Computer...meet floor!

[farmboygraphics]

Ugh, these slow computers are pushing me to my limits here. Considering updating all of them at once. Guess I'm asking for recommendations and can windows 10 be trusted to run our solvent printers? Looking for off the shelf models as I'm not sinking money into 4 custom built units.

[blue moon]

Tom,

what are you looking to run on those units?

pierre

[farmboygraphics]

Pierre,

Corel X7 on all, Versa Works on 2 of them, Other 2 are on the desk running pricing software. All files get saved to a server.

Tom

[blue moon]

Pierre,

Corel X7 on all, Versa Works on 2 of them, Other 2 are on the desk running pricing software. All files get saved to a server.

Tom

these are ROCK solid and if you have the time can potentially find them cheaper used on ebay. If you just want to be up and running, get them directly here:
http://outlet.lenovo.com/outlet_us/itemdetails/30AKX025US/445

at 8GB of RAM, they will need to be upgraded for the boxes that will run X7 and versa works. Original Lenovo RAM is expensive, but the reliability is fantastic. Installing aftermarket parts reduces the reliability so we use only the original, but that's your call.

for the pricing software, just about anything will do as long as it is reliable. these should work:
http://outlet.lenovo.com/outlet_us/itemdetails/30AKX004US/445

let me know if you have any more questions . . .

pierre

[farmboygraphics]

Thank you Pierre!

[LuckyFlyinROUSH]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&IsNodeId=1&N=100019096%20600337482&cm_sp=Cat_Desktop-Computers_7-_-Visnav-_-AMD-A10_1

I custom build all of ours for added upgrade ability, you can buy component kits relatively cheep, but they do have pre-built systems on newegg as well.

[mimosatexas]

Building computers these days is about as hard as building a Duplo set for a toddler honestly.  There are usually less than a dozen components and each comes with diagrams that show you every step.  If you have ZERO knowledge, especially about compatibility, you can use a site like https://pcpartpicker.com/ and enter a budget or just look at their build guide for a few minutes to get a sense of how much power you need.  That site even links you to the sites where you can buy the parts and shows you the lowest price with rebates and everything.  It is super simple and not at all time consuming.  Building it yourself will usually cost you around half what a prebuilt system will and usually takes about 2 hours, plus some downtime while you load the OS. 

The main issue with prebuilts usually is you will get a few great parts, like the cpu or videocard or whatever, but they will include a horrible motherboard or bad ram or a slow harddrive, and unless you know what you're looking at you will miss where they are fleecing you.  So many of their builds will be underpowered and overpriced in a number of ways. 

The other annoying issue is all the bloatware they include when they preinstall your OS.  My mother in law just bought a dell laptop and I ended up just reformatting and installing my own OS fresh because the damn thing barely ran with all the crap they included preinstalled and there were popups prompting her to buy subscriptions and register for this or that service every minute she was using it.  SHUDDER...

[TCT]

Just built 3 new rigs for the shop over Christmas and new years. Now I'm pissed I didn't upgrade mine!
Hell, if I can follow directions to make one, anyone can! Top of the line computer for $500? Yes sign me up!

[Doug S]

I've built all of the computers for the shop over the last 8 years.  At the very least you will put a 3rd of the price of a prebuilt back in your pocket.  Plus like mentioned before they are super simple these days.

[GraphicDisorder]

We build all of ours as well, but we don't save money doing it. We do end up with better machines though. We go over the top though when we do it, super stable rigs.  Every rig here has i7's, SSD's, multiple internal data drives, 32gb of ram, Nvida Quatro GPU's, dual monitors, water cooling, etc. Rockets....

I would always suggest building your computers, off the shelf computers almost always have something they compromised to offer some value/price point.

[mk162]

i will second what pierre is saying.  he turned me onto Thinkstations a while back, they freaking run.  I have built systems myself, I've had systems built, but nothing compares to the reliability of a Thinkstation.  Heck, the processors are Xeon, which are server grade.  On many of the systems you buy for $600-$1000 the video cards alone are worth twice that.  Pair that with ECC RAM and everything else they use and they are awesome systems.

[GraphicDisorder]

i will second what pierre is saying.  he turned me onto Thinkstations a while back, they freaking run.  I have built systems myself, I've had systems built, but nothing compares to the reliability of a Thinkstation.  Heck, the processors are Xeon, which are server grade.  On many of the systems you buy for $600-$1000 the video cards alone are worth twice that.  Pair that with ECC RAM and everything else they use and they are awesome systems.

Not everything on that site is a great value or has graphics cards that are that expensive. There are some good deals on there at times.  That machine he just linked up there has a $150 Graphics Card. The Xeon in it is 2 years old and only a $250 processor. Its fairly priced rig I would say at that price, but let's not make it out to be some super computer.

[Doug S]

The computer I just built that runs all of the graphics programs wasn't cheap, it has an 8 core water cooled intel i7 processor, 32 gigs of ram and 2 Samsung ssds in raid 0 .  We can have every graphic program open without a hiccup.  This beast begs for more.

[TCT]

water cooling, etc.

Annnnnnnnnd ish just real!
Never done water cooling myself, that's some serious stuff!

Bought all the fixings for one of the last computers online for in store pick up. When I went in to get it, the kid that brought it all to the register said "woah, that's a serious gaming rig bro!" Ahhhhh yes, that reminded me why I enjoy buying online for delivery!

[Gilligan]

There are a lot of closed loop water systems that are essentially plug and play like any other aftermarket cooler.

I've never done a custom water cooler setup yet... just the closed loop.

The last pc I built for the wife, I got a cooler so big I had to modify the case as I didn't accommodate for the massive radiator.