The TL:DR (too long, didn’t read the rest)
Looking to “Just do bits online and check email”, or to by a PC “to do normal office work”? Then here’s what to look out for:
1) ‘Just doing bits online and checking email’
a. 256GB SSD drive
b. 8GB (still only just okay) to 16GB RAM
c. Windows 11 Pro
d. i3-xx100 processor (OR Ryzen equivalent)
2) Normal office work
a. 256GB SSD drive
b. 16GB RAM
c. Windows 11 Pro
d. i3-xx100 or i5-xx400 processor (OR Ryzen equivalent)
The “Cheap is Fine” Con
So how do some people get it wrong? They fall for what I think of as the ‘cheap is fine’ con. A really cheap machine is so very slow, you might as well take it directly to the recycling point. There is nothing good about them.
By following the specs given above, it will make sure people don’t fall into that trap. They will make the most of their available budget, ensure users work at a reasonable speed, and that the machine lasts for a few years before they get annoyed at how slow it is becoming.
Shelf Life
How long will it last? Is what we normally get asked when we recommend a PC, and that’s a good question. We want our new PCs to work well and not need to keep changing them as that is inconvenient, and costs time and money. Well, assuming no change in what you are trying to use it for, the machine will normally be good for at least three years, possibly up to five. Depending on your tolerance for things slowing down it might be good for longer, but I would budget for three years and take anything extra as a bonus.
Why doesn’t it last for ever? Another good question. After all, you use it for the same thing as when you first bought the machine, so why should it get slower? Well, there are two factors.
Firstly, over time all the programs you’ve been using (including the operating system) will get updated and changed. They always end up using more and more of the computer’s resources. Over time this means a machine which could cope with doing one job well begins to show its age and slow down.
The jump from Windows 7 to Windows 11 is a great example. You could legitimately get away with 2GB of RAM on Windows 7. Now, you can barely get by with 8GB without finding you have filled it up after opening a few browser tabs and a couple of documents. Though 16GB is currently overkill for most basic use, it is the next step up (RAM goes 2GB, 4GB, 8GB, 16GB, 32GB… and so on) and so 16GB is what we recommend.
Secondly, security improvements in the operating system sometimes mean the hardware in an older machine can no longer cope and it becomes redundant. The switch from Windows 10 to 11 will see that happen to many older machines.
Which bit does what?
If you’re thinking, “I love the detail. Tell me more!” then this bit is for you. It will tell you why each bit is important.
The drive is important because it is where your computer keeps all the information it uses. It’s like a library. If the drive is slow (or too small) it will make everything slow (or grind to a halt).
The RAM is the thinking memory. It’s much quicker than the Drive. If your machine is working on something, it takes information out of the drive and puts it into the RAM where it can use it. If you don’t have enough RAM, the PC has to keep switching things in-and-out from the RAM to the Drive. That slows things down.
The processor (CPU) is the brains of the operation. It does all the thinking. If it is slow, it won’t matter what else you have in there, the machine will never be quick. Also, there is often no way to economically upgrade the processor.
The Operating System needs to be the Professional (pro) version if you are running a business. It controls how you can access the machine and whether you can encrypt it for additional security. If you chose a cheaper Home machine, you lose lots of those options.
By purchasing a machine with the right processor (and hopefully enough RAM and a quick SSD with sufficient space for your needs) you’ll avoid bottlenecks in the system which slow it all down. You’ll work quickly and efficiently for years. People that buy too cheap are people that regret it daily, every time they open or close a program or boot up the machine in the morning.
Help me!
If you are still unsure and would like to speak to someone, we’d love to help. Either send an enquiry to enquiries@riverfordconsultants.co.uk or call us on 01892 886 995 and we’ll see what we can do to answer your questions.
The Processor – how to spot a good one.
The trickiest part is knowing how to tell which processor to get. This is a complete minefield and unbiased, professional help is worth getting if you are not sure. (Avoid sales people in shops - unless you know them well. Many of our customers have stories about being sold the cheapest of machines.) To get your eye in, here is a bit of a tip.
How to find it?
Intel releases a new generation of processors each year. Intel has a list of its processors here: https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark.html#@Processors
Click on the “Intel® Core™ Processors” option and you’ll have found the list you need. It will show you the generations of processor and you will easily see the latest one.
How to buy the right one?
Currently, Intel are on the 13th Generation. Helpfully, the name of the processor tells you which generation it is. For a current Intel Core processor like the i3 or i5, you’ll see the next two numbers in its name are 13 e.g. i3-13100 or i5-13400.
Once produced, it then takes about one year for them to fully hit the main market. (It then takes another year for them to start to be replaced by the following generation.)
If you are being offered something which looks like this “i3-4130”, you can tell it is a 4th generation CPU from back in 2013! Currently, I’d not buy older than a 12th Generation processor.
Surely letters after your name are impressive?
The last bit of the name is the ‘model’ and some are a bit better, like the i3-13100 which has no letter after the name, and some are worse, like the i3-13100U with the letter U on the end. Though it won’t make the greatest difference, it is worth knowing that U versions are always a bit slower, on purpose, so that it uses less electricity and generates less heat – both great features for in a laptop but not necessary in a desktop where you want things as quick as possible. If you wanted to get into the detail of building PCs, you’d want to know what each variant meant.
It’s all about the Drive
Unbelievably, it is still possible to pick up a cheap machine and find you’ve purchased one with a Hard Disk Drive (HDD) in it as the main storage. (A HDD is fine as cheap additional storage).
If you didn’t know, the HDD is old technology and works like a vinyl record, with a spinning disk and a needle that tracks over the surface to pick up (and write) any information. It is super slow compared to the current Solid State Drives (SSD) which use totally different technology based on computer chips.
How different can it be? Well, the old HDD could give you data at up to 50 MBps (I’d ignore trying to understand what Mega Bits Per Second means and just keep reading). The SSDs which first replaced them could manage up to 500 MBps. That is 10 times quicker. Currently, the newest sorts can manage right up to a whopping 12,400 MBps! Though you don’t see that blazing speed in a normal office PC, you get the idea. SSDs are the current baseline for reasonable performance. No one should suffer an HDD. The HDD is the biggest reason the old machines or the super cheap ones feel so incredibly slow.
Price vs. Value
What is it you value about something? With a new PC it’s likely to be the speed, possibly the security and definitely its ability to ‘just get the job done’. No one sits down to work at a slow machine and values the PC for the £70 saved when buying it.
Finding a bargain is purchasing the right machine at a good price. A bargain is not ‘finding a cheaper machine’, because that normally loses any value you were hoping for.
The price of the wrong machine:
Support Costs: The slow machines see the cost of IT support go up dramatically. What might take 5 minutes to fix on a quick machine will take 25 minutes on a slow one. That cost comes from both the IT support and from employee downtime. Only one or two support calls will cost you the difference between the cheap machine and the right machine.
Employee Time: A slow machine will have no trouble losing someone 200 seconds (3.3 minutes) a day. For someone on £18k, that is £133 of time lost each year.
Replacement Cost: The cost of replacing a machine is not normally limited to the purchase price of the new hardware. There is the cost of setting it up, both in IT support terms and in time for the user. The less often you need to do this, the better.
Windows 11 Kills Old PCs
A looming problem for old PCs is that they won’t be compatible with Windows 11. As Windows 10 is due to be retired on October 14th 2025, that will leave any machine incompatible with Windows 11 an increasing security risk – something a business should avoid. If your business has older machines which won’t upgrade, start planning ahead now.
Help me!
If you are still unsure and would like to speak to someone, we’d love to help. Either send an enquiry to enquiries@riverfordconsultants.co.uk or call us on 01892 886 995 and we’ll see what we can do to answer your questions.
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