1. A+ Certification Guide
Chapter 8
Customized PCs and Multimedia Devices

2. Chapter 8 Objectives
Students should compare and distinquish the needs and components required of the following computer systems:
Graphic/CAD/CAM Design Workstation
Audio/Video Editing Workstation
Virtualization Workstation
Gaming PC
Home Theater PC
Standard Thick Client
Thin Client
Home Server PC

3. Graphic/CAD/CAM Design Workstation
Optimized for graphics
3D rendering
Raw photo editing
Needs
Powerful processor
High-end video card monitor
ATX motherboard with maximum RAM
Full tower chassis
For multiple
Hard drives
DVD/Blu-ray
750 Watt PSU

4. Audio/Video Editing Workstation
Specialized Audio Card
Specialized Video Card
Large Hard Drive
Speed optimized
Two or more displays

5. Virtualization Workstation
Maximum RAM
8GB to16GB depending on of number VMs
Maximum CPU
Multicore (at least 4, 6+ recommended)
Virtualization-enabled motherboard

6. Gaming PC High End CPU 3+ GHz or better-multicore 8mb L2/L3 cache
Motherboard with multiple PCIe x 16 slots
To accommodate multimonitor surround display
High-end video with onboard GPU
Suitable for third rendering
High frame rate processing/High resolution-capable
Better than normal sound card
5.1/7.1 surround
24 bit, 96kHz or better
Cooling system
To accommodate overclocking when used
Heat pipe/liquid cooling

7. Home Theater PC Surround sound audio 5.1/7.1 SPDIF HDMI Output
For HD movies
Look for audio compatibility
HTPC form factor
To accommodate small installation spaces
TV Tuner
To enable recording of programs

8. Standard Thick Client Standard off-the-shelf retail system
Has onboard hard drive for local storage
Can act either as
Standalone workstation
Network attached client
Desktop applications
Typical business use
Hardware meets minimum OS requirements for
Windows
Most-common open source OSs

9. Thin Client Typically smaller form factor systems
May or may not have local storage
Can boot from remote OS
Usually connected to a network for storage and remote computing
May run applications from a network server
Desktop can be loaded as a virtual desktop.

10. Home Server PC Optimized for Multimedia presentation/streaming
Large file download
File server capabilities
Concurrent processing during download
Printer service sharing
May have components such as
RAID array
Gigabit NIC
Multiterabyte secondary storage

11. Evaluating On-Board Components
System Information (msinfo32.exe)
Processor type
BIOS information
OS information
Memory
Components/drivers
Device Manager
Reports locally attached devices requiring hardware/software interfaces to control functions
Software interfaces
Process threads/running applications
Virtualized devices/processes

12. Installing and Configuring Multimedia Devices
Devices may include
Webcams
Digital Cameras
Sound Cards
MIDI
Microphone
Video Capture/TV Tuner Cards
Many are USB items which are plug ‘n’ play
Motherboard installed devices need
Driver installation
Configuration parameters to be tweaked

13. What Have You Learned?
Use Lab 8-1 to evaluate a computer’s suitability for various tasks.
What would be a primary concern for gaming?
What is important for file storage?

14. Chapter 8 Summary
Students should distinguish the needs and components required of specialized computer systems:
Graphic/CAD/CAM design workstation
Audio/video editing workstation
Virtualization workstation
Gaming PC
Home Theater PC
Standard Thick Client
Thin Client
Home Server PC
How to evaluate and install components
Next Lesson: Chapter 9