Hardware III

Your office has a legacy wide-format printer that must be connected to your network. The connection on the printer is an older DB-9 serial connection. What is the BEST option for connecting this legacy device to your corporate network?

• Purchase an inexpensive RS-232 to USB adapter to connect it the network

• Purchase an RS-232 to RJ-45 adapter so that you can connect it to the network

• Configure a reverse proxy on the printer as a DNS workaround

• Configure a reverse proxy on the printer as a DNS workaround

Answer explanation

he most convenient and least expensive way to connect the printer would be to buy an RS-232 to RJ-45 adapter, which will allow you to connect the legacy printer to the network directly. Then, the printer will be accessed by all users directly from their computers while printing to it using the appropriate print drivers. Networks do not have USB connections, so you need to select a network connection type like RJ-45 to use instead.

Which of the following components of a color laser printer is used to combine the 4 colors before printing them to the paper in one pass?

• Pickup roller

• Duplexing assembly

• Transfer roller

• Transfer belt

Answer explanation

he transfer belt is the component in a color laser printer that combines the 4 colors before printing it to the paper in one pass. The transfer roller is the component in a laser printer that applies an electric charge to the paper to attract toner from the photoconductor during the imaging process. The pickup roller is the component in a laser printer that turns above a stack of paper to feed a sheet into the feed roller. The duplexing assembly is a component that enables a printer or scanner to use both sides of a page automatically.

Which of the following cables supports both charging and data transfer with a non-directional connector inserted into a port on the device?

• USB-A

• Micro-USB

• USB-C

• Mini-USB

Answer explanation

USB-C can be inserted in any direction since it is designed as a non-directional connector. There are many other variations of USB cables in use today such as Micro-USB, Mini-USB, USB-A, and USB-B that can only be inserted into the port in a single direction due to the physical shape of their connector. Universal serial bus (USB) is the main type of connection interface used on desktops and laptops. A larger Type A connector attaches to a port on the host; Type B and Mini- or Micro-Type B connectors are used for devices. USB 1.1 supports 12 Mbps while USB 2.0 supports 480 Mbps and is backward compatible with 1.1 devices which run at a slower speed. USB devices are considered hot-swappable and each device can draw up to 2.5 W of power over a USB port. USB 3.0 and 3.1 define 5 Gbps (SuperSpeed) and 10 Gbps (SuperSpeed+) rates and can deliver up to 4.5 W of power.

Which of the following is the virtualization technology supported by most modern Intel processors?

• HT

• Intel-V

• AMD-V

• VT

Answer explanation

o use virtualization and have virtual machines running on a single workstation, you need to have a CPU specifically designed to support virtualization. For Intel processors, they must support VT or Virtualization Technology. If you are using an AMD processor, it should support AMD-V (AMD's virtualization technology). HyperThreading (HT) is an Intel CPU architecture implemented to expose two or more logical processors to the OS to deliver performance benefits. Intel-V is a made-up term used as a distractor on this question.

Dion Training's video editor wants to install a new dedicated GPU using an expansion card. Which of the following should they verify before installing the new card?

• The power supply's wattage rating

• The number of SATA connectors available

• The power supply's efficiency rating

• The power supply supports a 12 VDC input

Answer explanation

Dedicated graphics cards use the most power of any component in a computer. If someone is installing or replacing a graphics card, it is important to compare the current system's power usage to the wattage rating of the power supply to ensure it can support the new graphics card. SATA connectors are not used with graphics cards but are instead used for storage devices and optical drives. The power supply should support 115 VAC or 230 VAC as its input and provide 12 VDC, 5 VDC, and 3.3 VDC as its output. The power supply's efficiency rating would tell the user how much of the input power is being converted to output power, but this is not important in deciding if the power supply can support the new graphics card.

Which of the following is true of a dedicated video card in a computer system?

• Less expensive than an integrated video card

• Can be upgraded or replaced

• Share the use of the system's memory

• Cannot be upgraded or replaced

Answer explanation

t is more expensive to have a dedicated GPU or video card, but it does provide higher performance than an integrated GPU. A dedicated GPU also can be upgraded with a newer graphics card in the future to increase performance. An integrated video card is built as part of the main system motherboard or CPU. An integrated GPU is cheaper than a dedicated GPU, but it has limited performance and shares the use of the computer system's RAM. An integrated video card cannot be upgraded since it is part of the processor or motherboard. If a system is being designed for gaming, video editing, or 3D rendering, it should use a separate video card with a dedicated GPU.

Jason is building a new gaming computer for his son. Jason has calculated that the required wattage needed is 420 watts to the video card and all of the other internal devices. Which of the following power supplies should Jason purchase to meet the minimum power requirements for this computer?

• 750 W

• 350 W

• 525 W

• 250 W

Answer explanation

When purchasing a new power supply, it is important to understand the wattage requirements. Since the new computer needs a minimum of 420 watts of power, you must find a power supply that is large enough to meet this demand. In this case, the minimum rating that would meet this requirement is the 525-watt power supply. If a power supply doesn't have a high enough wattage rating to provide the power needed, some or all of the devices will not power on or function properly. If a power supply is chosen that is too large, it will generate excessive heat that can overheat the computer and its components.

What type of connector can be inserted into the port in either direction without damaging the port?

• USB Type A

• USB Type B

• FireWire

• USB Type C

Answer explanation

USB Type C (USB-C) is a 24-pin USB connector with a rotational symmetrical connector, which means it can be plugged into the port in either direction. USB-C makes it easier and more convenient to plug into a USB-C female port than previous versions like Type A and Type B. FireWire and USB Type B use a d-shaped connector that can only be inserted in one direction. USB Type A uses a rectangular connector with a protrusion on one half of the connector to force insertion in only one direction.

You want to build a new gaming computer but intend to reuse as many of the parts as possible from your old computer. You have determined that the motherboard and the case will be reused, and you will purchase a new graphics card, sound card, network interface card, and a USB 3.0 expansion card to increase your system's overall speed and performance. You are a bit worried that your old computer's power supply may not be able to support all of these new expansion cards. Which of the following cards is MOST likely to consume the most power during operations and require you to purchase a new power supply to support it?

• Sound card

• USB 3.0

• Graphics card

• NIC

Answer explanation

he power consumption of today's graphics cards has increased a lot. The top models demand between 110 and 270 watts from the power supply; in fact, a powerful graphics card under full load requires as much power as the rest of the components of a PC system combined. If your old computer didn't have a dedicated graphics card, it is unlikely that the power supply will be powerful enough to support one without replacing the power supply. Most business computers have a 300-watt power supply. Most low-end gaming computers have a power supply of 450 to 500 watts. If you are building a high-end gaming workstation, you may require a power supply with 750 watts to 850 watts to support all processing power, graphics processing, and other expansion cards installed in the system.

Which button on a desktop computer begins a reboot of the computer without power being removed from the computer's components?

• Suspend

• Power

• Hibernate

• Reset

Answer explanation

The reset button is usually located on the front panel of a desktop computer next to the power button. When the reset button is pressed, it allows the user to reboot the computer without releasing power from the system's components. This is often used when software has malfunctioned and caused the computer to halt or lock up. The power button is used to shut down or put the computer to sleep. There is usually not a dedicated suspend or hibernate button, but these are instead provided as software buttons in the operating system.