Build for my Mom's work computer

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hdmark

hdmark

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Feb 16, 2015
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Hello all!

My mom is currently using an old laptop to do stuff on (7 years ? maybe more?). She complains how it runs slow and wants to get a new desktop. Her budget is 700-900, but I would love to save her the money if possible. She pretty much only uses the internet, excel, and a program for managing her real estate. She will look at pictures and watcing movies occasionally, but mainly i just want speed for her.

I have a discount at dell through work (i know people will argue that, but i wont be around to fix her computer, so having an in home warranty would be great), but the dell has an i5, either integrated graphics or gtx 745, 8gb ram, and a wireless card. Thats probably enough for her, but im looking at close to 600-700...

I'm wondering if an i5 is necessary, or since she really is not doing anything fancy at all, would an i3 be ok?

My idea for a build for her would be:
i3/i5
8gb ram
integrated graphics
120gb SSD (this alone would amaze her)
500gb HDD
small and VERY QUIET case
windows 8 (might as well have her use the new stuff)

Is that okay for someone who will not be playing any games at all, and mostly browsing facebook/excel/bank sites? Or am i overbuilding this?

Any build suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
 
Solution
bambiboom
hdmark,

My tendency for his kind of use is to focus on good quality and performance basic components. As there are probably no multi-threaded applications, I'd opt for a faster, hyperthreading 2-core CPU rather than i5 which is not hyperthreading. While HD4400 IG is quite good, I'd still include a basic GPU to give the system RAM and CPU full rein. This is because the business applications may include databases and financial analysis software that may have larger and complex files. I don't feel that an SSD is necessary in this use, but you might consider a Western Dgital Black dual drive which combines a 120Gb SSD with a 1TB mech'l drive. The case is important in these systems from a noise standpoint.

BambiBoom...
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PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($104.75 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M-ITX/AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($79.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($61.99 @ Adorama)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($118.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda ES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced (Black) Mini ITX Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ Micro Center)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($14.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($87.75 @ OutletPC)
Case Fan: Noctua NF-F12 PWM 55.0 CFM 120mm Fan ($18.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $617.39
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-24 10:28 EST-0500
 
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Quality parts, small tower, and a more familiar OS to suit her well.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.47 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($68.98 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($69.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Intel 530 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($73.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.89 @ OutletPC)
Case: Silverstone PS08B (Black) MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($33.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Antec EarthWatts Green 380W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($31.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($19.75 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($88.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $616.92
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-24 10:42 EST-0500
 
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Why the i5? She would be better suited with a 240 gig ssd. An i5 is completely unneeded in the build.
 
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The i5 would be a bit more future-proof and provide more performance. A 120 GB SSD is enough for Windows and programs. Documents, movies, etc. will load fine with decent speeds on a WD drive. 240 GB SSD would be overkill unless she wants to dual-boot Windows 7 and Windows 8.1.
 
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hdmark,

My tendency for his kind of use is to focus on good quality and performance basic components. As there are probably no multi-threaded applications, I'd opt for a faster, hyperthreading 2-core CPU rather than i5 which is not hyperthreading. While HD4400 IG is quite good, I'd still include a basic GPU to give the system RAM and CPU full rein. This is because the business applications may include databases and financial analysis software that may have larger and complex files. I don't feel that an SSD is necessary in this use, but you might consider a Western Dgital Black dual drive which combines a 120Gb SSD with a 1TB mech'l drive. The case is important in these systems from a noise standpoint.

BambiBoom Biznarific WalletJoyScream 3000 $$©& £℞™_2.24.15


1. Intel Core i3-4160 Haswell Dual-Core 3.6GHz LGA 1150 54W Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4400 BX80646I34160$ >119.99

2. ASRock H97M Anniversary LGA 1150 Intel H97 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard $69.99

3. 8GB (2X 4GB) Crucial 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CT51264BA160B $60 ($30 ea)

4. EVGA 01G-P3-1313-KR GeForce 210 1GB 64-Bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Low Profile Ready Video Card $32.99

5. Western Digital Blue WD10EZEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive Bare Drive $54.99

5A OPT'L: WD Black² Dual Drive 2.5" 120 GB SSD + 1 TB HDD Kit WD1001X06XDTL > $130

6. SAMSUNG DVD Burner SATA Model SH-224DB/BEBE - OEM $19.99

7. CORSAIR CX series CX430 430W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply $44.99

8. Cooler Master Silencio 352 - Silent Micro ATX Computer Case with two fans, Sound Dampening Panels and Multiple Removable $69.99 $10.00 Mail-in Rebate Card

9. Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-bit - OEM $99.99

__________________________________________

TOTAL= $573.90 or $648 with WD Black dual drive



Cheers,

BambiBoom

HP z420 (2015) > Xeon E5-1660 v2 six-core @ 3.7 /4.0GHz > 16GB DDR3 ECC 1866 RAM > Quadro K2200 (4GB) > Intel 730 480GB > Western Digital Black WD1003FZEX 1TB> M-Audio 192 sound card > Linksys AE3000 USB WiFi > 2X Dell Ultrasharp U2715H 2560 X 1440 > Windows 7 Professional 64 >



 
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Solution
I am going to say, for this build, an AMD APU, paired with an SSD, is sufficient.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD A8-7600 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($89.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A88XN-WIFI Mini ITX FM2+ Motherboard ($92.98 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($61.99 @ Adorama)
Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($99.00 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 130 Mini ITX Tower Case ($41.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: Corsair CSM 450W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($14.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($93.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $602.90
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-24 11:06 EST-0500
 
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An i3 would make more sense, but why the $900 budget? That would be overkill for her intended uses. If she really wants to spend up to $900 on a PC, then she would might as well go with an overpowering build that can do HD movie creation if she wants to learn Sony Vegas or Pinnacle Studio 18 Ultimate. Like this build:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790 3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor ($284.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus MAXIMUS VII GENE Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($208.80 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($69.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Intel 730 Series 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.89 @ OutletPC)
Case: Silverstone PS08B (Black) MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($33.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Antec EarthWatts Green 380W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($31.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($19.75 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($88.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $908.26
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-24 11:11 EST-0500

Totally silly if you ask me.
 
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Sony vegas does better with GPU, just as an FYI. AMD GPU's preferably. AMD does better than Nvidia, in that one. That board is stupid overkill, for a locked CPU as well. It did just come to mind though, that if her excel sheets are in any way complex, a faster CPU is a good idea. 16gb ram might be useful too. Excel has been multithreaded since office 2007. I have excel sheets that sometimes slow down the i5 based Xeon in my computer at work. It all depends on just how calculation filled her excel sheets are.

 
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So in that case, this build would look more reasonable for complex excel spreadsheets.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790 3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor ($284.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($79.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($125.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Intel 730 Series 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.89 @ OutletPC)
Case: Silverstone PS08B (Black) MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($33.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Antec EarthWatts Green 380W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($31.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($19.75 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($88.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $835.44
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-24 12:47 EST-0500
 
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CPU/iGPU: E3-1226 V3 ~$220
MOBO: ASRock Rack C226M WS ~$180
RAM: 2x4GB ECC DDR3 UDIMM's ( KVR16LE11L/4 ) ~$90
SSD: Toshiba Q Pro 256GB ~$125
STORAGE: ST1000NM0033 ~$80
PSU: Seasonic G 360W ~$60
CASE: CoolerMaster N200 ~$45

$800

[edit in]: forgot to include a CPU HSF recommendation. The stock one will work but I'd probably upgrade to a SilverStone AR02 for ~$25 more.
 
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Her boss gve her 700-900 to spend. thats pretty much it lol.
and she will 100% not be working on an video editing or any other fancy application. this really is going to be a basic useage computer. but she wants it to run ast
 
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She just larned how to use the =sum function. i think an i5 could idle through her sheets 😀
 
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Why get a Xeon that is nothing more than an i5? I really don't think this system is in need of full blown server hardware.
 
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I could just as easily ask that the other way around. Why get an i5 for this build, when an E3 with ECC memory support comfortably fits the budget? I think if I were hdmark's Mom's boss, I would want to know that my money were being spent on quality.

The budget has room for a professional, enterprise grade workstation computer. I have proposed how to do this for consideration. The build I have proposed is not a server. Enterprise servers don't typically have sound (onboard or otherwise), this build uses a workstation motherboard, enterprise class storage and memory, the makings of a proper high reliability work computer. Considering how LONG hdmark's mom is likely to use this before considering her next upgrade, I think enterprise grade hardware is probably a really good idea as it's more apt to make it the long haul (5-10 years).

"Need" has absolutely nothing to do with it. I've proposed the highest quality build in the entire thread and you single it out to bring into question it's relevance. I can't help but feel like you have a sinister motive in this.
 
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You can get quality without getting workstation motherboard and ram. Hell, I still have an old Abit IP35 pro, with an E8190, that still runs well. Granted that board is practically impossible to kill. My i5 2400, with P67 Extreme4, is 4yrs old and my 3570k, with Z77 extreme4, is going on 3. At this point, for a system to last 5-10yrs, I'd rather have a 1230v3 or better.
 
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Hi Logain,

Yes, we all have lots of old consumer hardware that still works. I have a POS biostar board going on 5 years old that should have been killed 10 times over from my attempts to overclock on it. That doesn't change the fact that enterprise storage, motherboards, and ECC memory systems have lower failure rates. Citing examples of some consumer grade hardware that didn't fail is not statistically significant and does not change the relevancy of a workstation grade computer intended for use as a work computer.

The 1230V3 doesn't have an iGPU, so.... I guess you mean E3-1246 V3. Yes, that would be a nice alternative, if the build can stretch another $70 it wouldn't hurt.
 
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Here's an E3-1231 V3 workstation build with a discrete GPU at a reasonable price. The CPU is like an i7-4790 without an iGPU.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($242.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($79.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($124.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Intel 730 Series 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GT 630 2GB Video Card ($29.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Silverstone PS08B (Black) MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($33.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Antec EarthWatts Green 380W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($31.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($19.75 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($88.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $822.44
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-25 02:20 EST-0500
 
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My E3 M-ATX build.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($242.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($79.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($109.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($104.99 @ Adorama)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($53.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GT 730 1GB Video Card ($66.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Cougar Spike MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($31.99 @ Mwave)
Power Supply: EVGA 430W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($33.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSC0B DVD/CD Writer ($12.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($93.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $831.79
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-25 10:45 EST-0500

A mini ITX alternative.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($242.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M-ITX/AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($84.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($109.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($104.99 @ Adorama)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($53.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GT 730 1GB Video Card ($66.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 130 Mini ITX Tower Case ($41.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: Silverstone Strider Plus 500W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($69.65 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSC0B DVD/CD Writer ($12.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($93.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $882.55
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-25 10:49 EST-0500
 
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