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Determining system requirements? (Work environment?

R

raksasas

Limp Gawd
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Okay I am felling a bit ignorant at this. I have built several gaming systems over the years. Building systems for "gaming" is fairly easy and can be expensive. But the work environment is different then gaming.

Gaming:
1.Spend every dollar possible on this kick ass system
2. Shut down every running task possible to boost gaming performance/experience.

Work:
1. Save every dollar possible
2. Run every task/program possible (Multiple office documents, specialty program(s), Internet, etc.)
3. Complain that the system runs slow. See to number 2.

So... How do you determine a computers hardware requirements in a work environment?

Example: Software being ran:
Windows 7 Pro x64
Office 2007/2010
IE, Firefox or Chrome
Program 1 says it needs 2 GB RAM
Program 2 says it needs 2(minimum) to 4 (recommend) GB RAM
 
A general rule of thumb for business pc's is that unless you have a program that needs a super fast CPU then just about any decent CPU will suffice. The thing to spend money on is ram, and since ram isn't that expensive that's make it easy. Then just make sure you have enough hdd space (which usually isn't a problem) and then make sure you have all the peripherals you will need.
 
shoota said:
What exactly are programs 1 and 2?
Click to expand...

I agree. Knowing the specific programs can tell us a lot about what kind of rig you need behind it. I only wish my IT people thought of questions like this before handing out computers...
 
tonytnnt said:
I only wish my IT people thought of questions like this before handing out computers...
Click to expand...

I agree but what I (level 1 tech) submit as need the upper management will probably cut in half. Now that is different story there. You know save every dollar.

Now back on topic. how do you determine what hardware requirements when you are buying bulk systems for 500+ people. And how do you determine requirements for those requiring higher end systems. I didn't want to state a specific program but and keep this discussion generic.

But if you must know in this case:
Program 1 = AutoCAD (3D MAP)
Program 2 = ArcGIS
Symantec Endpoint (forgot to put it on the list)

But what are some general guide lines to follow for determining hardware for a work environment.
 
In general just look at system requirements for each and make sure you have everything covered.
For general office use you don't need much power. AutoCAD would be different.
I am a bit familiar with AutoCAD and it really doesn't have huge system requirements to just run it, but to do well you need some power. The nice thing about it now is that they switched to DirectX instead of OpenGL like other CAD programs so just about any decent video card will work well. For a lot of other CAD programs you should really have a FirePro or Quadro, but some gaming cards do well with AutoCAD. Anyway, here are some newer AutoCAD results with various video cards.
http://www.cgarchitect.com/news/Reviews/Review076_1.asp
As others said, RAM is a big issue. Get as much as you can for everyone.
If you have to present info to management, get online recommendations and facts to help prove your point as to what is needed, especially for the people really doing heavy CAD work.
 
You just listed three programs my company uses extensively... maybe my IT department is improving... :)

If all 500 people are going to need full access to those programs, you need to determine a few things. I'm going to assume you already have a preferred hardware vendor and support infrastructure in place.

In no particular order:
  • Dedicated Graphics or Integrated
    Generally Autocad and ArcGIS are going to need dedicated graphics, but that's going to increase your costs by a decent amount, especially if you go with Quadro cards.​
  • Dual Monitor Support
    CAD and GIS generally need at least two monitors. Try and figure out how easily you can implement this on a given system.​
  • Ease of Upgrading
    If you buy 500 of these systems, some of your users will end up needing 8GB of RAM instead of 4GB, or a better graphics card (which requires a higher end power supply.) The easier you can get into the case and work the better. If you were just doing call center type apps, you could get 500 slimlines and call it good, but from the sounds of it you're dealing with engineers or architects, and they can be pretty finicky.​

If all 500 don't need access to those programs, and instead are mostly just using MS Office and the internet, I would either buy two systems, one for generic tasks and one for CAD/GIS tasks, or buy a "generic" system that can be upgraded into a performance system by adding additional RAM and a dedicated GPU. Your baseline systems would all end up with at least quad-core i5 processors, but the price difference shouldn't be too large compared to outfitting systems with dual-core i3s.
 
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