Friday 30 August 2013

HP Renew – Smart Value For Money

Over the last few years there has been an international shift in attitudes towards the environment, recycling and the value of the products we buy. Businesses are increasingly looking for product solutions that have reduced environmental impacts and other manufacturing costs. 

The pioneering HP Renew Program promises the following: 

▪ High quality HP products 
▪ Made using remanufactured HP materials 
▪ Full HP warranty and HP certified quality 
▪ Lower prices
▪ Eco-friendly 

These facts alone prove HP Renew to be a smart decision for customers seeking fantastic value for money. www.check.co.uk/hprenew offer an extensive and specialist range of remanufactured HP products including hard drives, memory modules, network switches and many more. 

The selling point on www.hp.com/united-states/renew is clear: “high-performance, low-cost solutions while offering the same reliability, functionality and warranty as new HP products”. 

The only difference is the low prices. Therefore, buying from the HP Renew range is an attractive prospect for small to medium sized businesses with limited IT budgets who want excellent return on investment. 

The HP Renew Program is a direct response to the money-saving needs of modern customers. Bill Moulin, Vice President of Reseller Sales at Mosaic Technology says: “In today’s IT environment, 80 percent of IT budgets are consumed by legacy and last generation Systems”. The program recognises this, and remanufactures older generation equipment and discontinued legacy HP technologies, as well as the latest models. 

The main purpose of HP Renew is SUSTAINABILITY, leading us on to the remanufacturing process: 

1) HP Renew products come from a variety of sources such as customer demos, factory loaners and trade-in programs. They are manufactured to good-as-new standard by a fully trained and qualified remanufacturing team. 

2) All products are disassembled, intensively cleaned and inspected before being reassembled containing the latest hardware versions. Only HP parts are used in the entire process. System software is then tested so that it matches the levels of the latest releases. 

3) Once assembled, they are meticulously inspected during quality checks. To prepare them for shipping, they come with all the latest documentation, so that you won’t distinguish renewed from new! 

4) The same-as-new HP warranty is placed as the products are delivered, and a Certificate of Quality comes in the box. Each product is also packaged with the original factory specifications. 

As a result, you will benefit from products purely HP parts, thoroughly tested and cleaned, fully certified for quality to make HP Renew products virtually identical to brand new products. The environmental responsibility involved will give you confidence that you’re doing your bit for sustainable manufacturing – a key production practice for the future. 
Visit www.check.co.uk/hprenew to browse and purchase from our wide range of money-saving HP Renew equipment. Save money without compromising on value and quality! 

Education Technology: The Future Of Learning 

In recent times the governments have been cutting budgets on education. The cuts have affecting schools and colleges across the UK and EU by decreasing resources and putting extra strain on teachers. 

The Brookings Institution of research commented: “During the Great Recession, the education service industry lost over one million jobs”; an indication of the great need for new processes to increase efficiency.

This is where education technology comes in. Advancements such as interactive games, simulations and instructional material are quickly becoming a saviour for teachers - from secondary school to university lecturers. The technologies enable them to spend more time teaching, while the software takes care of instructional learning. 








Friday 23 August 2013

Cheap Servers Vs Expensive Servers - The Advantages and Disadvantages

If you are a business owner and have plans to have a brand new website for your company, then you will have two options in front of you – cheap servers and expensive servers. Servers are essential to support your website online. It is advantageous to opt for low-priced servers as they feature low operational costs. When your website becomes hugely popular online and lots of traffic is attracted to it, you can consider opting for the services of an expensive server. However, you can also stay happy when you choose the inexpensive servers as they have some exciting features to offer.

High-end hardware:

When you choose the cheap variety of servers for your website, you can be assured that these servers run on high-end hardware that have high power, storage levels and network without demanding any extra cost. This also implies that there is no need for you to worry about any outage. Expensive servers, on the other hand, would cost much when there is an event of power failure, hardware or network issues. It can also lead to potential catastrophic failure, which can be averted if you pay even more.

Infinitely scalable:

Cheap servers have the ability to use the same platform to run which means that you can upgrade to 64 GB RAM instead of the usual 256 MB within a couple of minutes. This will save you from all hassles of migration of hardware, long outages and support along with open tickets. Expensive servers on the other hand, offer you the server hardware that caters to your requirements at the minimal. If you are willing to upgrade it, then the price will be triple. The reason behind this is there is a need to change the full hardware to hold more capacity, which means long outage period.

Instant provisioning:

These servers are designed to offer instant provisioning which is 1 or 2 minutes among large resources. Irrespective of the server speed, the price remains the same, which is a good thing for a business owner. The availability of the huge resource pool also makes it easy to scale up or enhance the capacity instantly with no issues. The fastest time that an expensive server needs to be set up is around 4 hours that includes a huge upfront payment. When you are in need of extra capacity, these servers might not be able to offer timely help.

Ability to create snapshots:

When you are using cheap servers, you can be assured of getting on the spot snapshots of your server without shutting it down. You can also create a new server faster using the backups. In other words, restoration is much simpler and faster if the existing server is down. However, with expensive counterparts, it is not possible to get a snapshot of the server, as you will not be able to access the disk when your OS is making use of it. This means you have a traditional back up that requires a lot of time to restore if there is a server failure.Thus, the cheap servers are much more efficient and convenient in comparison to the expensive servers.

Monday 19 August 2013

The Importance of HP Random Access Memory

HP 2 GB PC3-12800 (DDR3 1600 MHz) SODIMM
The invention of computers has had a big impact on the modern world. Many sectors have recorded improvements in operations and service delivery as a result of computers. Generally, almost every single aspect of life has been affected in one way or another. Most of these effects are positive.

For a computer to be the useful tool it is meant to be, it has to have a number of components. One of them is RAM or Random Access Memory. This is the component of the computer that tracks your every action and records it. It stores information pertaining to programs and allows execution of various instructions easily, quickly and efficiently. Without HP RAM it would be impossible to operate a HP computer. So why is it considered to be a crucial and necessary part of the whole computer system? Below we look at why your computer needs RAM to operate easily with speed and efficiency. 

1. Running of programs
The RAM is important in operating computer programs. Once you switch on your computer, the Random Access Memory is called up. It helps to set the computer to the specified preferences. Once you open a program, RAM starts tracking and recording whatever you do within the program. Whenever you set certain preferences, they are recorded and called up later when needed. 

2. Speeding up the computer
The random access memory is the second most important aspect, after the processor, when it comes to the working speed of your computer. If you are operating a lot of programs at once, your RAM may be overwhelmed and this will slow down the whole system. The more the RAM the more it can handle more work. Alternatively, you can close programs or delete files to free up the random access memory and speed up the computer. 

3. Multitasking
Operation of multiple computer programs is made possible by the presence of the Random Access Memory. You however need to be careful not to overwhelm the system by opening too many programs. If you need an extensive level of multitasking, it would be advisable to get higher capacity RAM. 

4. Operating Graphics-intensive computer programs
Video games, DVD players, Media editing and graphical design programs are some of the most graphic-intensive operations on a computer. To carry them out successfully, one requires having a high capacity of RAM. If the RAM is low, the whole computer will slow down and in extreme cases, the operating system will crash. 

When you are shopping for a HP computer, ensure that you have asked for HP RAM specifications. The higher the RAM, the better for you and your overall computer experience. If you already own a computer, the best option is to upgrade your Random Access Memory. Contact your manufacturer for advice on how to do this. Alternatively, you should check whether you have too many unnecessary files and programs on your computer. Once you delete them, you free up the RAM and there will be a noticeable increase in the speed of the computer. 

Monday 12 August 2013

HP Hard Drive: How to Install One

HP 1000GB SATA 7200rpm 2.5"
The hard drive on your HP computer may not need changing regularly, however when your old hard drive does run out of space and you do need to change it, there is no room for error and it is not a process you want to mess up.
Despite the ease of changing hard drives, many people still shy away from doing so because of the associated risks of dealing with electronic circuit boards in the computer. 
There are many people that call in computer specialists to change their hard drive, when they really aren't required. However, if you really do not know a thing about computers then it might be a good thing to leave it to an expert, although it will cost money, they will ensure the task is done properly and professionally. In the end, it is better to pay a professional to do something well, than try to save money, by doing it yourself, only to end up suffering major losses. The following section gives you a description of how to install a HP hard drive.


HP are a reliable brand, known all around the world and they are one of the biggest computer and related-gadget manufacturers in the world. This means that it will not take you long to find a compatible hard drive for your device. When you select a drive, you need to know the speed, the storage size and the type. First, you should go for the fastest speed you can get on a hard drive, but be prepared to pay more for the extra convenience. Next, you should decide the storage space you need. It is okay to go for 500GB, 1TB or anything else that suits your needs.


Now, take apart your computer as per its assembly type. For you to do this successfully, you will need the appropriate screwdriver. Usually, the hard drive is at an area that is easy to access, so that you do not have to interfere with other peripheral devices. Make sure you have switched off your computer and also unplugged it from the power source. Also, ensure that you keep the screws in a place that, you can easily reach when you finish the exchange.

Your old and replacement hard drives all have pin attachment parts for the data cable and another one for power cable. These can be tough to detach, but it is possible. Be firm but gentle when exchanging the cables between the old and new.


When you are done, screw back your HP hard drive into place and then proceed with the software installation. If the new hard drive is the only one on the computer, then you will have to install the operating system afresh. If it is not, then you will have to install drivers still, to make it work properly with the rest of your programs. You will also need HP hard drive drivers when you are installing an external hard drive through USB ports. Check out the official HP support website for the latest drivers. You can also use the drivers that come with the installation disk that you get with your purchase.


One last thing is that, you need to keep your computer free from viruses before and after installing the HP hard drive, or else you might not get the performance improvement that you seek. Otherwise, everything else should work fine, and your new drive will serve you for many years to come. 

Wednesday 7 August 2013

APC UPS

At Check, we sell a range of APC branded uninterrupted power supplies (UPS). Our UPS products are known for their power protection and technology and are reliable, efficient and flexible. If you would like to view our range of APC UPS then please visit our website, or if you would like to make an enquiry you can call us on +44 (0)845 4672341.