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Hello everyone and welcome to a new year!

This is the last year Windows 7 will be supported by Microsoft so if you have not upgraded to Windows 10 you should. Much like Windows XP when Microsoft stops supporting its OS then 3rd party software will start to follow the same. Microsoft will stop support Jan 14th 2020 for Windows 7.

Well we have gotten a few Intel CPU’s in stock. i5 in 7th gen and 8th gen. The Intel CPUs are still sporadic in supply. Hopefully the supply will get better as the year goes by.

AMENDMENT:

Here is the latest Intel Shortage article that specifies should be back in August. Still late. Still a reason Intel is down in sales!!

Microsoft introduced the latest Windows 10 1809 version earlier this month but had to remove it for issues of deleting files on some PCs when upgrading. Hopefully it will be out soon.

AMENDMENT:

Microsoft has re-released the bug fixed (well most of the major bugs) 1809 version.

You can download the ISO here.

There is a major shortage of Intel CPUs. This ranges from i3-i7. Because of this we have started building and selling AMD PCs. The specs for the PCs are the same its just that we are using AMD Ryzen CPUs. The naming of the AMD Ryzen are similar to Intel. Example Ryzen 5 is equivalent to an Intel i5. The Ryzen 7 is equivalent to an Intel i7.

One big difference in AMD and Intel is all Intel i3-i7 have built in graphics. Not the fastest but for general use are fine. AMD Ryzen most don’t have the graphics embedded. (Strange from a Graphic Chip Maker!!). They do make some chips that do have embedded graphics. They are the ones that end in G (ex. Ryzen 5 2400G). So for the G you don’t need to add a video card. The non G you need to add a graphics card to the system. This is why its included in the price list as needed.

Not sure how long the shortage is. Likely till early 2019.

You can check out the pricing of the AMD PCs under the Pricing Page.

AMENDMENT:

Latest news of Intel Shortage. They say August!!

 

It has been a while posting on Halnor. Things have changed recently with Computer Hardware. Intel has started pushing 8th gen processors so we have changed our price lists to reflect. SSD (Solid State Drives) are coming down in prices and are getting faster and faster. We feel that SSD drives make the whole PC run much faster. From booting to loading large applications it makes the whole experience much better.

There are a few differences in the SSD. There is the standard SATA SSD which look like normal 2.5″ mobile drives that have a max speed of 580MB (R/W). This is the limitation to the SATA interface. The newer SSDs are in a M.2 format. They look like little cards that plug into the Motherboard. Only the newer Motherboards will have this as an option. All our boards now have this. There is also different speeds for M.2 controllers. These also reflect with different speeds of M.2 drives. Matching the correct Motherboard and Drive is beneficiary it getting the correct performance. Here are examples of Max speed with the type of M.2 drives.

WD Blue 1tB M.2 (560MB/s)

WD Black 500GB M.2 PCIe (2050MB/s)

WD Black 512GB M.2 NVMe (3400MB/s)

 

 

Seems to have issues with the latest Windows updates having issues.

Checkout this article

Here is a good article describing some of the questions regarding Windows 10 free Upgrade to Windows 7 and 8.1 users.

If you are in the market of getting a new PC you should consider why its better to get it from us rather than a BOX Store or Online.

Premium Standard Parts

All our Desktop PC’s are made with premium parts. ASUS Motherboards, Kingston or Crucial memory, Crucial M.2 NVMe SSD, and reliable power supplies. Also the parts are standard parts. What does this mean? Well Dell and other manufactures sometimes use their own custom parts. These parts are also more money than standard if need replacing. Example Our power supplies (most common part that goes) has 5-year warranty and costs $85. A Dell custom power supply can cost $150 and can be sometimes hard to fine

No Crap or Bloated Software

You might have heard in the news that Lenovo had installed software called Superfish. This is nasty software that first puts in ads when you are searching on line BUT even worse it will break the SSL standard used for secure sites like banks etc! Now not all brand name PC’s install nasty software like this BUT they do install crapware. Software that will slow your new PC down. Produce popup of stuff you don’t need. They also will install a trial version of and Antivirus that you either have to uninstall and install something else or force to purchase the AV. Check out this latest article of issues with brand name PCs.

All our PC’s are loaded with MS Windows,updated drivers, Windows updates,  Adobe Reader and a free Antivirus. That’s it. Your PC is ready to go and you don’t have to wait to update all the Windows updates or remove junk software.

Warranty and Repairs

With our systems you they come with a per part warranty. CPU/Motherboard/Memory have 3 year warranty. Hard drive has 5 year depend on model. Power supply (most common part that goes) has a 5 year warranty. With brand names most only come with 1 year warranty. If you get it at a Box store after warranty the fees are much greater than ours. If you order online then you will have to wait to talk to someone on  the phone. Then you will have to wait a week or so for replacement part/ship back etc. If you get it from us then we do all the warranty work and after warranty work at our shop. Most Box Stores they have to ship them out. Again more waiting.

Better Service

You get a PC from a Box store and most of the time they have to ship them out to get fixed. We do all our work in house. You buy a PC online and where do you get it fixed? Send it back to manufacture. If you build your own PC and something goes wrong then what? That’s why we service all these as well as our own.

Customizable

All our PCs are customizable. If you just want a PC to go online and do the odd game we can do that. You want a reliable office or CAD PC we can build it. You want a high end gaming system with a fast video card we got you covered.

 So our prices might be a bit higher than what you see elsewhere . But you get what you pay for. What you get is premium parts that will make the PC last longer. Standard parts that if needed after warranty are priced better. Longer warranty. Better service. If you have a problem you can call/email come in and talk. We are here for the customer. You also don’t get crap ware that will frustrate you.

In mid July 2015 Windows Server 2003 will end support from Microsoft. What does this mean? Well they will not produce any more security updates. Much like what Windows XP is now. If you have a Windows Server 2003 or SBS 2003 and need upgrading we can provide you this. We have migrated many servers already to 2008R2 or 2012. Also if your server is a 2003 server then more than likely its older than 7 years old and should be replaced with a new server. Servers are built to last a long time when they run 24/7 but nothing lasts forever. Maybe its time you upgrade your Server. Gives us a call or email and we would gladly help.

Well the new Windows 10 OS Consumer Preview will be available January 21 2015. Anyone interested in it should check it out.

There are great articles regarding Windows 10 at Paul Thurrott’s SuperSite

Windows 10 will be what Windows 8 should have been. People got pushed into Windows 8 new “Metro Interface” that no one likes. I use Windows 8.1 at home and I use Classic Shell to bring back the menu. Anyone who is on Windows 8 I recommend this if you don’t like how 8/8.1 looks right out of the box. What does Windows 10 do? It brings back the old style menu along with Windows 8 apps in the menu. Makes it much more friendly for people who are familiar with how Windows has been over the last 15 years.

When will Windows 10 be available? MS has not announced it yet but I suspect late summer or the normal October release of MS OS.

 

Here is an article by Paul Thurrott that describes the trouble MS has had with Windows 8 and hopefully Windows 9 gets it right.

16 Colborne St. N.

Simcoe, ON

PHONE: 519-426-5020             new phone will ring to cell when not in store

 

Google Review
Dean Warren
Dean Warren
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Fred Sayn
Fred Sayn
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Best place to go to with computer problems. Steve can help with anything. He’s honest and very knowledgeable. Won’t go anywhere else. Thanks Steve for all your help.
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Always great and friendly service here!
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Hal Nor repaired my Computer in the time they said itwould take. Three days, with pick up and delivery, I was very, very happy. They were very polite and helpful. I would give them 10 stars, if I could.
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Knowledgeable staff with great pricing. Highly recommend
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