Need to replace an old all-in-one desktop thats being used for office workloads.
I am at a loss for what the requirements would be, and am finding myself unhappy with any builds i put together, either appearing to be overkill or concerned with performance.
No hard budget price, and will be using the existing Mouse/keyboard.
Here’s a fantastic reference I’ve used for my build, and my friends’ builds. Personally I now use a 2nd hand thinkpad with a docking station to hook up another monitor, and an x220 while throwing in an ssd would vibe really well with your point number four.
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/RcX9gL
The parts someone else need to chime in:
Grand total: $553.55
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: Intel - Pentium G4600 3.6GHz Dual-Core Processor ($86.88 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI - B250M PRO-VD Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Crucial - 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($62.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: SanDisk - SSD PLUS 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($58.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Rosewill - FBM-01 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($20.29 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - 300W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($36.69 @ SuperBiiz)
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($92.99 @ B&H)
Total: $418.82
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-09-20 05:04 EDT-0400
I have decided to use the Pentium G4600 and its intergrated GPU for your requirements. It has 2 cores with hyperthreading enabled so it has four threads in total so it will be sufficient in your need in able to multitask seamlessly with no slowdowns.
To help with that is that I have decided to go with 8GB of RAM to be able to have many web browser tabs open at the same time and also to have many software open.
For storage a Sandisk 120GB SSD will be enough storage for today needs. Has decent performance to be able to boot up quicker than a hard drive and also load the software so you can get to work sooner.
For video output for this build just use the video outputs on the motherboard and the intergrated gpu in the cpu… If they don’t have the right connectors you could always just buy an adapter and change the one to your needs.The intergrated GPU can handle up to 3 displays up to 4K so your two 1080p monitors will do just fine.
Power Supply: Seasonic 300w. Your PC sips power so no need for a big power supply but you need it to last so don’t cheap out on it. This one will do fine and its made by a highly reputable manufacturer
Case: I just went with the cheapest because its just an office pc. Don’t like the look of it change it to another.
OS. Windows 10 Home 64 Bit. 32 bit Windows will only use 4gb of ram but 64 bit will use more than that so your web browsing multitasking needs not to worry of any slowdown due to the ram being maxed out.
One thing I would like to add is that a basic office PC still needs to be reasonably quick. There is nothing more frustrating than a slow computer. Web sites are getting harder and harder to render and thay are not going to get easier over time. There is an expectation that a general purpose PC should last 10 years. What might competent today in a few years will struggle. It’s a shame that AMD have not yet released their new Zen/Vega based APU’s as I can foresee them becoming the cornerstone of a great many builds of this type.
So here is my suggested build list:
Something like this, some of these parts were chosen just for price, Case choice is down to personal aesthetics. If a gaming GPU was dropped in it would make a nice gaming rig. For regular general purpose home office use you could be happily running this in ten years. In that time you may have to replace the HDD and maybe double the RAM at the 5 year point.
PCPartPicker part list: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/bVP6JV
Price breakdown by merchant: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/bVP6JV/by_merchant/
CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 1400 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor (£136.74 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: Asus - PRIME B350M-A Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard (£62.95 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Kingston - FURY 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2666 Memory (£72.04 @ Box Limited)
Storage: Crucial - BX300 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£55.18 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£39.42 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: Asus - GeForce GT 710 2GB Video Card (£33.47 @ Novatech)
Case: Fractal Design - Core 1100 MicroATX Mini Tower Case (£29.97 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: Corsair - CXM (2015) 450W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (£46.98 @ Box Limited)
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Home Full 32/64-bit (£100.37 @ More Computers)
Total: £577.12
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-09-20 21:23 BST+0100
Buying a quad core at this point is a waste of money. I would suggest the Ryzen 5 1600.
Get Windows 10 Pro here and the money you save can be spent on the CPU.
If you are a tab hog and like to have multiple browser tabs open across both monitors, while other applications running in the background, opt for 16GB of ram.
I think you are correct but not right now, maybe in five years. The beauty of the AM4 platform is that you should be able to drop a new CPU in later down the line if you need to. The R5 1400 is quad with SMT so much the same as an i7 of a year back. No one would have said then that an i7 wouldn’t be sufficient for home office build, most would have suggested that it was over kill. Things move quickly but not as fast as our expectations.
On my light duty PC I have an i7 quad core with 3 monitors and 12GB ram. I choke it regular, everyday (the PC not me personally). Nothing frustrates me more than waiting or PC being unresponsive.
All I am saying is for 43 GBP more… when you are ready to fork out 137 GBP already is not that much of a jump considering the performance gain.
OK good point, I have not personally run into the issues you mention because I have always kept my personal rig a step above the main stream. It’s been a long while since my personal rig choked on anything. Thing is each user is different, their workload and expectations. You always have to be mindful when specing a PC for someone else not to go spending all of their money. You really need a budget to work to all or all computers would be threadrippers with nvme drives up the wazoo costing thousands.
I think my suggested build is on the expensive side for a home office machine. Considerably more expensive than what others had suggested. You could always spend more, you can always spend more…
That is my full time rig. 1950X with 64GB ram and two NVMe drives on an Asus Extreme X399 with two RX Vega 64s. Unfortunately it is down for repairs and I am using a light duty PC I keep around for guests or times like now when my daily driver is down.
So considering what I use, I thought my advice was being quite conservative and on point for your use case. I am not a minimalist. I look at performance per dollar or pound in your case. With the Ryzen 5 1600 being priced where it is, it simply makes no sense to go with a quad core, unless you are a gaming fanatic or are under severe budget constraint, which I feel you are neither. I build lots of PCs for friends and family, no one is getting a quad core anymore. I also build PCs for friend’s businesses and my own - no more quads. If I was building more than a handful for a business then I may reconsider depending on requirements.
The AM4 socket was promised to be supported for 5 years, so you are good either way.
This is decent work station pc that can handle a variety of daily tasks
i5 6500, or 7500 your choice (this build used the 6500 for win 7)
nice lil processor for getting office work done through out the day.
Gigabyte Motherboard M GA-H110M-S2H GSM for the 6500
or
ASRock motherboard B250M-HDV for the 7500 (the 7500 proc and board would pretty much place you on win10)
good board to marry either of those processors with, both have 6 usb ports in the rear . the asrock sports a nice lil m.2 slot.
samsung evo 500gb sata
… would not go lower in size on a ssd
120 is way to small, and 250s are getting a lil cramped. any thing smaller than a 500 and you will find your self dealing with space management more than you would probably like to . a 1TB would be better but a lil pricey
G.SKILL Aegis ddr4 8GB of memory or kingston for a similar price, memory prices has gone through the roof and no end in sight… if your willing go for 16gb .
LG Internal 24x Super Multi with M-DISC, dvd drives are still usefull but you can save 15 to 20 if you skip it.
CORSAIR Hydro Series H55 Quiet Edition Water / Liquid CPU Cooler I love this lil AIO
keeps the processor quiet and cool. save 55 if you want to use the default heatsink.
EVGA 450 B3, 80 Plus BRONZE 450W so far been having good luck with the evga power supply’s
oh yeah the case…
Cooler Master - MasterBox Lite 3 (Windowless) nice lil case to stuff every thing in … no harddrive space though but the cougar spike is still out of stock so any case for around 40 - 45 bucks should fit the bill just make sure it can fit the dvd drive if buying one of those.
windows 7 pro . it stays out of your way . it does not re-config your drivers or install and or remove printers or other lil win 10 irritations that crop up from time to time.
but
win10 pro if you feel the need to to have the most current gen processor and intel video drivers with microsoft latest os.
should be able to do it for right around 800.
and i would get an OS with a disc and not some shady key. either buy the oem for 140 ish or direct from microsoft .
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/vVZR7h
This to me looks like a really good office build that will not have any hiccups doing anything for many years to come. Nothing too fancy, everything only functional (I didn’t skimp on the motherboard because that’s what keeps everything toghether so better get a decent one).
Also I went with an hybrid drive that should be enough fast for everything with plenty storage. If you’re not going to store that much data on it just get a 250GB SDD that’s a bit cheaper, faster and will hold easly Windows, the Microsoft Office suite, your favourite browser and some other programs.
If you want stronger single task performance go for an i5 build a bit more expensive but, with fast RAM, you can skip the external GPU.
