The end of the fiscal year is drawing near. That is the time I consider new hardware upgrades and replacements for the Association. I try to replace machines every 3-4 years for staff. The older machines then get rotated into student workstations to be used by part-time student workers. Some older machines get stored away to be cannabilized later for spare parts to keep the others running. The oldest of the old get recycled or donated. I may make some upgrades, such as, increase the RAM or switch out old CRT monitors for newer slim LCD screens. Nineteen inch LCD screens can be had for less than $200 now. Not only do they consume less electricty, but they take up so much less space on the desktop. Unfortunately, the additional space does not necessarely lend itself to a clean desk, it just makes more room for more papers and such.
I wait until the end of the fiscal year, because the longer I wait the more bang for the buck I can get. Plus, I have more time in the summer to configure, install and test the software. For the past couple years we had gone with Dell machines. However, this year I did not think that Dell had the best prices. I broke ranks last year and purchased an inexpensive Acer notebook on a test basis which is used for travel, as a loaner, for presentations and so forth. It has worked very well. Unfortunately, you cannot buy direct from Acer and they do not offer a long extended warranty with onsite coverage like Dell or others do.
Pricegrabbber and CDW, both have great online tools for comparing different makes and models of computers. I was looking for notebooks in particular this year. The prices of notebooks are very competative with desktop models now and they have numerous benefits:
- Smaller footprint: they take up so much less space and can used on a lap or any table, desk or flat surface.
- Portability: staff can work from home or while travelling to different events or the notebook can be taken across campus for note taking or presentations.
- Built in battery backup: if the power goes out, you do not loose anything.
- Wireless networking: the Association office now have wireless access points at either end, so no network outlets or cables are required. Wireless network adapters do not come standard on desktops. Plus, wireless networking is avilable at many locations throughout campus, including the library and Blanchard.
There are some drawbacks with notebooks, which include:
- Notebooks are harder to repair or upgrade: However this has become less of an issue. Most desktops have integrated motherboards with video, audio and networking built-in and the entire motherboard has to be replaced, although an add-on card could be substitued if it fits. Some of the mini or micro desktops cannot be expanded. Memory and hard drives, the two most common upgrades are fairly easy to replace on a notebook. PC card slots and USB ports allow for other upgrades, but notebooks are so full featured I cannot think of anything I would need to add
- Notebooks can be stolen: This happened to one of our staff. It happened over a weekend. Her office was open when there was an event in the building. Somone swiped the notebook. Therefore, the end users must be diligent about locking up the notebooks or keeping them with them. There is now a lojack service for notebooks, just like what you can buy for your car, but it costs extra each year.
- Notebooks can more easily be broken: This is true. Spill something on the keyboard of a notebook and the entire machine may be trashed, whereas, on a desktop computer, just the keyboard can be replaced for as little $10. Also, a notebook can more easily be dropped or bumped. A cracked LCD screen is vey expensive to replace. However, that is why I bought a 3 year extended accident on site service plan for each notebook. Drop, spill or whatever, service usually arrives the next business day to repair the problem.
- Notebooks have smaller screens: This is true, but the flipside is that a smaller screen translates in less weight and greater portability. The wide screen format with higher resolutions help diminish the smaller size, but I rememeber when 14 inch desktop screens were the standard. Now, there is nothing smaller than 17", 19" and 20" are much more common.
So if I did not get a Dell or Acer, what did I get?
Lenovo caught my eye. Lenovo is the Chinese company that bought IBM's notebook business. They still continue to manufacturer and improve upon the popular Thinkpad line of notebooks, but have also introduced some new models under the 3000 Family moniker which are more budget friendly. I purhased 4 N100 notebooks with the following features:
- Intel® Core™2 Duo T5500 (1.66GHz, 2MBL2, 667MHzFSB)
- Windows XP Professional XP
- 14.1 inches WXGA VibrantView TFT (1280x800) (Premium Silver) display
- Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950
- 1GB PC2-5300DDR2 SDRAM base memory
- 80GB, 5400rpm Serial ATA Hard Drive
- 8X Max DVD Recordable (Dual Layer) EIDE Fixed Media Bay drive
- Bluetooth, Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG
- Integrated fingerprint reader
- 4-in-1 memory card reader
- Weight 5.00lbs
- 6 Cell Lithium-Ion Battery
The above cost $849 after a $100 rebate. The extended warranty did cost $299, a third of the price of notebook, but even then the total cost is $1,150 which is what I've paid for desktop systems in the past with no extended warranty. But what about the $499 computers you see advertised by Dell on the back of magazines? They are usually basic models with a 90-day warranty and are not meant for the business market. Sone of the features Leveno includes are not what you expect to see on a budget model, for instance: Bluetooth, DVD writer, fingerprint reader and memory card reader.
Although the CPU is on the low end, it is a new Core 2 Duo model and the notebook is rated as Vista capable when we should decide to upgrade. I am waiting for Microsoft to iron out the bugs and release a service pack or two for Vista. At that time I may need to add another GB of RAM. The college is waiting until next summer to explore upgrading to Vista. As I have said before, the hardware requirements for Vista just do not appear to be worth the few benefits of the new OS.
As for myself, I am downsizing and upgrading at the same time. I currently use a Dell micro desktop computer with Windows XP Professional and a Apple 15" G4 PowerBook which I use from home and for multimedia work: photos, videos, DVD's and such. I am replacing both with a 13.3 inch MacBook which will have a 2.13 Ghz Core 2 Duo processor, 2 GB of RAM and a 160 GB hard drive. It will include OS X Tiger along with Parallels which will allow me to run Windows Vista Business (so I can become familiar with before I consider rolling it out) at the same time. It will be like two computers in one, thus the reason behind doubling the memory and hard drive. The screen and keyboard will be smaller, but at the same time battery life should be longer and the notebook will be smaller and lighter to carry around which has helped as a network admin. The Dell and PowerBook will be given to others with older machines.