220-1101 Hardware Practice Test 12 — 15 Questions

Question 1

A technician is upgrading a workstation by adding a second high-end graphics card for a rendering application. After installation, the system powers on but displays no video output from either card. Both cards were working previously in other systems. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause?

Choose an answer to begin — your selection is scored in the full session.

Accepted Answer

The power supply unit does not have sufficient capacity for both cards.. When a second high-end graphics card is added but neither card produces video output, the most likely cause is insufficient power supply capacity. High-end graphics cards can draw 250W or more each under load, and the system may lack the combined wattage or the necessary PCIe power connectors. Without enough power, the cards may initialize partially or not at all, resulting in no video output from either slot.

Answer

The second PCIe slot is incompatible with the graphics card.

Answer

The system BIOS is configured to disable the second PCIe slot.

Answer

A driver conflict exists between the two different graphics card models.

Question 2

A technician is upgrading the memory in a desktop computer that has a motherboard supporting DDR4 RAM with a maximum speed of 3200MHz. The technician installs two 8GB modules rated at 3600MHz. What will be the effective speed of the memory?

Accepted Answer

3200MHz. The motherboard supports a maximum memory speed of 3200MHz, so even though the installed modules are rated at 3600MHz, the system will automatically downclock the memory to the highest supported speed of the motherboard, which is 3200MHz. This is because the memory controller operates at the motherboard's rated speed, and any faster modules will run at that lower speed to ensure stability.

Answer

3600MHz

Answer

2933MHz

Answer

The system will not boot due to incompatibility

Question 3

A technician is building a high-performance workstation for data analysis. The user requires error-correcting code (ECC) memory for data integrity. The technician selects an Intel Xeon processor and a motherboard with a chipset that supports registered memory. Which type of RAM should the technician install?

Accepted Answer

Registered ECC DDR4 (RDIMM). The Intel Xeon processor and motherboard chipset support registered memory, which uses a register to buffer the address and control signals, reducing electrical load on the memory controller. Registered ECC DDR4 (RDIMM) is the correct type because it combines error-correcting code (ECC) for data integrity with the registered buffer required by the platform, ensuring stability and compatibility in high-performance workstation builds.

Answer

Unbuffered non-ECC DDR4

Answer

Unbuffered ECC DDR4 (UDIMM)

Answer

Load-reduced ECC DDR4 (LRDIMM)

Question 4

A technician upgrades the CPU in a desktop computer and installs a new aftermarket cooler. After reassembly, the computer powers on but shuts down after about one minute. The technician enters the BIOS and sees the CPU temperature is 95°C and rising. The case fans are spinning normally. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of the issue?

Accepted Answer

The thermal paste was not applied between the CPU and the cooler. The CPU temperature reaching 95°C and rising immediately after power-on indicates a critical thermal issue. Since the case fans are spinning normally and the cooler fan is not mentioned as faulty, the most likely cause is that thermal paste was not applied between the CPU and the new aftermarket cooler. Without thermal paste, microscopic air gaps prevent efficient heat transfer from the CPU die to the cooler's base plate, causing rapid overheating and thermal shutdown.

Answer

The CPU is not compatible with the motherboard

Answer

The power supply unit is insufficient for the new CPU

Answer

The CPU cooler fan is not spinning

Question 5

An administrator is configuring a file server with three identical hard drives. The server requires fault tolerance; it must be able to survive the failure of any one drive without data loss. Additionally, the configuration should maximize usable storage space. Which RAID level should the administrator implement?

Accepted Answer

RAID 5. RAID 5 is the correct choice because it provides fault tolerance for a single drive failure while maximizing usable storage. With three identical drives, RAID 5 uses distributed parity to allow the array to survive any one drive failure without data loss, and the usable capacity is (n-1) drives, or 2 drives' worth of space. RAID 0 offers no redundancy, RAID 1 would waste 2/3 of the capacity with only 1 drive usable, and RAID 10 requires a minimum of 4 drives.

Answer

RAID 0

Answer

RAID 1

Answer

RAID 10

Question 6

A technician is building a new desktop computer. When power is applied, the fans spin, the drives spin up, but the monitor shows no signal and no beep codes are heard. The technician verifies that the power supply is adequate for the components. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause?

Accepted Answer

CPU is not properly seated. The absence of beep codes combined with fans and drives spinning indicates the motherboard is receiving power but fails to complete the Power-On Self-Test (POST). A CPU that is not properly seated prevents the CPU from communicating with the chipset, halting POST before any beep sequence can be generated, while the power supply and other components receive power.

Answer

Power supply is faulty

Answer

RAM is incompatible

Answer

Hard drive is not connected

Question 7

A technician is building a database server that requires fast random read/write performance for small data blocks. Which of the following storage devices will BEST meet this requirement?

Accepted Answer

An NVMe M.2 solid-state drive. An NVMe M.2 solid-state drive is the best choice because it connects directly via the PCIe bus, bypassing the SATA controller and its protocol overhead. This provides dramatically lower latency and higher IOPS (input/output operations per second), which is essential for fast random read/write performance on small data blocks in a database server.

Answer

A 7200 RPM hard disk drive

Answer

A SATA-based solid-state drive

Answer

An external USB 3.0 hard drive

Question 8

A technician is upgrading a workstation by adding a second high-end graphics card for a rendering application. After installation, the system powers on but displays no video output from either card. Both cards were working previously in other systems. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause?

Choose an answer to begin — your selection is scored in the full session.

Accepted Answer

Add a 500 GB M.2 NVMe SSD and migrate the OS and applications to it. The M.2 NVMe SSD uses the PCIe 3.0 x4 interface, which provides significantly higher sequential read/write speeds (up to 3,500 MB/s) compared to a SATA III SSD (up to 550 MB/s) or a 7200 RPM HDD (around 160 MB/s). By migrating the OS and applications to the NVMe drive, the technician directly reduces application load times and accelerates file transfer operations for large design files, offering the most noticeable performance improvement.

Answer

Replace the hard drive with a 2 TB 7200 RPM hard drive

Answer

Add a second 1 TB hard drive and configure RAID 0

Answer

Add a 1 TB SATA SSD and keep the existing hard drive for storage

Question 9

A technician is building a new desktop computer for a graphic designer who works with large files. The motherboard has an M.2 slot that supports PCIe 3.0 x4. Which of the following storage devices will provide the BEST performance for this user?

Accepted Answer

1 TB M.2 NVMe SSD. The M.2 slot supports PCIe 3.0 x4, which provides up to 4 GB/s bandwidth. An M.2 NVMe SSD uses the NVMe protocol over PCIe lanes, delivering significantly higher sequential read/write speeds (typically 3,500 MB/s) compared to SATA-based drives (max ~550 MB/s). This makes it the best choice for a graphic designer working with large files, as it minimizes load and save times.

Answer

1 TB 7200 RPM SATA hard disk drive

Answer

500 GB M.2 SATA SSD

Answer

2.5-inch 1 TB SATA SSD

Question 10

A technician is building a new PC for a video editor. The motherboard has four DIMM slots, labeled A1, A2, B1, and B2, and supports dual-channel memory. The technician installs two identical 8 GB DDR4 modules. Which of the following slot configurations will provide the BEST memory performance?

Accepted Answer

A1 and B1. (A1 and B1) is correct because dual-channel memory requires one module in each channel. On a typical motherboard with four slots, slots A1 and A2 belong to channel A, while B1 and B2 belong to channel B. Installing one module in A1 (channel A) and one in B1 (channel B) enables dual-channel interleaving, doubling the memory bandwidth compared to single-channel operation, which is critical for video editing workloads that benefit from higher throughput.

Answer

A1 and B2

Answer

A1 and A2

Answer

Any two slots will perform identically

Question 11

A technician installs two 8 GB DDR4-2666 memory modules into a desktop motherboard that supports DDR4-3200. The system powers on and the BIOS detects 16 GB of RAM. What speed will the memory run at?

Accepted Answer

2666 MHz. The memory will run at 2666 MHz because the system memory speed is determined by the slowest component in the chain. The installed modules are DDR4-2666, and even though the motherboard supports DDR4-3200, the memory controller will clock the RAM at the rated speed of the modules (2666 MHz) unless overclocked or XMP is enabled. The BIOS detects 16 GB correctly, but speed is limited by the module's native JEDEC standard.

Answer

3200 MHz

Answer

2933 MHz

Answer

2133 MHz

Question 12

A technician is replacing the central processing unit (CPU) on a motherboard that features an LGA1200 socket. Which of the following CPU families is MOST likely compatible with this socket?

Accepted Answer

Intel Core i7-10700K. The LGA1200 socket is designed for Intel's 10th and 11th generation Comet Lake and Rocket Lake processors. The Intel Core i7-10700K is a 10th generation Comet Lake CPU that uses the LGA1200 socket, making it the correct choice.

Answer

AMD Ryzen 7 3700X

Answer

Intel Core i5-8400

Answer

Intel Core i7-4770K

Question 13

A technician is replacing a CPU on a desktop motherboard. After carefully installing the new CPU and reattaching the heatsink, the technician powers on the system. After a few minutes, the system shuts down due to overheating. The technician verifies that the CPU fan is spinning and the heatsink is firmly attached. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of the overheating?

Accepted Answer

No thermal paste was applied between the CPU and heatsink. The most likely cause is that no thermal paste was applied between the CPU and heatsink. Thermal paste fills microscopic air gaps between the CPU's integrated heat spreader (IHS) and the heatsink base, ensuring efficient heat transfer. Without it, air acts as an insulator, causing the CPU to rapidly overheat and trigger thermal shutdown, even if the fan spins and the heatsink is firmly attached.

Answer

The CPU is not compatible with the motherboard socket

Answer

The CPU fan is connected to the wrong motherboard header

Answer

The heatsink is installed upside down

Question 14

A technician is assembling a new workstation. The motherboard supports DDR4 memory and has four DIMM slots: A1, A2, B1, B2. The technician installs two 16 GB DDR4-3200 modules. After powering on, the system detects 32 GB of RAM but reports a speed of 2133 MHz. The technician confirms the modules are rated for 3200 MHz. Which of the following is the MOST likely reason for the lower speed?

Accepted Answer

The BIOS memory profile is not set to XMP/DOCP. The motherboard detects the RAM capacity correctly but runs at the JEDEC default speed of 2133 MHz because the XMP (Extreme Memory Profile) or DOCP (Direct Overclock Profile) has not been enabled in the BIOS. DDR4-3200 modules require an overclocking profile to operate at their rated speed; without it, the system defaults to the standard 2133 MHz speed.

Answer

The modules are not installed in the correct slots for dual-channel mode

Answer

The CPU does not support 3200 MHz

Answer

The power supply is insufficient

Question 15

A technician upgrades a workstation's memory. The motherboard has four DIMM slots and supports dual-channel DDR4 memory. Two 8 GB DDR4-3200 modules are installed in slots A1 and B1. The system boots, detects 16 GB of RAM, but reports the memory speed at 2133 MHz. Which step should the technician take to achieve the rated speed of 3200 MHz?

Accepted Answer

Enable XMP/DOCP in the BIOS. The memory is running at the JEDEC default speed of 2133 MHz, not the rated 3200 MHz. To achieve the higher speed, the technician must enable Intel XMP (Extreme Memory Profile) or AMD DOCP (Direct Overclock Profile) in the BIOS, which loads the manufacturer's overclocking profile for the rated frequency and timings.

Answer

Install the modules in slots A1 and A2 instead

Answer

Replace the modules with DDR4-2666

Answer

Update the motherboard chipset drivers