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Help me build/spec a computer for my home based business please.

J

JETsignworks

New Member
I have searched, and read through multiple threads and am honestly a bit more unsure now than before. Also, similar requests that I found were from several years ago.

I have been out of the vinyl/lettering business since some tragic events that started in 2005. I am in a position where I'd like to ease back into the industry as I am nearing retirement from being a full time firefighter/paramedic in a little over 5 years.

When I dropped out of the business years ago, I was just getting familiar with Flexi 7, and a little dabbling with AI. I am hoping the basic software that comes with the Graphtec package will be adequate to get under way,... Until I can upgrade to a better program.

Here are my plans for within the next few weeks:

1. Purchase a Graphtec CE 6000-60 plotter package and a handful of startup supplies (new, from a reputable supply house)

2. Purchase a heat press, and appropriate supplies for garments/apparel

And then when can afford it (hopefully within 6 months):

3. Printer for vinyl, and a laminating machine/table.


Here is what I am asking for input: (I am not looking for cheap, but more for value for my application)

Please recommend the specs for what would fit my needs, and what would allow me room for moderate expansion.

I am looking forward to getting going again,

Thank you
 
OldPaint

OldPaint

New Member
it aint the same business.........as it was 2004..........profits have become less, and most are doing volume to make it up. so its work more make less))))
vinyl is about done. so investing a lot of money in a cutter under 60" is a waste of money. if you get a printer it will cut also.....
in 2004 you could get started for $1000..........aint so now.....
 
P

player

New Member
Some basics for me would be:

-i7 processor
-Asus motherboard
-16 gigs of at least 1600mhz ram in two 8 gig sticks
-Two hard drives. A solid state drive for C, 240 or 480 gigs. A 4 terabyte disk drive for data.
-850 watt power supply
-A large, low noise case
-Windows 7 Professional. No Win8 for me...
 
Last edited:
J

JETsignworks

New Member
OldPaint said:
it aint the same business.........as it was 2004..........profits have become less, and most are doing volume to make it up. so its work more make less))))
vinyl is about done. so investing a lot of money in a cutter under 60" is a waste of money. if you get a printer it will cut also.....
in 2004 you could get started for $1000..........aint so now.....
Click to expand...

I completely understand this ! I'm expecting to lay out around $3500 or so, just to be ready to cut the first piece of vinyl. I agree partly about vinyl being about done in regards to signs, but I'm thinking there's still some need for it. I happen to have a decent outlet for truck lettering, stickers, business door lettering and the like. I am choosing a 24 wide cutter now mainly due to limited space for the time being.

player said:
Some basics for me would be:

-i7 processor
-Asus motherboard
-16 gigs of at least 1600mhz ram in two 8 gig sticks
-Two hard drives. A solid state drive for C, 240 or 480 gigs. A 4 terabyte disk drive for data.
-850 watt power supply
-A large, low noise case
-Windows 7 Professional. No Win8 for me...
Click to expand...

Thank you for this input. I will look into this , as well as wait for a few others to chime in.

Pat Whatley said:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=9558502&Sku= I am DELIGHTED with this system.

I have a $1400 custom built system at the office that has pretty much double the specs...16 gb ram, quad core, much better video card.....and I rarely notice the difference. Unless I'm doing high res wrap artwork at full size and throwing filters at it there is no difference.
Click to expand...


Thank you you for the link. This may be exactly what works best for me.
 
visual800

visual800

Active Member
DELL XPS systems is all I use. I ran the xps 410 for several years and then upgraded to the XPS 8100 with wndows 7, hell I am still running i5! Been running that for about 3-4 years now with NO ISSUES.Iit can handle illy, flexi, the internet all open at once. Some illy files will slow it down esspecially when the come from ad agency, but we all know why that is. There is absolutely no need for me to update computers right now for any reason. What I have suffices.

Once again people dont agree with me but I do not run updates on my windows and NO ISSUES! When I get a new comp I always get rid of all that preloaded BS they put on them. I runa 1tb harddrive and 1-500 gig in my comps. Some may hate dell but I have had nothing but great luck with these machines


My suggestion to you is go for the XPS8700. specs below


  • 4th Gen Intel Core i7-4010U processors,
  • 1TB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive
  • 8GB, DDR3, 1600MHz SDRAM
  • Graphics Nvidia Geforce GT 720
  • Win 7 PRO 64bit
  • DELL USB Keyboard and Mouse

I have always bought my comps off ebay. Best price I can find. All computers have the same cheap a$$ chinese parts in them. There are no comps out there with specialized stuff that other comps do not have, they are all in the same. Dont be fooled by all this "high end" hype out there and thinking you need a high end gaming center, there is no sense in it. You can pick up the case for about $600-$700 ususally comes with keyboard and mouse. You cant beat that for something that will last 4-5 years

Why build your own when you can just outright buy one for so cheap. Unless you want that gratification
 
OldPaint

OldPaint

New Member
as to a dell being better/worse then an E-MACHINE..... if you BUY INTO NAME BRANDS then it works for you))))
if you build a computer with your choice of m/b, ram, video card expansion capability....with the AMD or INTEL processor....it will serve you as well or better then buying an OFF THE SHELF DELL, GATEWAY, COMPAQ, HP, E-MACHINE.
in fact the ONE YOU BUILD by picking all the components(knowing which serve you better, for what you do)is usually cheaper.......my last build, was a bare bones computer, i picked all components, and when i got it here, all i did was add my hard drive))))))) and i didnt spend over $350)))))))
 
Marlene

Marlene

New Member
player said:
Please tell us the difference between a low end eBay pc and a custom spec'd one?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

when we were looking for a new computer, I got a quote from Dell and one from Casey. Casey took a look at the Dell quote and explained the difference. it basically comes down to a computer built to run an office vs a computer built to run the types of programs we run in our industry
 
SignBurst PCs

SignBurst PCs

New Member
player said:
Please tell us the difference between a low end eBay pc and a custom spec'd one?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Player, there are night and day differences in performance, quality, reliability, and customer service (tech support).

Low-end computers generally are built with lesser processors (CPUs), lower quality memory (RAM), lower quality power supplies, lower quality hard drives, lower quality video cards, and inadequate cooling. While almost none of this shows up on a sales spec sheet, it can drastically change the way the computer performs and its longevity. Aside from hardware quality, most mass-produced computers are shipped with loads of "bloatware" that simply slows down the computer. A low-end eBay computer probably comes with little or NO TECH SUPPORT or warranty. Even the best computer hardware can fail. If it does, good tech support can save you several days of lost time (productivity) and a ton of $$$.

On the other side of the coin, our computer systems (signburst.com) are built with high-end hardware (yes, there is such a thing) that is designed and tested to perform better and last longer. We don't skimp on quality in order to sell more computers. It just isn't in our business plan. We use top-end components in order to achieve impressive performance and reliability. Our computers are designed and tested for a specific purpose and we focus on hardware that suits that purpose. We have been focused on building computers for Sign and Graphics shops for 12 years now. It is safe to say that we understand our customers' needs. We know that your computers are the backbone of your business and if they are not performing well, your business suffers.

There is so much going on in computer components. There are MANY different levels of quality, performance, and reliability that it can be difficult to keep up with the ever-changing landscape. Saying that computer components are "all the same" is not accurate. If it were, my job would be so much easier. For example, there are several MAJOR hard drive and solid-state drive manufacturers (many NOT in China). I use hard drives as an example because that is where all of your data is stored and is often a point-of-failure. Western Digital, Seagate, Toshiba, Fujitsu, Hitachi, Intel, and Samsung are all leading manufactures of hard drives. Each of these has several different "lines" or "brands" of drives. In each line of drives, there are several different types of drives (usually suite to a specific purpose). Each type of drive have different capacities (sizes). Each major manufacturer has hundreds of individual models with each having different characteristics (varying levels of read/write speeds, I/O speeds, longevity guarantees, etc). Researching and understanding the characteristics of hard drives / solid state drives alone can be a daunting process. We see the same thing with every other computer component we use.

We aren't building computers for the masses. We are only building them for sign and graphics shops. This allows us to choose very specific components that will benefit our goal of performance, stability, reliability, and longevity. We won't bend and use a lesser component just to save money at the cost of our goals. I can't say the same about the low-cost budget systems. In the long run, the increased productivity and reliability of a quality system can significantly save a business money. Tech support and down-time are EXPENSIVE.
 
visual800

visual800

Active Member
my response to this OP was more of the "alienware" gaming systems and folks offering high systems for gaming online. Complete with water cooled blah blah blah and cool led lights that no one should care about. in no way was I bashing your company. I do have a question though. What hard drives do you purchase that are made in US?
 
SignBurst PCs

SignBurst PCs

New Member
visual800 said:
my response to this OP was more of the "alienware" gaming systems and folks offering high systems for gaming online. Complete with water cooled blah blah blah and cool led lights that no one should care about. in no way was I bashing your company. I do have a question though. What hard drives do you purchase that are made in US?
Click to expand...

I am sorry if I misunderstood your post. Unfortunately, the hard drives that we (and everyone else) uses aren't made in the US. Most of the time, they are made overseas, but not necessarily China.
 
Pixels Are Bad Mmmkay?

Pixels Are Bad Mmmkay?

New Member
player said:
Some basics for me would be:

-i7 processor
-Asus motherboard
-16 gigs of at least 1600mhz ram in two 8 gig sticks
-Two hard drives. A solid state drive for C, 240 or 480 gigs. A 4 terabyte disk drive for data.
-850 watt power supply
-A large, low noise case
-Windows 7 Professional. No Win8 for me...
Click to expand...

Once you try a solid state drive for running your essentials, you'll never go back. My computer can shut down and restart in all of maybe 30 seconds (just a rough guess).

My system is very similar to what you're running, but we went the extra distance and sprung for 32 gb of ram. Whether it performs that much better than the same system with only 16 gb, I'll probably never know. We also made sure the cooling system was top notch. If I'm not mistaken, I've got 4 or 5 cooling fans in my case. 2 of which (on top of the case) are fairly large.
 
P

player

New Member
I got 16 gigs of 1866 ram, in two sticks, so I have room for the other 16 gigs if I want it... I don't think I will need it for some time.

You should open Task Manager ---> Performance, and monitor the ram usage when you are loading the machine with programs and files etc. and see if it goes anywhere near 32 gigs...
 
Pixels Are Bad Mmmkay?

Pixels Are Bad Mmmkay?

New Member
player said:
I got 16 gigs of 1866 ram, in two sticks, so I have room for the other 16 gigs if I want it... I don't think I will need it for some time.

You should open Task Manager ---> Performance, and monitor the ram usage when you are loading the machine with programs and files etc. and see if it goes anywhere near 32 gigs...
Click to expand...

Thank you for the advice. I'll look into that more and try it tomorrow if I get some free time. :rock-n-roll:
 
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