• Your friend Bob has a four-year-old desktop computer that has an out-of-date
processor and 2 GB of memory. It does not have an eSATA port. Bob wants to
use an external hard drive that has an eSATA interface to the computer to back
up and store entertainment media. How would you suggest that he performs the
upgrade, and what is the cost?
I understand that Bob only has 2 GB of memory. I recommend that Bob first upgrades
his RAM. At least 8 GB of RAM for $41.99 would be suitable to run the latest version of
Windows smoothly. Since it sounds like he already has an external hard drive with an
eSATA interface, I would recommend that he purchases a USB 3.0 to eSATA External
Bridge Converter for $10.29 with shipping.
• The computer has one USB port, but Bob wants to use a USB printer at the same
time he uses the USB scanner. How can this be done, and how much will it cost?
There are multiple variants of USB hubs available, including those with ten ports that
can cost up to $60, but it seems that Bob would be better suited with a 4-port USB 3.0
hub for $9.99 if he’s only using USB for printing, scanning, and storage.
• Bob uses a Windows® 8 computer for gaming and wants to get a better gaming
experience. The computer is using onboard video and has an empty PCI Express
video slot. What is the fastest and best graphics card that can be used? How much
does it cost?
The fastest slot to use is a PCIe x 16 connector. First, since he is requesting the fastest
and best graphics card, I would first recommend that he upgrade his CPU. I recommend
Intel Core i7 9th generation as I've been a loyal user of Intel for years. Ironically I was
recently going to purchase a 2019 MacBook with an i7 processor, which would have
been terrible for gaming. Intel’s website shows that it will be most affordable to
purchase this from MicroCenter for $359.99.
I would recommend the GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 2070 Super Gaming OC 3x 8G Graphics
Card for $549.99. I also recommend he upgrades to Windows 10. Windows 10 for 64 bit
can cost $109.99.
• What is the total cost of all the upgrades Bob wants? Do you think it is wise for
him to make these upgrades or would it be wiser to purchase a new system? How
would you explain your recommendation to Bob?
The total expenses for upgrading Bob's PC would be $1,082.24. If Bob's goal is to have a
gaming PC with multiple USB ports, I would recommend that he simply purchases a new
computer. There are many gaming systems that he can purchase for $1,000 or less that
can suit his needs. I would inform him that he could purchase a system such as the
CYBERPOWERPC Gamer Xtreme VR Gaming PC, Intel Core i5-9400F 2.9GHz, which
offers more than the upgrades I was offering in some aspects. He will also have the
benefit of having a newer and more supported system, and the ability to upgrade in the
future. If his current system only has 2 GB of RAM, which hasn't even been enough RAM
for an entry-level PC in years, and is running an older version of Windows, it is likely
that it is an older system with a limited ability to upgrade.
