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What else might you need?
When buying a desktop computer you’ll want to consider if you need any extras. You might need a monitor or two – maybe you have those already – how about office applications, screen mounts, a headset or a webcam and speakers?
Monitors
When it comes to computer monitors it is easy to spend too much. Many of the monitors on the market have the panels made in the same factory and to the same standard, so quite often you can pay a premium for something half the price and just as reliable. To a point though, the reverse is true. Some manufacturers skimp on flimsy plastic bezels and fewer connection options, so you can easily save yourself £20 on a budget monitor only to find you get a poorly built unit and still need to spend an extra £20 on a suitable adapter. As a result we generally standardise on two key brands – BenQ monitors are a great quality everyday option whereas HP monitors are a premium option – often made well from recycled materials – and extra features often as standard.
BenQ 27″ 1080p Monitor with Eye-care Technology @ £169 + VAT
1920 x 1080 Full HD Resolution Screen
Features HDMI, VGA and DisplayPort Sockets
IPS Panel for accurate colour and image from any angle.
Attractive Slim Bezel – Ideal for Dual or Triple Screen Setups
Includes 3 Metre HDMI Cable OR DisplayPort Cable
Stock Code 406328
BenQ 23.8″ 1080p Monitor with Eye-care Technology @ £135 + VAT
1920 x 1080 Full HD Resolution Screen
Features HDMI and VGA Sockets
IPS Panel for accurate colour and image from any angle.
Attractive Slim Bezel – Ideal for Dual or Triple Screen Setups
Includes 3 Metre HDMI Cable OR a VGA Cable
Stock Code 580099
HP EliteDisplay E243m 23.8″ FHD Monitor with Pop-up Webcam & Audio @ £219 + VAT
These screens are so nice I have three like this on my desk! As well as being bright and clear they look great, have a slim bezel and are fully adjustable up, down and around too! This particular model includes a built in speaker and pop-up webcam.
1920 x 1080 Full HD Resolution Screen
Features HDMI, VGA and DisplayPort Sockets and a USB Hub, Speakers and a Pop-up Webcam
IPS Panel for accurate colour and image from any angle.
Attractive Slim Bezel – Ideal for Dual or Triple Screen Setups
Includes 3 Metre HDMI Cable OR a VGA Cable
Stock Code 695328
Audio & Video Options
Most computers now come with a small internal speaker inside the case. At best these are “adequate” if you don’t mind a quieter, poorer quality sound, though in practice many office users don’t actually need speakers for their job role. Some users will need speakers, or – in situations where you have a computer based phone system or regularly have video meetings – then a corded or cordless headset might be needed. Webcams are listed here too.
Logitech S-120 Mains Powered Stereo Speakers @ £15 + VAT
These are a decent quality, 2.3Watt RMS basic speaker. Unlike USB speakers which often lack in the volume department, these are mains powered and do have a bit of ‘oomph’. Sound quality is fine for everyday use, and there is a headphone socket so you can bypass the speakers with a set of headphones.
Logitech Z-130 Mains Powered Stereo Speakers @ £29 + VAT
More powerful than the S-120, these 5 Watt speakers give clearer, crisper sound and will support a higher volume, ideal for pumping up that volume when nobody is in the office! Sound quality is better and there is a headphone socket so you can bypass the speakers with a set of headphones.
HP Wired Stereo USB Headset @ £21 + VAT
For customers that have a software based phone system or for users that need to videoconference – you might need a headset just like this! This is a basic model suitable for occasional use.
Microsoft LifeCam HD-3000 @ £24 + VAT
A well made, HD quality webcam including microphone and LED indicator to show when the camera is in use. Slots on top of any screen.
Office Application Software
It’s a given that your users will need an application suite and so you’ll need to decide how you want to purchase this. Historically, customers have either used an open source application suite such as LibreOffice or have purchased licences for Microsoft Office. In more recent years the Microsoft marketing team have been putting all their efforts into making Microsoft Office a subscription based platform – replacing a single purchase with a monthly fee. As we can see below the monthly pricing model does not stack up, and never will. We’re happy to work with customers whatever path they take, and remember Outlook can be provided as a separate item if required.
LibreOffice Suite @ £FREE
LibreOffice is the powerful open source office suite, and a successor to OpenOffice.org (commonly known as OpenOffice). Its clean interface and feature-rich tools help you unleash your creativity and enhance your productivity. This suite includes installable versions of Writer, Calc, Draw, Base and Math. LibreOffice is available for Windows, macOS and Linux.
Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2021 @ £79 + VAT
The software suite that needs very little introduction – this suite includes installable versions of Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Publisher and Access. Unlike a Microsoft 365 subscription which will cost you money every single month, this is a one-time installation key that could last you for the lifetime of the computer. Generally speaking we’ll supply the latest version, but some customers may need specific versions depending upon their needs.
IMPORTANT POINTS:
- We keep records of your digital licences on file so we can make sure each computer is correctly licenced, and each licence is applied to only one computer.
- The licence supplied is part of a genuine volume licence and, once licenced on a computer, should remain activated in perpetuity, unless the operating system or software is reinstalled or there is a significant hardware change such as a replacement disk or motherboard. In these scenarios, sometimes the licence has to be reactivated.
- We guarantee these licences will remain activated for two years from the original purchase date (or while we provide you with IT support services – whichever is the shorter period) and so if we need another licence to replace one that ‘dropped activation’ like that described above we would within that guarantee period either (at our discretion) replace the licence at our own cost or issue a refund on a pro-rata basis.
- This software has an end of life date of October 2026. This does not mean it will stop working on that date, but does mean that Microsoft will stop patching it and so from that date it will be considered insecure and would need to be replaced.
- This software is not available for Linux.
Monthly Services
Supplement your desktop computer with support and services from our Service Desk Technicians. Whether it’s patch management, enhanced web protection or even a backup solution you are looking for, we can help.
Remote Monitoring and Management Service from £5 + VAT
A small software agent is installed on the computer and reports back to a cloud based dashboard that is accessible to our support engineers. As a result, our engineers get access to a comprehensive set of tools to efficiently secure, maintain, and improve your IT systems, all from a single dashboard that highlights issues before they can become showstoppers. If you are an existing customer with our RMM service, this software will be pre-installed as part of our build process. [MORE INFO]
Acronis Cloud Backup by IT\norwich from £15.75 + VAT
The fully managed Acronis Cloud Backup by IT\norwich is a competitively priced “fire and forget” backup solution for your desktop computer. Once installed on your computer and the backup has been configured, you have a worry free backup service, overseen by engineers at IT\norwich. If you are an existing customer with a server based backup system you may not need this service. [MORE INFO]
Other Accessories
Encrypted USB Stick @ £24 + VAT
Putting sensitive data on a USB stick which has not been encrypted is asking for trouble, and likely a contravention of the UK GDPR. Generally speaking we try to ‘lock down’ use of USB sticks by unauthorised users, but where users have a valid need for USB sticks, we encourage them us to an encrypted USB stick to keep the data on it safe and secure. Lose an unencrypted USB stick that holds sensitive data and you’ll probably need to report it as a data breach to the ICO. Purchase one of these from us and we’ll pre-prepare it with the encryption keys and keep them on record in case you lose them. These are ideal for off-site backups of ultra-sensitive data such as password database backups.
External Optical DVD-RW Drive @ £28 + VAT
These days most laptops don’t include an optical drive. You probably don’t need one … but if you do then how about this? Attaches externally via USB and may need two ports.
