How does a business motherboard upgrade save you money?
When work computers are starting to age and performance dips, disposing of existing PCs and replacing them with brand new models can prove pricey. So why not upgrade them instead? Choose the right business motherboard, and you can bring your ageing computer hardware bang up to date for a competitive price.
How you’ll save money
Obviously, the biggest saving you’ll make by upgrading is not having to replace an entire PC. Instead, you’ll re-use as many components as possible. Everything from the monitor, mouse and keyboard to case, power supply and storage devices (both hard drives and optical) can be left in place. What you will need to replace – other than the motherboard of course – is the processor.
Intel provides a choice of five basic models. Celeron and Pentium chips are best for everyday office machines, while the Core i3, i5 and i7 processors are engineered for multiple, demanding tasks. The trick is not to overspend. The lower-end chips perform are just as capable with typical office tasks (such as word processing and email), so save your investments in the higher-end chips for those machines that need it: your business server, for example, or your video-editing suite.
Some things to remember
Depending on the age of your old motherboard, you’ll probably need to upgrade the memory to the latest DDR4 standard. Again, savings can be made here – choose a motherboard with four memory slots, and you can populate two now and add more capacity later. Again, think sensibly – most office machines don’t need more than 8GB of RAM.
You should also check your operating system’s licence to see if it can be transferred to the “new” upgraded PC. Windows treats a new motherboard like a new PC, so if the licence doesn’t support moving from one PC to another, you’ll need to purchase a new one.
An important question to ask at this point is: how will you migrate to the new setup? If you don’t have IT staff on-site to handle this, you’ll need to factor in the cost of fitting the new motherboard, processor and RAM, as well as reinstalling the operating system due to the substantial hardware changes you’ve made.
Choose ASUS PRIME
Which business motherboard should you choose? Make sure it’s one designed specifically for business use, like those in ASUS’s PRIME series. These motherboards come with specific benefits, such as ASUS’s “enhanced security, manageability and reliability”, all of which is explained in greater detail in our article here.
Cutting a long story short, choosing a PRIME motherboard ensures that your new setup is protected with state-of-the-art security at the hardware level, plus it’s been engineered to simplify the process of installation, maintenance and future upgrading. Built for more demanding environments, PRIME motherboards are also designed and constructed to operate for longer, adding to the overall savings you’ll make.
Your IT staff – internal or external – will also be pleased with the way the boards are laid out, with standardised slot colours and positions as well as easy-release switches for swapping out key components. This familiarity will pay dividends further down the line in time (and cost) savings, making it easy to maintain and upgrade the machines.
The benefit is clear. Upgrading, rather than investing in replacement hardware, is a simple way to improve hardware performance. Crucially, you’re not compromising on keeping your business up to date and competitive, and you’ll save money in the long run. In short, it’s a win-win option.
