Neco 2025 Computer Studies Question 3

A secondary school plans to upgrade its computer laboratory. The lab currently has 20 desktop computers, each equipped with 500 MB of RAM and an 80 GB hard‑disk, running Windows XP. The school intends to install a new operating system (OS) and an educational software suite. The OS requires a minimum of 1 GB RAM and 20 GB of disk space. The software suite consists of three applications: - Word processor: 200 MB RAM, 1.5 GB disk - Spreadsheet: 250 MB RAM, 2 GB disk - Multimedia presentation tool: 300 MB RAM, 3 GB disk Up‑grading components costs ₦12,000 per 512 MB RAM module and ₦8,000 per 20 GB hard‑disk upgrade. The school also considers a thin‑client solution in which a central server (costing ₦150,000) with 64 GB RAM and 2 TB storage serves all workstations, and each thin‑client terminal costs ₦5,000. Answer the following: (a) Determine the minimum hardware upgrade required for each existing desktop computer to run the OS and the software suite. (b) Calculate the total cost of upgrading all 20 desktop computers. (c) Evaluate whether the thin‑client solution is more cost‑effective, assuming the server can support all 20 clients simultaneously. Justify your answer with total cost and resource utilisation considerations.