Recommendation on business PC

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32 posts

Geek

#2515374 30-Jun-2020 22:50

Zeon:
I would suggest not going for an all-in-one, especially if you will use it for 10 years like your current computer. If anything breaks after the warranty then the whole system including the monitor needs to be replaced. If its a seperate monitor and computer then if one or the other breaks you only need to replace the broken component.

Yea that is one reason I have started looking at other options. I have a 8 yr old iMac at home, still works great. But was hoping to not spend that much on a business computer.
I think I’m better off with a separate monitor and desktop. Now I just need to decide on one and buy it.

1101

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#2515525 1-Jul-2020 09:38

The big problem with fullsize HP PC's , is they they sometimes use non standard parts .
Non standard power supplies with non standard internal connectors, so if they fail they can be expensive to fix (eg cant test or fix with a industry standard power supply) , and some HP PSU's
can be hard to get if out of warranty.

I wont buy another fullsize/sff HP PC because of that reason.
Yes they are reliable, but a good locally assembled PC is also very reliable .

All In One's are no worse than say a laptop . If they do fail repairs are more difficult and more expensive than a PC/monitor (just as with laptops) .
Just factor that in, but in general they are still quite reliable (I wouldnt buy one myself)
The cheaper ALLinOne's can be underspecc'ed to the point of being near unusable (very slow).

nztim

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#2515539 1-Jul-2020 10:10

1101:

I wont buy another fullsize/sff HP PC because of that reason.
Yes they are reliable, but a good locally assembled PC is also very reliable .

That is why we have all our clients on a 3 year life cycle to replace, and, if it breaks in that 3 years HP come on site and fix it - this is how it works in the corporate world

If you want a PC where you can chop and change components and fix things yourself definitely go for a generic clone but you wont have someone onsite the next day to fix it

Any views expressed on these forums are my own and don't necessarily reflect those of my employer.

mmuir

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#2515540 1-Jul-2020 10:17

I honestly think I will be better off with a NUC or mini and a decent size monitor.

Dynamic

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#2515598 1-Jul-2020 11:31

The HP Mini machines are great, and often (but not always) include WiFi which a full sized machine does not. Mini machines used to involve a noticeable performance sacrifice, but now with Solid State Drives and modern processors, the performance hit is small.

Intel NUC vs HP Mini may come down to the level of warranty support you want. Return it and wait a couple of weeks vs next business day on site service. NUC machines rarely (in my experience) have two identical display connections on the back, where HP Mini machines usually have twin DisplayPort connections (plus usually a third connection which is commonly HDMI).

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DamageInc

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#2515751 1-Jul-2020 16:58

Recently purchased/upgraded my home server to an Intel NUC8i5BEH. Being a 'barebones' PC i had to buy the ram(16gb), M.2 ssd(500gb) & a 2.5" ssd(1tb). I realize my purpose is different to yours but in regards to a recommendation i would put forward the Intel NUC.

I like the smaller footprint in both size and power consumption. Its very quick in anything I've done so far.

Good luck

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mmuir

32 posts

Geek

#2515752 1-Jul-2020 16:59

DamageInc:
Recently purchased/upgraded my home server to an Intel NUC8i5BEH. Being a 'barebones' PC i had to buy the ram(16gb), M.2 ssd(500gb) & a 2.5" ssd(1tb). I realize my purpose is different to yours but in regards to a recommendation i would put forward the Intel NUC.

I like the smaller footprint in both size and power consumption. Its very quick in anything I've done so far.

Good luck

What monitor do you have on yours?

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DamageInc

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#2515756 1-Jul-2020 17:04

mmuir:
DamageInc:

Recently purchased/upgraded my home server to an Intel NUC8i5BEH. Being a 'barebones' PC i had to buy the ram(16gb), M.2 ssd(500gb) & a 2.5" ssd(1tb). I realize my purpose is different to yours but in regards to a recommendation i would put forward the Intel NUC.

I like the smaller footprint in both size and power consumption. Its very quick in anything I've done so far.

Good luck

What monitor do you have on yours?

Just a basic 1920 x 1080 HD display via HDMi.

Looking to upgrade to an ultrawide preferably to get away from dual monitors.

Pop! OS

mmuir

32 posts

Geek

#2515763 1-Jul-2020 17:13

Thanks. I have been looking around at other businesses, I like the idea of the small form factor or mini PCs with a nice monitor attached.

Lias

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#2515851 1-Jul-2020 17:42

1101:

Yes they are reliable, but a good locally assembled PC is also very reliable .

I beg to differ.

A good locally built system _might_ be very reliable, but it's a pretty big might. In the 25ish years I've been working in IT, I've worked with small to large large fleets of HP, Lenovo/IBM, Dell, Acer, Toshiba and yes occasionally locally built PCs. I'd never consider recommending a scratch built PC over a major OEM when it comes to business desktops, and HP is best in breed for reliability in my experience. Yes some business PC's (not just HP) use non standard parts, but if you are operating a business on a PC that's not under a current warranty/support contract you're just asking for trouble to begin with.

IMHO OP should buy or lease an HP EliteDesk, with the appropriate 3-5 year support contract and is unlikely to regret it.

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mmuir

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Geek

#2515896 1-Jul-2020 20:14

I think I have narrowed my options down to these:

HP Elitedesk 800 or the AIO

HP Prodesk 600

Lenovo thinkcentre tiny

What specs should I be looking at, there's so many different pricing options.

I'm also having trouble finding HP anywhere other than PB Tech - Does the HP onsite warranty stand no matter where I purchase it from?

And with a good 1440p monitor (recommended by my employee as I like to have 2 windows side by side)

Dynamic

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#2515978 2-Jul-2020 08:48

acquire.co.nz have a reasonable reputation, I believe, but I would encourage you to engage with a local professional IT company.

The hardware warranty is direct with HP, so as long as the machine was not parallel imported (which PB do with some of their products) then you will have no warranty hassles.

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1101

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#2516111 2-Jul-2020 12:16

nztim:

1101:

I wont buy another fullsize/sff HP PC because of that reason.
Yes they are reliable, but a good locally assembled PC is also very reliable .

That is why we have all our clients on a 3 year life cycle to replace, and, if it breaks in that 3 years HP come on site and fix it - this is how it works in the corporate world

If you want a PC where you can chop and change components and fix things yourself definitely go for a generic clone but you wont have someone onsite the next day to fix it

All my clienets usually only replace PC's when only 100% necessary (dead, obselete , or uneconomic to repair) .
Even when PC's in in a state of running so slow its genuinely hurting office productivity.

Do the HP still give 3 years onsite warranty on business class PC's (I know they used to) .

Andib

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#2516131 2-Jul-2020 12:47

1101:

All my clienets usually only replace PC's when only 100% necessary (dead, obselete , or uneconomic to repair) .
Even when PC's in in a state of running so slow its genuinely hurting office productivity.

Do the HP still give 3 years onsite warranty on business class PC's (I know they used to) .

Don't quote me but as far as I remember the Elite* range has 3 Year NBD On site standard and the Pro* Range has 1 Year NBD On Site but can be upgraded to 3 Year.

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Dynamic

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#2516133 2-Jul-2020 12:57

Andib: Don't quote me but as far as I remember the Elite* range has 3 Year NBD On site standard and the Pro* Range has 1 Year NBD On Site but can be upgraded to 3 Year.

Quoted! 😅

The EliteDesk, EliteOne, ProDesk and ProOne ranges generally have a 3 year NBD on site warranty, except for the 400 series machines (e.g. ProDesk 400, ProBook 450) which have a 1 year warranty, but upgrades to 3 years are available. We buy so many of the 3 year warranty upgrades on the ProBook 4o0 series machines that the UK703E product code for the warranty upgrade is embedded in my brain.

It always pays to ask the supplier, and specify that if you are buying a warranty upgrade that you want the manufacturer warranty and not the 'store's breakdown insurance' like Noel Leeming and Harvey Norman often sell for retail / consumer-series machines.

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