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Setting up an office - what do I need?

post #1 of 15
5/2/05 at 6:38pm
Thread Starter 
I'm tasked with buying three computers for an office. They need to be networked together - preferably wireless.

Of those pc's, I need two desktops - standard office usage. I'm tending to lean on the cheaper side and hope for some dell "free upgrades."

The third pc is a lappy. It's going to be used in a tech. booth for running powerpoint via a projector. Outside of needing the wireless portion and a cd/rw, it can be a very low end lappy. I want low end but I also want something that's going to hold up to being pulling out all the time. I was looking at the 1000 with the 14.1 display. Is that of any value? Other ideas?

I originally was going to go the 6000 route and use the lappy also for portable work, but it turns out they are replacing an existing nice lappy for a desktop and will use that lappy for porting around.

Thanks.
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post #2 of 15
5/2/05 at 7:11pm
just buy two desktops with 802.11g pci cards and get a laptop plus a wireless router.

it seems u already know what u want, but for the laptop get the cheapest one with the build in wifi which can be the 1200 or you can try picking up a refurb 1000
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post #3 of 15
5/2/05 at 8:34pm
pcmcia cards are not for desktops.

You will need wireless PCI cards or you can get wireless USB adapters.
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post #4 of 15
5/2/05 at 10:11pm
oh yeah my bad i ment PCI, lol my mind has been elsewhere
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post #5 of 15
5/3/05 at 6:47am
A standard cheap desktop of any brand will do a good job on office-apps. No need to overdo it there. Think of enough RAM if you want to do pic's.

For a durable lappy I made the experiance that Toshiba really holds up to mobile life. You will find good and bad reviews about every brand. Important is to take care of your lappy and don't give it a hard time.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Onion
pcmcia cards are not for desktops...
This is not quite true. You get adapters for PCMCIA-Cards that lets you use them on a PC. These adapters are cheaper than buying an aditional card in the PCI format.
_
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post #6 of 15
5/3/05 at 8:26am
why a desktop pc is going to use wireless is beyond me :P
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post #7 of 15
5/3/05 at 9:37am
Quote:
Originally Posted by DimGR
why a desktop pc is going to use wireless is beyond me
Well, your absolutely right, beets me to. But it could be that the socket is located in such a position that the cable would be disturbing, or maybe someone would like to use wireless just for the fun of it.
_
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post #8 of 15
5/3/05 at 10:52am
if you're going to be using tv-out for presentations, use an intel graphics chip or nvidia, software is easier to configure for extended or cloned desktops.
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post #9 of 15
5/3/05 at 11:34am
Quote:
Originally Posted by DimGR
why a desktop pc is going to use wireless is beyond me :P
I agree
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post #10 of 15
5/3/05 at 1:19pm
Cleaner look? So they don't have to drill holes? So no unsightly cables? Maybe the router is located on another floor? There's plenty of reasons
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post #11 of 15
5/3/05 at 4:15pm
Thread Starter 
The reason for the wireless is this.
1. The tech area laptop has to be wireless. Wireless is the only way to reach it.
2. The other two pc's are located in (almost) adjoining rooms but I don't know of any "easy way" to run cords (like through a ceiling.). I think the ceiling is solid - not a false ceiling with tiles.


Additionally, I think the Inet connection is only on one machine and a dial-up at that - with no reason to network in the Inet connection. We are looking solely at a network for file sharing.
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post #12 of 15
5/4/05 at 1:50pm
Just as an additional concern about wireless:

If you are in an area with a 2.4 GHz phone, you may receive some interference from it. Unfortunately, I have a Panasonic which tends to rotate frequencies within the 2.4 band in order to discourage ease-droppers. This also has the side-effect of taking my network down.

Depending on your office work, you will also want to safeguard your network from hacking.
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post #13 of 15
5/6/05 at 10:02am
Try to wire the 2 pcs that are reachable. Wireless in the office is a big no no. The office I work in have plenty of problem with wireless: interferences, etc....
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post #14 of 15
5/6/05 at 11:08am
Thread Starter 
Thanks. Your right...I'd rather not have a ton of phone calls about "the network's down."
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post #15 of 15
5/6/05 at 1:03pm
A potential option would be to go with the 802.11a network. It's on a different frequency, so I don't think there's much interference. The drawbacks is that it used to be (not sure about now) more expensive and the range is shorter than 802.11b/g.

Edit: Oooops, I strayed from your original post, 9100. Sorry. Unfortunately, I don't have much personal experience with the 1000. Since you already own a 9100, then I'm sure you're familiar with Dell's laptop lineup, so I really couldn't tell you anything you don't already know. Best of luck, though.
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