Lab Upgrade Under a One-Year Grant
Your school is refurbishing a 30-seat computer lab with a fixed grant of ₹4,50,000. The existing machines have 4 GB DDR3 RAM, 500 GB HDDs, 19-inch monitors, and generic 250 W power supplies. The principal wants the lab to support Python IDLE, a browser with 15 tabs, and basic video editing for a 10-minute school film. A vendor offers three packages: (A) replace all HDDs with 240 GB SATA SSDs and add 4 GB RAM per machine; (B) replace only the 10 oldest machines with new 8 GB DDR4 systems and keep 20 old ones; (C) add a 2 GB graphics card and 550 W PSU to every machine. Teachers report that booting takes 3–4 minutes and that browsers freeze when 12 or more tabs are open. The video-editing club meets twice a week and currently edits on one teacher’s laptop. The grant cannot be split across two financial years, and unused money returns to the district.
1. Using the reported symptoms, rank the three packages and recommend one. State any assumption you must make about prices.
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Diagnosis first: 3–4 minute boots and freezing at 12+ tabs are classic symptoms of insufficient RAM plus a mechanical HDD being used for paging. The CPU is not identified as a bottleneck, and video editing is a secondary, twice-weekly use.
- Package A raises every machine to 8 GB and removes the HDD bottleneck. It directly targets both reported symptoms and keeps one uniform platform.
- Package B fixes only 10 of 30 seats; 20 students still see freezing, and the lab now has two RAM generations (DDR3/DDR4) and two support images.
- Package C adds graphics and power but leaves 4 GB RAM and the HDD, so tab freezing remains; a 2 GB GPU may also exceed what a generic 250 W PSU can safely supply.
Ranking: A, then B, then C. Since no prices are given, the recommendation is conditional: choose A if the quote fits ₹4,50,000; if not, negotiate A for the 20 most-used machines and SSD-only for the rest. Do not choose C just because the video club asks.
2. The video club argues that package C is necessary for editing. Explain why C alone is likely to fail and state the minimum configuration for one editing station.
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The editor’s symptom is not ‘bad graphics’. Loading a browser, Python, and a video editor on 4 GB RAM forces swapping to the 500 GB HDD; the GPU cannot fix that. A 2 GB card may help rendering effects, but the generic 250 W PSU may lack the required 6/8-pin connector and current headroom, causing shutdowns under load.
Minimum for one editing station: 8–16 GB RAM, SSD, a quad-core CPU, and a GPU whose recommended PSU is at least 550 W. Keep the other 29 machines on the RAM+SSD upgrade. If only one station gets the GPU, the club can edit there while ordinary lab work stays responsive.
3. Propose a three-phase upgrade order and one check after each phase.
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Order by symptom impact and risk:
- RAM: add a matching 4 GB DDR3 module to reach 8 GB on each machine. Check that slots are free and the existing modules are compatible; test with 15 tabs.
- Storage: replace the 500 GB HDD with a 240 GB SATA SSD using a cloned image, then test boot time and app launch.
- Editing station only: add the GPU and 550 W PSU, verify connectors and power draw, and test a 10-minute render.
This order fixes the two daily complaints before spending on the specialist use. It also avoids buying a GPU for 30 machines when only one club edits.