Well... back to this thread. I got the memory (2x4GB) for the Dell Optiplex 3030 yesterday and got it installed. No problem, really. Dell does a good of engineering the inside of their All-In-One (AIO) computers to make upgrades and repairs as simple as possible, but the clip-on plastic rear covers are a PITA... Why not 4 screws instead of the plastic clips that are far too easy to break??? I didn’t break any, but it always feels like (and sounds like) they’re breaking.
Now, there’s not a thing wrong with this computer. It’s a decent size; quiet, performs well, but... I’m having second thoughts about using dual AIO computers. The displays are larger than laptops, which is good, but they’re also heavier, which is not good. This 3030 is basically a big oversized tablet without touch screen capability. I have an even larger Optiplex 7440 with touchscreen capability, and with Windows 10, it can be configured to run as a tablet, but it’s very large. Thing is; I’ve discovered (by using my Surface Pro tablet) that DJing with a touch-screen is not nearly as easy as using a controller, mouse, and keyboard.
I’m beginning to think that the Nano PC’s (similar to those I installed in my Large System) are a better choice than the AIO computers. I’m looking at how Nano computers have evolved, and found there are many more options than when I bought mine, and some are available with i7 quad core processors, so lots more power than mine. The ones I use are fine, but nowhere near i7 power/performance.
In my Large System, mounting two Nano PC’s meant that size was a major consideration. But in a What’s Next system, I can determine the dimensions (not restricted by 19”, xU rack spaces), so I can allocate enough space that I’m not limited to Nano computers of any particular size. If I use Nano computers in my next system, I will design it to have more flexibility to change out the computers.
The nice thing about using Nano computers is you’re not locked into any particular display size. Pretty much any monitor of any size will work. My current Nano’s support dual 4K monitors, though I’m not using 4K monitors currently. As those really wide curved monitors come down in price, though, that might be the way to go (instead of dual monitors). Only problem with a single wide-screen monitor shared by two computers is if the monitor fails, you can’t use either computer.
Storage... this is another thing I think about. Having matching big disk drives in both Nano computers like I have in my Large System is a waste. Keeping drives in sync is time consuming, and it’s not really necessary. I have Ethernet switches inside both my Small and Large systems in order to network the primary and backup computers (for sharing the mouse & keyboard and file sharing). It would be pretty simple to place another Nano computer in there setup as a NAS, with a single copy of music that both computers could share. All I’d need to connect it would be power and short Ethernet cable. I could even carry a backup NAS. In my What’s Next system, a shared NAS is probably the way to go... at least that’s what I’m thinkin’ right now. Comments?