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Which workstations should a startup buy?

5 points by mdonahoe ↗ HN
Normally I would just build, but as a funded startup I feel like we should just save time and buy some nice workstations as new employees join.

Any recommendations? Dell? Lenovo? HP? ThinkMate?

10 comments

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MichaelCrawford
cheap ones. Figure out how much power and storage your crew really needs, then buy workstations that are only modestly above that capacity.

Even when you're funded it is important to keep a lid on your expenses.

also cheap, slow computers make performance problems in your code readily apparent.

mdonahoe
We have a small engineering-only team and I want everyone to have nice machines. I am just wondering where the best place is to buy them.
jseliger
What're you doing? Does it require something more than standard laptops or desktops?
mdonahoe
I want nice machines. We are doing c++ programming, so fast compile times is preferred. I basically want fast cpu, lots of memory, SSDs, and large monitors. We aren't making games though, so we don't need beefy GPUs
RogerL
Then you want many cores. Link still seems to be single core, but with 6-12 cores compiles fly. I have a 6 core xeon machine at work (so 12 compiles at once); some have 12 core (2 xeon processors).

We just spec it out and have a local shop in Mountain View build them.

mdonahoe
What is the name of the shop? Can you share your specs? Thanks.
ild
Save money on machines, but buy good monitors.
angersock
Buy nice large Dell monitors (the U series, say the Dell UltraSharp U2410), two per developer.

Then, round up your engineers, drive over to Fry's or Microcenter, and buy parts and build your boxen together. That's one of my foundest memories of my first job.

It'll be cheaper, it'll blow an afternoon, and it'll bond your team.

CyberFonic
In my experience white-label systems from local shops give you more bang for the buck. I've used HP a great deal, the old ones were excellent, but these days they are built to a price due to PHB's running the show.

Does everybody need to compile the entire system? I would have thought that you would use build & test servers, naturally very beefy servers for the build server(s).

I would suggest dual or even triple screen configs for the engineers, SSD + rotating rust drives, lots of RAM.

If you really want to impress potential new hires (and burn thru cash), 27" iMacs with Retina 5k displays. Unfortunately there are no 5k 27" Thunderbolt displays.