen, which results in a digital image, which would be viewed by using a monitor (see more about monitors above.)
Scanner
This device is used to scan an existing image for example a printed photograph, which can then be edited, copied and then printed dependant on what the user wishes to do.
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