We recommend a business grade computer for increased reliability and performance. To minimize the risk of viruses and other unnecessary clutter introduced during normal computer use we prefer if it is not used as the primary office computer.
Examples of business grade computers:
· Dell Optiplex (business grade hardware)
· Dell Precision or higher (server grade hardware)
· HP Elite (business grade hardware)
The specifications will largely depend on how you plan to use the computer and the number of incoming connections from your network. For a single register store with a single back-office user, the needs are minimal when compared to a retailer with multiple locations utilizing 40 register lanes and 20 back-office users. The computer must be sized according to the overall workload.
A computer has several major components that determine the overall performance. These include the PROCESSOR, MEMORY, and STORAGE.
PROCESSOR:
The processor is where the work happens. Think of it as an office building, the larger the building and the more offices that are available directly affect the amount of work that is completed in a day. A processor needs to have adequate ability for the workload you intend to perform. Processors often have multiple cores and threading capabilities which increase the performance of the computer. Having too much processor is like having a large office building with only a few employees present and much unused space.
MEMORY:
The memory serves as a staging area for the processor. When a task is sent to the processor, it may need to wait until previous tasks have been completed. The amount of memory that is available will affect how well the computer responds to the work it is trying to perform. Keep in mind that there are different configurations available when it comes to memory. Think of this like a highway. You can have a single channel of memory or multiple channels just as a highway can be single or multiple lanes. The more channels (lanes) available typically mean better overall performance. Too little memory will make the processor wait until tasks are staged and too much memory is like having a super-highway with only a few cars in travel. Correctly sizing the memory configuration is important.
STORAGE:
The storage is like a filing cabinet in an office building. A small store might be fine with a single drawer or filing cabinet, but a large store needs to consider alternatives. When you have a single drawer with all your records and everyone is trying to read or file paperwork it becomes a problem. If you add more drawers to the cabinet or possibly add additional cabinets, you very quickly increase the performance of that office space. Storage performance increases with multiple drives (when configured properly). There is also risk when your data is filed across multiple drives. If a single drive fails it will impact your data. To minimize this risk an additional drive is often used. This drive stores enough data that if any single drive fails it will be able to rebuild that missing data from that additional drive. This configuration is known as a RAID array. Be aware that there are many different types of RAID arrays and some will provide very high performance with no backup, some are very low performance with extremely reliable backup, and then there are configurations with high performance and reliable backups. You need to have a qualified expert who understands the differences make a recommendation for your server. Modern storage devices use Solid State Drives (SSD) which have no moving parts and typically faster read/write speeds. Hard Disk Drives (HDD) have spinning disks with typically slower read/write speeds.
Each of these components has an effect on how the other components function. There is a balance required for maximum performance. Maximizing a single component will not really gain overall performance of the computer. You will be spending money that is unnecessary for something that you will not be able to use efficiently.
We recommend that you have a local computer company recommend what is the best fit for your needs. We are more than happy to give a second opinion on hardware if you would like.