Course Project Phase 1: Motherboard, CPU, RAM, & Operating System The requirements for Phase 1 of your course project are as follows: Determine what you would like the computer to be used for (general office work, heavy gaming, Internet surfing, etc.). Also determine which operating system will be installed (be specific; rather than saying Windows 8 indicate whether it is the home premium version or the professional version and whether it is 32 bit or 64 bit. Indicate price and source of the operating system. Select a relatively modern CPU (something made in the past two years) made by either Intel or AMD. Make this selection based on characteristics about the CPU that you believe make it suitable for the intended use of the computer. Also, base your decision on information in the text, discussions in class, and your own individual research. Be sure to completely identify the CPU, where you would likely buy it, the price, and list the major specifications of that CPU (core speed, bus speed, amount of L1/L2/L3 cache, number of cores, etc.) Select a motherboard that will support your chosen CPU. You may want to find a motherboard that has onboard video but also has an expansion slot to allow for future upgrade of the graphics capability of the computer. Be sure to indicate how you determined that this motherboard is compatible with your chosen CPU. Further, consider the input/output ports and expansion slots. As with the CPU, indicate where you would buy your motherboard, its cost, and specifications. Select appropriate RAM for your chosen motherboard and CPU combination. Be sure that you meet or exceed the amount of memory needed for the chosen operating system and the intended use of the computer. Take into account whether the motherboard you chose supports dual-channel memory in determining whether you would buy 1 or 2 DIMMs. As with the other components, indicate where you would buy your RAM, its cost, and specifications. List references used. References should relate to decision making articles and texts, not just websites where you would purchase the product. All references must be in APA format. Course Project Phase 2: Storage Devices & Video Considerations In this Unit, you complete and submit Phase 2 of your Course Project: Storage Devices & Video Considerations. In this phase, you will be simulating the purchase of one or more hard drives (or solid state drives), optical drives, and consider whether you will be adding a video card in an expansion slot or sticking with the motherboards onboard video. The requirements for Phase 2 of your course project are as follows: The hard drive(s) must be of sufficient size to meet the intended use of the computer. Indicate the brand, model number, and key specifications such as spindle speed, access time, amount of cache (RAM on the hard drive). Also indicate the price and source of the drive(s). The optical drive needs to be sufficient for loading the operating system and meeting whatever other needs based on the intended use of the computer. Indicate whether you chose a CD, DVD, Blue-Ray, etc. and whether it is read-only, writeable, or re-writeable. Also indicate the price and source. The video graphics expansion board (if desired) must exceed the capabilities of the onboard graphics of the motherboard. Whether you choose to purchase a graphics card or not, provide the rationale for this decision. If chosen, list the specifications (including types of video output such as VGA, DVI, HDMI, Display Port, etc.), the source, and the price. List references used. References should relate to decision making articles and texts, not just websites where you would purchase the product. All references must be in APA format. Phase 3: Case, Power Supply, and Monitor In this third phase, you will be obtaining the case, power supply, and monitor for your computer. You may also include a printer if the intended use of the computer involves printing documents or pictures. As in the first 2 phases, analyze the specifications of these components and include your analysis in your report. Be sure to list the major specifications, source, and price for each of these components. List references used. References should relate to decision making articles and texts, not just websites where you would purchase the product. All references must be in APA format. Phase 4: Putting it all together List the steps that you will take in assembling all of the components that you identified in the first 3 phases of this project. These steps should be detailed enough to explain what you are doing. For example, what care would you take in mounting the motherboard to the case (consider the standoffs, proper grounding, ESD, and the like). Determine at what points you would do quality check during the assembly. Indicate whether you will be partitioning your hard drive(s) and rationale related to that. Finalize a reference list for all references used in all 4 phases of this project.