Business System Build

[BillH2]

I have 12 Dell Optliplex systems that are getting a little long in the tooth. They are a mix of GX170L and 270. They are all on Secretaries desks, using a combination of MS Office, Internet and other law firm related programs. I have a corporate account with Dell, but still think I can save money in the hardware department by building my own systems.
On board video would be fine, they wouldn't need more than 160G drives. I have open licensing for XP and Office 03. Reccomendations needed for cases, system boards (I have had good luck with Intel), I was going to use a Core2 Quad processor and around 4G memory. I have open licensing for XP and Office.
Thanks

 

[GhislainG]

Why a Quad for office apps? I see no real performance difference between an E6300, a Q6600 or an E8400 when using MS Office 2003. Disk/network performance usually is the bottleneck for large files.

Should the systems be as quiet as the Dell? I doubt that you can build them yourself for the cost of a Dell, but they will be more upgradeable. Honestly I wouldn't bother.

 

[WR2]

Antec NSK4480B Case &380W Power Supply $80
C2Q Q8300 2.5GHz CPU $190 I agree with ghislaing - a C2D 3.0Ghz E8400 @ $170 would be a better choice.
GIGABYTE GA-EG45M-DS2H G45 Micro ATX Motherboard GMA X4500HD graphics $107
mushkin 4GB DDR2 800 RAM $48
WD Caviar SE 160GB SATA HDD $42
LiteOn DVD Burner SATA $22

Compared to:
Dell Vostro 220 mini Desktop + 21.5" Monitor $419
Dell Vostro mini tower case and power supply
Core2Duo E7400 (2.8GHz, 3M, L2Cache, 1066FSB)
Dell G43 motherboard GMA X4500HD graphics
2GB DDR2 800MHz
160GB SATA HDD
Vista Basic
Dell 21.5" S2209W 1920x1080 LCD Monitor
Keyboard and mouse

 

[BillH2]

Thing is, we don't know what we are going to be looking at as far as system requirements in two years. I think it's safe to say that we probably won't be using Office 03 by then. Our accounting system provider has informed us that the next version of their software will require more horsepower. That is the reason I chose the C2Quad over the C2D. We typically replace systems every 4 to 5 years; I would rather buy too much than too little.
I agree, it's going to be tough to beat Dell, that's probably why, since 1998 I have purchased 112 desk, and laptop systems and 7 servers. I still have to try to get the best deal I can, and since I have open license on XP, I thought I would try.
Thanks for taking the time to respond.

 

[GhislainG]

For a quiet environment (reception area, closed office), I'd select with the Antec Sonata Plus 550 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129037. It is much quieter than a Sonata III or NSK4480B.