Low Cost Oynx Postershop Rip Station

[Spencer McMurtry]

Hello,

I am looking for recommendations on what would make a Low Cost Oynx Postershop Rip desktop computer. This machine would just be used for running Oynx Postershop and Flexi For a JV33-160 inkjet printer and a Summa D160 plotter.

I was hoping to keep it in the price range of $500 - $800 I do not need a monitor.

Thanks!
Spencer

 

[choucove]

Hello there Spencer, I'll see if I can be of any help for you.

For doing production work like this, I'd still recommend something decent performance just so you can continue to experience good responsiveness and reliability over years of usage and any possible upgrades you might be doing in the next few years. In general, software requires more and more horsepower to run as a new generation is released, so don't plan for the performance you only need right now, but the performance you may need to have three years down the line, if you really want your investment to last.

Most of the computer systems I do for design purposes are custom-built systems. However, a lot of the business computers we've been selling lately have been HP Business Desktop series or even the Z series workstations. In the past I really was not a fan of pre-built systems, their quality seemed sub par and cost much more than going with a custom system. However, I've been thoroughly impressed with these computers.

First, let me start by saying, unless you have someone you really know and trust to manage your computer systems, I would be cautious before going into a custom-built computer. The reason for this is because service and support for this computer falls on the person you buy it from, and if they aren't reliable to get you going, then it falls on you personally. Also, one custom computer is not equal to another, and while they might state something like "500 GB hard drive" for specifications, there's a whole lot of difference between a Western Digital Black 500 GB 7,200 RPM SATAIII hard drive with 5 year warranty and leading performance, compared to a Seagate 500 GB low power hard drive with 1 year warranty and horrible performance for production environments.

That being said, for a production computer in the price rang you are talking about, here is what I would recommend for a custom computer:

- Intel Core i3-3220 3.3 Ghz dual-core LGA1155 processor
- Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo LGA1155 120mm CPU cooler
- Arctic Silver 5 thermal compound
- ASUS P8Z77-M MicroATX LGA1155 motherboard
- Corsair Vengeance 8 GB (2 X 4 GB) DDR3 1600 memory
- Western Digital Black 500 GB 7,200 RPM SATAIII 64MB Cache hard drive
- Corsair Enthusiast TX650 V2 ATX12V Bronze power supply
- Corsair Carbide 200R ATX Mid-Tower chassis
- Lite-On DVD-Burner SATA Black optical drive
- Windows 7 Professional 64-bit OEM

All totaled on Newegg this runs about $740 without shipping. If you have a little more to budget in, I'd recommend upgrading from the Core i3 to a Core i5-3450 3.1 Ghz quad-core processor for an additional $70, and if you really want the best responsiveness, then replace the WD 500 GB hard drive with a Samsung 840 Pro 256 GB SSD for an additional $150. Remember that if you have someone else build this for you, you're probably going to have some additional expense for markup and assembly/installation time.


Now, if you are not comfortable going with a custom-built system, then I'd recommend either an HP Business Desktop Pro 6300 or ideally, an HP Z-220 Workstation.

HP Business Desktop Pro 6300 Mini-tower:
- Intel Core i3-3220 3.3 Ghz dual-core processor
- Q77 Chipset motherboard support up to 32 GB RAM
- HP 4 GB DDR3 1333 memory
- 500 GB 7,200 RPM SATAIII hard drive
- HP 320 Watt Active PFC compatible UPS
- HP DVD-Burner SATA
- Windows 8 Professional 64-bit (downgraded to Windows 7 Professional 64-bit)

Total cost without shipping: $600

I'd upgrade that unit to 8 GB of RAM (costs less than $50 additional) and you have a pretty solid system with an HP business 3-year warranty to back it up. They have great business support, much better than Dell I have learned.


HP Z-Series Workstation convertible min-tower:
- Intel Core i3-3220 3.3 Ghz dual-core processor
- C216 Workstation class chipset motherboard supporting RAID 0/1, 32 GB RAM, and ECC support.
- HP 4 GB (2 X 2 GB) DDR3 1600 memory
- 500 GB 7,200 RPM SATAIII hard drive
- HP 400 Watt Active PFC Compatible UPS
- HP DVD-Burner SATA
- Windows 7 Professional 64-bit

Total cost without shipping: $675

Again, I'd recommend upgrading that system to 8 GB of RAM, and with those systems you can also chose to do an SSD upgrade. The HP Z-series workstations are quite the powerhouse it seems, I've installed half a dozen in the last three months and they all have been flawless.

If you have any questions and need some more information, please feel free to let me know. I understand I've kinda bombarded you with information here!

 

[Spencer McMurtry]

Thanks for the detailed response! I ended up going with this machine http://www.cowboom.com/product/1264594

I paid $287 shipped, score!

specs:
2.6GHz AMD Quad-Core A6-3650 Accelerated Processor with AMD Radeon HD 6530D graphics - For powerful performance.
8GB PC3-10600 DDR3 SDRAM - For multitasking power.
Multiformat DVDRW/CD-RW drive with double-layer support - Records up to 8.5GB of data or 4 hours of video using compatible DVD+R DL and DVD-R DL media, also supports DVD-RAM.
4MB L2 cache memory - For efficient system processing.
1TB Serial ATA hard drive (7200 rpm) - Offers spacious storage and fast read/write times.
AMD Radeon HD 6530D graphics - Feature up to 4089MB total video memory for lush images with intricate detail.
Multidisplay capable - Allows you to connect a second monitor for additional work space (monitors not included).
15-in-1 media reader - Supports SmartMedia, xD-Picture Card, MultiMediaCard, Reduced-Size MultiMediaCard, MultiMediaCard mobile, MultiMediaCard Plus, Secure Digital, miniSD, CompactFlash I/II and Microdrive formats.
Also supports Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO, Memory Stick Duo and Memory Stick PRO Duo formats.
6 high-speed USB 2.0 ports - For fast digital data transfer and easy peripheral connectivity.
Built-in high-speed wireless LAN (802.11b/g/n) - Connect to the Internet without wires.
Built-in 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN - For quick and easy wired Web connection.

MFG: Hewlett Packard (HP)
MFG Part: H2M80AAR#ABA - See more at: http://www.cowboom.com/product/1264594#sthash.gV8tQK0v.dpuf

 

[SightLine]

All I'll say is there is a massive difference between the suggested commercial/business class systems Brett recommended and the home user class system you went with. The specs might seem similar but the quality and class of hardware are anything but similar.

 

[signswi]

That said it's probably fine, I've seen ProductionHouse 10.2 running on 8 year old hardware with barely 2GB of RAM and it wasn't the end of the world.

 

[SignBurst PCs]

All I'll say is there is a massive difference between the suggested commercial/business class systems Brett recommended and the home user class system you went with. The specs might seem similar but the quality and class of hardware are anything but similar.

Very true...

There is a BIG difference in hardware quality between home/personal computers and true business/enterprise class computers. The hardware quality is night and day.

Many folks don't consider the true cost of purchasing an "inexpensive" computer. If you consider that you will probably own that computer 4-5 years, the cost of potential lost productivity (performance), repairs, and down-time caused by lesser hardware will probably cost you more than you realize.

If you aren't a high-production shop, this may not matter as much. If you are a high-production shop, a computer being down for even a day can cost you hundreds of dollars in lost productivity and employee wages (sitting around because their computer is broken), not to mention if it takes several days to repair or replace and reconfigure a replacement computer.

Just my two cents.

 

[choucove]

Casey is making a very good point about computer value over lifespan.

I'm working with a client locally right now who is trying to dig himself out from this very situation. They have three offices, and for the past several years haven't had anyone they could rely on for computer work, so they just "fixed" it themselves by continuously buying stuff off the shelf from Walmart. Needless to say, each of their $400 desktop computers only lasts for two years, and then they have to replace it again. Instead they could have spent $700 for a much higher quality, better performance workstation, have it last twice as long, and saved money on the initial purchase AND maintenance throughout its lifespan.

At first they were very skeptical. After all, why buy a $700 desktop when you can get a $400 computer that has about the same specifications. Well, once I started adding it up for them they were pretty shocked:

One computer lasting four years at $700 saves you $100 off the initial purchase price compared to two desktops at $400 every two years. Then factor in the lost time and maintenance cost associated with replacing that desktop every two years instead of four years (I estimated three hours or around $300 in maintenance/labor beyond that of the business-class system.) Now you have saved $400 on that computer over its lifespan compared to two cheap desktops. Multiply that by 50 computers across their three locations and you have saved $20,000 over the span of 4 years!!! This isn't even factoring additional costs that might include replacement hardware, additional time for management of many varying desktop platforms compared to a single unified platform, or even lost wages or revenue experienced due to unexpected down time.

OK so a lot of your offices might not be looking at replacing 50 computers, but even at a couple computers the difference is pretty impressive and that's just in the $700 price range computer systems compared to cheap Walmart specials. The quality and performance is greater, and you also have much greater support as you are backed by a business warranty and not the consumer line.