BestConfigs - Intel-Based Office PC

[jpishgar]

We're updating the Tom's Hardware BestConfigs and are opening the field to user recommendations! Post the best configuration you can put together for the following build category and our editorial team will pick 5 recommendations in each category to put to a public vote. The top-ranking build will go on to become one of Tom's Hardware's BestConfigs, and you'll get the credit for having put together a brilliant build with special notice in the feature article.

Post your entries to this thread for the category of Intel-Based Office PC, stay within $500 and be sure to list the following components-

Processor:
Motherboard:
RAM:
Graphics Card:
Hard Drive:
Case:
Power Supply:
DVD Burner:

Good luck, and may the best builds win!

 

[tecmo34]

■Processor: Intel Pentium Dual-Core E5400 Wolfdale 2.7GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor BX80571E5400
■Motherboard: ASUS P5P43TD/USB3 LGA 775 Intel P43 USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
■RAM: Kingston 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model KVR1066D3K2/4GR
■Graphics Card: SAPPHIRE 100292DDR3L Radeon HD 5450 1GB 64-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Low Profile Ready Video Card
■Hard Drive: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
■Case: Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
■Power Supply: Antec EarthWatts Green EA-430D Green 430W Continuous power ATX12V v2.3 / EPS 12V 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power ...
■DVD Burner: LITE-ON CD/DVD Burner - Bulk Black SATA Model iHAS124-04 - OEM
Total Cost: $499.88

 

[gkay09]

CPU - Intel Pentium G6950

Mobo - ASRock H55M-LE LGA 1156 Intel H55

Graphics - The on-chip graphics would suffice for office use IMO...

RAM - Mushkin Enhanced Essentials 4GB (2 x 2GB)

CASE - COOLER MASTER Elite 360

PSU - SeaSonic SS-350ET Bronze 350W

HDD - Samsung F3 500GB/ 1TB

DVD - Lite-On SATA Model iHAS124-04

 

[xurwin]

Processor:intel core i3 540
Motherboard:Gigabyte Ga-h55n-usb3
RAM: G.SKILL ECO Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
Graphics Card: none. IGP
Hard Drive: samsung f3 1tb
Case:coolmaster elite 330
Power Supply: antec 430watts
DVD Burner: sony optiarc

total:$494.89

 

[calguyhunk]

CPU : $125 Intel Core i3-540

Mobo : $90 EVGA H55V Motherboard

RAM : $98 G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB)

HDD : $55 SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 500GB

ODD : $18 LG SATA 22X DVD Burner

PSU : $40 SeaSonic 350W

Case : $40 COOLER MASTER Elite 330

1. Total = $466 + shipping - Mail-In rebates.

 

[tecmo34]

Processor: Intel Core i3-540

Motherboard: ASUS P7H55-M PRO

RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1600 (Model F3-12800CL7D-4GBRM)

Graphics Card: On-board graphics

Hard Drive: Samsung Spinpoint F3 500GB

Case: Antec 300

Power Supply: Antec EarthWatts Green EA-380D

DVD Burner: Sony Optiarc CD/DVD Burner Black SATA Model AD-7261S-0B

Total Cost: $492.89

 

[kokoryba]

pure office PC

CPU (dual core 1.66GHz + GPU GMA 3150 + Motherboard (everything passive)
Intel BOXD510MO Intel Atom D510 Intel NM10 Mini ITX Motherboard/CPU Combo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813121399
$74.99

CASE (mini itx, reliable) + PSU 150W
Foxconn RS233 Black+Light Silver Steel Mini-ITX Tower Computer Case 150W Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811153099
$44.99

HARD DRIVE
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F4 HD322GJ/U 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152244
$42.99

RAM
OCZ Gold 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ2G8002GK
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227124
$39.99

DVD burner
LG 22X DVD Burner - Bulk Black SATA Model GH22LS50 LightScribe Support - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136168
$17.99

TOTAL exc. shipping $220.95

 

[lp231]

My attempt at a Intel based Office PC

-CPU: Intel Celeron E3300 @ 2.5GHz

-Mobo: Asus P5G41C-M LX

-RAM: A-DATA 4GB DDR2 800 (2x2GB)

-GPU: Sapphire HD5670 512MB

-Case: Rosewill MicroATX case

-PSU: Antec Basiq 430w

-DVD: LG DVD writer

subtotal: $ 406.88
tax: none
s&h: $8.78

Grand total: $415.66

 

[unknown_13]

Processor: Intel Core i3-530
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-H55M-S2H LGA 1156 Intel H55
RAM: G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333
Graphics card: The Core i3 IGP will do the job for an office PC.
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Green WD10EADS 1TB 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5"
Case: Antec Sonata Elite Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Power Supply: Antec Basiq BP350 350W
DVD Burner: SAMSUNG 2MB Cache SATA 24x

Total: 486$

 

[unknown_13]

CPU : $125 Intel Core i3-540

Mobo : $90 EVGA H55V Motherboard

RAM : $98 G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB)

HDD : $55 SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 500GB

ODD : $18 LG SATA 22X DVD Burner

PSU : $40 SeaSonic 350W

GPU : $33 ASUS GeForce 8400 GS

Case : $40 COOLER MASTER Elite 330

1. Total = $499 + shipping - Mail-In rebates.

2. I don't think the aforementioned H55 Motherboards have Integrated graphics!

The Core i3 chip has an IGP inside, and the H55 chipset will make use of it.

 

[Guest]

CPU: Intel Core I3 530 - 115 $

Mobo: Gigabyte GA H55 S2H - 90$

Case: Hec 6T10 MicroATX incl. 485W PSU - 40$

Ram: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB - 98$

GPU: EVGA 01G-P3-1226-LR GeForce GT 220 1GB DDR3 - 75$

HD: Western Digital Caviar Blue WD500AAKS 500GB - 55$

Optical Drive: LG 22X DVD Burner - 18$

Total: 491 $

 

[GRIP]

CPU: Intel Core I3 530 - $115

GPU: Integrated

Mobo: Intel BOXDH55HC - $90

RAM: Mushkin Enhanced Essentials PC10666 - $77

Case: Broadway Com Corp 939PL-BLACK - $40

PSU: Included with the case

Optical Drive: ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS - $24

HDD: OCZ Agility 2 40GB - $135

Total: $481

I believe that for an office PC you don't need more than 40GB of HDD (basicaly you need the OS and a few other programs + ~10GB of storage). Anyway...as a programmer I wouldn't need more.
But if you want a lor more storage but a lot less performance, you can go for any 1TB+ HDDs available on the market.

 

[GRIP]

Wanted to edit, but apparently I'm not allowed.
Anyway, I wanted to add a statement to support what I said about not needing more than 40 GB of HDD for an office system.
A company that would buy these systems would also have a file server for additional storage space.

 

[Dougie Fresh]

After quite a bit of research here's what I built as an office PC for my father-in-law. His requirements were: web-surfing, MS Office, "more stuff later" and small. I looked at i3/H55, ION, ION2, D510/NM10 and AMD 880G and concluded this was the biggest bang for the buck. i3/H55 came out to be about $120 more, ION & ION2 were about $50 more, D510/NM10 were $50 less but I was concerned about Windows Aero performance and AMD was also about $50 more for likely comparable performance.

Processor:
Intel Celeron E3300 2.5GHz 65W Dual-Core Processor BX80571E3300
$39.99 @ MicroCenter

Motherboard:
Intel BOXDG41MJ LGA 775 Intel G41 Mini ITX Intel Motherboard
$74.99 @ NewEgg.com

RAM:
A-DATA 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2 DDR2 800 AD2U800B2G5-DRH
$78.99 @ NewEgg.com

Graphics Card:
Integrated Intel GMA X4500

Hard Drive:
Western Digital Caviar Blue WD3200AAJS 320GB
$47.99 @ NewEgg.com

Case:
LIAN LI PC-Q07 Black Aluminum Mini-ITX Tower Computer Case
$59.99 @ NewEgg.com

Power Supply:
SeaSonic SS-350ET Bronze 350W 80 PLUS BRONZE
$39.99 @ NewEgg.com

DVD Burner:
LITE-ON iHAS124-04 SATA CD/DVD Burner
$17.99 @ NewEgg.com

Without shipping, taking advantage of combos, etc. the total hardware cost comes to $359.93. For his build I added a wireless card and Windows Home Premium but had some coupons/combo discounts in there so it came out to around $450 total. The budget was $500. WEI scores for CPU and memory were 5.9 and graphics were 4.3 -- more than adequate but not overkill for his requirements for an office PC.

 

[kokoryba]

After quite a bit of research here's what I built as an office PC for my father-in-law. His requirements were: web-surfing, MS Office, "more stuff later" and small.

look at my build, 220 dollars, fast enough to run office, web and other normal "needs",.. you can find 130 dollars laying on the ground, cant you?

 

[Dougie Fresh]

look at my build, 220 dollars, fast enough to run office, web and other normal "needs",.. you can find 130 dollars laying on the ground, cant you?

Having read the reviews on the GMA 3150 I wasn't confident it would be as responsive enough in Window Aero or "more stuff later". That motherboard also does not have DVI-D and the HDMI maxes out at 1360x768. It probably would have been ok with the VGA port but I didn't want to limit his monitor choices. The CPU/mobo combo I chose was about $45 more. Given his budget, I preferred to go with higher quality parts in the Lian-Li case and Seasonic PSU and max out the RAM.

The 330/ION and D510/ION2 motherboards were close enough in price to i3/H55 they didn't make any sense and all those put things over budget anyway.

However, I might try to build a D525/GMA 3150 based system (once I see the reviews for the Gigabyte D525 board) for myself that if it doesn't workout as a nettop I'll just turn into a home server. I'd pair it with the Athenatech 1089HG.150 case, 4GB of RAM (reviews report better performance in Windows for newgen Atom boards with 4GB vs. 2GB) and use the built-in PSU. I already have a HDD and DVD drive.

Thanks.

 

[kokoryba]

Having read the reviews on the GMA 3150 I wasn't confident it would be as responsive enough in Window Aero or "more stuff later". That motherboard also does not have DVI-D and the HDMI maxes out at 1360x768. It probably would have been ok with the VGA port but I didn't want to limit his monitor choices.

i am not sure if people in office need HDMI or aero...

 

[Dougie Fresh]

i am not sure if people in office need HDMI or aero...

Perhaps, though in my assessment it was and still is worth the extra $40 to get the performance and dual-monitor support of the G41/E3300 combination ($115) over the well-considered but limited D510MO ($75).

If the requirement was purely a nettop then D510/GMA 3150 might be a good choice but when the client indicated they want to do "more later" and has the budget I'd be remiss going with the minimum.

I am looking forward though to build one for me and seeing first hand how it goes.

 

[kokoryba]

Perhaps, though in my assessment it was and still is worth the extra $40 to get the performance and dual-monitor support of the G41/E3300 combination ($115) over the well-considered but limited D510MO ($75).

If the requirement was purely a nettop then D510/GMA 3150 might be a good choice but when the client indicated they want to do "more later" and has the budget I'd be remiss going with the minimum.

I am looking forward though to build one for me and seeing first hand how it goes.

yes but you can always add some basic GPU later... and later you buy it, better GPU you get (for fixed money)

 

[luke904]

intel based office pc? *starts laughing hysterically*

 

[ionut19]

I do not think you, as a company would spend that much if you want to buy more PC's that are used just for office. Depending on the needs, the 500$ would probably cover a lot of uses but still a lot of money.

Here is what i would recommend:
CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115222 core i3 $114.99

Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128437 $114.99 -i chose this one because of best ratings.

RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145252 $52.99 -basic 1333MHz memory, no need for more then 2 Gb.

HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148451 $44.99 -best rated HDD, and enough for an office PC.

PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151086
Now: $39.99

Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119203
Now: $39.99 basic, but you can install extra fans if needed.

Optical drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136147 $17.99 DVD-RW

Total: 425.93 and this is good system for an office PC.

But let's say that as you mentioned we have 500$ to spend on an office pc:

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115222 core i3 $114.99

Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128437 $114.99 -i chose this one because of best ratings.

RAM 2Gb: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145252 $52.99 -basic 1333MHz memory, no need for more then 2 Gb.

HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148451 $44.99 -best rated HDD, and enough for an office PC.

PSU 300w: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151086
$39.99

Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147109
$29.99

Video card 5670: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102871 $77.99 -i don't think you need a more powerful card in an office PC.

Optical drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136147 $17.99 DVD-RW

Total: $493.92

EDIT: i added the optical drive, i forgot ha ha ha..

 

[Dougie Fresh]

This is a slight tweak to my earlier configuration. It uses the DDR3 version of Intel's mini-itx G41 motherboard that was released in Q2'10 and goes with 2GB of RAM. Tweaks to the PSU and ODD reflect current market prices but are mostly interchangeable.

Processor:
Intel Celeron E3300 2.5GHz 65W Dual-Core Processor BX80571E3300
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0327583
$39.99 @ MicroCenter

Motherboard:
Intel BOXDG41AN LGA 775 Intel G41 Mini ITX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813121441
$69.99 @ NewEgg.com

RAM:
Crucial 1 x 2GB 240-Pin DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) CAS 7 1.5V CT25664BA1067
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148149
$41.99 @ NewEgg.com

Graphics Card:
Integrated Intel GMA X4500

Hard Drive:
Western Digital Caviar Blue WD3200AAJS 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5"
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136098
$47.99 @ NewEgg.com

Case:
LIAN LI PC-Q07 Black Aluminum Mini-ITX Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112227
$59.99 @ NewEgg.com

Power Supply:
SeaSonic SS-300ET Bronze 300W 80 PLUS BRONZE OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151086
$39.99 @ NewEgg.com

DVD Burner:
LITE-ON iHAS224-06 SATA CD/DVD Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106333
$19.99 @ NewEgg.com

Total: $319.93 (not including taxes and shipping)

 

[jpishgar]

This topic has been desticky in top of the forum by Jpishgar

 

[ez1none]

thanks,
sounds great for $320.00.

Boogaboo. Just registered not sure how site works or how quickly things are updted