should I buy a new machine with windows 10 or continuing use windows 7 pro.
should I buy a new machine with windows 10 or continuing use windows 7 pro. I have a network with 33 machines. 11 with Windows 10 and the other with Windows 7 Pro.
Should I buy new machines?
Should I buy new machines?
Support for Windows 7 ends this coming January, so for security reasons alone you'd best get rid of it. There's so much malware and other junk out there that you MUST stay updated or you're leaving the system vulnerable.
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If your Windows 7 machines came with Windows 7 and not Windows 8, 8.1 or 10, then they're really old and should probably just be replaced.
There is also a question of your internal labor rates. Some organizations don't care about how much labor it takes to do something if it will reduce spending on a purchase, whereas other organizations will recognize that putting time, parts, and licensing into a 10 year old computer isn't worth it and that the organization would be better off buying a newer machine.
There is also a question of your internal labor rates. Some organizations don't care about how much labor it takes to do something if it will reduce spending on a purchase, whereas other organizations will recognize that putting time, parts, and licensing into a 10 year old computer isn't worth it and that the organization would be better off buying a newer machine.
First, upgrading Windows might be initially cheaper, but there -are- some catches. Here's how cost pans out (assuming a basic workstation costs $1k each, like a basic Dell Optiplex):
Upgrading 22 machines running Windows 7 to 10 (assuming Pro) = $199 x 22 = $4,378
Replacing 22 machines with Windows 10 = $1,000 x 22 = $22,000
Second, dealing with the one-off issues - bear in mind that when you start dealing with more than 10 computers at once, you're inevitably going to hit a few snags. There will be a couple workstations that have some issues that cause upgrade issues, but when you buy that many PCs at once, you're also likely to have a couple machines with some initial issues (at least that was my experience when I used to buy in bulk from Dell). So no matter which way you slice it, you'll have some issues to deal with.
Also, on brand-new PCs, you'll have to deal with getting all the software re-installed (or imaging them, if you're at that point), so there's that additional uplift.
Third, bear in mind that you are almost certainly going to replace the machines at some point anyway. Those new machines will likely have Windows 10 on them, so if you buy the Windows 10 licenses, you may end up with 22 copies of Windows 10 that aren't in use (and the cost depreciates a lot when trying to sell old hardware, so you won't make back that money).
If it were me, one of the things that would influence my decision is the end-user experience. Each year, I made it a point to go around and just informally survey the users and get a sense for how things were working for them. Group behavior dynamics usually means that you have some issues that are never voiced because a lot of people don't want to be seen as the person that always complains when nobody else does. So sometimes when you have a 1-on-1 session with a user, they'll start talking more freely about their day-to-day experiences and problems. Suddenly you'll find out that a user is constantly seeing an error message about disk space and they're trying to resolve it themselves by deleting files (often files that they shouldn't be deleting). Then their neighbor will overhear this and peek over and say that he's having the same issue, and suddenly you realize everyone is doing this but nobody spoke up about it before. Now you know that the machines likely need larger hard drives.
Things like that can help you determine whether to replace hardware or just upgrade software.
The only other thing to bear in mind is that hardware inevitably fails over time. Even if you don't make use of warranties on hardware (many companies don't unless they pay for the premium warranties), they can almost act like "Use before" expiration dates on food. Once hardware gets past its warranties, you should start paying attention to the possibility of hardware replacement and how much that costs, even if you only replace one or two machines at a time.
If you purchase replacements over time, then as you swap out each workstation, the old ones can be your backups in case any of the other old ones still active on the floor end up failing. So you can spread the cost of new hardware out over time, using the old machines to help you until everyone is on a new machine.
Finally, consider the company's financial cost of someone NOT being able to work due to not having a working computer. This will differ from company to company and from role to role, but sometimes companies will have this number analyzed already. For example, if an average sales person generates $400 an hour and is paid $40 an hour, then the company will lose $360 every hour that this person cannot work. Older hardware increases the risk of having a downed computer at some point, and if you don't have the resources to get the PC up and working right away, then it might be more expensive NOT to buy new hardware.
Upgrading 22 machines running Windows 7 to 10 (assuming Pro) = $199 x 22 = $4,378
Replacing 22 machines with Windows 10 = $1,000 x 22 = $22,000
Second, dealing with the one-off issues - bear in mind that when you start dealing with more than 10 computers at once, you're inevitably going to hit a few snags. There will be a couple workstations that have some issues that cause upgrade issues, but when you buy that many PCs at once, you're also likely to have a couple machines with some initial issues (at least that was my experience when I used to buy in bulk from Dell). So no matter which way you slice it, you'll have some issues to deal with.
Also, on brand-new PCs, you'll have to deal with getting all the software re-installed (or imaging them, if you're at that point), so there's that additional uplift.
Third, bear in mind that you are almost certainly going to replace the machines at some point anyway. Those new machines will likely have Windows 10 on them, so if you buy the Windows 10 licenses, you may end up with 22 copies of Windows 10 that aren't in use (and the cost depreciates a lot when trying to sell old hardware, so you won't make back that money).
If it were me, one of the things that would influence my decision is the end-user experience. Each year, I made it a point to go around and just informally survey the users and get a sense for how things were working for them. Group behavior dynamics usually means that you have some issues that are never voiced because a lot of people don't want to be seen as the person that always complains when nobody else does. So sometimes when you have a 1-on-1 session with a user, they'll start talking more freely about their day-to-day experiences and problems. Suddenly you'll find out that a user is constantly seeing an error message about disk space and they're trying to resolve it themselves by deleting files (often files that they shouldn't be deleting). Then their neighbor will overhear this and peek over and say that he's having the same issue, and suddenly you realize everyone is doing this but nobody spoke up about it before. Now you know that the machines likely need larger hard drives.
Things like that can help you determine whether to replace hardware or just upgrade software.
The only other thing to bear in mind is that hardware inevitably fails over time. Even if you don't make use of warranties on hardware (many companies don't unless they pay for the premium warranties), they can almost act like "Use before" expiration dates on food. Once hardware gets past its warranties, you should start paying attention to the possibility of hardware replacement and how much that costs, even if you only replace one or two machines at a time.
If you purchase replacements over time, then as you swap out each workstation, the old ones can be your backups in case any of the other old ones still active on the floor end up failing. So you can spread the cost of new hardware out over time, using the old machines to help you until everyone is on a new machine.
Finally, consider the company's financial cost of someone NOT being able to work due to not having a working computer. This will differ from company to company and from role to role, but sometimes companies will have this number analyzed already. For example, if an average sales person generates $400 an hour and is paid $40 an hour, then the company will lose $360 every hour that this person cannot work. Older hardware increases the risk of having a downed computer at some point, and if you don't have the resources to get the PC up and working right away, then it might be more expensive NOT to buy new hardware.
A lot said above. My views:
1. Computers 4 years old or more running Windows 7 should be replaced with new ones.
2. Consumer computers should be replaced with Commercial computers (point above about the cost to the business of computers not working).
3. Good, newer, commercial computers - purchase a Windows 10 Pro license and install Windows 10 fresh. It is not worth it (in my experience) to upgrade in place.
1. Computers 4 years old or more running Windows 7 should be replaced with new ones.
2. Consumer computers should be replaced with Commercial computers (point above about the cost to the business of computers not working).
3. Good, newer, commercial computers - purchase a Windows 10 Pro license and install Windows 10 fresh. It is not worth it (in my experience) to upgrade in place.
upgrade to win10 if budget and softwares installed allows
keep also an eye open for incompatible devices or programs
for windows 10 you need a minimum of 4 GB ram - so that can be an indication of replacement : if the system has less ram - it will run slow, even if it runs windows 10
keep also an eye open for incompatible devices or programs
for windows 10 you need a minimum of 4 GB ram - so that can be an indication of replacement : if the system has less ram - it will run slow, even if it runs windows 10
ASKER
Thank you all. Great value of advice and views.
You are very welcome
sytange that only one got credit...
This will be way cheaper.