Home Forums Discussions General Discussion AC Main Computer Recommendations

I know this topic has been discussed ad nauseum, and many support getting a genuine server. However, I'm a sole practitioner and likely do not need a genuine server. I've been running a Core 2 Duo for the last 5 years and it has done well. However, I have to upgrade from 6.3.3 to 8.x.x for ICD-10, which actually looks like it will go through this time. Version 8 recommends an i7, and I may go with Dell again this year. Anyone know of other companies I should consider for the "main computer"?

Lenovo and Dell are both good. They are generally the ones I use. If you use SSDs, at least 8 GBs of RAM and the latest i7, you would be pretty well set.

You can consider 16 GBs of RAM. The main reason is if you install or use a VM, you will have extra RAM to allot to it. Sometimes, it is good to test programs such as AD in a VM. Sure, you can test it in a sandbox, but then you have to remove AC from that PC and install the newest version with is own SQL.

Much easier to install it to a VM where you can play with it at your own desktop and use snapshots to go back instantly if you screw it up. I would highly recommend that.

Boondoc, our situation was similar. We have been happy with the Dell XPS 8700 with 8 GBs of RAM.

I have not yet taken Bert's advice re: 16 GBs and VM, so you may want to take that into account.

I got on the chat with a Dell rep, and they recommended the XPS 8700. It looks like their top of the line computer, although it pales in comparison to the features on my late generation iMac. I wish they allowed more customization, such as more RAM, bigger SSD drives, and so on. It looks like I can get the 16 GB at least and they only seem to offer a 32 GB SSD, which seems just tiny. Bert: what VM do you use?

If you have ever done a car tune up or successfully programmed your remote, building your own computer isn't that hard.
Then again calling yourself for support is interesting!

VMWare v11

That has to be some type of misquote or mistake. The smallest I have run into, and this is going back at least two years has been 128. I have 1 TB in mine mainly due to running three VMs (three guests), and maybe more.

You could look at the Lenovo P900 Workstation. Can get 1 TB SSDs, but they are pricier than what you could get from eBay or NewEgg. And, it seems like a server. No i7s just Xeons. You can add a better Xeon or two for $200 or you can add a Super Xeon for $12,000. Crazy. But, you can get 32 GBs of RAM, which is 16 more than you need.

Or you can have Sandeep build it and ship it to you.

Sandeep built our solo practice server just before our upgrade from V6 to V8 and did a GREAT job. He was very organized and I'm glad we decided to use his services. We hadn't used an IT guy for this practice and he helped us setup our old windows 7 'main computer' with remote desktop login for the laptops as well, which has helped a lot for the WIFI speed issues.

We highly recommend Sandeep.

We all do!

I looked around for you and found this hard drive. It is the world's largest hard drive, and it doesn't even contain spinning platters. This is a 16 TB SSD. Samsung put 48 of these in a server for a total capacity of 768 TBs (enough to store over 52,000 Shrek movies). It is performance rated at 2,000,000 IOPS.

So will that be recommended hardware for V8???

Yes, it already is. Along with 6 Intel Xeon Processors and 562 GBs of RAM.

Also using Dell XPS 8700 with 12 GB RAM for "main computer". It has the i7-4790-3.6 Ghz CPU, which is one of the faster processors available in consumer grade computers. Dell wants $950 for this model, which includes Win 7 Pro. Occasionally you'll see it at Costco for even less. Be careful, sometimes the lower price is for the i5 model. Stock Dell RAM is overpriced but very easy to add third party RAM yourself, as with most Dells.

I'm comparing this with an Optiplex, which is much easier to customize. In that case I can get 16 gb of ram, a 250 GB SSD drive, and the i7-4790. The XPS says it is up to 4.0 ghz, but the opti say 3.6 ghz. I amy just buy a 250 GB SSD drive from Amazon for less than the upgrade on the Del, and get the 1T drive essentially free. What do you think of a similarly equiped Optiplex?

In the end, it probably doesn't matter. Both are business models. Optiplex will possibly last longer. Make sure that when you customize it, you look at the PSU as well. Some of them come with 220s, which really isn't enough. I usually try to get at least 500 watts. Also, I am sure they come with USB 3.0, but how many and do they have them on the front as well?

So, with the new system, I'm going to upgrade to version 8. I care nothing for MU, but want to do ICD-10. Which version is most stable and to which should I upgrade?

Well, 8.2.4 is the most stable. 8.2.5 doesn't add much. But, if it is available, I would at least test it for 30 minutes to look at for an hour in a test computer just to see the speed difference.

Otherwise, go with 8.2.4. Good luck. Please let us know.