help needed choosing a pc or 4

Glad

Hi
I'm asking this on behalf of my mum who needs to purchase 4 or 5 pc's for a small business she's setting up

she says she needs minimum 4gb ram and 500gb hard drive, the pc's won't really be used for surfing or downloading just spreadsheets etc

she seems to think that as I'm online so much I'll know all about computers but I said ask away as I know some people who do

her latest question is

If processor, RAM, HDD and Ethernet/lan are identical is it just the brand name that changes with different suppliers? Is a better known name or supplier less risky that a less well known or more localised supplier?

Any opinions or experience on these:
Dell,
Novatech,
Acer direct,
Fujitsu or Leveno (via PcWorld)
Aria PC
PC Specialist
CCL

I want reliable for the moderate to long term, don't want to be computer shopping again for at least a few years even if the PC becomes very out of date.



thanks for any advice

closed

where is the data going to be stored, and how is it going to be backed up?

branded is far less risky than a local supplier.

Will the company be vat registered?

It takes a long time for pc's to become out of date

http://www.dmxdimension.com/

AppleMatt

Hi Glad,

I'm a network manager and procure computers a lot.

I can recommend Novatech highly - call the business department and get an account manager who you can negotiate with.

Other good suppliers are Millgate, Misco and CPC.

Make sure you do not accept the first price given to you. Get quotes for 3 places and get one of them to beat the cheapest. As you're buying more than one, someone will do you a deal.

From a technical point of view, look for:
- Intel Core i3 Processor
- Windows 7 Professional included
- At least 4GB RAM
- Get a 3 year warranty included. Misco often do deals with warranty included, even on-site (so you don't have to send it away)

For this standard of machine I would pay around 300-350 per item, dependent on extras.

Brand names are on the whole immaterial, but there are some I would avoid. I wouldn't buy Acer or Asus, they are generally cheap parts (that easily fail). Lenovo are a very much trusted brand and I've bought many and been very happy.

For an example, here is a Fujitsu which meets the spec and warranty details:
http://www.misco.co.uk/product/198440/Fujitsu-Esprimo-E400-Small-Form-Factor-PC-Intel-Core-i3-2120-2GB-500GB-Windows-7-Professional-3-Year-Warranty

Hope this helps, PM me if I can be of any use

Glad

closed wrote: »

where is the data going to be stored, and how is it going to be backed up?

branded is far less risky than a local supplier.

Will the company be vat registered?

It takes a long time for pc's to become out of date

http://www.dmxdimension.com/

storage on external harddrive, auto back up software being used so it's done daily

it's a charity, I don't know about vat registered, though I think for business you don't have to if less than x income, but if it is vat can be claimed back on business purchased

closed

if you aren't having a server/nas, it would be easier to choose one master pc, and store all data on that, and use multiple external drives in a rotated cyle for backup, stored offsite

Glad

AppleMatt wrote: »

Hi Glad,

I'm a network manager and procure computers a lot.

I can recommend Novatech highly - call the business department and get an account manager who you can negotiate with.

Other good suppliers are Millgate, Misco and CPC.

Make sure you do not accept the first price given to you. Get quotes for 3 places and get one of them to beat the cheapest. As you're buying more than one, someone will do you a deal.

From a technical point of view, look for:
- Intel Core i3 Processor
- Windows 7 Professional included
- At least 4GB RAM
- Get a 3 year warranty included. Misco often do deals with warranty included, even on-site (so you don't have to send it away)

For this standard of machine I would pay around 300-350 per item, dependent on extras.

Brand names are on the whole immaterial, but there are some I would avoid. I wouldn't buy Acer or Asus, they are generally cheap parts (that easily fail). Lenovo are a very much trusted brand and I've bought many and been very happy.

For an example, here is a Fujitsu which meets the spec and warranty details:
http://www.misco.co.uk/product/198440/Fujitsu-Esprimo-E400-Small-Form-Factor-PC-Intel-Core-i3-2120-2GB-500GB-Windows-7-Professional-3-Year-Warranty

Hope this helps, PM me if I can be of any use

thanks for all the above

and any tips for negotiating a deal?

Glad

closed wrote: »

if you aren't having a server/nas, it would be easier to choose one master pc, and store all data on that, and use multiple external drives in a rotated cyle for backup, stored offsite

no server, but there will be one main pc that the others backup to, that is then backed up on external hard drive. How often would you suggest rotation of external hard drive if she went that route?

closed

depends how much data they are prepared to lose - daily or weekly. If people save data on their individual machines things will get cumbersome, they need to map a drive to the main pc, and save on it's internal drive.

skivenov

Currently typing this on one of two 10 year old Dells we use.... seems reliable!

AppleMatt

Glad wrote: »

thanks for all the above

and any tips for negotiating a deal?

Talk to an account manager at each supplier, and let them all think they are your favourite, and "letting slip" the other quotes.

Oh, and call around the 25-30th of the month, where targets are getting desperate :cool:

nathand_2

If the computers are only going to be used for the very basics such as spreadsheets even the specs posted are high. RAM is really cheap so it wouldn't be worthwhile cutting back there but a cheaper processor should bring the cost down further.

Entry level AMD would be cheaper than an Intel i3 and on 5 machines that could be around £150.