$80,000 High School Hardware Upgrade

[pdg604]

Hello LTT,

 

My high school just received a grant of $80,000 and we are looking to upgrade our tech, focusing on a fleet of mobile laptop carts and some tower PCs for computer labs (imagine your high school and you're probably not far off..). Most of our current laptops are 8th i5 and hard to upgrade, our towers are i3 with a motherboard that won't accept anything past Intel 3rd gen.

 

I have floated the idea of pushing our tech into a hybrid ecosystem, subscribe to online server space for processing power and acquire a greater quantity of lower chipped laptops so that we can get a ratio of 2:1, but the district's IT department is dead set on keeping the ecosystem locked into their version of Windows 10.

 

I do not have a ton of experience for builds. If you were in charge of $80k how would you allocate your resources to acquire 45 tower PCs (which could hopefully be upgraded in 5-7 years) and as many laptops as possible (sub 13" screen, adequate processing power for browsing, USB-C charging). 

 

Thank you in advance, let's bring my school into 2023!

[filpo]

6 minutes ago, pdg604 said:

I do not have a ton of experience for builds. If you were in charge of $80k how would you allocate your resources to acquire 45 tower PCs (which could hopefully be upgraded in 5-7 years) and as many laptops as possible (sub 13" screen, adequate processing power for browsing, USB-C charging). 

if we use 35k (maybe less havent done the math) for the towers I would get something like this https://pcpartpicker.com/list/tgcchk (something not too good but not too bad)

[filpo]

12 minutes ago, pdg604 said:

Hello LTT,

 

My high school just received a grant of $80,000 and we are looking to upgrade our tech, focusing on a fleet of mobile laptop carts and some tower PCs for computer labs (imagine your high school and you're probably not far off..). Most of our current laptops are 8th i5 and hard to upgrade, our towers are i3 with a motherboard that won't accept anything past Intel 3rd gen.

 

I have floated the idea of pushing our tech into a hybrid ecosystem, subscribe to online server space for processing power and acquire a greater quantity of lower chipped laptops so that we can get a ratio of 2:1, but the district's IT department is dead set on keeping the ecosystem locked into their version of Windows 10.

 

I do not have a ton of experience for builds. If you were in charge of $80k how would you allocate your resources to acquire 45 tower PCs (which could hopefully be upgraded in 5-7 years) and as many laptops as possible (sub 13" screen, adequate processing power for browsing, USB-C charging). 

 

Thank you in advance, let's bring my school into 2023!

for the laptops i would go with something like this (discounted from 1000 to 650) HP Pavilion Laptop 15t-eg200, 15.6"

[Bob__]

Just now, filpo said:

for the laptops i would go with something like this (discounted from 1000 to 650) HP Pavilion Laptop 15t-eg200, 15.6"

Too big the post says sub 13 inch

[Bob__]

3 minutes ago, filpo said:

if we use 35k (maybe less havent done the math) for the towers I would get something like this https://pcpartpicker.com/list/tgcchk (something not too good but not too bad)

maybe add some rx 580s to them. In 7 years the upgrade will be appreciated 

[filpo]

Just now, Bob__ said:

Too big the post says sub 13 inch

 

13 minutes ago, pdg604 said:

Hello LTT,

 

My high school just received a grant of $80,000 and we are looking to upgrade our tech, focusing on a fleet of mobile laptop carts and some tower PCs for computer labs (imagine your high school and you're probably not far off..). Most of our current laptops are 8th i5 and hard to upgrade, our towers are i3 with a motherboard that won't accept anything past Intel 3rd gen.

 

I have floated the idea of pushing our tech into a hybrid ecosystem, subscribe to online server space for processing power and acquire a greater quantity of lower chipped laptops so that we can get a ratio of 2:1, but the district's IT department is dead set on keeping the ecosystem locked into their version of Windows 10.

 

I do not have a ton of experience for builds. If you were in charge of $80k how would you allocate your resources to acquire 45 tower PCs (which could hopefully be upgraded in 5-7 years) and as many laptops as possible (sub 13" screen, adequate processing power for browsing, USB-C charging). 

 

Thank you in advance, let's bring my school into 2023!

then i would go with these, discounted from 890 to 600 HP Pavilion Aero Laptop 13-be1097nr, 13.3", Windows 11 Home, AMD Ryzen™ 5, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, WUXGA

[filpo]

1 minute ago, Bob__ said:

maybe add some rx 580s to them. In 7 years the upgrade will be appreciated 

can't let them game tho can we? That would be too generous. Expecially for schoolkids

[Bob__]

1 minute ago, filpo said:

 

then i would go with these, discounted from 890 to 600 HP Pavilion Aero Laptop 13-be1097nr, 13.3", Windows 11 Home, AMD Ryzen™ 5, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, WUXGA

 

1 minute ago, filpo said:

can't let them game tho can we? That would be too generous. Expecially for schoolkids

lol

 

also nice school the school laptop that im using rn has 4gb of ram and its a shit mediatek processor the kids are gunna be happy 

[filpo]

1 minute ago, Bob__ said:

mediatek

not a mobile chip? I'm so sorry for you 

[Bob__]

3 minutes ago, filpo said:

not a mobile chip? I'm so sorry for you 

*audible exhale*

 

[filpo]

1 minute ago, Bob__ said:

*audible exhale*

 

Woah

[mariushm]

Get a bunch of $400 Acer Aspire 5 laptops : https://www.amazon.com/Acer-A515-45-R74Z-Hexa-Core-Processor-Graphics/dp/B09J1MXS2Z/

Buy some 8-16 GB DDR4 So-dimm sticks to upgrade the 8 GB to 16 GB or 24 GB  if needed.

 

For desktops, probably easiest would be to get a deal from a company like Dell or Lenovo ... buy prebuilt and buy a few extra ... ex if you say 45, then order 50 pcs to have 5 as spares.

 

It's pointless to choose systems with the idea of upgrade in 3-5 years. The sockets will change, motherboards from OEMs like Dell may not have updated bioses to support newer processors, and let's be honest, it would probably be a pain to justify buying only processors or only video cards for upgrades in a school.

 

For a high school again I really don't think you need anything more than integrated graphics.

I'm thinking a bunch of these would probably be fine :  Lenovo Desktop Computer IdeaCentre 5 14ACN6 90RX009GUS Ryzen 7 5000 Series 5700G (3.80GHz) 16GB DDR4 512 GB PCIe SSD Windows 11 Home 64-bit - Newegg.com

The only sort of weak point would be the 265w power supply, that would limit upgrade if you want to add video cards. Otherwise it's fine.

You have to also consider how well they'll handle school kids, you want cases as boring as possible, with minimal vents because you don't want the kids to shove pencils erases, chewing gum foils through vents, you don't want open vents at the top of the case so that kids could pour coke or other juices through the vents.

The case is standard atx, the psu is probably proprietary but who cares, other than maybe extra ram you wouldn't want to upgrade.

But you probably still could, maybe go up to 32 GB ram, maybe up to a 5900x if you add a separate video card, like a RX 6500 / 6550 / 6600  or GTX 1650/1660/3060 or something that doesn't consume more than 100-125w

 

For school I think the 8 cores and 16 threads of a 5700g will be plenty.  (edit : i wrote 5700x , obviously i meant 5700g because that's what the above uses)

 

There's also some discounted stuff right now for example $600 for   HP Desktop Computer Pavilion TP01-2060 Ryzen 7 5000 Series 5700G (3.80GHz) 16GB DDR4 1TB HDD 256 GB PCIe SSD Windows 11 Home 64-bit - Newegg.com

says it has 256 GB nvme which is plenty, and the 1 TB drives could be good for storing random crap.

Even less upgrade choices, only 180w power supply so very little room to add dedicated video cards.

Only one stick of 16 GB in each system so may be worth buying some 16 GB sticks and move sticks to make pairs of 2 x 16 GB and have dual channel DDR4 then use the new ram on machines that are left without ram.

The 1 TB drives could potentially be used for a NAS server, for students to upload their homework, projects etc etc

Get a 8-16 bay NAS and fill it with those drives (though they're probably cheap 2 year warranty drives).

 

 

[seanondemand]

I know this probably won’t be a popular opinion around here, but you really should connect with a small/medium business/education specialist. You need to consider ongoing service/support for these things at a level purchasing like a regular consumer is just not going to provide because when you have that much equipment being handled by dumbass kids/employees, things will happen. Trying to buy these pcs/laptops like an enthusiast consumer is just going to be headache after headache. Not only that, you should talk to whoever is in charge of accounting - in Canada, leasing is tax-deductible, where purchasing is not. 

[SpookyCitrus]

Having been in a similar situation to this before, I can say with certainty that everything is going to come down to the department head, unless they specifically asked you to pick out what systems they upgrade too, it's going to be completely pointless to give your input. Also, nothing you build or purchase today is going to have an upgrade path in 5 to 7 years, that's even out of the upgrade path for AM5. Most educational IT departments don't have the option of going AMD either, typically Intel is a set parameter they need to stick with. It all depends entirely on your department head and what guidelines you need to follow in order for the budget to be used for the computers. You will most likely have to stick with a prebuilt desktop from an OEM such as HP, Dell, or Lenovo. Not only for educational pricing but you want the extended warranty and support.

 

The simplest and easiest desktops to use for this are the HP Prodesk Minis. Here is a linked example.

https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/pdp/hp-pro-mini-400-g9-desktop-pc-p-6b9y2ua-aba-1

 

This link is the consumer price, not the educational nor the buying in bulk price. If the department head wants to look into these it's best to contact HP directly, there should be a direct line for educator purchases if your school district has used them before they should have a contact or sales rep.

 

As for the laptops, that's a similar story really any i3 to i5, 8GB, 256GB nvme 13" laptop with USB C charging will suffice. You again, are going to want to stick with an OEM like HP, Dell, or Lenovo as off brand crap will have worse warranty and support and might not fall within something that is accepted for budget use. Most districts just stick with Chromebooks because they're inexpensive and they don't need anything more than basic web browsing and document creation, some are even limited to that's the only thing they can buy because they can't use the budget for anything else.  

 

Just keep in mind you don't need anything fancy, nor do they want you blowing the whole budget on fancy shit. Anything with a modern i3 - i5, 8GB minimum(16GB preferred), and a 256GB or larger SSD is going to be more than enough for high school computers. Remember they are literally only going to be used for Google Docs and Web Browsing, the occasional YouTube video maybe. 

[OhYou_]

29 minutes ago, pdg604 said:

Hello LTT,

 

My high school just received a grant of $80,000 and we are looking to upgrade our tech, focusing on a fleet of mobile laptop carts and some tower PCs for computer labs (imagine your high school and you're probably not far off..). Most of our current laptops are 8th i5 and hard to upgrade, our towers are i3 with a motherboard that won't accept anything past Intel 3rd gen.

 

I have floated the idea of pushing our tech into a hybrid ecosystem, subscribe to online server space for processing power and acquire a greater quantity of lower chipped laptops so that we can get a ratio of 2:1, but the district's IT department is dead set on keeping the ecosystem locked into their version of Windows 10.

 

I do not have a ton of experience for builds. If you were in charge of $80k how would you allocate your resources to acquire 45 tower PCs (which could hopefully be upgraded in 5-7 years) and as many laptops as possible (sub 13" screen, adequate processing power for browsing, USB-C charging). 

 

Thank you in advance, let's bring my school into 2023!

brother a 8th gen i5 is plenty for school. I use an 8th gen i7 laptop at work. I have purchasing power to buy a new one any time but I dont see literally any reason.
I would allocate the laptop portion of the fund into refurbishing what you have and only replacing what is poor condition and/or if you need more.
this will leave the majority of the budget to getting decent desktops.
My CC used a small company who built all the desktops for them and backed that with their own warranty and stuff, all off the shelf and upgrade-able parts.
Ideally you would want to go with that unless you fancy building 45 pcs and handling any rma that crops up.

 

[filpo]

14 minutes ago, mariushm said:

ut you probably still could, maybe go up to 32 GB ram, maybe up to a 5900x if you add a separate video card, like a RX 6500 / 6550 / 6600  or GTX 1650/1660/3060 or something that doesn't consume more than 100-125w

 

For school I think the 8 cores and 16 threads of a 5700x will be plenty.

I wouldn’t give school kids a gpu. They’ll be playing games all day long. A 5700g would be better and cheaper

[filpo]

16 minutes ago, mariushm said:

Get a bunch of $400 Acer Aspire 5 laptops : https://www.amazon.com/Acer-A515-45-R74Z-Hexa-Core-Processor-Graphics/dp/B09J1MXS2Z/

Buy some 8-16 GB DDR4 So-dimm sticks to upgrade the 8 GB to 16 GB or 24 GB  if needed.

 

45 minutes ago, pdg604 said:

sub 13" screen,

 

[mariushm]

7 minutes ago, filpo said:

sub 13" screen,

 

F that. Justify that requirement... They're kids, no reason why they should squint and hurt their eyes with small screens, or with low resolutions.  15.6" and 1080p IPS is very good combo, nice good size pixels, enough surface area, decent colors.

Laptops with 13" or lower will most likely be Chromebooks with eMMC memory or super cheap flash that won't last.

 

Have to think why the requirement for the 13" screens?  Weight, ease of carrying? They fit in standard backpacks, they're not heavy. Those Acer Aspire machines are lightweight, yet last 10-11 hours on battery, and the power bricks are also relatively small.

Speaking of that, another f that to usb c charging and chargers ... that just calls for students stealing chargers or the usb cables.  These laptops come with standard barrel jack power connectors.

They're also super easy to service, just open the plastic back and change nvme ssd , change/add ram, the mouse pad is big, keys are big...

 

Maybe it wouldn't be ideal model from the sturdiness, endurance point of view, how well they'd resist having a bunch of laptops stacked on top of each other, getting plastic scratched etc maybe something with aluminum case would be better, but you could buy bags for them to keep the charger and laptop together - the bag bundle adds $20 to the price.

Only concern I would have is ease of replacing a keyboard for example, if some moron decides to use a knife or something to pop out keys to switch them around.

Only for this reason, I'd be considering going with some Lenovo Thinkpad or some other machine with ease to replace keyboards, but those are more expensive. 

 

[Needfuldoer]

Don't buy a bunch of gaming PC parts or garbage-tier off-the-shelf laptops from a big box store. Work with an OEM (Dell or HP) to bulk purchase new desktops at a discount. You'll probably get a good price on a service contract too, and you'll need it because kids are brutal on hardware. (Individuals may grow out of the "lol school computers suck let's break them" mindset, but there's always a class coming up behind them to take their place.)

[WildDagwood]

3 hours ago, Needfuldoer said:

Don't buy a bunch of gaming PC parts or garbage-tier off-the-shelf laptops from a big box store. Work with an OEM (Dell or HP) to bulk purchase new desktops at a discount. You'll probably get a good price on a service contract too, and you'll need it because kids are brutal on hardware. (Individuals may grow out of the "lol school computers suck let's break them" mindset, but there's always a class coming up behind them to take their place.)

This.

 

Look into working with an account manager and get some Optiplex's and Latitudes (or similar from another OEM). They'll be able to bring the price down (especially when ordering in bulk) and you'll have products that will likely last longer while having better support.

 

Also, as others mentioned, axe the sub 13" laptop requirement. Get some proper-sized laptops (14" if portability is needed), they're not infants using them.

[LAwLz]

What are the computers going to be used for, and how do you plan on managing them?

I think these are two questions you need to answer first.

 

I would strongly advice you ignore the people recommending that you hand build a bunch of PCs using "gaming component".

Chromebooks are very popular for schools because they are very easy to manage, and can do most or all the tasks students need them to, and nothing more (which is good for management). 

[NF-A12x25]

I agree, you should get bulk stuff with 5600g and cheap kbd/mouse/spk combos.