Appleton Ridge Technology Services, Inc.
Customer focused PC support &
education with personalized service.

John Fromer
Tel & Fax (207) 975-6995
Email: john@appletonridge.com

Desk Top Systems

As discussed, this system is designed for moderate business applications with room to grow into and expand beyond that.  This is a guide not the definitive answer to your exact needs. You may not find a system with these exact specifications. Please contact me to discuss your current and long term technology needs are and we can find a way to meet them. 

Below are standard business applications for a small to medium sized business. Always make hardware decisions around the software.

Business Applications

Hardware
The table below is based on options from the HP Pavillion a1750y desktop computer.

Hardware	Specification	What it does.
Operating System	Windows Vista or XP	The operating system is the environment where your applications and hardware function. After determining the business functions for a system, choose the appropriate platform for the applications to run on. Windows XP Pro has been the business standard for several years. Windows Vista is the latest release from Microsoft. There are several versions of Vista for both home and business. Vista Business is the standard for most business applications. Vista Ultimate combines the multimedia functions of Vista Home with the business networking and security features of Vista Business. How you use your systems will determine which version is right for you.
Processor	Intel Pentium D 925 3GHz, 4mb cache, 800MHz front side bus	Moderately high performance processing with 4mb of cache memory to feed the processors and a mother board that operates at 800Mhz. Supports 64 bit processing for those intense applications needing that type of power.
RAM Memory	2GB DDR2-533MHz Dual Channel SDRAM	The memory where your applications and operating system are put when opened and waiting to go to the cache memory and processor. Get as much RAM memory as you can afford. You will use it eventually and upgrading later can cost more. This is not your hard drive - see below.
Hard Drive	320GB 7200 rpm SATA drive	Stores everything in your computer including operating system, applications and data. This has plenty of room for thousands of pictures, presentations, drawings and other business related data. It spins at a fast rate for quick reading and writing.
Video Card	256MB NVIDIA GeForce 7500LE, TV-Out, DVI, VGA	This is a high end graphics card with lots of memory and support for two monitors. It is needed because multimedia is only going to expand in the coming years. The 256mb of memory on the card and its processing power will manage video signals best for your system and not slow your processor down with these duties.  Your applications will switch faster and your screen refresh will be improved. Having two monitors makes running multiple applications more efficient and easier to use.
Monitor	19" LCD Flat panel	Wide screen for working on multiple applications at once. Flat panel for better viewing and desk space saving. Flat panel does not have refresh so the radiation is lower and there is no flicker to give you head aches.  The above video card supports two monitors for multiple applications and greater efficiency.
DVD Burner	Standard Offering	Backing up your data is absolutely critical. Most DVD burners integrated into computers are fast enough to write data to a DVD for daily data backups and custom projects.  DVD burners also read DVD's and CDs music, video and program installs disks so you need one just to load programs anyway. See below for applications to burn DVD's and back up your data.
Tape Drive	Contact me for specifics	Sometimes, you have more data than will fit on a DVD or two for your daily backups. In this case, you need to go with a tape drive. Since your needs will be different from other businesses, give me a call to discuss this critical part of your system design.
Ports	USB, Blue tooth, 1394, Memory card reader, audio, parallel, serial	Look for systems with the ports listed and especially for ports on the front of the computer case. Accessibility to these ports makes plugging in memory cards, video cameras and other USB devices easy.
Networking	Ethernet, wireless and modem	1Gb ethernet network connections are the standard as is wireless-G for the fastest and safest networking.  A modem is helpful if your internet service provider (ISP) has that option or if high speed internet connections are not economical or available in your area.
Keyboard	Wireless multimedia	Saves time by having many buttons for common tasks like opening programs or surfing the web available right on the keyboard. Wireless lets you move around your desk area without snagging the cable on something. One option is to order a standard keyboard then go to a local retailer and get a fancy keyboard you like.
Mouse	Wireless	Mice these days have extra buttons for editing, surfing and ports for USB and camera flash memory cards. Follow the suggestion about keyboards and shop locally for either a wireless mouse or one bundled with a keyboard you like for all the features you need.
Sound Card & Speakers	Standard Offering or Custom	The standard sound card with speakers and subwoofer will certainly be good for standard office applications. If your needs include surround sound etc, you may need a separate sound card in addition to the one built into the mother board. This would be for multimedia presentations, classroom presentations etc.
Warranty	3 year, onsite.	Downtime is a killer. Your hands are tied if you can't get to your data, process sales, communicate, do research or check your schedule. Downtime costs you money, can impact customer service and employee production and satisfaction. On most things, I don't buy a contract because the money goes right into the sales person's pocket. On computers, I always buy a contract because they are important to business and I can't be down. Depending on the budget, a 3 year onsite warranty is best for computers. Every computer will crash eventually. There is a standard "mean time between failures" which rates how long a component will go before it breaks in some manner. Given the cost for part and labor, an onsite contract usually pays for itself. I can help reduce your down time. In many cases, my services are required to diagnose the hardware problem with the support team at the manufacturer. Additionally, the contract may just call for parts to be cross shipped to you instead of a service person making a call. The reason you need me to help diagnose the problem is that there are several tests and other triage techniques which will help reduce your down time. Alternatively, the support person from the manufacturer may require you to reinstall all your operating system and applications to see if that fixes the problem before sending out an onsite tech. This is usually a waste of time.  I can help you figure this all out saving you time, potentially lost data and money.