Chapter 5: Custom Configurations
1. A. Graphics design and CAD/CAM design workstations do not require a fast hard drive because the artist works with static images that do not stream from the drive. However, RAM in which to hold the highly detailed, sometimes 3D artwork before saving, a powerful processor for implementing complex algorithms on a small amount of information during rendering, and high-end video for assisting in the rendering and display of the images are necessary.
2. D. A/V editing workstations require specialized audio and video cards and large and fast hard drives and benefit from dual monitors. A fast NIC, extra RAM, and a faster than normal processor do not support the requirements of A/V editors.
3. B. Virtual machines do not imply virtual processing. The data storage, processing cycles, and RAM usage are all real. The separate hard drive and chassis for each operating system are virtual. The other answers all have at least one fundamental problem with their logic. CPU cores are not installed in virtual machines but in CPU packages within physical machines. CPU cores do not take over for each other. There is no fault tolerance among them. Storing data is the job of RAM, which should also be maximized for virtualization workstations.
4. A. The processors found in a gaming PC are many, and the CPU is often overclocked. Such a configuration generates too much heat for conventional cooling to dissipate before the system is damaged. These machines don’t have unusual hard-drive requirements. The cooling has no effect on external controllers, and sound cards don’t generate much heat, but analog would certainly generate more than digital.
5. C. Home theater PCs are based on the mini-ITX motherboard and have their own form factor, HTPC, a more compact form factor than chassis made for micro-ATX boards.
6. B. Thick clients are standard desktop PCs. They stand in contrast to systems with specialized requirements, such as the remaining options.
7. D. Although not all thin clients are devoid of local processing capability, some are. High-resolution graphics are not a requirement of thin clients, but even such systems require a system unit with a NIC.
8. C. Optimally, the server should communicate across a link that is the aggregate of all client links, but at the least, the server’s link should be a faster one to alleviate the potential bottleneck when all clients try to access the server simultaneously.
9. D. Quite simply, the rendering of 2D and 3D graphics makes use of complex algorithms that need all the processing power they can get to remain usable. These stations deal with static images, not streaming video. Manufacturing equipment is generally slower than computers used for the design phase. These workstations call for high-end video, which includes graphics adapters with GPUs often more powerful than the system’s CPU.
10. A. Editors of this type of media have numerous controls and timelines to keep track of. These constructs often lie along the bottom of the application and run horizontally. Subsequent monitors allow the editor to spread out without shrinking the view excessively.
11. B. Maximum RAM and CPU cores are the primary requirements for such systems. Although there are multiple guest operating systems, generally there is but one host to those guests. File sharing may be a service the administrator decides to offer, and multiple NICs might prove advantageous with virtual machines that are popular among the clients, but these workstations do not require either.
12. B. Gaming PCs are not known for requiring fault tolerance or data persistence. RAID arrays, therefore, are generally not included. The other components are a benefit for gaming PCs, however.
13. A. A/V editing workstations require video enhancements and a hard drive capable of storing a large quantity of data and accessing it quickly. The other system types require faster or more plentiful processors.
14. C. Because of its exceptional capabilities of digital video and audio output as well as its potential for support of future standards, HDMI is the home-theater video output technology of choice. Neither DVI nor component (YCbCr and YPbPr) can make the same claims. WUXGA is a resolution of 1920×1200 and not a video output technology.
15. D. These standard systems do not have any special requirements, just that they can run Windows and desktop applications.
16. C. Clients request services of servers. Thin clients can request software services from their servers, whether in the form of running the software and passing the results to the client or passing the code of the software to the client to be executed by its processor and kept only in RAM.
17. B. Additional RAM in the home server PC offers no advantage for the performance of the server past a certain point. The tasks the server is asked to perform do not require high performance.
18. A, D. Virtualization and graphic design workstations benefit from as much RAM as can be installed. Home theater PCs and gaming PCs do not require a large amount of temporary storage of instructions and data. They are more about the rapid movement of graphical data toward an output device.
19. A. The Windows 7 computer can be built as a normal system with a 2TB or 3TB drive. WHS 2011 needs a home server PC. The rims are crafted by a type of CAD/CAM workstation capable of CNC. A home theater PC is an ideal choice to take the place of both the BD player and DVR.
20. B. The clients of the home server PC that use the server for streaming video content might benefit from enhanced video, but the server will not.