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-Small Business PC Page- |
Fox Engineering Inc. PO Box 215 Spencerville, MD 20868 (com)
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| CPU: |
Intel i3,
i5, i7 multi core (2.4 Ghz or better)
w/Intel chipset family, current
generation, 14, or one
generation
back, 13 (and AMD equivalent) |
| Alternate CPU: | Intel Hex Core or more (2.9 Ghz or better)
w/Intel chipset family (or AMD equivalent) |
| BIOS: | Not
a significant factor any more |
| Memory: | 32 GBytes,
perhaps more,
total, multi-channel DDR4 or DDR5
memory |
| USB Ports: |
Various
motherboards / cases have a variety of USB ports - USB 2, USB 3, USB
3C. Make sure you have sufficient ports for your devices -
Keyboard, Mouse, Speaker, Printer, UPS, Webcam, external drive |
| Case: | Small
Desktop configuration (single 3 1/2" internal bay for one HDD or up to
two SSD drive capability plus slot for thin optical drive). A
micro configuration may be suitable, one that mounts on rear of large
displayl. |
| Keyboard: | Standard Windows layout - 104 Keys (USB) |
| Pointing Device: | optical
mouse with scroll wheel (USB) Note: Pay attention to ergonomics and ease of use of any pointing device |
| Floppy Disk: | Not required anymore |
| Main Storage Drive: | Solid
State Drive (SSD): Single storage - 500 GB minimum; dual storage 250GB
for the operating system and applications, plus 500GB second storage
for data. (configurations depends on how data is shared and backed up) Hard Disk Drive (HDD): SATA 320 Gigabyte; 7200 rpm, 16MB or better cache; if very high reliability is required, use a RAID qualified drive. Note: presumption is most of the corporate data is stored in the network - both shared and individual storage |
| Alt Storage Drive: | SATA2 500
Gigabyte, 7200 rpm, 16MB
cache; RAID qualified drive Consider dual 500 GB hard drives, or larger, in a RAID 1 (mirror) configuration for greater reliability but box configuration may not provide for this option. Newer boxes provide for M.2 SSD plus space for two SSD drives and that may be sufficient. |
| Performance and
Storage Condiderations: |
Seriously
consider the storage / performance goals of your selection of main
storage. I recently ran a test on a Dell Optiplex 3050 computer using a 7200 rpm HDD, a 2 1/2" SSD, and an M.2 PCIE SSD. The Dell cold boot sequence includes a 5 second display of the Dell logo to more easily select various boot options. 7200 RPM HDD: 63 seconds to boot to desktop; 93 seconds to finish boot and ready to work 2 1/2/" SSD: 29 seconds to boot to desktop; 54 seconds to finish boot and ready to work M.2 PCIE SSD: 20 seconds to boot to desktop; 39 seconds to finish boot and ready to work Conclusion: Recommend the Operating System and Applications run from an M.2 SSD if available otherwise an internal 2 1/2" SSD. You'll get noticably better system performance. |
| Partition Info: | Single business user: Recommend 25% to 50% primary partition for OS and applications. Store all local DATA on extended partition (always backup your data) |
| Partition Info: | Multiple business users: At least 50% of drive for primary OS partition and applications; Store photos, images & common files on extended partition (always backup your data) |
| Optical Disk Drive: | Strictly
Optional
- DVD
Reader/Writer (also reads and
writes CDs); DVD Read Only may also be suitable |
| Video: |
Directly
integrated into the motherboard (for simple Office Suite and Web
activities). For complex applications like CAD, use add-in video
card. Many desktop computers and mid to high end video cards support multiple monitors. For serious desktop work consider using two monitors and configure the operating system for dual displays. You'll wonder in amazement how you ever got along without the dual displays. |
| ** Optional Video Board: | PCI-Express w/2048 MBytes(minimum) and 3D (4096 MBytes even better); For imaging use 1024 MBytes or more - see games-qualified video cards for best results. Also note that Small Form Factor cases may only provide for half-height boards. |
| Video Display: | LED LCD
panel, 27" minimum,
perhaps 32" or greater (resolution
is fixed on LCDs) contrast
>400,
brightness >250 nits No more than 3 dead pixels (always on) per screen; no more than 5 dead pixels (always dark). Display size should consider working distance, head and eye movements. It appears that most of the newer video displays are using HDMI and Display Port (DP) connections with virtually goone. In some newer desktop computers, the only native video out is DP and/or HDMI, sometimes only DP. (Dual display, one on DP the other on HDMI can work successfully). If using a device to convert from one output mode to another in order to connect to the Display, pay note to the directional characteristics of the connection. Some only work one-way...from the computer TO the display. Touch screens for desktop computers is not recommended, especially if the distance between the user and the screen is more than 18" (it is probably more than 24"); laptops have greater use of touch screens. |
| Sound: | Generally
all motherboards have sound today...suitable for average usage; USB
sound speakers (often mounted on bottom of Display). |
| Speakers: | Small are
sufficient for most needs; Price about $30...often via USB connection. |
| WAN Connectivity: | Cable
service probably
available in your area -- these require DOCIS 3.0 or better modems
with appropriate routers for ethernet distribution. Fiber service(FIOS)uses a WAN/LAN router (Note: Firewall absolutely required with any Internet use) ADSL modems MAY suffice but will be limited in terms of Internet connectivity and business functionality |
| LAN: | 1
Gbit
Ethernet
(on motherboard); 2.5 Gbit emerging, with even some instances of 10
Gbit. 1 Gbit should suffice for a robust small business
environment. Wireless: generally NOT recommended for business environments due to security issues. But if needed, use WiFi 6 as a minimum, use WPA3 or greater encryption, don't advertise SSID, maybe even control access by MAC address. |
| LAN Cable: | Cat 6 or 8
unshielded twisted pair wire for new installations; Cat 5/5E usable for
existing installations especially for short runs. |
| Backup Strategy: | Use
Network
Attached Storage (NAS) for common and private storage; NAS may also be
sufficient for small
groups. Regularly do backups
of the network storage device. Also newer NAS devices and Windows
10/11
both support generational backups of works in progress. (Note: Take some BACKUPs OFF SITE!!) |
| Power Sys Backup: | UPS
6
minutes minimum - 500 watts/650+VA or better depending upon the
computer. Printer does NOT require battery backup only surge
protection. |
| Operating System: | Windows 11
pro (64-bit edition) is often
sufficient for many small businesses; Note: Windows 10 is approaching end of support, although some security fixes will be available. New computers purchased today from big-named vendors will be Windows 11 compliant. |
| Alternate Operating System: | Some Linux
operating systems may provide sufficient capability to meet small
business needs. |
| Green IT: | RoHS specification (no lead); 80 Plus (power supply efficiency better than 82%; EPEAT (Silver minimum); Energy Star 4.0 or better; Recycle your old computer. |
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VIRUS
Protection, Anti Spyware, and
Firewalls
If you connect to
the Internet, you need a minimum of three
forms of protection against
intruders: A virus detection software package, a Spyware
protection software, and a software or
hardware firewall. Here are but some of the better
products you can choose from: |
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| Virus Protection | |
| Microsoft: | Microsoft Security Essentials (free) |
| McAfee: | VirusScan $ |
| Norton: |
Norton
AntiVirus $ |
| TrendMicro: | AntiVirus $ |
| Malwarebytes: | AntiVirus
(free and $) |
| GRISOFT: | AVG
Antivirus $ |
| Firewall Protection | |
| Microsoft: | Windows
Operating System |
| McAfee: | Firewall $ |
| Norton: | Norton
Firewall $ |
| Always keep your Firewall and Virus Protection software up to date! | |
| ** Recommend You Use a NAME BRAND only for this item - see below | |
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NAME
BRANDS
In some cases, use of Name
Brands
(instead of generic brands) is
critical to system
success. This is especially true for the more modern Operating Systems
like Windows and Linux. The drivers
required to operate the
peripheral devices need to be obtained from
a ready source. Some
generic products do not have WEB or
technical support and it may be impossible
to locate the manufacturer. Use of name brands in these cases also
assures drivers are included infuture
editions of these modern
OSs. Use of a
"product compatible"
rating will not
suffice with today's modern Operating Systems! |
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| Name Brand Power System Backup Products | |
| American Power Conversion |
https://www.apc.com/ |
| CyberPower |
https://www.cyberpowersystems.com/ |
| Operating Systems | |
| Windows | https://www.microsoft.com/ |
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NOTE
Any names/trademarks used are NOT an endorsement of those items...but are provided for reference only and are owned by their owner. Name Brand suggestions are not all inclusive. |
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