Final Project Milestone 2: Hardware Components

Assignment 3-3 Final Project Milestone 2: Hardware Components

IT-201 Computer Platform Technologies

Southern New Hampshire University

Hardware

After a fair amount of research, I have composed a list of devices that will that will satisfy the hardware components needs for MilleniAds. As I stated previously, MilleniAds is brand new company that will be providing advertising products for clients. To start, there will be ten people employed in the following categories: CEO, office administrator, financial accountant, sales staff, graphic designers, and creative directors. Each of these employees will be needing a computer device to get their work done. The company will need printers to produce physical copies of their products for clients. MilleniAds will also need to be able to store digital images and data that can be shared between employees. Because MilleniAds is just beginning their business, the CEO has informed me that there will be a budget of $25,000. Even though the budget is set at $25,000, it would be very much appreciated if I could come in as far under that number as I could so that the CEO has extra money for emergency situations. Based on all this information I was able to put together a list of products that will both satisfy the computing needs of the employees and not go over budget.

Computers are the first area that needs to be addressed, without computers, the company cannot produce the design art for the customized sales flyers, brochures, letterheads, and business cards. I was informed that most of the employees do not want to be tied down to a desk, they would prefer the freedom to move around the office. Having to work on a desktop would push them towards using their personal computing devices, but that raises security issues that could be avoided. It is my recommendation that the graphic designers, creative directors, and the sales staff be equipped with the HP Specter x360 13 2-in-1 PC. The HP Specter comes with a 13- inch Full HD touchscreen, uses an Intel core i7 1.80 GHz processor with Turbo Boost Technology capabilities, has 256GB SSD, and 8GB of RAM (HP Specter, 2018). These laptops have a price tag of $1249.00 each, and I am suggesting that 7 of them be purchased. This will give those employees the ability to sit at a work station while offering them the option to move to different locations in the office, the sales staff will also benefit from the mobility of this 2-in-1 PC. To illustrate a device and price comparison, I researched the new Surface Pro device. To draw a fair comparison, I chose the same processor, amount of memory, and same size Solid State Drive. A Surface Pro using an Intel Core i7 processor, 256GB SSD, and 8GB of RAM has a price tag of $1599.00 (Surface Pro, 2018). Using a Surface Pro would give the employees the same amount of mobility they would get from the HP Specter. Unfortunately, the Surface Pro does not include the Surface Pen or the type cover, so those items will have to be add-ons. Each laptop will need a type cover that run $129.99, and the Surface Pen is priced at $99.99 each. As you can see, the Surface Pro will run significantly higher in price to match the specs of the HP Specter costing a total of $12802.86 compared to $8743.00. The Specter will not tie employees down to one spot for the day, and it does not require additional accessory purchases because it does not need a cover/keyboard and a stylus is included with the purchase or the PC.

For the remaining three employees, the office administrator, financial accountant, and the CEO, I have chosen the HP Pavilion 24-r035xt All-in-One computer. The HP Pavilion is an all-in-one desktop with a 23.8-inch full HD touchscreen, it also uses the Intel Core i5 2.40 GHz processor. It employees 8GB SDRAM, and has a 1TB hard drive (HP Pavilion, 2018). These computers have a price tag of $729.00 each and includes a wireless keyboard and mouse. Tower desktops could an option as well, but my recommendation is leaning towards the All-in-one desktop because the bundle purchase is like the Surface Pro, to achieve the same technical specs within the hardware and display quality could be more expensive. For example, the HP Pavilion desktop-570 costs $729.99, which is the same price as my recommendation, but I haven’t yet added in a display or keyboard and mouse. An HP display can cost anywhere from $100-$300 for a 24-inch screen size. An All-in-one computer like the HP Pavilion packs a punch in a smaller package as well as a smaller price tag.

Now that the computing devices have been discussed at length, let’s move on to what will be printing MilleniAds’ advertising products. Epson has released a new printer and after reviewing the product, I recommend that three of these be purchased. It is the Epson brand Expression Photo HD XP-15000 Wide-format Printer, and it costs $349.99. Based on the specs for this printer it is a perfect fit for MilleniAds’ printing needs from simple document style printing to professional photo quality prints. A cheaper printer could be purchased, the HP ENVY Photo 7855 Wireless All-in-One printer can be purchased for $199.99. But in a side-by-side comparison, the Epson printer is the better choice. Specifically, the Epson offers better photo quality products with a print resolution of 5670 x 1440 optimized dpi (Epson America, Inc., 2018). The HP printer can only offer a print resolution of 1200 x 1200 rendered dpi in black and 4800 x 1200 in color optimized dpi (HP Envy, 2018). The idea of saving money is appealing, but MilleniAds needs a printer that can deliver high definition products. A one-time investment for a higher-quality printer will keep MilleniAds from having to spend more money to replace a printer that was cheaper but fails to deliver high resolution products. I am recommending that three of these printers be purchased because the print speed may not be able to keep up with the day’s work if only one was to be purchased, two of them could be dedicated to client product printing and the third could be for the rest of the employees who just need to print documents.

Lastly, MilleniAds will need phone and Internet services and hardware. AT&T offers a bundle of phone, internet and business solutions for small businesses at a price of $85.00 a month. AT&T provides their own hardware, so business phones, modems, and wireless routers will be provided. I used AT&T as an example, but if your business does not reside in their coverage area, prices from other providers are close for business plans that include phone and Internet service. This concludes my hardware recommendations; the following is the list of all that I have explained along with the cost of each item and the total sum of the hardware needed:

Hardware Cost
HP Specter x360 13-inch 2-in-1 PC with 13-inch Full HD touchscreen, Intel Core i7 processor, 8GB of RAM, 256 GB SSD, over 16.5 hours of battery life, and stylus included. $1249.00 x 7 = $8743.00
HP Pavilion 24r035xt All-in-One Desktop, 23.8 in Full HD touch display, Intel i5 7th Gen 2.40GHz processor, 8GB memory, 1TB HDD storage, Intel HD Graphics. Includes wireless keyboard and mouse. $729.99 x 3 = $2189.97
Epson Expression Photo HD xp-15000 Inkjet Printer $349.99 x 3 = 1049.97
AT&T Internet + Phone + Business Solutions $85.00/mo. x 12 months = $1020.00/yr.
  Total: $13,002.94

References

Expression Photo HD XP-15000 Wide-format Printer. (n.d.). Retrieved February 4, 2018, from https://epson.com/For-Home/Printers/Photo/Expression-Photo-HD-XP-15000-Wide-format-Printer/p/C11CG43201

HP ENVY Photo 7855 All-in-One Printer. (2017, November 14). Retrieved February 4, 2018, from http://store.hp.com/us/en/pdp/hp-envy-photo-7855-all-in-one-printer

HP Pavilion All-in-One – 24-r035xt. (n.d.). Retrieved February 4, 2018, from http://store.hp.com/us/en/pdp/hp-pavilion-all-in-one-24-r035xt

HP Specter x360. (n.d.). Retrieved February 04, 2018, from https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/d/hp-spectre-x360-13-ae091ms-2-in-1-pc/8qvwmjxsx039/7rbn?activetab=pivot%3Atechspecstab

Surface Pro. (n.d.). Retrieved February 04, 2018, from https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/d/surface-pro/8nkt9wttrbjk/BV89?activetab=pivot%3Aoverviewtab

Place an Order

Plagiarism Free!

Scroll to Top