It can be confusing for Mary to know the right machine to buy that will suit her needs. She needs to ensure the computer has the right hardware specifications, peripherals, software applications, security protocols, and key utilities.
Minimum hardware specifications
Considering Mary intends to play computer games and do regular data analysis using spreadsheets, the minimum hardware specifications I would recommend is a machine with Intel i7 processor, the RAM should be capable of enabling her to multitask. Therefore, 64-bit Operating systems should be 8GB minimum (Shelly & Vermaat, 2012). The hard drive should be 256 GB SSD, with windows 10 operating system. In a bid to surf the web, the computer needs to have a wireless network card. In that sense, she will be able to connect WIFI, which will enable her to share with the team of students she is supposed to collaborate with. In order to listen to music, the computer has to be connected to headphones, and it is recommended that it have HDMI port for entertainment (Morley & Parker, 2016). It will enable her to connect the computer with the television, for visual display of movies and quality sound.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Peripherals
In terms of peripherals, the computer that she is going to buy must be compatible with devices such as her phone in case she wants to connect using a USB cable. This feature will enable her to transfer her pictures from the phone to her computer (Morley & Parker, 2016). Considering that, she wants to store her movies and pictures in the cloud, the storage such as the hard drive must be big enough. She can consider a computer with a CD-ROM to enable her read the data for analysis and music. The computer must be compatible with a printer, so that she can print documents once she has written papers for her schoolwork.
Key software applications
Some of the key software applications that Mary should ensure the computer have word processing and spreadsheet packages (Parsons et al., 2015). The two will enable her to conduct data analysis on a regular basis using spreadsheets, besides doing her schoolwork.
Key utilities to consider and Security protocol related to security concerns
In terms of key utilities, the computer that Mary will buy needs to have antivirus software, disk tool and backup software. Her security concerns will be catered for by the antivirus software, which will protect her computer system for harmful programs and viruses (Morley & Parker, 2016). The backup will ensure that she does not loose data in case the computer crashes. The computer needs to have all the drivers, which will enable the computer to work properly.
References
Morley, D. & Parker, C. S. (2016). Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow. 16 th Ed. New York, NY: Course Technology
Parsons et al. (2015). Enhanced Computer Concepts and Microsoft Office 2013 Illustrated. New York, NY: Cengage Learning
Shelly, G. & Vermaat, M. (2012). Discovering Computers, Fundamentals - Student Success Guide. New York, NY: Cengage Learning
