Suggestions For A Business Computer?

C

ChrisHarris

New Member
I'm about to start a home based business and I'll be running a software program for construction estimating.

I'm not interested in building a computer. I have more money than time right now. So I'm looking for an off-the-shelf option.

Here are the MINIMUM specs that the software manufacturer recommends.

OS:
Windows 7, Vista, or XP 32-bit or 64-bit. Business, Professional, or Ultimate versions preferred (Home version is not supported). International Language Operating Systems only supported on Windows 7 Ultimate.

MEMORY:
On a 32-bit system: 3Gb of RAM recommended, 80Gb Hard Drive

On a 64-bit system: 6Gb of RAM minimum, 250Gb Hard Drive

MONITOR: 19" Minimum (minimum display area of 1024x768 required)

VIDEO CARD: Minimum 256Mb, 512Mb+ Preferred

ADDITIONAL SOFTWARE: Microsoft Office for Small Business 2007 or later (Includes Excel and Word). Microsoft Office 2010 Starter Edition does not support macros and will not work with our Excel Export process or reports. Only English language Excel is supported at this time.

_____________________________________________________

The software is really only 32-bit compatible. So it is not really necessary that I have 64-bit for this particular software. 64-bit won't make any difference when using the software.

But won't hurt for other general computing.

I will be using dual flat screen monitors. I need to have a video card that will OUTPUT 1920x1080 to both monitors.

The smaller monitor can be 19" and the larger screen needs to be at least 24"

I'd like to run at least 4gb of ram. With a 32-bit system, I'll only be able to use 'technically' about 3.2gb. But with a 64-bit system, I could bump the ram and that would help with other programs and general office work.


Thank you

The computer you see in my signature line is terribly inadequate to be running this software. It works, but it's painful.
 
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ok, one thing I notice off the bat. Getting a larger screen will not aid you in seeing more stuff. a 14" 1080p is going to show the same amount of a object (in greater detail due to the DPI) as a 72" 1080p. Greater resolutions will allow you to see more though.

It doesn't look like you need much as far as hardware goes.

I don't notice a CPU minimum listed. But that does not change my recommendation that much.

The below are just a recommendation, and will probably be changed as time goes forward and you express your likes and dislikes.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116992 (Windows)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160 (case)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115071 (CPU)
-If I were you, I would go for the k version as it is only $30 more, and will overclock like no tomorrow. But that is not really needed in a business computer.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099 (cooler)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136284 (HDD)
- I would get 2 and go RAID1 for data security on a business computer.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220561 (RAM)
-If your into heavy multitasking, then you could get 2 sets for 16 GB.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157263 (motherboard)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127582 (GPU)
- it is a fairly solid performer. Should handle anything you need on Dual screens fairly well.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227726 (SSD)
- The faster things open, the more productive you are. Therefore a SSD is a business must.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207014 (PSU)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824260047 (LCD) (x2).

this leaves 93 in the budget, but you could upgrade or downgrade as you need to fit your exact needs.
 
I'm not interested in building a computer. I have more money than time right now. So I'm looking for an off-the-shelf option.
Click to expand...

this forum has issues with reading that part, although a build will be wayyyy better value.
 
did i say he needed to build. If you give a list, then he can use a site like Ibuypower or cyberpower to build the same computer. Someone didn't think.
 
I need large screens because I'm looking at 42 x 30 inch blueprints in pdf format..

No, I cannot get an entire blueprint on a 32" screen.

I can zoom in and out to concentrate on different areas of the blueprint.

Need at least 1 large screen around 30" or bigger.
 
Also, the main thing with computers and sites like that is use a quality power supply. the ones they put in are crap, change it to a corsair 650w, and to run dual monitors i think you can on a 6450 but you might want to go up to the 6750 since it's on sale
 
Small business computer doesn't reqiure much. any one of the new prebuild desktop has much more power than what you old computer have. You don't need to spend too much money on the computer itself. any one of these computer will be fine to run your software. saving some money to buy 2 good monitors and extended warranty. Dell do have some good on location service warranty.

Check these out.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883227382

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883229283

or go Dell.com to check out some desktops

Cheers.
 
My problem with a store bought computer is all the bloated software that they usually come loaded with. I decided that I don't need a $2200 custom built machine right now. I decided to build one and to try and keep it relatively cheap. I think these parts will match up and should be more than enough power to satisfy the estimating software that I intend to run.

I ended up buying the following parts from newegg:

Case:
RaidMax Hurricane ATX Mid Tower. I know it's a gaming chassis, but it has some fans built in and it had lots of good customer reviews.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811156237

MB:
Asroc Extreme Z68 Extreme 3 ATX LGA 1155 - SATAS 6gb USB3.0
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271

CPU:
Core i3 2120 Sandy 3.3ghz dual-core
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115077

CPU Cooler:
Cool Master Hyper TX3 Heatpipe
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103064

Video Card:
GeForce GTX 460 1gb 256-bit PCIe 2.0x16
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130752

Power Supply. Again, lots of good customer reviews.
500w ATX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817148027

Ram (bought 4 pieces - so 16gb total)
Mushkin DDR3 1600 4gb each
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226287

SSD (bought 2)
Mushkin Enhanced Chronos SATA III 60gb
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226247

External HDD:
Western Digital 1tb
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136747

CD/DVD ROM:
Lite-On
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106276

Wireless card:
Rosewill PCI
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833166051

Also a basic hard wired keyboard and mouse. Then went over to WalMart and found a bundled monitor deal with (2) flat screens for $280 They are both 22" screens. Also Windows 7 64-bit Professional.

What do you think?
 
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I have never done a RAID setup.

I have the 1TB Western Digital external storage drive, so only Windows 7 64-bit Pro, MS Office and my estimating software will be loaded onto the (2) internal 60gb SSD's.

I'll save all work out to the external drive.

Should I do RAID 0?

I've never run a RAID system before. It's actually been about 6yrs since I even built a computer. If you were me and you were about to build the machine I listed above, how would you start? Obviously I'll assemble all the parts first. :P

Then do I just turn it on and stick the Windows disk into the CD/DVD and let 'er rip?

Do I need to boot BIOS and configure it for RAID first? I guess I need start-up help.
 
Guys we're talking about a business computer here, not a gaming PC. Business computers need to meet a separate list of requirements than gaming pcs. These requirements often includes:

1) Quite! You don't want a super loud computer for running business applications. Thus you need aftermarket heatsinks with quiet 120mm fans. You'll want a quality quiet powersupply too!

2) Reliability. You don't need the most powerful powersupply and parts, you need the most reliable.

3) Understating. You don't want a computer case with lights all over it. It's a business computer, it's suppose to look OEM and down to earth.
 
ChrisHarris said:
I have never done a RAID setup.

I have the 1TB Western Digital external storage drive, so only Windows 7 64-bit Pro, MS Office and my estimating software will be loaded onto the (2) internal 60gb SSD's.

I'll save all work out to the external drive.

Should I do RAID 0?

I've never run a RAID system before. It's actually been about 6yrs since I even built a computer. If you were me and you were about to build the machine I listed above, how would you start? Obviously I'll assemble all the parts first. :P

Then do I just turn it on and stick the Windows disk into the CD/DVD and let 'er rip?

Do I need to boot BIOS and configure it for RAID first? I guess I need start-up help.
Click to expand...

In business one should never do Raid 0, It is very fast but no fault tolerance.
you need to do either Raid 5 or Raid 10 in business applications. You don't want to computer down anytime at all. I have Raid 1 in my company, it is not fast but never go down long as I can rebuild the data in short time.
Cheers.
 
Your on the right track -

but i agree with diduknowthat on the case, mostly because it lacks in features you may not have considered.

Get 4x4gb kit for memory, that way they've been factory tested as a set of 4 sticks.

Apevia is garbage. Go for silvertone/antec/xfx/corsair/pc power&coolong/seasonic - any of those.

also - what's the name of that software?

Have you already bought that hardware you listed?

Probly should opt for one larger ssd, but only if you have that much that needs to load and be faster.
Need an internal hdd also, then back up data to the external.

If you've already bought everything, I highly suggest you reconfigure your build and exchange some parts.
 
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I already bought the hardware listed. I'm not returning ALL of it. But would be willing to return a few parts and upgrade or replace them.

I do want SSD drives and I don't intend to save ANYTHING to them. They are only being used to run the OS, Office and the estimating software. I intend to save everything to the external 1TB drive. Do I still need another internal HDD? Would a standard 7200RPM SATA 500GB work ok? Is that my backup drive then? I thought the 1TG external was my backup?

Can't find a decent ATX power supply at NewEgg. Recommend another vendor?

What should I do about the SDD's from Mushkin? I'd like to keep them. Willing to buy another if that will help me get into a RAID configuration that is stable or works better. Please tell me how to do it.

Thank you
 
Raid is for speed and tolerance, it is more for servers, with single user software in a workstation, the ssd is quite fast enough, so if you really want to go Raid, just go raid level 1 with two same size ssd.
Cheers.
 
How do I make my system store/write on a DIFFERENT disk?

I really only wanted the SSD disks for speed. When I work within the estimating program, I can go pretty fast and my computer at my regular day job has trouble writing the information to the disk faster than I can strip the data off the plans. It lags sometimes.

I don't want to write and store my estimating projects on the SSD drives. I want to store the projects out to the external 1TB disk. But I don't know how to configure the system. Do I still need an internal 7200RPM HDD to store my information? And use the external as a backup?

As you can tell from reading my posts, I'm not really that smart on these matters. Would appreciate some more detailed system design information.

Thank you
 
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