Office desktop computer


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Hello,

 

From a beast, we go to a wimp...

 

Im seeing my company is talking about replacing a aging XP system and that XP system is mostly used for Excel and our accountant's other needs. So basically it needs nothing. Building it piece by piece I dont see it worth it so what company (Dell, HP, etc) makes best bang for buck?

At best, Ill problably replace its internal HDD with a SSD and maybe upgrade its RAM. But besides that I dont see anything else.

As a treat :p I think we should get our accountant a good mouse and keyboard (no mechanical crap that can be listened to thruout the entire small office) so palms are well rested. Any recommendations on that?

Found, for 399? from Dell:

Intel? Core? i3-4130 (dual core, 3 MB cache, 3,40 GHz, HD 2500 graphics card)

Windows 7 Professional

4 GB SDRAM DDR3 a 1600 MHz

500 GB SATA 3,5" (7200 rpm)

Thanks

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Why not build it? you can save a few ?. took me a couple of mins to put this together.

 

 
CPU:  Intel Pentium G2020 2.9GHz Dual-Core Processor  (?48.46 @ Amazon Espana) 
Motherboard:  ASRock B75M-GL R2.0 Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard  (?51.48 @ Amazon Espana) 
Memory:  Patriot Signature 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory  (?34.06 @ Amazon Espana) 
Storage:  Corsair Neutron Series 64GB 2.5" Solid State Disk  (?74.20 @ Amazon Espana) 
Total: ?263.18
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-04 11:06 CET+0100)
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Hello,

Why not build it? you can save a few ?. took me a couple of mins to put this together.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

 

CPU:  Intel Pentium G2020 2.9GHz Dual-Core Processor  (?48.46 @ Amazon Espana) 

Motherboard:  ASRock B75M-GL R2.0 Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard  (?51.48 @ Amazon Espana) 

Memory:  Patriot Signature 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory  (?34.06 @ Amazon Espana) 

Storage:  Corsair Neutron Series 64GB 2.5" Solid State Disk  (?74.20 @ Amazon Espana) 

Case:  Cooler Master Elite 350 ATX Mid Tower Case w/500W Power Supply  (?54.98 @ Amazon Espana) 

Total: ?263.18

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-04 11:06 CET+0100)

+ Windows 7 Professional 126,62 ?

389,80 ?

For 10 ? more, I get a i3....

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Hello,

+ Windows 7 Professional 126,62 ?

389,80 ?

For 10 ? more, I get a i3....

I guess so. But then you say that you want to upgrade to an SSD, add an extra ?75 for that.

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I guess so. But then you say that you want to upgrade to an SSD, add an extra ?75 for that.

Yes and then there is the warranty from one location, drivers from one location.  He doesn't need to track down sites and receipts if he looses them to invoke the warranty process, he doesn't have to find drivers from a dozen or so sites to reload windows.  For 75 you have added convenience and the ability to standardize across the board if he so chooses later on.  IMO, dell is hard to beat on price....and if you setup a b2b with them their prices get a bit better than on the site dealing with a sales rep.  No one in a medium to a enterprise level environment builds computers...why is that?  because they have money to burn or is it to simply standardize across the board and to be able to spend time building custom images vs custom pcs and images?  It costs a lot more for a company to build a computer than it is to image a computer.

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It does not make sense for a company to build their own machines, unless it was the smallest of the smallest of shops. Or if they needed something really custom for some special use.

For day to day office use, pick a standard build and everyone gets the same exact machine. This is easier to manage, simple to create install images for, easier to troubleshoot for known bugs or issues. If you run into something on one machine since same install, same hardware you will have the fix for all of them, etc. Easier to keep the user up an running, because it very simple to have a spare machine or spare parts laying around that are all standard.

If machine fails, you give him the spare and there is no change for the user since it is a standard build.

If you have users with varying computer needs, say your engineers need more ram, better graphics, etc. Then you just create a different standard for that level of machine.

Maybe its the same model, just with a I7 vs I3, more ram different graphics card, etc.

Building out of your garage lets call it, does not fit any sort of business model at all even if could save a few bucks on parts. And yes once you pick the company you want to go with - I would look into what they offer for relationships with small businesses.

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I've only heard great things about mechanical switches, but haven't tried any of the recent ones so I don't know if they really live up to the hype. Assuming they're the greatest, the next best would be keyboards with high quality scissor switches like the ones in most laptops.

 

2AuBNWH.jpg

 

they're slim (less travel distance) and very comfortable. although it appears that a lot of scissor switch keyboards are chicklet-style, which imo is godawful to type on.

 

There are lots of scissor switch keyboards from lesser known brands, not so much from namebrands. Logitech's PerfectStroke keyboards are pretty decent (I just got one), you can take a look: http://www.logitech.com/en-ca/products/keyboards/articles/5912

 

I believe Microsoft's new Sculpt keyboards are scissor switch too, but I think most of theirs are rubber domed (used to have one). http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/en-us/keyboards

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Hello,

It does not make sense for a company to build their own machines, unless it was the smallest of the smallest of shops. Or if they needed something really custom for some special use.

For day to day office use, pick a standard build and everyone gets the same exact machine. This is easier to manage, simple to create install images for, easier to troubleshoot for known bugs or issues. If you run into something on one machine since same install, same hardware you will have the fix for all of them, etc. Easier to keep the user up an running, because it very simple to have a spare machine or spare parts laying around that are all standard.

If machine fails, you give him the spare and there is no change for the user since it is a standard build.

If you have users with varying computer needs, say your engineers need more ram, better graphics, etc. Then you just create a different standard for that level of machine.

Maybe its the same model, just with a I7 vs I3, more ram different graphics card, etc.

Building out of your garage lets call it, does not fit any sort of business model at all even if could save a few bucks on parts. And yes once you pick the company you want to go with - I would look into what they offer for relationships with small businesses.

Are you trying to take over Neowin? :p

Jokes aside, most of our PCs are Dells but Im willing to pitch in something else if its better.

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Hello,

Are you trying to take over Neowin? :p

Jokes aside, most of our PCs are Dells but Im willing to pitch in something else if its better.

 

You're talking to BudMan. You better read carefully what he says.

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building a computer for a business? what for?

 

buying a pre-made from Dell, Lenovo, HP and others will give you:

- OEM version of Windows costs less then Retail.

- Extended warranty and central (one OEM, not multiple OEM involved) and depending from which OEM you chose you can even get 4 hours on site replacement like Dell and HP does.

- equal computers for everyone means better support, less costs with different builds and less downtime if you need a different part but it's unavailable. If someone want's more memory, SSD or better CPU just upgrade the machine. simple.

 

Buying pre-made computers will cost less, not more. The hidden cost of building your own computer is:

- You are the one that builds it and completely support all the hardware and warranty, so you are costing time for those tasks.

- Time consuming looking for warranties from different parts.

- Add the retail windows version of Windows and the few euros you saved from building those machines goes out in the wind.

 

Also: do you have Volume licensing for Windows? If yes then you can even save buy not buying a pre-made with Windows installed, ask a quote for that.

 

edit: ah Budman as said a lot of what I've said, I'm 6 hours late in this thread :/

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  • 1 month later...

Hello,

Like I said, Ive been asked to do this (saw it coming from miles)

Currently it seems the current PC has 300GB (using 59GB :laugh: ) I think a 256 GB SSD is more than enough. We dont need this for top performace but a good SSD is nice. What is your recommendation? (or should I make a new thread for this)

Thank you

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As said by budman:

"It does not make sense for a company to build their own machines, unless it was the smallest of the smallest of shops. Or if they needed something really custom for some special use"

 

Nuff said, right there! :)

 

I think I would prefer Dell computers over HP.

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Hello,

We have been offered this:

OptiPlex 3020 Minitower BTX

Intel Core i3-4130 Processor (Dual Core, 3MB Cache, 3.40 GHz, w/HD4400 Graphics) OptiPlex 3020

Minitower Chassis with Standard Power Supply

4GB (1x4GB) Non-ECC DDR3 1600MHz SDRAM Memory

500GB 3.5inch Serial ATA (7.200 Rpm) Hard Drive

Minitower Chassis Mainstream Heatsink (65watts)

16X Half Height DVD+/-RW Drive PowerDVD Software not included European Power Cord

Chassis Intrusion Switch

Intel Integrated Graphics,OptiPlex Internal Dell Business Audio Speaker No Bcom required

Dell MS111 USB Optical Mouse

Keyboard : Spanish (QWERTY) Dell KB212-B QuietKey USB Keyboard Black

Dell Backup and Recovery Manager Basic for Windows 8

Total: 482,79 ?

I see it as a good offer :)

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Is there any extended warraty with that ? On-site service ? You should also look for this, like 3 year On-Site warranty and repair. Could save you lots of troubles...I'm also not sure that SSD is recommended in a business environement, Mechanical HD tend to be more reliable.

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That's basically ?400, for around ?200 (242 Euros) i recently built a few Intel Haswell based machines to replace some old Pentium 4's running Windows XP at work.

  • Intel Pentium Dual Core G3220 3.00GHz Socket 1150
  • Gigabyte GA-H81M-D2V Socket 1150
  • Corsair XMS3 4GB DDR3 1600MHz
  • LiteOn IHAS122 22X DVD Writer 
  • WD 500GB Caviar Green Hard Drive
  • Antec 380W EarthWatts Green PSU
  • Casecom CM-431 Shiny Black MicroATX Case

The machines run Windows 8.1 fantastically, more than enough for simply running Microsoft Office and a web browser.

 

I guess if the quote you have comes with a warranty / on-site service and you need the Windows licence it makes the deal a lot better (presuming you actually need the Windows licence). I imagine it would still be cheaper to build a system your self, however you need to factor in your time to build it, which shouldn't be more than an hour for a couple of systems, if that.

 

We are a fairly small business though, if your a large business it probably doesn't make sense to build your own machines. 

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Hello,

Is there any extended warraty with that ? On-site service ? You should also look for this, like 3 year On-Site warranty and repair. Could save you lots of troubles...I'm also not sure that SSD is recommended in a business environement, Mechanical HD tend to be more reliable.

It has the required 2 year and problably 1 year onsite.

The SSD Im putting in is basically for loading Office apps faster. Nothing else. Im either going with a Crucial or a Samsung at 256GB I think (149 or something)

 

 

That's basically ?400, for around ?200 (242 Euros) i recently built a few Intel Haswell based machines to replace some old Pentium 4's running Windows XP at work.

  • Intel Pentium Dual Core G3220 3.00GHz Socket 1150
  • Gigabyte GA-H81M-D2V Socket 1150
  • Corsair XMS3 4GB DDR3 1600MHz
  • LiteOn IHAS122 22X DVD Writer 
  • WD 500GB Caviar Green Hard Drive
  • Antec 380W EarthWatts Green PSU
  • Casecom CM-431 Shiny Black MicroATX Case
The machines run Windows 8.1 fantastically, more than enough for simply running Microsoft Office and a web browser.

 

I guess if the quote you have comes with a warranty / on-site service and you need the Windows licence it makes the deal a lot better (presuming you actually need the Windows licence). I imagine it would still be cheaper to build a system your self, however you need to factor in your time to build it, which shouldn't be more than an hour for a couple of systems, if that.

 

We are a fairly small business though, if your a large business it probably doesn't make sense to build your own machines.

Your machine 367 euros with Windows....Also I put in a i3 for a bit of future proofing.

Also no servicing from any of them; I would have to replace it.

? A hour ? Um, installing a system, installing Windows, updating and installing software takes more than a hour... :s

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An hour is just to put the hardware into the case.  I would say a minimalist windows install would take about 2-3 hrs depending on internet connection for the first computer and about 30-45 each additional computer, if wsus was enabled on the site it could take much less on the initial pc as microsoft patches can be pushed out.  In the US, dell dosent offer a support business solution that is just parts, it is always on site support..you can't get anything less than 3 year support.

post-118098-0-76662700-1390945003.jpg

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Hello,

An hour is just to put the hardware into the case.  I would say a minimalist windows install would take about 2-3 hrs depending on internet connection for the first computer and about 30-45 each additional computer, if wsus was enabled on the site it could take much less on the initial pc as microsoft patches can be pushed out.  In the US, dell dosent offer a support business solution that is just parts, it is always on site support..you can't get anything less than 3 year support.

Here Im sure its min 2 years and I dont remember anything about 3 years.

Reviewed it and strangely it says only 1 year; I think by law, its min 2 years (unless they recently changed it)

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An hour is just to put the hardware into the case.  I would say a minimalist windows install would take about 2-3 hrs depending on internet connection for the first computer and about 30-45 each additional computer, if wsus was enabled on the site it could take much less on the initial pc as microsoft patches can be pushed out.  In the US, dell dosent offer a support business solution that is just parts, it is always on site support..you can't get anything less than 3 year support.

If a parts only warranty solution is desired I'd recommend Lenovo Think series machines. They offer parts only replacement requests that are handled very fast via IBM (yes still done by IBM).

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? A hour ? Um, installing a system, installing Windows, updating and installing software takes more than a hour... :s

I was on about actually assembling the PC from parts, you can assemble a basic PC like that in around 30mins. Windows 8 takes like 15 mins to install from a USB drive, if that. Then you basically have have Intel drivers to install and your up to the same point you would be if you had purchased a PC.

I was comparing building your own computer to the spec you had been quoted, however with building your own you need to factor in the time cost to actually build it to end up same place as a pre purchased PC. Example PC built with Windows and drivers installed.

If you have a lot to built it might work out cheaper to buy a pre made system, your time to build all the PC's will cost money.

Installing your software, windows updates and configuring the PC will add time more time obviously, however you would have to do that with a pre built computer anyway.

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"if your a large business it probably doesn't make sense to build your own machines. "

"I was on about actually assembling the PC from parts, you can assemble a basic PC like that in around 30mins"

As I already stated - unless you are the smallest of smallest companies it makes no sense to build your own machine.. It just doesn't.. Your talking pennies is cost of the hardware. Even if you were a 10 pc shop I would think your going down the wrong path ordering parts to assemble a pc.

Even 30 minutes of putting the parts together cost time.. lets not forget taking all the different parts of all the different boxes, etc.. You having a pc ready to boot in 30 minutes is pretty optimistic estimate if you ask me.

So your MB comes in its own box, your psu comes its own box, your memory, hdd, cables, case, etc. etc. etc.. So your going to unbox all this stuff and assemble and be ready to go in 30 minutes? Really?? And then deal with all that packaging.. Come on dude really.. If your doing a machine a year maybe it doesn't matter, if your IT guy is sitting there working on his tetris high score and your paying him anyway ;) Might as well be assembly pcs vs doing that ;)

But in a normal real company, any minute he is doing that is a minute less he could be doing something worth while. So lets be realistic on how much time it takes to assemble the PC.

If you actually work with the maker, even a small company the box can show up with your image on it. Even if it doesn't - you take the PC (whole unit) out of the box - connect it to your network and pxe boot it, and it has your image - then join it to your domain and it gets all its updates, even can install all your apps while your tech is doing other stuff working on tickets, etc.

Sorry but you have to be the smallest of the smallest ma and pop shops to even think of building your own hardware.. And even then as tech that is forward looking he would be looking to automate his process of imaging and getting a machine ready to redeploy on the least amount of effort on his part and fastest timeline. So standard hardware is the key - have that spare machine in the back (same exact hardware) where if something goes wrong he can swap out the hard disk and give it back to the user in minutes.

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I see all the people saying "build it" - dont work for a living (delivery pizzas doesnt count)  -  A company isnt concerned with hand-picked parts, they dont care about saving $100.  A company wants reliability, ease, and some form of fast support response.  Lets face it, most of the parts we talk about in here - you really dont see that much of a difference as opposed to off the shelf stuff in terms of an office.

 

Err  wait -  just saw the other posts saying the same thing... I'll go back to minding my business :whistle:

 

 

As Apex mentioned, the Lenovo Think line has a really good support solution.  Handled through IBM, if you need to replace a warranty part, it will ship same day, and next morning - boom - its @ your office - how sweet is that ?

I just had to RMA a HDD in an HP for a coworker - what a pain in the @ss that was - I rec'd the part the next day - but I was lucky to do so, and had to sit in support chat with some $%^&*( named Radjeev for 30 minutes while he slowly wrote up the RMA....

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^ hehehe radjeev, yeah I think I have dealt with that guy before ;) hehehe

Here is the thing - is your IT dept you? Or is there someone else that is IT?? If your in a company where there is more than 1 person that is IT and your thinking of building boxes from scratch.. You should not be in the field!!

If you are the only IT guy, why are you wasting time building and researching parts and etc.. etc.. to save the company pennies?? Order the box from X, order the next box from X, order the same exact box from X.. Work with X on saving you money, and how to streamline your support! This is what you should be doing vs spending times thinking about what graphics card works with what, etc.

Companies don't care - companies care about how fast it can be fixed, does it run excel, word, etc.

Now I am not talking some special box for some special project where you want to do special thing XYZ and have to be able to render a car model from the proe drawing in .3 seconds to show off to the customer.. You will always have one offs where you might have to do something special -- those kinds of projects can be fun!!

But in your day to day -- pick the box off the shelf that meets your needs and get it in the users hands as fast as you can, and have the ability to do that X number of times in the least amount of time.. New hire - sure here you go can use the spare in the back and will have a new one here in 2 days. etc..

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Hello,

Im going with that Dell I mentioned: Today I decide which SSD I go with a Crucial or Samsung. I think the Crucial has 128GB while the Samsung has some weird 120GB so Ill go with that :)

Also, I had a talk with my boss about this and I told him that I wouldnt recommend it but...lets say the Dell comes with a 500GB HDD where only 30GB is being used. Using CloneZilla, can I made a image out of that and put it on a 128GB SSD? Would it work?

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