Business PC Buyers Guide
Are you considering buying a PC for your business, but feeling unsure about where to begin? Find out what you need with our Buyers Guide!
Buying a PC from Techforce
Most of our long-term clients rely upon us to know their requirements and supply a PC ready to use. For those of you who are interested in knowing more, read on.
All in one PC or tower PC?
All in one PCs
An all in one PC is a type of PC which integrates the computer, display, speakers and more into one unit. All in one PCs look great, and we understand how appealing it might be to get rid of the tower and all of its cables.
There are however some downsides to all-in-one PCs. If a part of an all in one is broken or damaged, the screen for example then the whole PC is broken, the whole unit has to be replaced, we have seen this happen. Often there isn’t much choice of all-in-one PCs and compromises must be made to the specification. All in ones can be more awkward therefore more costly to repair or upgrade. They just don’t have the cooling that a tower PC has as they just don’t have the space, cooling is crucial for performance.
Tower PCs
There is a vast selection of tower or desktop PCs from large towers to micro-PCs, making it easier to find the specification that is right for you. Tower PCs are easier to upgrade parts, repair and most have excellent cooling as compared to an all in one.
A quick word about WIFI. Most all in one PCs come with built in WIFI, most tower PCs come without WIFI however it can easily be added. As these are PCs that are going to sit at your desk and not be moved much, we would always recommend plugging in a network cable rather than using WIFI as a cable will generally provide a faster and more reliable connection.
For these reasons we recommend tower PCs over all-in-one PCs.
Windows, Mac, Chromebook or Linux?
The answer is Windows, maybe I should give a more impartial answer to this question.
Windows PCs
Windows PCs come in a wide variety of models and configurations offering flexibility in terms of hardware and price. Windows is widely used, making it compatible with a wide variety of business software. For example, Sage will only support their software on Windows PCs. PCs can be more affordable, customizable and repairable.​​
Apple Mac
Apple Macs are known for their build quality, sleek design and often have excellent displays and keyboards. Most Macs offer impressive performance, however, if you spend the same amount on a Windows PC, you tend to get more bang for your buck. Mac has its own operating system macOS. Macs are generally more expensive than PCs with similar specifications. Macs can be less upgradable and repairable, often not upgradeable at all.​​
Chromebooks
Chromebooks are budget friendly, sleek and lightweight laptops. But watch out, they are low spec machines and won’t run any of your heavyweight business apps. Apps are limited to Web Apps, Android apps, and Linux apps. Apart from some limited uses such as some education scenario’s, we wouldn’t recommend a Chromebook for business.
Linux
Linux is for the tech wizard. If you’re fluent in command lines and wear “sudo” like a badge of honour, Linux might be your jam. But beware: it’s not for the faint hearted.
In most cases; for business use its going to come to a choice between Windows PC and Apple Mac. Check what software you need to run and make sure is compatible with whatever your choice is. Then it’s all down to personal choice (or your wallet).
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Although we support both Windows and Apple Mac, the answer from us is always Windows PC. Most of what we discuss from here on will refer to Windows PCs, however the broad strokes are similar for all.
New or Used / Refurbished
We have seen some successes with refurbished PCs and have also seen some disasters. As we are responsible for the PCs we supply, we would never supply a used PC, we don’t want to serve up yesterday’s leftovers.
If you are going to buy a used PC it’s even more important to check the specification for your current use. For business use I would always recommend new PCs for maximum reliability, performance and longevity.
Top PC brands to choose from
We have not only tested many PCs over the years, we also maintain them on an ongoing basis. The top brands we recommend that provide excellent reliability and value is Dell, HP (Hewlett Packard), and Asus.
Common mistakes when buying and setting up a PC
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Not enough storage, with many off the shelf PC's only having small capacity drives.
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Not enough Memory or RAM
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Assuming the PC is a good specification because it is new.
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Buy a "Windows home" PC when "Windows Pro" is required.
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Buy an MS Office license that turns out to be only a 1-year subscription and doesn’t integrate to the existing system.
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Setting up the PC with a Microsoft account and not connecting to your corporate domain.
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Not setting up a local admin account and getting locked out of your own PC.
Understanding the jargon
Storage
Everything saved on your computer—such as documents, applications, and files—when it is powered off, is stored here. The more you download, install apps, and sync emails or files to your PC, the more storage space will be used.
Previously storage used to take the form of hard disk (hard drive), these were mechanical spinning discs with fragile heads that move over them, the mechanical aspect of these devices made them very slow by today’s standards.
We then moved on to all electronic storage called SSD (Solid State Disk) which was a direct replacement for older hard disks. An older PC can often be speeded up significantly by replacing its old mechanical hard disk with an SSD.
On new PCs we have moved onto NVME which is a type of SSD but now with a much faster connection to take full advantage of the electronic storage speeds.
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SSDs have a phenomenal speed boost in comparison to older hard drives, they can be up to 90x faster on average!
Hard Disk Drive
(HDD)
Solid State Drive
(SSD) - SATA
Solid State Drive
(SSD) - NvMe
Memory or RAM (Random Access Memory)
This is the working memory of your PC. When you power up your PC Windows will load from the storage into RAM. Any apps you open will also load into RAM.
If you don’t have enough RAM then your computer will have to start swapping between RAM and Storage drastically slowing down your PC.
Processor or CPU (Central Processing Unit)
As the name implies, this component of your PC is responsible for handling all information, executing tasks, and processing instructions from your software programs.
We recommend Intel’s Core range of processors. We also find AMD's Ryzen range of processors performs very well.
Intel and AMDs CPU range:
Intel Core i3 / AMD Ryzen 3 – we recommend this as a minimum for basic office tasks such as sending emails and creating word documents.
Intel Core i5 / AMD Ryzen 5 – This is a good allrounder for those working on multiple office tasks at any one time, or running any business apps such as Sage.
Intel Core i7 / AMD Ryzen 7 – for those requiring performance of multitasking for applications such as video editing AutoCAD etc.
Intel Core i9 / AMD Ryzen 9 – for those who really want to push the boat out for performance.
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CPU naming systems can be quite confusing, so here is what you need to know.
Intel Core i9 - 14900K
Brand
Brand Identifier
Generation
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
Brand
Brand Identifier
Generation
The Generation of CPU is a number that indicates when it was released, with the higher the number meaning the newer it is.
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For example, Intel's 14th Generation was released in 2023 and their 13th Gen was released in 2022.
AMDs 7th Gen was released in 2023 and the 8th Gen was released in 2024.
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Graphics Card or GPU (Graphics Processing Unit)
The GPU takes care of processing the images that appear on your monitor. Graphics cards come in 2 main varieties: Integrated and Discrete.
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Integrated GPUs are integrated into the CPU itself, so there isn't a separate card for this.
Discrete GPUs are their own dedicated card mounted to the motherboard.
So, what to look out for in a new Windows PC
You’re going to choose from one of the top brands, Dell, HP, Asus or custom built by us. Go for Windows Pro (rather than Home).
Storage
Many PCs only come with 256GB storage, with some as low as 128GB. 128GB is too low and will soon cause you problems. You might get away with 256GB but we normally recommend upgrading to at least 500GB.
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If you intend to have a lot of big files Photos, drawings, Audio or Video then you will want to think about upgrading to 1TB (1000GB) or 2TB (2000GB) storage.
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Most PCs nowadays will have SSDs, but always check to make sure you are buying a PC with an SSD rather than a HDD.
Memory / RAM and CPU
If you only need a basic PC for lightweight documents and email, then you may get away with 8Gb Ram and the latest i3 / Ryzen 3 processor.
If your day-to-day work is constantly on your PC, you’re multitasking then 16Gb Ram and the latest i5 / Ryzen 5 would be more suitable.
If you’re multitasking with more heavyweight applications such as video editing and AutoCAD then go for 16GB+ RAM and an i7 / Ryzen 7 processor.
If you have money to spend then an i9 / Ryzen 9 processor and as much memory as you like.
GPU (Graphics Processing Unit)
What comes as standard with Business PCs will be fine for most office tasks. Just about all come with connections for at least two monitors.
If your job entails any kind of video rendering or intensive graphics, or you need more than 2 monitors you may need to upgrade from a integrated GPU to a discrete GPU that meets your requirements.
Customised / Custom built PC
If you’re struggling to find the options, we can often customized them before you buy – this is something we regularly do for our customers.
With our custom built PC's we ensure premium parts are used for maximum performance and reliability.
Sometimes it works out better just to have a custom-built PC. We have built a PC for a customer of ours who does a lot of video rendering and needed a great spec PC and graphics card that could cope. We have also built a number of PC's for a customer who needed to connect 5 monitors to each PC.