[SOLVED] non-gamer home office PC build

doced72

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Apr 5, 2013
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Hello,
I will welcome recommendations for components, e.g., motherboard, CPU, RAM, etc., for a rather basic PC build that will be used primarily for correspondence and internet searches. It, the PC, will have direct Ethernet connection and will, because of a particular application, need to run Windows 10 Pro 64-bit OS. I see references to "free" Windows 10, but have yet to discover their validity. All information will be appreciated. Thank you for your consideration and assistance.

Ed
 
Solution
Hello,
I will welcome recommendations for components, e.g., motherboard, CPU, RAM, etc., for a rather basic PC build that will be used primarily for correspondence and internet searches. It, the PC, will have direct Ethernet connection and will, because of a particular application, need to run Windows 10 Pro 64-bit OS. I see references to "free" Windows 10, but have yet to discover their validity. All information will be appreciated. Thank you for your consideration and assistance.

Ed
For just a basic checking emails searches and such this would work fine very similar to my wife's PC.

What is the specific application (could also change what is needed to buy) that you need windows pro for? I know you can run windows 10 for...

Zerk2012

Titan
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Hello,
I will welcome recommendations for components, e.g., motherboard, CPU, RAM, etc., for a rather basic PC build that will be used primarily for correspondence and internet searches. It, the PC, will have direct Ethernet connection and will, because of a particular application, need to run Windows 10 Pro 64-bit OS. I see references to "free" Windows 10, but have yet to discover their validity. All information will be appreciated. Thank you for your consideration and assistance.

Ed
For just a basic checking emails searches and such this would work fine very similar to my wife's PC.

What is the specific application (could also change what is needed to buy) that you need windows pro for? I know you can run windows 10 for free not activated not sure about pro.

PCPartPicker Part List

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel Pentium Gold G6400 4 GHz Dual-Core Processor | $64.00 @ Amazon
Motherboard | Gigabyte H410M S2H Micro ATX LGA1200 Motherboard | $79.99 @ Newegg
Memory | G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-2666 CL15 Memory | $44.99 @ Newegg
Storage | Samsung 860 Evo 500 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive | $59.99 @ Newegg
Case | Rosewill SRM-01B MicroATX Mini Tower Case | $22.99 @ Newegg
Power Supply | Corsair CV 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply | $49.99 @ Amazon
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total | $321.95
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-02-25 18:23 EST-0500 |
 
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Solution

punkncat

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TBH, for something like that I would look for a refurbished Dell Optiplex or HP equivalent. Something from the 3-4th gen up should work fine and could cost you as little as ~$100 with Win 10 for a SFF form factor.

IMO, if you were going to build new I would absolutely suggest going no LOWER than the Core i3 or Ryzen 3 variants. You can build up a cheap system with a Celeron/Pentium/Athlon CPU but they are obsolete before you use them and certainly will not stand up to time. You can readily build a more than decent i3 system, new, for sub $400 with OS.

Edit
i3 10100 can be had for $114 regularly on Amazon. Have seen as low as 99
H410 motherboard in quick and easy in stock search shows $60
I would go single stick cheapest possible on RAM; 4GB sub $25
Pick up an inexpensive case with included PSU. Rosewill have a couple of nice options in the $50 range
SSD- would absolutely pick a cheap SSD over ANY HDD. You can pick a Kingston or Inland for sub $25

This puts the build right at $275, new. Win 10 Pro will cost you $150, legitimately. There are methods that drift into grey for FAR less money. If you are using this for an on the up business application/use I would suggest using the fully legitimate route. Slightly over $400 for a rig that could be upgraded in simple ways to fit a variety of use and be ready for years of service. To be fair: if you were to consider using this machine with ANY appreciable upgrade from the above (inexpensive) selection(s) the single first thing you need to consider is putting in a decent PSU.
 
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Hello,
I will welcome recommendations for components, e.g., motherboard, CPU, RAM, etc., for a rather basic PC build that will be used primarily for correspondence and internet searches. It, the PC, will have direct Ethernet connection and will, because of a particular application, need to run Windows 10 Pro 64-bit OS. I see references to "free" Windows 10, but have yet to discover their validity. All information will be appreciated. Thank you for your consideration and assistance.

Ed
Sourcing parts for a new build gives you control over the quality of the components used and leaves you free to change and upgrade parts anytime you want, but it usually comes at a higher cost than a store bought prebuilt. Considering your stated uses, a used Dell workstation may be a viable alternative. Amazon has tons of these for sale and for the price of a new Win 10 Pro license from MS, you can get the whole computer (less monitor) with Win 10 Pro loaded and ready to go. They are generally not upgradeable, although some are to a small extent, so you'll want a model that has a decent CPU with sufficient memory and storage. Here's an example. They can be hit and miss but Amazon backs them up for a short time.

If you want to proceed with a custom build using new parts I'd recommend an Intel i3-10100 with a B460 board, 8GB DDR4 memory, an SSD, cheap case and decent power supply like Corsair CX450. The Win 10 Pro license will cost you for a legitimate version. You can shave costs a bit with lesser quality parts to bring the total down if necessary. Example build
 
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