Desktops...

[Gaz]

Getting back on topic I'd seriously look at getting an i5 and 120gb SSD as a minimum if you need 5 years worth of use out of them.

 

How do you know further down the line your not going to be asked to install an application that is CPU intensive or a large filesize.

 

Get some quotes for i5 systems if you already havn't.

[CyBeRkId2002]

Perhaps I should have made clearer that at present budget is a very big factor in this purchasing decision at present and as much as I would like i5's + SSD's etc. it is not going to happen at our budget level... something being say £50+ more at a minimum such as the jump to i5 & SSD is a total price increase of £3600. Also, the current age of our students (11-14 at present with a potential move to 11-16) means that we do not have the same hardware requirements as a school carrying out A-Levels upwards. I am also very keen on purchasing equipment that is a suitable fit for our needs and not going over the top just in case we need it in the future.

 

Having said that I am keen to ensure any purchase we make maximises the budget and we get the best system for the money. This includes ensuring a small amount of overhead for future-proofing (realistically have requirements moved forward THAT much in the previous 5 years, and what changes do people see in the not too distant future that could impact a computers requirement for processing power?) and making sure the system does not have a significant bottleneck, which is just what a mechanical drive could be.

 

With that in mind I have a question - if budget allowed for one of these two options which would you personally go for? An SSD drive instead of a mechanical drive OR an extended 3 year warranty? It may be that it comes down to that decision in our college as the prices are similar and just wanted to see which people viewed as more important.

 

***Ignore the above, I was miscalculating and the SSD upgrade is higher than the extended warranty addition.***

Edited February 20, 2013 by CyBeRkId2002

[Gaz]

I would definately go for an SSD (120GB) we have a fair few computers here that have SSD's and compared to the mechanical 7,200RPM the boot up times and application response times are amazing. As the computers age the SSD's should keep most of same level of performance for a long time whereas I find that the mechanical drives are fading. However others may say the opposite. If you go for an i3 get the fastest one which is currently the Ivybridge i3 3240 @ 3.4GHz Come June time Intel will bring their new chip's out but you are most likely upgrading before then anyway.

 

Who are you getting the quotes from?

[localzuk]

I'd say that if you have a choice between SSD and an i5, go for the SSD and pair it with an i3. That would be the best bang for your buck.

 

Also, with warranties, whilst they are great for piece of mind, it can work out cheaper to replace components if they die instead (as all the components are off the shelf), it may be worth getting a few of the motherboards spare at the initial purchase, to save having different ones in future should one die but the rest could be bought as things die.

[dhicks]

something being say £50+ more at a minimum such as the jump to i5 & SSD is a total price increase of £3600.

 

See if whoever is providing your workstations will do you a quote for a machine with a Seagate Momentus XT 750GB drive instead of a standard 3.5" drive. There's about £20 difference in the retail price on Amazon (£30-ish for a 3.5" drive, £50-ish for the hybrid drive), and for multiple orders from an OEM you might be able to get that price down a bit more.

[localzuk]

See if whoever is providing your workstations will do you a quote for a machine with a Seagate Momentus XT 750GB drive instead of a standard 3.5" drive. There's about £20 difference in the retail price on Amazon (£30-ish for a 3.5" drive, £50-ish for the hybrid drive), and for multiple orders from an OEM you might be able to get that price down a bit more.

 

They are not £50, they are closer to £70, when you take VAT off. A Kingston V300 comes in cheaper than that for a 120GB model.

[CyBeRkId2002]

@Gaz - Had quite a few quotes and head is spinning from the options now... VeryPC, CCS, Dell, Downtown Computers (Local company who came in very competitively!).

@localzuk - Think I will have a word with SLT and push the SSD idea. Cost is around £30 more per machine but I agree that it is a worthwhile spend long term.

[dhicks]

They are not £50, they are closer to £70, when you take VAT off.

 

I just bought 2 from Amazon today - £59.49 each, including VAT. Of course, I haven't actually plugged them in and seen how well they work yet - "SSD performance for harddrive price!" might be a bit much to expect, but I'll try and do some benchmarks at some point to see what performance is like.

[localzuk]

I just bought 2 from Amazon today - £59.49 each, including VAT. Of course, I haven't actually plugged them in and seen how well they work yet - "SSD performance for harddrive price!" might be a bit much to expect, but I'll try and do some benchmarks at some point to see what performance is like.

 

Linky please, that's a very good price. I can't find that model anywhere for less than £83 inc vat.

 

I can see 500GB versions for around that price though.

Edited February 20, 2013 by localzuk

[VeryPC_Tom_M]

but I'll try and do some benchmarks at some point to see what performance is like.

 

Something like... In The Lab With Seagate's Momentus XT 750 GB Hybrid HDD : Hybrid Hard Drives Evolve Yet Again

[dhicks]

I can't find that model anywhere for less than £83 inc vat.

 

Hmm - I can't either now, although there's some for £61.39:

 

Seagate Momentus ST9750420AS - Hard drive - 750 GB - internal - 2.5" - SATA-3...: Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

 

It seems that these are "Sold by X, fulfilled by Amazon" deals (which are what the two I've just bought were), so it would seem that Amazon is acting as a wholesaler for resellers here - the wholesale (and, you'd hope, bulk system-builder) price must be a bit lower.

[localzuk]

Hmm - I can't either now, although there's some for £61.39:

 

Seagate Momentus ST9750420AS - Hard drive - 750 GB - internal - 2.5" - SATA-3...: Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

 

It seems that these are "Sold by X, fulfilled by Amazon" deals (which are what the two I've just bought were), so it would seem that Amazon is acting as a wholesaler for resellers here - the wholesale (and, you'd hope, bulk system-builder) price must be a bit lower.

 

That's a standard ST, not an XT hybrid drive.

[VeryPC_Tom_M]

The part code you're looking for is:

 

ST750LX003 (Momentus XT Hybrid Drive | Seagate)

[dhicks]

That's a standard ST, not an XT hybrid drive.

 

So, it turns out, are the ones I've just bought. Bother.

[SYNACK]

To the original topic. Be careful that you are not just digging yourself a hole, you may need to purchase less stations up front but buying a solution that will cause problems in future is just causing yourself problems. A 60GB SSD and i3 will work well for a couple of years as long as you have limited software usage. Five years though is a long time, we get mid level i5's to get that kind of longevity in a primary school.

 

We would love to use SSDs here but in NZ at least the cost to use them is just way to high so we are stuck with magnetic media for the time being.

 

To sum up, don't use the money to dig yourself into a hole, if you need to buy less or simply tell them that they are insane to expect that much for the budget provided. If you do have to go i3 - personal opinion and experience - stay clear of Intel motherboards, the slowest implementation of i3's I have ever seen that put me off them for a couple of years.

 

I would try for 120GB SSDs and i5 if possible, five years is a very long time in technology terms and it is a very long time to listen to the moaning when it proves limiting.