Generally, programs are more demanding these days, including the day to day ones like Windows and Office, below is the minimum specification we recommend when purchasing a computer in order to get the highest productivity...
- Windows 10 Professional / Enterprise - Windows 10 is the most secure operating system, Pro or Enterprise is needed to enable things like domain joins and encryption
- 8GB RAM - Systems are often still sold with 4GB but this is the bare minimum and is quickly used up with one or two programs open, 8GB allows users to be more productive with faster response times and more programs open at once.
- 10th generation i3 Intel processor - this is the minimum we'd recommend, however, if you're running specific programs we suggest checking their requirements as they may require and i5 or i7 equivalent
- SSD drive - SSD drives are solid-state, they are significantly faster than the old HDD drives, if you get a non SSD drive this will significantly compromise the performance of your PC
- TPM chip - we strongly recommend encryption is enabled on PCs, a TPM chip is required to enable this, most business devices include one but it's definitely worth checking
- 3-year warranty - in the event of an issue this ensures you're back up and running quickly
Other things to consider when buying a computer ...
- Touch screen
- Weight, screen size and resolution (laptops)
- Port availability - many laptops only have USB C now
- Build quality
- Do you need a dock?
- Two screens are better than one, it's a big productivity gain
Last updated - November 2022.