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39.48, -82.98 | I've started looking around, too. I also like Dell. They have several series aimed, generally, at different groups of users. Then, within each series are several models at different price/feature points. Then, you can customize each model...adding memory, swapping drives, etc. It can be a little confusing!
What you need depends on how you use your computer. Quickbooks and Internet browsing are not demanding tasks, so you probably won't need a high-end model. Do you store a lot of video, music, photos, etc.? If not, you probably won't need a huge drive.
My current (old) desktop is a Dell XPS. That's their "sporty" series, I guess you could say. It's been a good one and I may go that way again.
If you search on [Dell business desktop] your top hits will likely be from the OptiPlex series. They are designed to network with other computers. They often have error-correction memory, provisions for remote administration, built-in security, etc. That's all great, if you need it. Since mine stands alone, most of that would go unused.
Inspiron is their budget model. Unlike the two series above, it will likely come with Windows 10 Home. My understanding is that they use cheaper (read: inferior) components in order to reach the home PC price point. Not what I want in a business machine.
For the power user, there is the Precision series. These are billed as work stations. They have blazing fast processors with lots of cores and can be expanded well beyond anything most people will ever need.
Then, there is the Vostro. I don't know much about this line. It appears to be a business series, not designed from the ground up to be networked. I'd like to hear from someone who has some experience with one.
For what you describe, 8 GB of RAM should be ample for the life of the computer. 1 TB HDDs are huge, really, and inexpensive. But consider paying just a little more and going to a solid state drive (SSD). Your computer will startup and load files much faster. A basic graphics card will suit your purposes, but make sure it is a separate (discrete) processor, not "integrated" and sucking clock cycles from your main CPU. Also...make sure the graphics card will support two monitors at the resolution and refresh rate you want. As I found out recently, multiple monitors is a NAT-approved practice. | |
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New tower computer
