HardwareTips and Tricks Is it Time to Upgrade Your Hardware?

Mar 08, 2023
Note: The hardware requirements listed here have been updated since the original publish date of March 2023. For the latest requirements, see this article from our online Help.

The start of a new year is always a great time to take stock of your current hardware and determine if you need to make some upgrades.  If you’re losing productivity due to slow hardware performance, it could be time to upgrade! 

But upgrading doesn’t necessarily mean buying new computers. Small upgrades to your server and terminals can actually make a big difference when running EPASS. 

Let’s start by taking a look at the current minimum system requirements to run EPASS. 

SERVER 

  • +Xeon E5/i7 processor, minimum of 8 cores. 
  • Minimum of 16GB RAM available to EPASS.  
  • 1 TB of hard disk space available for EPASS  

TERMINAL 

  • Minimum of 8 GB RAM 
  • 40GB of hard disk space available for EPASS 

These are the “minimum” system requirements for your server and terminals to run EPASS. But while EPASS will technically run with these specs, actual performance may not be ideal.  So, if your hardware only meets the minimum, what should you upgrade first?  

RAM 

The upgrade that will give you the most “bang for your buck” would be to upgrade the RAM. The more RAM that EPASS has available to it, the faster and smoother it will operate. Upgrading the RAM is actually a very simple upgrade and usually quite affordable. If your server only has 16GB of RAM, we recommend upgrading to 32GB or 64GB. For your Terminals, upgrade to at least 16GB. From a performance perspective, upgrading your RAM is one of the best investments you can make, and you can never have too much RAM! 

Hard Disk 

While upgrading your storage drives might not compare to upgrading your RAM in terms of performance gain, you could experience issues if EPASS doesn’t have access to enough free hard disk space. Make sure that you have enough free hard disk space on your servers and terminals, and if not, it might be time to upgrade, or at least make some more space available by removing unnecessary files and apps. 

Another upgrade that you could consider would be switching your hard disks to solid state drives (SSD). The benefit of an SSD is speed – because there are no moving parts, the PC can transfer data from an SSD faster than a traditional hard disk (HDD). Keep in mind however, that SSD’s can be quite pricey when compared to an equivalent HDD. 

Processor 

Upgrading your computer’s processors (CPU) is a bit trickier than the previous upgrade suggestions, and if you are at this point, it might just be better to spec out some new PCs. 

For your terminals, they should be able to run Windows 11, so that would include any current processors on the market today. For the server’s CPU, we recommend at least an i7 processor for an EPASS installation with up to 10 terminals, or a XEON E5 processor for an installation with up to 20 terminals.   

Mobile Technician 

So far we’ve covered upgrading your server and terminals, but let’s not forget about your Service Techs using Mobile Technician. Mobile Technician is more lightweight than EPASS, and the system requirements are smaller, but you’ll still want to make sure that your Service department’s laptops are capable: 

Mobile Technician System Requirements: 

  • Windows 10 
  • 8 GB RAM 
  • 30-40 GB hard disk space available for Mobile Technician 
  • i5 processor or better 

If your laptop can run Windows 10, it should be capable for Mobile Technician. As with the server and terminal upgrades, increasing the RAM is going to provide your biggest boost. MT can run with 8GB, but you’ll see increased performance with more. 

We hope that you have found this post helpful and it’s given you some things to consider when it comes to your hardware. Slow performance could be an indication that you might need to make some upgrades. Make sure that your server and terminals have enough RAM, and remove any unnecessary files or apps from the hard disks so that EPASS has enough disk space to work. 

And if you have any questions about hardware requirements or upgrades, please do not hesitate to contact our Support department. One of our representatives would be happy to help you. 

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