Upgrading my PCs

[Mystery member]

My office has been running Win7 on some fairly basic hardware (Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz tower and i3 Toshiba notebook). These are in constant use, and just starting to show their age. The tower acts as a file server, using a separate data drive, and backup is across the network and to an external USB drive.

Software in MS-Office XP (2002) and a variety of graphics programs including LR5 and the usual freeware. The older version of MS-Office works fine, provided that conversion updates are installed, but the occasional document causes trouble.

I am in the process of updating my hardware and software, and the final configuration will be something like this...

1. Main computer. High-end Win10 notebook computer with external 4K monitor and external KB/mouse. Possibly SSD plus HDD. Backup to external USB. Running Office 365 and LR6.

2. Secondary/travel computer. Mid-range Win10 notebook computer with standard external monitor/KB/mouse. Running Office 365 and low-end graphics programs (Picasa, FastStone etc.).

As a first step, I have bought an Acer 28" 4K monitor (CB281HK, USD$400) and I'm matching it with my existing Win10 notebook (Acer ES14, AMD A4 1.5GHz, 4G RAM) and upgrading to Office 365. I see this as a "trial version" of the ultimate configuration.

The Office 365 installation went smoothly (Win10 computers already have most of Office 365 pre-installed), and the upgrade from Win10 Mail to Outlook provided a welcome improvement to email operation. The existing Office XP applications no longer worked, but uninstalled smoothly.

Surprisingly, although the native resolution of the Acer ES14 is only 1366x768, it supports the 3840x2160 4K screen, while maintaining a reasonable image on the notebook LCD. A restart was required to adjust the size of screen elements.

I like the Acer 28" monitor, which seems to be about the right size. It's conveniently mounted on a column which allows the screen to slide up and down. In the "column up" position, the notebook LCD screen can be left in the open position. I haven't investigated the "extended" desktop options as yet, but that's probably not relevant for the current test phase; might be handy for LR6.

This arrangement will run in parallel with the existing computers while I ponder the next move. I'm not sure if I'll continue to use my legacy scanner, or maybe I'll crank up the scanner option of my HP colour laser printer.

Any comments or suggestions are welcome. Note that the computers are also used by other members of the family for study/business, so it's not just photo stuff.

 

[bmoag]

You may want to rethink the way you are using technology in what appears to be a home/business combination.

If finances allow you are due for an update.

If you use true client/server software look for web based alternatives. You will not regret it.

Your Core 2 duo "server" has exceeded its life expectancy and may fail at any time. You really need to recognize that. Presumably the hard drives could be salvaged and read by other machines. If those drives are PATA based you need to do something about that sooner rather than later.

If you have not thought about it investigate the paradigm of free cloud based backups, e.g. OneDrive or Dropbox. The data and storage can be shared between machines as you choose. You may find that local USB drives are all you need beyond that.

There are free alternatives to Microsoft Office, both cloud and locally based. You appear to be fond of local email programs as many are but consider that if you access email via a browser you will see the same thing regardless of what computer you use. Most allow consolidation of email from multiple vendors, e.g. see Google and Yahoo mail on Outlook.com or any combination thereof if that matters to you.

It would also help many of us to spend more time sorting and storing business emails using the tools built into the software. I am personally guilty of avoiding that and rely too much on search functions.

I am surprised you can tolerate 4k on that AMD laptop. I would suggest you invest in a laptop with at least an Nvidia 1050 (1060 would be better) if you plan to drive a 4k monitor. You should see a difference. I do not think you "need" such a machine (see below).

It is not clear if your "legacy" scanner is of the XP era. If it is USB based and still functional there is likely software out there than can drive it in Win10, e,g, Irfanview (requires a TWAIN driver) or Vuescan (can run almost anything). You mention an HP color laser printer--some color lasers are cost inefficient for daily use but that is up to you to calculate. You may be better off upgrading to a modern inexpensive laser or ink based all in one machine. Most will have software for storing scanned business documents in PDF format which is desirable for many reasons.

If a computer is shared with family in a fixed location consider a desktop based machine. That will be more cost efficient than a high end laptop, more powerful, have more internal storage options and easily drive a 4k monitor with a lower end GPU. You could probably get by with one desktop and one laptop--that is what I would recommend--based on what you write and continue to use your current laptops until they die or you can't stand using them anymore.

If not doing so with your current machines you can configure accounts for different people that limit access to particular files or functions on any shared Windows machine.

In whatever computers you get invest in SSDs for the boot drive. If you have not experienced that you are in for a pleasant surprise. Some things are worth paying extra for.

 

[Mystery member]

Thank you for your detailed and thoughtful reply.

Some background...

I ran an IT business for about 20 years and retired 10 years ago. At that time, I retained the best of my hardware and set up a network for use by the family, who at various stages have been teachers, students and tertiary lecturers. It's always been important to maintain compatibility with the local tertiary institutions, and MS-Office is the default suite of applications. Much of the on-line access is mediated by MS-Clients, such as MS-Outlook.

Locally, the family members "have no secrets" and actually collaborate on most IT activities, so we get by with unrestricted access to data folders and by using Live Mail, using different accounts on the same client. This works well when family members are away from base, and there's rarely a need for complete access to every piece of mail. Judicious forwarding works well.

You may want to rethink the way you are using technology in what appears to be a home/business combination.

If finances allow you are due for an update.

If you use true client/server software look for web based alternatives. You will not regret it.

It's 10 years since the last upgrade, so I am well aware that an upgrade is due, and finances are not an issue.

Web-based alternatives don't interest me, particularly as the Australian internet system is in a state of flux.

Your Core 2 duo "server" has exceeded its life expectancy and may fail at any time. You really need to recognize that. Presumably the hard drives could be salvaged and read by other machines. If those drives are PATA based you need to do something about that sooner rather than later.

The "server" has been periodically refreshed with extra memory, new HDDs and an upgrade from XP to Win7. The Toshiba notebook replaced an older Vista machine that wasn't worth upgrading. I've been impressed by the Toshiba's reliability and performance (it used to be my "travel" computer).

If you have not thought about it investigate the paradigm of free cloud based backups, e.g. OneDrive or Dropbox. The data and storage can be shared between machines as you choose. You may find that local USB drives are all you need beyond that.

Again, cloud-based backup does not interest me, as our total data (archive + current) only amounts to several hundred gigabytes. A combination of HDD and USB drives has worked very well for 30+ years, and I'm reluctant to meddle with that.

There are free alternatives to Microsoft Office, both cloud and locally based.

I have been using MS-Office for a long time, including the version that came on 43 floppies accompanied by about a cubic foot of hard-copy manuals. I have too much invested in the details to be tempted by alternatives. Office XP (2002) has been fine for everything that we do, but lately, it's been a chore to convert incoming student assignments, and some (probably Apple versions) resist conversion. Hence my decision to upgrade to Office 365 (2016). At $90 per year for 5 installs, its a no-brainer.

I am surprised you can tolerate 4k on that AMD laptop. I would suggest you invest in a laptop with at least an Nvidia 1050 (1060 would be better) if you plan to drive a 4k monitor. You should see a difference. I do not think you "need" such a machine (see below).

The 4k screen is only being used on the AMD notebook as an experiment, and I was quite surprised that a $300 computer supported 3840x2160. It looks fine, and the performance is OK for general use. It seems that the notebook screen is also being driven at 3840x2160 rather than at its native resolution, so it looks a bit fuzzy, but that's not important. (The Toshiba is able to support two different resolutions, BTW). The AMD notebook is my current "travel" computer and may not form part of the "ultimate configuration".

It is not clear if your "legacy" scanner is of the XP era. If it is USB based and still functional there is likely software out there than can drive it in Win10, e,g, Irfanview (requires a TWAIN driver) or Vuescan (can run almost anything). You mention an HP color laser printer--some color lasers are cost inefficient for daily use but that is up to you to calculate. You may be better off upgrading to a modern inexpensive laser or ink based all in one machine. Most will have software for storing scanned business documents in PDF format which is desirable for many reasons.

Yes the scanner is XP era, and I'll deal with the scanning issue when time permits. The HP color laser is a multi-function device, and I haven't had time to investigate its suitability as a general-purpose scanner; sometimes, HP insists that you do it "their way". As you observe, the HP color laser isn't cost effective, and now that the color cartridges are exhausted, it's reverted to B&W only. I bought the laser because of its excellent features, such as network printing, copy function, easy maintenance etc. I initially had a use for spot-color on a special project, but the color quality doesn't justify restoring that capability for photo use (3x color cartridges cost as much as the original unit).

If a computer is shared with family in a fixed location consider a desktop based machine. That will be more cost efficient than a high end laptop, more powerful, have more internal storage options and easily drive a 4k monitor with a lower end GPU. You could probably get by with one desktop and one laptop--that is what I would recommend--based on what you write and continue to use your current laptops until they die or you can't stand using them anymore.

I'm still considering a desktop for the "server" role, but if I can find a good enough notebook, I'll go that way.

If not doing so with your current machines you can configure accounts for different people that limit access to particular files or functions on any shared Windows machine.

This doesn't apply to our situation, as explained. When this facility became available in the early days, I found that consumers who set up their computers with different accounts usually ended up with a mess that was difficult to untangle.

In whatever computers you get invest in SSDs for the boot drive. If you have not experienced that you are in for a pleasant surprise. Some things are worth paying extra for.

Yes, I have one of my spare computers booting from an SSD (250G Samsung). Even with legacy hardware and drivers, the performance is very pleasing. The copy of MS-Word that lives on that computer starts up in an instant. Way back, I can recall waiting for about a minute for WP for Windows to load.

Thanks again. I'll update this thread as things develop.

 

[Russell Evans]

Thank you for your detailed and thoughtful reply.

Some background...

I ran an IT business for about 20 years and retired 10 years ago. At that time, I retained the best of my hardware and set up a network for use by the family, who at various stages have been teachers, students and tertiary lecturers. It's always been important to maintain compatibility with the local tertiary institutions, and MS-Office is the default suite of applications. Much of the on-line access is mediated by MS-Clients, such as MS-Outlook.

Locally, the family members "have no secrets" and actually collaborate on most IT activities, so we get by with unrestricted access to data folders and by using Live Mail, using different accounts on the same client. This works well when family members are away from base, and there's rarely a need for complete access to every piece of mail. Judicious forwarding works well.

You may want to rethink the way you are using technology in what appears to be a home/business combination.

If finances allow you are due for an update.

If you use true client/server software look for web based alternatives. You will not regret it.

It's 10 years since the last upgrade, so I am well aware that an upgrade is due, and finances are not an issue.

Web-based alternatives don't interest me, particularly as the Australian internet system is in a state of flux.

You might still be interested in the Office365 that is web based. There are also the Win10 apps for Office365 which are different than the desktop Office365 programs. There are Office365 Android and IOS apps as well. Although the apps are local, I think they are really just interfaces to the online version of Office365.

If you have not thought about it investigate the paradigm of free cloud based backups, e.g. OneDrive or Dropbox. The data and storage can be shared between machines as you choose. You may find that local USB drives are all you need beyond that.

Again, cloud-based backup does not interest me, as our total data (archive + current) only amounts to several hundred gigabytes. A combination of HDD and USB drives has worked very well for 30+ years, and I'm reluctant to meddle with that.

Using OneDrive won't meddle with what you have been doing. It just means you will also have an offsite copy of your files if the need ever arises.

It is not clear if your "legacy" scanner is of the XP era. If it is USB based and still functional there is likely software out there than can drive it in Win10, e,g, Irfanview (requires a TWAIN driver) or Vuescan (can run almost anything). You mention an HP color laser printer--some color lasers are cost inefficient for daily use but that is up to you to calculate. You may be better off upgrading to a modern inexpensive laser or ink based all in one machine. Most will have software for storing scanned business documents in PDF format which is desirable for many reasons.

Yes the scanner is XP era, and I'll deal with the scanning issue when time permits.

If the scanner is just for scanning documents, you might want to look at the Microsoft Office Len app instead. It runs on IOS, Android, and Win8-10, and uses the built in camera hardware of mobile devices and Win10 machines. I haven't looked at laptops in a few years, but all the 2in1, and tablet based Win10 machines seem to have rear cameras for its use. I don't know if it will work with attached cameras on desktop machines, I would assume so, but it might not.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/p/office-lens/9wzdncrfj3t8

Office Lens trims, enhances, and makes pictures of whiteboards and docs readable. You can use Office Lens to convert images to PDF, Word and PowerPoint files, and you can even save images to OneNote or OneDrive.

Office Lens is like having a scanner in your pocket. Like magic, it will digitize notes from whiteboards or blackboards. Always find important documents or business cards. Sketch your ideas and snap a picture for later. Don't lose receipts or stray sticky notes again!

Scenarios:

• - Capture and crop a picture of a whiteboard or blackboard and share your meeting notes with co-workers.
• - Make digital copies of your printed documents, business cards, or posters and trim them precisely.
• - Printed and handwritten text will be automatically recognized (using OCR), so you can search for words in images and then copy and edit them.

Thank you
Russell

 

[Mystery member]

Yes the scanner is XP era, and I'll deal with the scanning issue when time permits.

If the scanner is just for scanning documents, you might want to look at the Microsoft Office Len app instead. It runs on IOS, Android, and Win8-10, and uses the built in camera hardware of mobile devices and Win10 machines. I haven't looked at laptops in a few years, but all the 2in1, and tablet based Win10 machines seem to have rear cameras for its use. I don't know if it will work with attached cameras on desktop machines, I would assume so, but it might not.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/p/office-lens/9wzdncrfj3t8

I'll look into that, but I don't think it would successfully replace my existing Canon LIDE, which does an excellent job with documents. A typical job would entail manually scanning a collection of A4 material, varying the resolution as required, cropping, then inserting the images into MS-Word, with the final product being a PDF file for emailing. (Some sections are hand-written notes where 100 dpi is fine, whereas 300dpi might be needed for some sections).

As I mentioned, one possibility is to utilise the page-feed scanner of my Laser multi-function device, but I simply haven't had time to check it out. I'd be surprised if any automated device could duplicate the procedure outlined above while keeping the final file size within bounds.

BTW, for the occasional A2 page, I've been known to use one of my cameras.

 

[Russell Evans]

Yes the scanner is XP era, and I'll deal with the scanning issue when time permits.

If the scanner is just for scanning documents, you might want to look at the Microsoft Office Len app instead. It runs on IOS, Android, and Win8-10, and uses the built in camera hardware of mobile devices and Win10 machines. I haven't looked at laptops in a few years, but all the 2in1, and tablet based Win10 machines seem to have rear cameras for its use. I don't know if it will work with attached cameras on desktop machines, I would assume so, but it might not.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/p/office-lens/9wzdncrfj3t8

I'll look into that, but I don't think it would successfully replace my existing Canon LIDE, which does an excellent job with documents. A typical job would entail manually scanning a collection of A4 material, varying the resolution as required, cropping, then inserting the images into MS-Word, with the final product being a PDF file for emailing. (Some sections are hand-written notes where 100 dpi is fine, whereas 300dpi might be needed for some sections).

The app crops automatically. It will save to Word, imports image and does OCR, as well as to other options: Onedrive, Notes, PDF, and Image Gallery. Pick one or have the scan sent to multiple of the options.

I'm not sure about the resolution in DPI, it just has settings for the camera's resolution. You end up with a crop from that as well. Paper size, or shape, is not an issue. I've used it to scan an entire wall , a large trail map on bill board at a trail head, and down in size to meal receipts and business cards.

Thank you
Russell

 

[Mystery member]

Yes the scanner is XP era, and I'll deal with the scanning issue when time permits.

If the scanner is just for scanning documents, you might want to look at the Microsoft Office Len app instead. It runs on IOS, Android, and Win8-10, and uses the built in camera hardware of mobile devices and Win10 machines. I haven't looked at laptops in a few years, but all the 2in1, and tablet based Win10 machines seem to have rear cameras for its use. I don't know if it will work with attached cameras on desktop machines, I would assume so, but it might not.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/p/office-lens/9wzdncrfj3t8

I'll look into that, but I don't think it would successfully replace my existing Canon LIDE, which does an excellent job with documents. A typical job would entail manually scanning a collection of A4 material, varying the resolution as required, cropping, then inserting the images into MS-Word, with the final product being a PDF file for emailing. (Some sections are hand-written notes where 100 dpi is fine, whereas 300dpi might be needed for some sections).

The app crops automatically. It will save to Word, imports image and does OCR, as well as to other options: Onedrive, Notes, PDF, and Image Gallery. Pick one or have the scan sent to multiple of the options.

I'm not sure about the resolution in DPI, it just has settings for the camera's resolution. You end up with a crop from that as well. Paper size, or shape, is not an issue. I've used it to scan an entire wall , a large trail map on bill board at a trail head, and down in size to meal receipts and business cards.

Thanks, I will investigate.

The job I mentioned only comes up a couple of times a year. It's a student's examination paper that really needs close attention to detail, and that's more important than speed or convenience.

The Upgrade referred to in the thread title is proceeding well. I have transferred all of my activities to the new notebook, while the older server has been given a bit of a make-over, de-dust etc. and has acquired its own USB backup. The 28" screen is nice, but I had to increase the text size for better visibility.

I'm still looking or a replacement for my main computer and I'm leaning towards a mid-range notebook for around $1000 rather than the more extravagant hardware mentioned initially.

Edit: I've reconsidered my need for fast image editing and acquired a suitable notebook.

Acer A9 8Gb RAM, 128Gb SSD, 2Tb HDD DVD. It has plenty of connectivity, including SD, Ethernet, VGA, HDMI, 2xUSB 3.0, 1xUSB 3.1 type C, 1xUSB2.0. The latter is actually in the right place for a mouse, should it be needed.

 

[Mystery member]

Update:

For those who are anxiously awaiting news of my progress, both notebook computers are now up and running, working in parallel with the existing networked system.

I'll be running the new system without a network and I've partitioning the existing data folders as required. At present, only representative samples of our data have been transferred during the testing phase. WiFi looks after the Internet/Mail as well as the printer.

Computers...

1. My existing Win10 notebook (Acer ES14, AMD A4 1.5GHz, 4G RAM), with Acer 28" 4K monitor (CB281HK).

This "travel" computer works well for all normal operations, including basic image editing. No issues setting up, except that there's only a couple of USB ports, so the external KB/Mouse share a single wireless dongle.

2. New Acer A9 8Gb RAM, 128Gb SSD, 2Tb HDD DVD. It has plenty of connectivity, including SD, Ethernet, VGA, HDMI, 2xUSB 3.0, 1xUSB 3.1 type C, 1xUSB2.0, with Benq 22" monitor (1680x1050).

No problems setting up this computer. I had to tell Win10 to use the HDD to load any new applications rather than the SSD (The SSD is reserved for the OS as well as the Office 365 installation). The wireless HP Laser printer was found and installed seamlessly. The previously mentioned Canon LIDE 110 scanner was also found and there was an MS application to support it. I'm testing MS Edge as the browser on this new computer, since Google seems to be mostly returning paid sites these day. So far Edge is working OK.

Final installation of programs and distribution of live data will occur when I've decided on the best use for each computer. First impression is that I prefer the 22" monitor over the 28" for day-to-day word-processing.

Backup using 2x USB 1Tb HDDs seems to be a good solution.

 

[Russell Evans]

Update:

For those who are anxiously awaiting news of my progress, both notebook computers are now up and running, working in parallel with the existing networked system.

I'll be running the new system without a network and I've partitioning the existing data folders as required. At present, only representative samples of our data have been transferred during the testing phase. WiFi looks after the Internet/Mail as well as the printer.

Computers...

1. My existing Win10 notebook (Acer ES14, AMD A4 1.5GHz, 4G RAM), with Acer 28" 4K monitor (CB281HK).

This "travel" computer works well for all normal operations, including basic image editing. No issues setting up, except that there's only a couple of USB ports, so the external KB/Mouse share a single wireless dongle.

You might look into using Synergy so that you can have the mouse and keyboard dongle on your older hardware, but still be able to use it on the new system.

Synergy - Share one mouse & keyboard across computers

Synergy is an app that shares one mouse and one keyboard across multiple computers and monitors. Instant download, easy to setup in minutes.

symless.com

Synergy combines your desktop devices together in to one cohesive experience. It's software for sharing your mouse and keyboard between multiple computers on your desk. It works on Windows, macOS and Linux.


Thank you
Russell

 

[Mystery member]

You might look into using Synergy so that you can have the mouse and keyboard dongle on your older hardware, but still be able to use it on the new system.

https://symless.com/synergy

Synergy combines your desktop devices together in to one cohesive experience. It's software for sharing your mouse and keyboard between multiple computers on your desk. It works on Windows, macOS and Linux.

Thanks, but each computer needs its own input. There's really only room for two computers in the office, and the others are in a separate room for the moment.

Eventually, the old tower will become my experimental computer and will live in the workshop. The old Toshiba notebook will be retired or given to a student.

 

[pretzels]

I prefer 4K on a 32 inch screen. I would suggest you try 4K on different screen sizes before you purchase.

pretzels

 

[Mystery member]

I prefer 4K on a 32 inch screen. I would suggest you try 4K on different screen sizes before you purchase.

I already have the 28" 4k, and the size is right for me. It happened to be the largest available when I went looking, and it was the best value in terms of screen area per dollar.

I'm still in the testing phase with this setup, but I'm anticipating that the extra screen real estate will be ideal for comparing documents etc. etc. It's not bad for editing photos either.

I do have a 40" 4k TV screen in the same room, so I can appreciate larger screens when appropriate. BTW, our TV broadcasts top out at 1920x1080 (most are 1280x720), but the 4k TV does a remarkably good job of up-scaling everything.

Continuing this "Upgrade" blog...

I'm still using the old file server, but I now have its AMD A9 notebook replacement working in parallel, and I'm slowly setting up the applications that I need. I've transferred a temporary copy of all our files for testing purposes. The OS and main applications run from the 128Gb SSD, so the boot-up time and general performance is quite snappy.

So far there's been no problems, and I'm pleased to say that the trial version of Norton AV has been working unobtrusively; I'll probably retain it when the 1 month trial runs out. Some pre-installed AV programs are so painful that they get "nuked" almost immediately.

The new notebook has plenty of connectivity, including 2x USB3, 1x USB2, and 1x C-Type USB3.1. I've added a short C-type to USB3 adapter for those devices that need to be plugged in regularly (better than wearing out the built-in USB3).

It now drives the 28" 4k monitor previously used with the entry-level A4 notebook, and it looks a treat. The A4 notebook has reverted to its role as a travel computer and Win10 test-bed.

I don't worry too much about benchmarks, but these AMD A9 notebooks run somewhat faster than the existing server (Intel Core-2 Duo 2.4GHz) according to GeekBench4.

 

[Mystery member]

My office has been running Win7 on some fairly basic hardware (Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz tower and i3 Toshiba notebook). These are in constant use, and just starting to show their age. The tower acts as a file server, using a separate data drive, and backup is across the network and to an external USB drive.

Software in MS-Office XP (2002) and a variety of graphics programs including LR5 and the usual freeware. The older version of MS-Office works fine, provided that conversion updates are installed, but the occasional document causes trouble.

I am in the process of updating my hardware and software, and the final configuration will be something like this...

1. Main computer. High-end Win10 notebook computer with external 4K monitor and external KB/mouse. Possibly SSD plus HDD. Backup to external USB. Running Office 365 and LR6.

2. Secondary/travel computer. Mid-range Win10 notebook computer with standard external monitor/KB/mouse. Running Office 365 and low-end graphics programs (Picasa, FastStone etc.).

As a first step, I have bought an Acer 28" 4K monitor (CB281HK, USD$400) and I'm matching it with my existing Win10 notebook (Acer ES14, AMD A4 1.5GHz, 4G RAM) and upgrading to Office 365. I see this as a "trial version" of the ultimate configuration.

The Office 365 installation went smoothly (Win10 computers already have most of Office 365 pre-installed), and the upgrade from Win10 Mail to Outlook provided a welcome improvement to email operation. The existing Office XP applications no longer worked, but uninstalled smoothly.

Surprisingly, although the native resolution of the Acer ES14 is only 1366x768, it supports the 3840x2160 4K screen, while maintaining a reasonable image on the notebook LCD. A restart was required to adjust the size of screen elements.

I like the Acer 28" monitor, which seems to be about the right size. It's conveniently mounted on a column which allows the screen to slide up and down. In the "column up" position, the notebook LCD screen can be left in the open position. I haven't investigated the "extended" desktop options as yet, but that's probably not relevant for the current test phase; might be handy for LR6.

This arrangement will run in parallel with the existing computers while I ponder the next move. I'm not sure if I'll continue to use my legacy scanner, or maybe I'll crank up the scanner option of my HP colour laser printer.

Any comments or suggestions are welcome. Note that the computers are also used by other members of the family for study/business, so it's not just photo stuff.

For anyone breathlessly following the development of this story, the final configuration is as follows.

• Acer AMD A4 1.5GHz, 4Gb RAM, 500Gb HDD. (Travel computer).
• Acer AMD A9 2.9GHz, 8Gb RAM, 128Gb SSD, 2Tb HDD, 28" 4k screen.
• HP Intel i7, 2.7GHz, 8Gb RAM, 1Tb HDD, 22" Screen.

According to GeekBench4, the performance of the computers is roughly in the proportion of 1:2:4, and they're all pretty good for their intended purpose.

Early days with the HP i7, but it seems to be a nice machine. It supports different resolution modes on external and built-in screens with a nice little Intel application. The 22" Benq screen has nice colour and this will be my main graphics computer. I need to get the latest iteration of LR.

The existing Canon LIDE scanner is supported by Win10, and the main applications (apart from photo stuff) are Office-365. Backup is looked after by several 1Tb USB drives. During the test phase, I've moved away from a server-based network, and the "Super-Sneaker-Net" is fine for the few files that need to be transferred, but once in production, it will be peer-peer networking again.

The 28" 4k screen works well on the AMD A9, and the extra pixel real estate is a big asset for marking/reading/comparing several documents.

HP computers come with McAfee security, and the i7 seemed to cheer up once I uninstalled it. I haven't scanned with MWB yet, but that's next on the list.