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View Full Version : Upgraded to an Epilog M2 32 Fusion 120watts, ready to upgrade computers too



Martin Boekers
06-30-2015, 2:16 PM
Greetings all,

My laser was delivered yesterday. It will be a bit before I can install it as I have to wait on Civil Engineering to run the power...

In the meantime I'm putting in to have my workstations upgraded too. Right now I have 4, older HP 32 bit Win 7 computers.
I want to replace these and 4-24" monitors. It's been ages since I researched computers/monitors and looking for input.

I know I want to go 64 bit, lots of speed and memory... :)

It appears all my equipment will run on Win 8, which is good!

I understand if this needs to be deleted as it's only indirectly related to lasers and engraving.


Any and all help will be appreciated!

Thanks all!

John Noell
06-30-2015, 2:29 PM
At the end of July, Win 10 comes out and it is much better than Win 8. Personally, I would wait just a bit, and go straight to Win 10. (However, the upgrade from 7 or 8 to 10 is free, and may well be semi-automatic via download from Microsoft.) And yes, going to 64 bit makes sense, but don't expect a huge difference in performance. Usually, the single biggest performance difference these days comes from using a sold state drive (SSD) in place of the old mechanical drives with spinning platters.

Tim Bateson
06-30-2015, 2:38 PM
...However, the upgrade from 7 or 8 to 10 is free...

Free is a relative term... free only until the following year when you have to start paying rent to use it. However that's a debate for another thread, that I'll try to avoid.

Chris Corwin
06-30-2015, 2:45 PM
Try upgrading your current comp with a good ssd. You'll get a huge speed boost for a minimal cost. You can also upgrade your ram and windows to 64 bit without spending a fortune.

Mike Null
06-30-2015, 3:25 PM
Tim

I believe your information is inaccurate. MS will offer Win 10 upgrades free for Win 7 and 8/8.1 users for one year. After that free period is over they will have to purchase the upgrade at the usual upgrade price if they didn't get the free upgrade. There will be no "rental" or subscription plan.

Marty

Save the taxpayers some money and upgrade rather than replace. If your 24 inch monitors are still working why replace them?

Re Wood
06-30-2015, 3:26 PM
A Lenovo Thinkserver TS140 (http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-ThinkServer-70A4000HUX-i3-4130-Computer/dp/B00F6EK9J2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1435692550&sr=8-1&keywords=lenovo+thinkserver+ts140) comes with a dual-core i3 processor, 4gb of ECC memory, no hard drive and no operating system for about $300. The quad-core version (http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-ThinkServer-70A4001LUX-E3-1225-Processor/dp/B00FE29IWK/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1435692644&sr=1-2&keywords=lenovo+thinkserver+ts140&pebp=1435692650124&perid=1EAZ2Z3CJ7X57TX3AE7S) is another $100. Grab another 8GB stick of ECC (http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-PC3-12800-Unbuffered-240-Pin-CT102472BA160B/dp/B006YG8ZNI/ref=pd_sim_147_6?ie=UTF8&refRID=0RPNZSE2FV4QVV7PP3G7) and a Samsung SSD (http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-256GB-2-5-Inch-Internal-MZ-7KE256BW/dp/B00LMXBOP4/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1435692616&sr=1-3&keywords=samsung+850&pebp=1435692619907&perid=01P5P7PJK8X867MFPHRG) for an additional $200 and you're set on hardware. It's workstation chipset/processor for a desktop price. I'm not sure what you'd want to do about software since Microsoft is changing their payment scheme next month. Personally, I'm going to stick with Windows 7 for another year, at least.

Tim Bateson
06-30-2015, 3:42 PM
...I believe your information is inaccurate. MS will offer Win 10 upgrades free for Win 7 and 8/8.1 users for one year. After that free period is over they will have to purchase the upgrade at the usual upgrade price if they didn't get the free upgrade. There will be no "rental" or subscription plan....

In a year or two, we will see, but I'm 99% sure that 10 will evolve to a rental platform. The other 1% is for a zombie apocalypse.

Keith Winter
06-30-2015, 3:46 PM
Win 8 is horrendous and it will slow down your staff's productivity. It's so different than what people are used to they cannot figure out how to navigate it efficiently. Go windows 7 or wait for windows 10.

HP IPS 27" is our preferred monitor. Staff literally fights over who gets the 27" HPs when a new person comes in/leaves. We have multiple of those, the 23" and the 20" all in the HP line. Incredible monitors, I'd highly recommend them.

Martin Boekers
06-30-2015, 3:58 PM
Tim

I believe your information is inaccurate. MS will offer Win 10 upgrades free for Win 7 and 8/8.1 users for one year. After that free period is over they will have to purchase the upgrade at the usual upgrade price if they didn't get the free upgrade. There will be no "rental" or subscription plan.

Marty

Save the taxpayers some money and upgrade rather than replace. If your 24 inch monitors are still working why replace them?


Howdy Mike hope all is well....

My computers are about 6 years old and have been giving me issues... Basic computers not graphics oriented... they are 32 bit and things like PS now
now require a subscription and 64 bit.

In the last year 3 monitors shot craps (all Samsung) I'm using older 17" ones and that's hard on productivity... ;)

Thanks for the update on MS... I'll have to check with the powers that be on that, we may have that on a contract.

We're getting there....

Mike Null
06-30-2015, 4:47 PM
Marty

I must have misunderstood your situation. I thought you had 24" monitors.

I've been using a 24" for 3 or 4 years and love it.

All's well on this side of the river.