[OPLINTECH] Public Workstation Upgrade

[Chad Neeper]

+1 on everything Joe said.

To expound on his "First", if space IS an issue (or even if it isn't), you
might consider an ultra small form factor computer that hangs on the VESA
mount on the back of probably all LCDs. I've started using the Intel NUCs
myself, but there are others. The Intel NUCs are about 4"x4"x2" in
dimension.

Using the VESA mount and an ultra SFF computer, you achieve the all-in-one
at a lower cost and with greater flexibility.

2 cents,
Chad

______________________________
*Chad Neeper*
Senior Systems Engineer

*Level 9 Networks*
740-548-8070 (voice)
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*Full IT/Computer consulting services -- Specialized in libraries and
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On Thu, Jul 14, 2016 at 10:24 AM, Joe Knueven <joe at gtownlibrary.net> wrote:

> In the interest of brainstorming, a couple of questions with that
> configuration comes to mind.
>
>
>
> First, do you have significant space limitations?  I ask, because while
> all in one systems have a slick visual appearance, they are more difficult
> to upgrade, and a 23” monitor combined with some manner of small form
> factor PC is liable to be cheaper and the monitor typically has a longer
> useful life than a PC.  (for instance, from what I’ve seen, monitors break
> far less frequently than hard drives and motherboards)
>
>
>
> Second, what kind of tasks are your public working on?  Around here, they
> are primarily playing online games, working in online interfaces (for
> college or work or for social media), or once in a great while using an
> office program.  If your patron’s behavior is similar, you might find that
> it’s a better value proposition to trade an i5 for an i3 or even a fairly
> current generation Pentium processor in favor of the SSD.  With the SSD you
> see a performance boost in almost any activity whereas with the tasks I’ve
> described you will barely notice the difference between a Pentium and an i5
> from the same generation.
>
>
>
> The other thing worth considering, there are a few generations of the
> i-class processors at this point, and some of the most recent ones have
> very low power requirements.  It might be worth checking to see if you can
> get one of those to save on electric over the life of the system.
>
> All that said, I think cpubenchmark is useful as described and 8 GB sounds
> like a good place to standardize on ram if you can afford to.
>
>
>
> Have a good day and best of luck.
>
>
>
> Joe
>
>
>
>
>
> Joseph Knueven
>
> Director
>
> Germantown Public Library
>
> 51 N. Plum St.
>
> Germantown, OH 45327
>
> 937-855-4001
>
> joe at gtownlibrary.net
>
>
>
> *From:* OPLINTECH [mailto:oplintech-bounces at lists.oplin.org] *On Behalf
> Of *Tim Burns
> *Sent:* Thursday, July 14, 2016 8:27 AM
> *To:* oplintech at lists.oplin.org
> *Subject:* [OPLINTECH] Public Workstation Upgrade
>
>
>
> Dear Tech folks,
>
> Please help “brainstorm” a configuration for the public workstations.
>
>
> While I’m convinced that the future will not be anything like our current
> patron offering (witness most patrons spending their technology dollar$ on
> todays smartphone/tablet, the popularity of laptops as home computer
> selection, schools switching to 1:1 using Chromebooks, and more “cloud” -
> based computing than ever.) desktops are what our staff are used to. Not
> rock the boat today.
>
> I’m looking for performance first. Performance comes from RAM, and CPU.
> Our new configuration should be 8GB of RAM, and quad-core (Intel i5 or
> better) processing/CPU. I use CPU Benchmarks to compare between various
> offerings of CPU. This levels the playing field by describing what a
> processor can do - given a specific task on similarly configured system.
> Here’s the site I’m looking at for comparison:
> https://www.cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html Generally, I want
> processing rating of 7000 or better as a starting point.
>
> This machine is a starting point:
> https://www.cdw.com/shop/products/Acer-Veriton-Z4820G-Wub-Core-i5-6500-3.2-GHz-8-GB-500-GB-LED-23.8in/4076440.aspx?enkwrd=4076440&pfm=srh
>
>
> I’d prefer SSD drive (solid state) as there is a tremendous performance
> boost - and we don’t require a lot of storage on the public system. This
> model, being an all-in-one, includes larger (23+”) display and camera.
> Camera would be helpful as an image or document scanner alternative- would
> be available at each station.
>
> Tim Burns
> Birchard Public Library of Sandusky County Ohio
>
>
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