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  1. #1
    aussie92's Avatar
    aussie92 is offline Novice
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    What computer to buy


    Hey guys -

    I recently started freelancing my database skills and am in extreme need of a new computer. My personal computer is a Mac...The only PC I own is an older PC that my company has loaned me and, since this is an individual endeavor, I do not want to be using a company owned computer!


    I am not much of a hardware person and am not sure what I should be looking for. It would be a computer that is strickly dedicated to Access database, VBA programming, and probably some large excel files and macro creation.

    My only stipulation is that I do NOT want a Win8 computer. I have been looking on amazon, but I really have no idea what to do when it comes to hardware... Any ideas?

    Thanks!!

  2. #2
    pbaldy's Avatar
    pbaldy is offline Who is John Galt?
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    Why not just use the Mac? You can use one of the virtual machine programs to have a virtual Windows machine and do your development on that. Much cheaper than buying a new PC, since all you'd need is the VM software and a copy of Windows.

    If it will only be used for Access and Excel, you don't really need anything unusual in my opinion. Any new machine with a decent amount of RAM will handle that fine.
    Paul (wino moderator)
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  3. #3
    ssanfu is offline Master of Nothing
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    My $0.02:
    I have a Dell Optiplex GX620 (mini tower) - 3GB ram / 3Ghz / dual monitors (a must for debugging)

    A dual or quad core @ 3Ghz would be nice / minimum of 3GB ram / 500 GB HD
    Check your local used computer store / garage sales....

  4. #4
    aussie92's Avatar
    aussie92 is offline Novice
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    pbaldy - I dont want to use my Mac as it is rather old and super slow. I also use that for a lot of dreamweaver work (i freelance websites) and do not want to burn it out faster than it is already going.

    ssanfu - Yes, I plan on buying an extra monitor! I have that at work and its super hard to work without it now. do you know anything about what type of processor (i6 vs. i7 vs. i5...?) I don't know... my friend was trying to explain it to me but I got lost.

  5. #5
    pbaldy's Avatar
    pbaldy is offline Who is John Galt?
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    I certainly agree with dual monitors; I hate doing any serious developing without.

    Any of those processors would be fine I think, as developing isn't really processor intensive. My last machine had an old Pentium processor, and it was fine. I've got a Dell Precision Workstation now, with a Xeon processor and 8Gb of RAM, but I typically have 2 or 3 virtual machines running, and a couple of remote desktop sessions. It would be overkill for just developing.
    Paul (wino moderator)
    MS Access MVP 2007-2019
    www.BaldyWeb.com

  6. #6
    aussie92's Avatar
    aussie92 is offline Novice
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    pbaldy - Thanks!! I appreciate the advice!

  7. #7
    pbaldy's Avatar
    pbaldy is offline Who is John Galt?
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    No problemo!
    Paul (wino moderator)
    MS Access MVP 2007-2019
    www.BaldyWeb.com

  8. #8
    ssanfu is offline Master of Nothing
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    @ethan12

    Note that this thread was from April.

    If you have questions, you should start your own thread (instead of hi-jacking someone else's thread )

  9. #9
    Mik2045 is offline Advanced Beginner
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    You can do what pbaldy said or you can do something similar such as use BootCamp to install Windows 7. I'd recommend a Macbook Pro if you purchased an Apple. I love Apple a lot so I'd go down that path.

    If you decide on a PC, I'd recommend HP or Dell. I'd recommend an i5 processor and 750GB HDD.

    Good luck!

  10. #10
    June7's Avatar
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    As I understand BootCamp, requires restarting computer whenever you want to switch OS. A software called CrossOver is supposed to allow running Windows app while computer is in Apple mode. I downloaded the software but haven't got around to installing and testing for limited time trial. The cost for full version is quite low.
    How to attach file: http://www.accessforums.net/showthread.php?t=70301 To provide db: copy, remove confidential data, run compact & repair, zip w/Windows Compression.

  11. #11
    Mik2045 is offline Advanced Beginner
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    I have used CrossOver before but I wasn't very impressed. I would prefer using Parallels Desktop. I was using it for a bit but I prefer not to.

  12. #12
    Jacob Jack is offline Novice
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    It's time to purchase laptops and tablets. There is no value and market of computer right now. Go to a good store nearby you for at-least i5 laptop.

  13. #13
    ssanfu is offline Master of Nothing
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    Note the date of post #11. It was 8/5/2013.

    Please pay attention to the dates of posts.. the value of posting on a 6 month old post is not very relevant.

  14. #14
    Tonya Alcantar is offline Advanced Beginner
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    Try buying a laptop instead, I'm using a Sony vaoi e series by the way.

  15. #15
    Janee Koehn is offline Novice
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    I have a MacBook Pro.
    Last edited by pbaldy; 12-06-2015 at 10:31 AM. Reason: deleted link

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