Tech Forum

Our Stakes Clerk computers are 5 years old. Our FM group sent me an email about the computers that are available to replace them. Listed are the same ones that have been talked about for some time here in these forums. Dell 7010 DT, HP 6305, and ThinkCentre M78.

There was also a note (FM group said they received in Nov) in regards to 2015 Computer Standards being delayed until at Least March or April while new technology was being evaluated. To me the implication of what that message was saying is that maybe if you wait until March or April to order your computers there could be newer models available.

With the replacement cycle being 5+ years it seems it may be worth it to wait a few months for a newer model. However, our current computers are so frustratingly slow (and the clerks remind me of that) I hate to put it off. Anyone have any light they could shed on the subject?

I increased memory to 2 GB (using the stake budget) in all the Dell OptiPlex 740 computers in my stake a couple years ago. That made them a little faster.

When someone complains that a computer is slow, it is difficult to determine exactly what they are complaining about. Insufficient memory will cause programs to swap out, which could cause "thrashing" in extreme cases. The solution to that is to run as few programs as possible at one time. Another cause for slow performance is a fragmented hard drive. If you leave the computer running 24/7, that should allow you to schedule the Disk Defragmenter to run at night.

If you have poor Internet performance (including MLS Send/Receive), you should ask your STS to upgrade your firewall to the new configuration, which MAY improve Internet performance.

We have received two Dell 7010 computers so far. One OptiPlex had been stolen, and another had aged out of service. They seem to work just fine. Our FM won't receive notice of his available budget until January 15th, so I don't know when he will order the other ten computers.

Our FM is only replacing the computers (including keyboard and mouse). We are using the same monitors and printers until they die.

Many times I find the issue is slow start up. It takes time to boot up, update the AV and all that stuff. The machine is fast enough once everything settles down. So I'd suggest strategies for booting it up ahead of when it's needed for the day.

You might also want to disable the OpenOffice/LibreOffice "fast loader". I don't think it speeds things up that much and it's something else running at boot time.

If you are trying to play that wait and see game, I'm not sure how successful you'll be. We've heard over and over for years and years about things that never materialize. I'd just order new ones.

johnshaw wrote:If you are trying to play that wait and see game, I'm not sure how successful you'll be. We've heard over and over for years and years about things that never materialize. I'd just order new ones.

By in large, unless the date is in "just a few weeks" expect it to slip. Even if they tell you which quarter, expect it to be the following quarter.

My best guess is that the models are changing and the church needs to pick from the new model line-up. I don't know as the wait would be worth it. Furthermore, I doubt if the church is going to move to more powerful processors. The long-term plan is to move MLS to the web. And unless you count webcasting, there's been no move to add any apps at the unit level. As such, you might not want to wait. You might end up with a newer but less powerful model. I was actually surprised the new units we got were as powerful as they were.

Thanks for the replies. I have been leaning towards going ahead and ordering myself. I attempted making some calls to "sniff" around but if anyone knew anything they weren't talking.

I am usually a Dell person. Use them with all my clients and have been pretty happy. I am open to trying the HP or Lenovo. They don't really show any spec's on what I was sent other than the Dell has a 20" monitor and the other two show 22" viewsonic monitors.

Computer, Desktop (MLS) Dell
Optiplex 7010 DT with 20" LCD monitor and sound bar; 3 year warranty

Computer, Desktop (MLS) HP
HP 6305 Desktop Standard 8GB, ViewSonic 22" Wide LED monitor with built-in speakers,

Computer, Desktop (MLS) Lenovo
Custom ThinkCentre M78, ViewSonic 22" Wide LED monitor with built-in speakers,

Any preferences or positive/negative experiences?

thanks
Michael

I've been happy with the Dells we got. They might be 20". HD format (9:16). Not very tall, but wide. But no one complained when they replaced the 17" CRTs.

I've got HPs at work. Since they're 22", I'd be tempted to order HP. While 20" sounds big, when it's in the HD format, it's not very tall.

For anyone interested in outcomes.... I went with Dell. They have come in, set them up and distributed them. They are Dell OptiPlex 7020 w/ i3-4050 (3.50GHz) 4gb ram 64bit windows 7 sp1, 500gb hard drive, 8gb usb drive.

So far our clerks have been happy with the improved performance. As I distributed them I also did our firewall upgrades and separated out the network for the new firewall image. There have been issues with that... maybe a topic for another thread. sigh