Build advise for NON-gaming computer

[welchs101]

Hi,

A friend wants to build a non-gaming computer to do work related "stuff" like excel, power point, publisher, surf net, check email, etc.

I have come here before asking for build info.........i typically build about 1 computer every 2yrs for family and friends. I am not a novice but i am NO expert. Its hard for me to stay on top of current cpus and mother boards to use for best non-gaming computer.

Could someone help me identify components to use for a good non-gaming computer?

thanks.

 

[Victorion]

You are right about repeating the same statements.
I am the first to admit that I have learnt 99.9% of what I know, from this site. But this site is one of the biggest, (if the not the biggest) tech sites in the world. There are lots of experts here that have 20+ years of experience, so when articles like this (http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html) are written on a website like this, it is trustworthy information. (If it wasn't it would be corrected by said experts)

I trust the information given to me, by people who have more experience and more knowledge than me, because how else do people learn?

You were just the last one to comment about it, and I qouted you. Nothing personal about it, it´s a forum, people voice their oppinions and I enjoy a good argument with a solid foundation.

Perhaps you misunderstood?
I am seeing alot of baseless hatred against the CX series from Corsair. I want to clarify that:

Corsair states VS,CX and VS line is meant for 30 degrees C.

That obviously means no to overclocking, highend gaming rigs or work stations under heavy load. The post by dottorent, describes his tier 4 PSU as "Not for gaming rigs or overclocking systems of any kind. ". Which is true for the CX series. While reports state they will hold at 50 degrees C, it´s recommended at 30.

I believe that alot of people are unaware of this, and they just pick a PSU out of it´s watts and price. Then got angry, when their PSU started to fail, due to overheating. CX PSU, at their price point, and for what they were designed for are good enough. I don´t think they are the best PSUs, but price and design in mind, they do their job fine.

Often, it´s "corsair cx has bad capacitors or cheap chinese caps". All Corsairs caps are japanese primary caps, and the higher end has eletrolytic caps. And while Japan has a reputation of higher quality control (which is strongly believe), doesn´t mean all chinese caps are poor quality. In fact alot of the japanese branded caps gets assembled and or produced in china anyways. Apple, Dell and HP had a major problem with poor caps in some of their products - japanese-made.

 

[welchs101]

question on the memory:

Here is what was suggested for the 1866:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231455&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-PCPartPicker,%20LLC-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

Here is another 1866 memory..........but what is the difference between the one below nad the one above......

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231460

confusing..........is one better.........one is more expensive but dont know why

 

[welchs101]

ok...i think i see now........the latter memory is for an intel MOB........is this right?

 

[welchs101]

ok, i dont see........both are for intel it looks like............now really confused.

 

[welchs101]

hey what about this ram.........would this be ok or better than the 1866 previously suggested
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231519&ignorebbr=1

anyone out there today?

 

[Victorion]

hey what about this ram.........would this be ok or better than the 1866 previously suggested
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231519&ignorebbr=1

anyone out there today?

For memory, you want 8 GB of DDR3 Ram. Look for a minimum of 1600 Mhz with Cas Latency of 9 or lower.

2 sticks of 4 GB is fine. They will run slightly faster than 1 stick of 8 GB. The downside is that if you only have 2 ramslots on your motherboard, and you find the need to add more rams later, you will have wasted 1 ram stick.

 

[azaran]

question on the memory:

Here is what was suggested for the 1866:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231455&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-PCPartPicker,%20LLC-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

Here is another 1866 memory..........but what is the difference between the one below nad the one above......

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231460

confusing..........is one better.........one is more expensive but dont know why

In theory, the Ripjaws X are supposed to be optimized for LGA1155 boards, where as the Snipers are more of a general use item. In reality, they efficiently do the same thing and are set for the same speed and timings, it just come down to which heatsink you prefer. The price difference is not an indicator of better quality/speed in this instance.

As for one memory being for Intel or AMD, thats not a thing. Both will work just fine.

The DDR3 2133 RAM you linked will have a higher latency compared to the DDR3 1866 you linked. Save the cash and go for either of the RipJawsx or the Sniper. The timings on the DDR3 1866 you linked are a bit sloppy, this stuff would be a better performer
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148560
but it'd also be almost twice as much as for the Sniper and I doubt your friend would notice the difference. Truth be told, he may not even notice the difference with the DDR3 1866 vs DDR3 1600 but the price difference is about $3 so no reason not to go with the faster RAM.

As Victorion said, look for something that is DDR3 1600 or higher (1866 is a nice starting point for performance vs price), CAS 9. There is a whole long way of determining speed vs latency but its not worth getting in to for a build like this.

 

[welchs101]

I want to apologize for asking so many questions. thanks for the info.
I guess my problem now is this. If you go to newegg and pull up the A10-7850k and then scroll down you will find "combos" which go with the A10-7850k..........so i do this hoping to save a few bucks. One of the combos is this

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1625884

so i think this is good deal because it uses the cpu and mob i was going to purchase anyway, the only question is the ram.....but is this ram good enough for my friend. now i know "good enough" is probably a subjective thing........i think this is where "experience" comes into play and i just dont have that experience

any thoughts on that combo? would you still go with the other 1866 ram you suggested that had the really low latency?

 

[welchs101]

here is another combo but it uses a different mob........is this a good deal? is the mob better than the one i originally thought about getting........just wish i had the experience without having to try and research every little detail......

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1665034

 

[welchs101]

again, i tend to do this everytime i build a computer (which is not often) balance between good enough, price and do i really need that..........

 

[azaran]

I want to apologize for asking so many questions. thanks for the info.
I guess my problem now is this. If you go to newegg and pull up the A10-7850k and then scroll down you will find "combos" which go with the A10-7850k..........so i do this hoping to save a few bucks. One of the combos is this

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1625884

so i think this is good deal because it uses the cpu and mob i was going to purchase anyway, the only question is the ram.....but is this ram good enough for my friend. now i know "good enough" is probably a subjective thing........i think this is where "experience" comes into play and i just dont have that experience

any thoughts on that combo? would you still go with the other 1866 ram you suggested that had the really low latency?

Of the two you listed, I'd go for this. http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1625884
This seems to be a good combo. Memory is solid, sounds like its good to go.
The reason I didnt like the other build is that the motherboard is MSI. I like MSI videocards but I hear a lot of talk about quality control issues with their motherboards so I'd stick to the Gigabyte.

And dont worry about going to the other RAM suggested. This one will do just fine.

While you're looking at parts, make sure to include some decent thermal compound. The heatsink when it arrives will have a pad of thermal paste on it. Its better than nothing, but I'd say pick up a tube of something. My first choice is the Noctua NT0H1 compound. http://www.amazon.com/Noctua-NT-H1-Thermal-Compound-Retail/dp/B002CQU14A

 

[welchs101]

Hi, thanks again for all your help.

In reviewing cases my friend asked which of these two cases is "better"
1)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119274&utm_medium=Email&utm_source=IGNEFL112615&cm_mmc=EMC-IGNEFL112615-_-EMC-112615-Index-_-ComputerCases-_-11119274-S3A2D

2)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139018&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-PCPartPicker,%20LLC-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

i know better may not be a good word to use but he was wondering advantages of one vs the other.........

we are thinking of getting the corsair case.........thoughts?

 

[welchs101]

also, any recommendation on blu-ray player. i would want it to be able to burn regular dvd but does not have to burn blue-ray dvd. any suggestions

 

[welchs101]

how ab out this one.....seems good and price is good too
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135252&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-PCPartPicker,%20LLC-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

 

[welchs101]

hi all,

here is what i am thinking now based on all the comments thus far can you comment and let me know if you see anything you would change or suggest a cost savings.........



CPU: AMD A10-7850K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor ($114.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($47.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($77.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.98 @ OutletPC)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($45.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($47.60 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Asus BW-12B1ST/BLK/G/AS Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WDN4800 802.11a/b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($34.00 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $493.42

 

[welchs101]

note: i plan on running windows 10 on this machine.......does this change any selection?

 

[azaran]

Good call on going with the ATX mid tower. Unless you absolutely need to go smaller the extra breathing room is always nice to have. The blu-ray reader looks good, just keep in mind in order to play Blu-Ray movies you will need a software suite to do it. There are way people have gotten VLC to do it for free, but I cant answer to that since I've always had some media software or another to play on. If you want to try and go free, look up VLC blu-ray playback, if not then look up CyberLink PowerDVD. The current version is CyberLink PowerDVD15. Since its sale weekend they're having a good price on it.

And Windows 10 will run just fine on all of that.

 

[welchs101]

thanks!!!!!!!!