Setting Up Office

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andyoz

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Are there any "Sole Traders" out there that have recently gone through the process of buying computer equip. for a home office? I'm after suggestions for:

i) Laptop;
ii) External LCD screen (20" widescreen);
iii) Colour laser printer (A4);
iv) Separate fax/scanner.

It's for full time engineering consultancy usage and the laptop is crucial so I am prepared to pay whatever is required. No high end graphics usage though, main number crunching process is AutoCad viewing.

Re the laptop, I want something robust/reliable and size is not an issue as it'll only be moved once/twice a week. Should I be looking further a field than Toshiba for example.

Re the printer, speed isn't important but colour print quality is. I like HP's range, so what about the Laserjet 3600N?

I have dealt with Misco and Dabs before. Anyone else I should be looking at?

Any pointers much appreciated.
 
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Rather than a colour laser printer in that price range I would be looking at a thermal transfer printer like the Xerox Phaser 8500/8550, they are rather nice ;)
 
Dabs are good for laptops, the finance can be useful if you needed it, 9 months interest free. Its something like 28-30 odd % if you go outside that period but if you pay it off before hand then your sorted.
Haven't used a toshiba for a long time tbh, but IBM (now Lenovo for some reason) are also worth a look, the HP laptops seem good value and well built. Dell are ok but the shop is such a pain and they aren't that great value tbh, well made from what I've seen though. The golden rule is don't skimp on build to get a little bit extra spec- you can always upgrade the hard disk, ram etc. later on but if you get a nasty flimsy chassis, crap screen and wobbly keyboard your stuck with them unfortunately.
What are you looking at spec wise?
 
Anex,

Yes, I had noted that Dabs offer Finance which may come in handy:eek:

Regarding spec, remember you are talking to a bit of a numpty here but lets see:

i) I tend to have many applications open simultaneously so expect the more RAM the better (min. 1024MB);
ii) processors... I have no idea what's on offer ATM, those "Dual Core" thingies look expensive and I don't really need heavy duty number crunching;
iii) I will be backing up to an external HD;
iv) will be wired to home network;
v) usual CD/DVD stuff;
vi) won't pay premium price for latest generation laptop LCD screen (i.e. money's better spent on external LCD);
vii) I totally agree re. paying for a rugged case, etc.
viii) Budget is up to £1000;

Tenson, still checking what the hell these "Phaser's" are but they sound interesting. Is this some new technology????
 
Re the dual core- they have other advantages other than just speed. They use much lower voltages than 'traditional' cpus so will run cooler (so the system can be quieter) and you should get more battery life. They should also be more responsive for everyday tasks, not just heavy processing stuff. If you don't feel you need masses of power, look at the dual core 1.66GHz. You can get machines built around those with a gig of memory for around 6-700 notes at Dabs. Order another gig of Ram and you should have a decent machine to suit your needs. Else there is a dual 1.83GHz for not too much more if you want a bit extra, then there is an IBM with dual 2GHz 1gig ram and a 100gig disk for about £950 (Dabs again- been looking for myself lately, will be ordering the IBM I think) but I don't know if that is a bit over spec for you (also 2.2 hrs battery life is quite frankly shite).
Plenty to choose from, well within budget. Just remember to include your extra memory into the final cost and do check you can fit it- if your buying a system with 2x 512 sticks and it only has 2 ram sockets your going to have to pull one out to expand. It gives you that info in the Dabs specs
EDIT: Just noticed that "Core 2 Duo" has appeared as an option on Dabs now. Its faster than regular Core Duo but bare in mind there isn't an official Core 2 Mobile chip yet, it will be a desktop CPU in a laptop chassis. It'll be very quick but ime most of the laptops built around desktop cpus are a big compromise on size, weight, battery life and noise.
 
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Thanks,

Will check those out. Good point re. the memory upgrade. Is there really much difference between 1 and 2Gig in real life operation of the machine? As an example, I usually have Word (several docs), Excel, Outlook, AutoCad (up to 10 dwgs) and 1 or 2 other programs running at once.

Also, any idea what laptop make(s) have the best build quality "feel". I won't get a chance to manhandle whatever I order unfortunately.
 
Phasers are just a fancy name for a thermal transfer printer. They have been around for a long while but mainly just used by professionals. They use lumps of coloured wax and melt them onto the paper. You know the colour photocopiers where whatever they print comes out slightly glossy looking? Thats a thermal transfer printer. they are much better for some colour printing as they don't have pixels where there is solid colour. They just look a lot more pro.
 
I get the impression they are aimed at the graphics end of the market.

My main requirement for colour printing is letterheads and marketing material that feature colour photos, etc. (>95% of my printing will be good old black and white). I may still pay someone to print those specialized items for me if I can't get the quality at home for a decent price.

How do the Phasers compare to laserjet in terms of consumerables?
 
andyoz said:
Thanks,

Will check those out. Good point re. the memory upgrade. Is there really much difference between 1 and 2Gig in real life operation of the machine? As an example, I usually have Word (several docs), Excel, Outlook, AutoCad (up to 10 dwgs) and 1 or 2 other programs running at once.

Also, any idea what laptop make(s) have the best build quality "feel". I won't get a chance to manhandle whatever I order unfortunately.
Click to expand...

TBH I've never had 2gig of RAM in a system, though I will be expanding my new to 2. I don't really have any experience of autocad so I guess it depends on what you want to do. I want 2gig because my laptop is a big part of my music work- I score with it, edit audio, run virtual instruments with it, record my guitar and keyboard playing etc. etc. so it is having to run large audio files, control midi devices through the midi score, keep the virtual instruments in memory etc. etc. Basically the more memory the better in that situation. Other reasons you would want lots of RAM is heavy number crunching in excel, large access databases, program development and so forth. I was under the impression that autocad was fairly CPU and memory intensive but from what you are saying perhaps not (I guess it depends on how you use it). If you plan to move to Windows Vista anytime soon, 2gig is probably a good idea.
I doubt you would notice much if any difference between 1 and 2 gig for everyday tasks though, you need to decide what catagory you come into :) What spec machine are you using now? Is is quick enough or does it lag? Should give you an idea of where you stand.

The most recent laptops I have used are Dell and HP, both seem well put together, the Dell has a really nice keyboard and seemed really rugged, v heavy though. The HP is nice too, the buttons are excellent, no faults with the keyboard (though I prefered the Dell). Only thing I was a little concerned about was the screen has started to wobble slightly if you shake the laptop. Probably not an issue really and I doubt its hard to tighten back up.
The last IBM I used was a while ago 2 or 2.2GHz P4 mobile. Excellent build, they're really solid, great keyboard and so forth. Very odd styling but its only a laptop at the end of the day. I haven't used one of the Lenovo ones yet but hopefully they've retained the same build quality. May have one as early as next weekend, I'll keep you posted if I get it.
 
Anex,

Am I right in saying that I should be searching under T2300 type processor to get 1.66Ghz. Also, under memory, it should say 1 x 1024MB rather than 2 x 512MB (to allow easy upgrade to 2GB)

I run a 4 year old Dell 8200 with 256MB. It runs like a pile of crap to be honest but it's full of rubbish so I am not seeing it's true potential. And AutoCad can be pretty intensive come to think of it, but I am only viewing drawings really (actually most architects now tend to send stuff by pdf as the new version 7.0 allows scaling/dimensioning).

Also, what sort of resolution should the laptop be capable off to make the most of a 20" LCD (I tend to run my resolution on the high side).

Thanks, I am starting to narrow down my search considerably, particularly re. processors.
 
Well, you said it needed to be high quality...

I don't really know how they compare in terms of consumables but I suspect it is pretty good, as they just use solid blocks of wax! I do think they look more professional even just for text... its the sort where if you run your finger over the writing you can feel it on the paper.

I thought from the link you gave at first the one you were looking at was £599, but I see now it was $599. So, it is not really a comparable on price, it depends how much you want that last bit of quality.
 
Yes, may have given the wrong idea re. print quality.

The state of the art laser gear is probably more than good enough for me. Budget is around £500 but could push it up if I think I would avoid shipping stuff out to a professional printers.

I just wonder if the thermal transfer printers have any issues that make them less attactive for normal use (i.e. printing out reports with some small bits of colour here and there). I assume they are more expensive than equivalent laserjets.
 
andyoz said:
Am I right in saying that I should be searching under T2300 type processor to get 1.66Ghz
Click to expand...

Yes thats the one

andyoz said:
Also, under memory, it should say 1 x 1024MB rather than 2 x 512MB (to allow easy upgrade to 2GB)
Click to expand...

Yep. Its not absolutely essential- I wouldn't pass up an otherwise good system over it but just bare in mind it will be more expensive to upgrade later (you'll need to replace your 2x 512's with a new 1gig AND a 1 gig to replace the 512s, or something along those lines).


andyoz said:
Also, what sort of resolution should the laptop be capable off to make the most of a 20" LCD (I tend to run my resolution on the high side).
Click to expand...

Depending on the screen shape, your looking at around 1680x1050 for a widescreen. That sort of ball park. From what I've seen lately, most of the video outs should cover that easily.

andyoz said:
Thanks, I am starting to narrow down my search considerably, particularly re. processors.
Click to expand...

No problem
 
For printing, I got an old B&W HP Laser printer for £40

Then letterheads and marketing material done by a printing company which I find works out cheaper in the long run
(letterhead is £125 for 250 sheets, A4 flyer was around £100 for 150 I think)
 
My office is in my bedroom, I bought a cheap £233 IBM Thinkpad which runs XP happily, the PC already have, I use my parents laser, I invested in a VIOP phone system and spent a bit on office furniture.

In fact I spent so much that Inland Revenue practicaly owe me money for the last financial year :D
 
andyoz said:
:) :) :)

Just one thing on LCD displays, take this laptop for example:

http://www.dabs.com/ProductView.asp...=11105,388820000,50600&InMerch=1&v=2#infoarea

Under max resolution they say 1280 x 800. I assume that means the max. resolution of the actual laptop LCD screen but the display driver can go much higher with an external screen (my 4 year old Dell can go to 1600 x 1200).
Click to expand...

Yes, scroll right to the bottom of the specs, its gives you the max video output res, that is the one you are interested in. For that machine it is 2048 x 1536 i.e. plenty :)
 
amazingtrade said:
I invested in a VIOP phone system
Click to expand...

Ahhh, I was going to get onto that next... Is it possible to use your broadband connection and create several "phanton" phone numbers using VOIP, i.e. personal, business, fax no.'s.

As I understand it, you pay a fee to a VOIP provider and they act as the middle man between you and BT. Is that how it works?

I thought I would have to install a second line dedicated landline for the business but looks like VOIP avoids that. I'm already 'Skyping' like a madman so can see the benefits.
 
I have just setup a voip number for my business with Sipgate

Was free to setup and I chose a free local number, just need to get a headset or something for it now

You only pay for outgoing calls, but that is what the mobile is for!
 
Still a bit confused. Where does BT fit into all this then.

What happens to you original home telephone number. Do you keep that and set up new ones for your business and fax??

This VOIP really is making home offices cheap to setup.
 

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