Typical spec for new classroom PC...?

[BJG]

What's the typical spec that people are purchasing as teaching PCs these days...?

[witch]

Do you mean for teachers or students?

[sonofsanta]

Core i3, 4Gb RAM I'd say - you can get away with lesser but this spec should run happily for five years or more IMHO.

 

Our last round of machines were actually Core i3-2120, 8Gb RAM and 128Gb SSD from Stone, and they're lightning quick. They did go into the main IT rooms though so I pushed the spec a bit.

 

I'd still recommend SSD if you can though, makes an incredible difference.

[tmcd35]

My current spec is Dual Core, 4Gb, SSD. I prefer i3's were possible and go for 128Gb SSD were possible.

[BJG]

Do you mean for teachers or students?

 

For teachers, though I'm wondering whether to differentiate. I was thinking of i3, 4GB. Interesting idea about SSD, we have none of those. We usually go for Dells.

Edited May 21, 2013 by BJG

[MYK-IT]

For teachers, though I'm wondering whether to differentiate. I was thinking of i3, 4GB. Interesting idea about SSD, we have none of those.

 

Changing to SSD has been the best thing we have done. Boot up speed is ~10-15 seconds.

 

Our current spec is:

i5, 4GB RAM, 128GB SSD, Dedicated Video, 22" Widescreen Monitor, 5 Year NBD Warranty

[FN-GM]

Here for both staff and student

 

Optiplex 7010 USSF i5, 4GB RAM, 5 Year NBD Warranty

Edited May 21, 2013 by FN-GM

[sonofsanta]

Depending on where these machines are going, I'd even drop the CPU spec to afford the SSD. If they're going into English/Maths etc. where they just want to use Office and the internet, an AMD CPU with the integrated graphics will perform fine, and the SSD will make a much bigger subjective impression on users.

 

Make sure you get a decent SSD though. We absolutely insisted on Crucial m4s at the time; if I was buying now I'd be asking for Samsung 840 120Gb (they're the first decent SSD when you go up the price list).

[3s-gtech]

Dual core, 4GB+, 64GB or larger SSD, GMA 4500 or better (all teacher PCs have dedicated graphics), 3 year warranty. Mostly Core2 Duo as we buy reconditioned from ICT Direct.

[localzuk]

We've gone with i5, 4GB, 128GB SSD, only ever onboard graphics (Intel HD 4000 is plenty good enough). But then, we give teachers laptops, not desktops in their rooms.

 

Suite machines are similarly specced, although they're quad rather than dual core (although the next batch will be the first with SSDs).

[zag]

i3, 2GB ram, 60GB intel SSD and on-board graphics.

 

Runs everything we can throw at it and incredibly cheap.

[dgsmith]

erm.. P4 3Ghz in the Library and 1.8ghz-2.6Ghz Core 2 Duos in the ICT Suites =\

 

Though we were lucky to get auth to buy 5x HP Pro 4300 from Misco because they had a cashback offer on. Otherwise we're not exactly at the forefront of technology!

 

We are however experts on purchasing refurb and used

Edited May 21, 2013 by dgsmith

[tmcd35]

We run an annual refresh program and I update my base spec each year. I tend to go for a fixed price point and then see what niceties are possible. Our price point, including monitor, tends to be around the £400 mark. I find the bespoke builders like Very_PC, Novatech and Stone tend to come up the best (Very_PC did well on the last two )

 

I don't differentiate between teachers and students other than teachers get laptops. I also haven't yet send a need for dedicated graphics.

[CyberNerd]

• Intel® Core™ i3 processor

• 4GB RAM

• 320GB hard drive

• DVD-RW

• Microsoft®

Windows® 7 Professional

• Keyboard

• Mouse

• 19” TFT monitor

• Vesa mount bracket.

 

 

+ 5yr onsite warranty

[witch]

• Intel® Core™ i3 processor

• 4GB RAM

• 320GB hard drive

• DVD-RW

• Microsoft®

Windows® 7 Professional

• Keyboard

• Mouse

• 19” TFT monitor

• Vesa mount bracket.

 

This^ for teachers ATM. I am looking for a similar spec for the IT suite this year

[CyberNerd]

This^ for teachers ATM. I am looking for a similar spec for the IT suite this year

 

 

we got these for £400 ea. Lenovo with 5yr warranty from Misco.

[tmcd35]

This^ for teachers ATM. I am looking for a similar spec for the IT suite this year

 

definitely consider swapping the 320Gb HD for a SSD, you won't regret it and it shouldn't do much to the overall price. That's why I started using system builders instead of Lenovo/HP/Acer, it's easier to to request minor changes to spec without excessively bumping the price up.

[robjd]

Another vote for SSD here. Our standard spec is something like this... i3, 4GB RAM, 120SSD, onboard graphics unless its for anything special and a monitor around 21.5" as long as its 1920 x 1080. Stone seem to give us the best at the moment.

[BJG]

Thanks for the pointers. I've been looking at SSDs, but the Dells we usually like would cost something like £200 more, so I'm wondering whether to look for a different supplier or try to fit them ourselves (not very keen on this idea). We've tried Stone and Ergo in the past, but not had great experiences with either (all our Ergo machines make a howling racket when cold). Never tried Lenovo. Maybe Ergo have improved...? Any thoughts welcome.

[sonofsanta]

We've not had any issue with our Stone PCs since we bought 100 last summer, and Novatech's kit & warranty has been very good for us too. I can vouch for both of them first hand, there are other companies floating around here who will pitch in with their wares as well, I'm sure

 

Personally I'd only buy custom builds these days, although we are particularly specific about our needs when speccing up new machines - last time round we specified the exact motherboard chipset (B75) and SSD we wanted (Crucial m4 128GB, although that drive is no longer such good value - get a Samsung 840 120GB now).

[VeryPC_Tom_B]

Morning BJG

 

Ive sent over a PM with some details of VeryPC's custom built machines

 

Typically large OEM’s like Dell have large supply contracts with the HDD vendors to secure low pricing. If SSD forecast is higher than expected, which we have witnessed, the OEM’s are still contracted to take the HDD stock and account for the SSD price. In the future as the demand for SSD vs HDD becomes more predictable you should see sensible costing.

 

The advantage of using a UK system integrator is you can choose the exact spec of PC you want without paying a premium price. The majority of our PC's are going out with SSD's, we can pop in which ever size, brand or spec you prefer.

 

Thanks

 

Tom

[RTFM]

We use VeryPC at the 3 schools we support (2 secondaries and a primary) and we recommend them to everyone we talk to. You'll find me mention them a few times on these boards as i really do believe their quality is second to none.

 

The quality of their cases is excellent, their custom laser branding is a really nice touch and their support / components are excellent.

 

[flyinghaggis]

It frustrates me that OEMs have been so slow to start incorporating SSD drives into their desktop/laptop computers and where it's an option they mug you for it.

 

You can buy a 128Gb SSD for like £60 these days. It should be standard on every corporate laptop/desktop by now IMO!