Office computer upgrade, partial NAS

[Trikstari]

So, I am in the process of building a new computer for my mom. The computer will be used for general office work like word processing, excel, and proprietary word processing software for her appraisal work.

The complication is that I also want to set the computer up to function as a NAS for my father to back up his work files off of his laptop, wirelessly. He may also use it now and then to do some CAD work.

I am looking for a build in the $600 to $750 price range. I cannot decide between a locked I5 or a locked I3. Mainly because the I3's have hyperthreading, whereas the I5's do not. I'd like something that would allow my dad to backup his files, without interrupting my moms work.

An SSD would be nice for the OS, but if that can't be included it's not a huge deal.

I would greatly appreciate any help anyone can give me on this.

 

[geofelt]

For everyday work, I view the SSD as the most important performance piece.

A i3 of some sort is plenty, even including background backups.
I would take a higher clocked i3 over an ordinary i5.

Buy enough ram to handle both tasks. 8gb should be enough.

Integrated graphics should be fine.

 

[Trikstari]

For everyday work, I view the SSD as the most important performance piece.

A i3 of some sort is plenty, even including background backups.
I would take a higher clocked i3 over an ordinary i5.

Buy enough ram to handle both tasks. 8gb should be enough.

Integrated graphics should be fine.

What I3 would you recommend? If I was going to get an I5 it was going to be a 4690 locked. Not sure if there is an I3 to match it's speed with turbo turned on.

 

[drtweak]

The i5's have Hyper Treading as well.

Sounds like to me if you do CAD work getting an i5 and a SSD for the OS/Program and then a different hard drive for storage. I have a few clients that use AutoCAD 2014 on Dell Optiplexs 3020 with i5's and they run pretty good and have 4GB or Ram.

I keep telling them to upgrade to SSD's. Would speed things up a bit.

But if it came down to price for you i would save money on the i3 and get the SSD

 

[geofelt]

I5 does not have hyperthreading.

A i3-4370 has a clock of 3.8 and costs a fair amount less than a i5-4690 @3.5.

Only if one will run all 4 cores full out would a i5 be better.

SSD's are getting cheaper. I suggest a 240gb ssd from Samsung or intel.
Only if storage of large files is needed would a hard drive be appropriate.

I built two ITX based for a small office using a lian li Q07 case and integrated graphics.
Love the case, it is small enough to fit on top of the desk.


I used a Seasonic 380w psu.

 

[drtweak]

No wait my bad. I was thinking of the older i3's back in the day when some had HT and some didn't have HT.