Exercise_2 b

Prerequisite: Exercise 1 

Question 1. Choosing Microprocessors

The following processors are made by Intel®:

A. Intel® Core™ 2 Q6600 Quad-Core Processor speed: 2.4 GHz Level 2 cache: 8MB System bus: 1066 MHz Number of cores: 4

B. Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T5450 Processor speed: 1.66GHz Level 2 cache: 2MB  System bus: 667 MHz

C. Intel® Celeron® 420 Processor speed: 1.6 GHz Level 2 cache: 512KB System bus: 800 MHz

You may find the following resources useful:

• Intel® Processor Numbers

• Tom's Hardware

a. List the processors described above by their price range (from the cheapest to the most expensive).

b. List the processors described above by their performance (from the best to the worst).

c. Which of the above processors would be the fastest when used for multi-media production and multi-tasking (running 10 or more applications at the same time)?

Question 2. Computer Purchase

Let us assume that you are purchasing a new computer for a specific usage. You need to choose a computer from various available configurations.

Listed below are four different usage cases of a computer (a-d). For each usage case, identify components of the computer configuration that are most important to consider. Explain your answers.

Components to be considered include (but are not limited to):

• Monitor size/resolution

• Graphics card/video card

• Storage devices (for example, DVD-ROM)

• Memory (RAM, cache, and hard disk)

• Disk controller interfaces (ATA, EIDE)

For example, if a computer were to be used for viewing movies, a DVD-ROM drive is needed since movies are available as CDs and now increasingly as DVDs. A large monitor (about 19”) that supports high resolutions and a video card will also be necessary to enjoy the movie.

a. Simultaneously running a number of programs

b. Running a speed-critical application

c. Storing and retrieving huge volumes of data

d. Purchasing a basic configuration, to be upgraded later as needed

Question 3. Laptop Computer Selection

You are a new graduate student enrolling in a Masters in Information Technology program. The department requires you to have a computer with the following requirements:

• 3 GB of RAM

• 250 GB hard drive

• DVD-ROM or DVD-RW drive

• Wireless connection

• Ethernet network card

• Windows Vista Professional version

Your school has wireless connection, and Ethernet jacks. However, some classes are three hours long, and your AC adapter may not be long enough to reach an outlet. You also would be carrying this computer around from class to class.

The most you can spend is US$1000.

Indicate the range of values you desire for each of the following criteria: a. Weight  b. Screen size  c. Number of USB ports  d. Number of Firewire ports  e. Need CD-RW?  f. Need DVD-ROM?  g. Need DVD-RW?  h. Manufacturer preferences?

i. Search the Internet for two suitable computers meeting the above requirements and your budget constraint. Submit screenshots of the Web pages detailing the computer configuration and price.

j. Record your search results in a MS Excel spreadsheet. Fill column A with the following category labels:

1. Manufacturer 2. Processor 3. Memory (maximum upgrade capacity) 4. Screen size 5. Weight 6. Graphics card 7. USB 8. Firewire 9. CD-ROM 10. DVD-ROM 11. Communications (e.g. wireless, Ethernet) 12. Battery life 13. Price 14. Available Rebate

Save and submit your Excel file.

k. Make your final purchase decision and justify your decision.

Question 4. File Compression

In this section, you will use a compression algorithm to compress a message. Then you will use a compression application to determine the properties of compression.

a. How does dictionary-based compression work?

Use dictionary-based compression to compress the message below: sea shells, sea horses, and seals are in the sea.

b. How many bytes does the message above contain (each character is 1 byte including spaces)?

c. Create a compression dictionary and calculate its size in bytes.

d. What is the compressed the message?

e. How many bytes did the entire compression use?

f. Is dictionary-based compression a lossy compression? Explain.

Copy and paste the entire content of this exercise into Notepad and save it as compress0.txt  Compress this file using WinZip or any compression application and name it compress1.zip. If you do not have WinZip application installed on your computer, refer to Appendix B. Downloading WinZip Appendix for directions to download the application.

g. What is the size of the file before and after compression? What is the compression ratio of compress1.zip to the original file?

Compress compress1.zip and name it compress2.zip.

h. What is the compression ratio of compress2.zip to compress1.zip? Explain what is happening. (Hint: think of information that needs to be stored for a compression.)

i. Is this a lossy or lossless compression? What do you think would happen if you kept on compressing the file successively?

j. Is lossy compression appropriate for compressing images? Is it appropriate for hard disk backups? Provide explanations for both parts.

Your grade will be based upon the following

Questions 1. Choosing Microprocessors (6%) 2. Computer Purchase (24%)  3. Laptop Computer Selection (40%) 4. File Compression (30%)