Chapter 5 Custom Configurations

You have been asked to set up a workstation for a new graphic designer at your company. Which of the following is not a requirement for a graphic design workstation?

• Fast hard drive

• Maximum RAM

• Powerful CPU

• High-end video

You have been hired as a consultant for a video editing company that needs all new workstations for its six editors. Which of the following is required when constructing an A/V editing workstation?

• Gigabit NIC

• Powerful processor

• Maximum RAM

• Fast hard drive

Danielle has been asked to configure virtualization at her company. She recommends that her manager buy multicore processors. What justification should she give as to why virtualization workstations require as many CPU cores as possible?

• Each virtual machine has one or more cores installed directly in it.

• Each virtual machine makes use of actual CPU resources for processing instructions and data.

• Fault tolerance dictates that if one CPU core fails, there should be one or more in line to take its place.

• Because each guest operating system runs in its own space, multiple cores are required to store the collective data.

Your friend Joe plays video game tournaments online, and he read in an online forum that he should overclock his CPU for better speed. You tell him that if he does that, he needs better cooling. Why is high-end cooling a requirement for gaming PCs?

• Gaming PCs tend to overclock their CPUs and run multiple high-performance GPUs.

• Gaming controllers have components for tactile realism that generate copious amounts of heat.

• Digital sound cards generate more heat than analog sound cards.

• Placing that many hard drives in such a small space generates too much heat.

Marcus, a network technician, has been asked to build an HTPC for his manager. Which of the following is not a common requirement that Marcus should consider for this custom configuration?

• Surround sound

• HDMI

• Micro-ATX case

• TV tuner

Which type of system simply needs to run standard versions of Windows and desktop applications?

• Thin client

• Thick client

• Home server PC

• Virtualization workstation

Which of the following descriptions most closely matches that of a thin client?

• A high-resolution monitor, keyboard, and mouse

• A computer with a low-profile case

• A laptop

• A dumb terminal with a NIC

You have recently installed a home server PC in your home so that all of your family members can share media. You have a router and network cabling that supports Gigabit Ethernet. Why should you equip a home server PC with a gigabit NIC?

• All systems, including the server, should communicate at the same speed.

• The server should not be allowed to communicate at the higher speeds of the rest of the network or it will be overused.

• The server should exceed the communication speed of the clients to avoid a bottleneck.

• The operating system that home servers run is not compatible with Gigabit Ethernet

An engineer on your network is complaining that his CAD workstation is slow and he wants a processor upgrade. Which of the following reasons is justification for having a powerful processor in a CAD/CAM workstation?

• Only powerful processors can stream graphical information efficiently.

• Manufacturing equipment is generally faster than design equipment, which needs faster processors to keep up.

• Graphics adapters used in CAD/CAM do not have their own processors, so the CPU performs this job as well.

• The algorithms used in rendering graphics can be processor intensive.

A video editor at your company wants a second monitor, claiming that only having one monitor limits her ability to work. Why do A/V editing workstations benefit from more than one monitor?

• Their software often has enough controls across their width that one monitor seems cramped.

• While one graphics adapter works on one rendering project, the other can simply display a normal desktop.

• Once the editing is complete, the second monitor is used to present the results to others on the team.

• Additional monitors are used for remote collaboration among other editors.