Processing speed advice for new PC

[EmBD]

Dear All,

I am new to the site and am in charge of computers at work, although apart from 'have you tried turning it off and on again' I'm not great with them!

One of our reception computers is on its way out - all the computer is used for is running our Practice Management Software - basically software that lets us make appointments and keep client records (the software is installed on the machine, but it is linked to a central server). It also needs Open Office, to open PDFs and go on the internet - that's it. 

I asked our Software supplier if we could buy a Acer Veriton N281G Atom S425 SFF Business Desktop PC - PS.VBGE3.035 Form Factor - Thin Client
Processor - D425 Intel Atom D425 - 1.8 GHz
RAM - 2 GB
Hard Drive - 320 GB
Graphics - Intel GMA 3150
Optical Drive - DVD Rewriter
Operating System - Windows 7 Professional
Warranty - 1 year warranty

The response I got from them was that the Acer was underpowered and they recommend getting a 'Dell Vostro 260 slim desktop (no monitor) running Windows 7 Professional 64 bit
Core i5-2400, 4GB DDR RAM, 320GB SATA Hard Drive, DVD+/-RW'

I understand the concept of the processing power, but can't see that what we use the computers for would need that much processing power? Bearing in mind that most of the computers in use at the moment are 5 to 6 years old.

Is it right what they are saying or are they just trying to get more money out of us? Are there any questions I can ask them to 'justify' why they are recommending that particular computer?

Any help would be gratefully appreciated.

Thanks

EmBD

[soybean]

Is it right what they are saying or are they just trying to get more money out of us? Are there any questions I can ask them to 'justify' why they are recommending that particular computer?

Yes, ask them why they are recommending that particular computer.   

You imply that your software vendor also sells computers.  Is that right?  And if so, they sell the model they recommended, right?  If so, then, of course, they have a vested interest in selling you hardware.   But, if they do not sell hardware but are recommending that computer because it would better support their software, then I think you should heed their advice.  Even if they do sell computers, I would not completely ignore their suggestion regarding selection of a new computer;  you want to try to assess the degree of objectivity in their recommendation. 

Of course, if they sell hardware, you could shop around for equally powered computers from other sellers.  Have you compared prices on the two computers you mentioned?  How much difference? 

[Linux711]

The CPU speed of the comp you described seems a little slow even for a office based system. I wouldn't buy any system with an intel atom CPU unless it is a laptop. You probably don't need four gigs of RAM though; 2 gigs should be enough if they don't install any bloated managment software or something.