Assessment 7.3
Overview
Here is my Tutorial of installing RAM, Network Card and Graphics Card included is 2 videos of each step taken and the logs i made along the way with a more to the point step-to-step instruction manual and of course i have included the specifications of the components with the reasons on why you should upgrade them

Price Comparison
When you are buying a computer everyone will tell you buy the components separately is cheaper than buy an "Off the shelf" PC which has everything already built in because some already built computers have more unnecessary more expensive components where as if you buy exactly what you want then you have a cheaper computer for example the computer i built on PCSpecialist and i got a computer for about £100 less than a pre built one. BUT to build a computer yourself you need to have a reasonable amount of knowledge of the components and you need to know what a good price for something is

RAM and Network Card Installation

 RAM Practical Log

Workstation No/ID: A08313 N2

Type and Serial No: 131A3700474

Hardware Details: 248MB RAM DDR2-1066/PC2-8500 512mb

Task description: Installing More RAM

Description of any faults or error messages encountered (if none write N/A) N/A

Describe the settings, commands used and actions taken Made sure the work station was tidy and that I had the tools necessary Turn the PC on Check “dxdiag“ to check amount of RAM already installed Turn PC off at wall unplug and take out all cables Unscrew the panel from the back Put the screws in a safe location Unclipped front panel Unscrew and remove the CD Drive to access RAM slots Put anti-static wristband on Firmly push the RAM module in so the clips go up Screw the CD Drive back on Clipped front panel back on Screwed the main panel back on Plug computer back in and plug all cables back into it Turn the computer on Take the anti-static wristband off

Describe all final testing procedures carried out and their results. Checked dxdiag to see if more RAM was installed also the computer informed me there was in increase

Comment on any further information

Comment on any further information

I certify that safe working practices were correctly observed

Candidate signature:	Date:
Assessor signature:	Date:

Network Card Practical Log

 

Workstation No/ID: A08313

Type and Serial No: 131A3700474

Hardware Details: Network Card: TP-LINK Model No. TL-WN951N 300Mbps 2.4GHz

Task description: Installing Network Card

Description of any faults or error messages encountered (if none write N/A) N/A

Describe the settings, commands used and actions taken Clean the work station and have the proper tools Turn PC on Check Device Manager to see any Network Card are installed Can’t connect to a network more proof Turn PC off Unplug computer from wall Unplug all the cables from the computer Unscrew the main panel from the back Put the screws in a safe location Put on anti-static wristband Take the Network Card out the box Unscrew slot for Network Card Firmly push Network card in the right PCI slot Screw the Network card back in Screw the antennas onto the Network Card Plug everything back into the computer Plug the computer back into the wall and turn it back on Take anti-static wristband off Turn the computer back on Take the Drivers Disk out the box and install drivers Then when finished click finish

  

Describe all final testing procedures carried out and their results. After I installed the drivers I  checked the device manager again and found it was installed properly Then I was able to connect the college network

Comment on any further information

Comment on any further information Made sure to use the Anti-Static Mat to protect the computer from damage

I certify that safe working practices were correctly observed

Candidate signature:	Date:
Assessor signature:	Date:

Graphics Card Installation

Graphics Card Practical Log

 

Workstation No/ID: N2

Type and Serial No: 131A3700465

Hardware Details:  AMD Radeon HD 6450 RAM: 1GB Driver Version: 6.14.10.7270

Task

Task description: Installing Graphics Card

Description of any faults or error messages encountered (if none write N/A) N/A

Describe the settings, commands used and actions taken Turn on computer and check everything works Clean the work area and make sure you have the right tools Unscrewed the panel from the back Put the screws in a safe location Put on the anti static wrist band Take out the GPU and inspect it for any damage Line it up the correct PCIe slot Press the Graphics Card and place it in firmly Screw the graphics card in firmly Put the side panel back on and screw it in Plug everything back in Turn the PC back on Insert the drivers disk and install the needed drivers Then I carried out tests to make sure the graphics card worked Tidy the work station then you’re done

  

Describe all final testing procedures carried out and their results. To test it has been installed properly run “dxdiag” and go to the display tab and here it will tell you about the  Graphics Card Then right click “My Computer” click properties and open device manager Here you will see under display adapters the  Graphics Card has been installed correctly Lastly click start and open “System Information” and under display it will now show you even more details about the  Graphics Card After this I am now done

Comment on any further information

Comment on any further information

I certify that safe working practices were correctly observed

Candidate signature:	Date:
Assessor signature:	Date:

Hardware Specifications & Reasons for upgrading

Assessment 7.4

1.      A.    Specs of components removed

RAM – None

Network Card – None

Graphics Card – None

This was simply adding new components

B.    Specs of new Components

RAM x2

Make:

Memory: 380Mb

S/N: ZG1212002414
£6.99

Network Card

Make: TP-Link

Model No.: TL – WN951N

Speed: 300Mbps 2.4 GHz

S/N: 131A3700474
£16

Graphics Card

            Name: AMD Radeon HD 6450

    RAM: 1GB

Driver version: 6.14.10.7270

£30

C.     Reasons for Upgrade

RAM

Increases the amount of programs you can run at once and the speed/performance

Network Card

Network card was added so I was able to wirelessly connect the computer to a Wireless Network as a replacement for Ethernet cables this is more beneficial in large organisations as it makes it easy to connect multiple Computer Systems to a network

Graphics Card

Usually you upgrade your graphics card because certain programs you are running may require higher specs than you have and they will be unable to run. They are mainly just for a performance upgrade

D.    To ensure the test was successful I ran “dxdiag” to check the amount of RAM currently in the computer and I wrote down the amount it had. Then after I had installed the network card i tried connecting to a network and the computer was able to find all of the possible networks I could connect proving that the network card was installed successfully I also checked the device manager and it showed under network adapters that it was there

E.     With the RAM there was nothing I had to install. When it was inserted the computer did however notify me of the upgrade in RAM but that was all. With the network card I did have to install the drivers for them with the disk that came with it making sure they were in English and for the correct type of Network as there were different types to choose from.