There’s never been a better time to buy hardware

In 1965 Gordon Moore one of the co-founders of micro-processor manufacturer Intel forecast that computing power would double every 18 to 24 months for the foreseeable future. Whilst recent research has shown this to be not quite true, the increase has still been pretty dramatic in the forty odd years since.

Normally, increases in power like this are accompanied by corresponding price hikes but advances in manufacturing and greater competition have stopped this from happening. Although the processor (the power of which Moore was referring to) is only one part of a typical computer, the other components – memory, disks, screen etc – have also followed the same price/power trajectory.

Reduced costs and increased lifespan for hardware

There are still exceptions to this rule for the more designer items like the iPad and other tablets. Here higher cost is caused by the sleekness and styling of the device, but the computing power is significantly less than a similar priced PC or laptop.

But generally, what this means to the average business is good news in that high-specification workstations and servers now represent excellent value for money. For example, it is now possible to buy a high-specification server and 10 new desktop PCs for £5,000, a price which would have been unthinkable a few years ago.

When you also consider that the reliability of the devices has also increased, leading to a longer life of at least 3 years, this works down to a cost per user of something like £3 to £4 a week for the entire network. In the current economic climate a very important and compelling factor.

Check the warranty

When buying any new PC or server it is important to look closely at the warranty offered by the manufacturer. This is especially so on older equipment, as if something does eventually go wrong the cost to replace parts can be very expensive. If it is not covered by a warranty it may actually be cheaper to throw the whole unit away and buy a new one.

JDM use only the best quality hardware in all our installations, coupled with our guarantee of providing the best price on everything we install, there has never been a better time to replace your ageing hardware and improve your productivity and profitability.