- Jul 27, 2020
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- 4,510
Afternoon, I'm looking to spec some PCs for where I work (small retail firm). We mainly use the machines for Sales software, Chrome for emails and Facebook, then our biggest 'demand' is a CAD software called Virtual Worlds for KBB design and rendering (not 4D/VR)
We've a number of machines that are well beyond their expected lifetime and a few 'cheap' prebuilds bought from a large retailer which turned out completely useless which were bought at my disgust.
Anyhow, I'm now planning entirely new PCs, Midi/full tower as space isn't an issue.
Approximate Purchase Date: e.g.: Hopefully Friday (8th Sept) after my day off.
Budget Range: £600 -650 (inc VAT) is kind of a self-imposed limit as I'm liable to see value 'creep' when doing anything with technology.
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Light CAD design, Chrome, other low power software (business based) **Storage not required as data all kept on other machines
Are you buying a monitor: No
Parts to Upgrade: Full new tower, no monitor, peripherals etc to count in budget.
Do you need to buy OS: Have existing Win 10 Pro licenses I can transfer (actually unsure how licensing works now if it's mandatory?)
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Used Ebuyer/Scan/Overclockers so far in my parts serach but anywhere that is quick delivery to UK
Location: Manchester, UK. Ideally online order & delivery only.
Parts Preferences: Intel CPU, Nvidia GFX unless there's a very good reason to use alternative.
Overclocking: Doubtful, UEFI? standardised if anything but likely just wasted electricity bills
SLI or Crossfire: No
Your Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080, use doesn't really have required any FPS criteria etc
Additional Comments: Quiet would be good, but not mandatory, power consumption a small consideration as business use and on 24hr/day
And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: Garbage / outdated computers struggling with newer OS and Chrome / CAD spec demands
Current parts list (kinda top end of my budget)
i5-12400F£147
ASUS Prime B660-PLUS £110
RTX3050 8GB GDDR6 £205
16GB memory Kit DDR4 3200mhz £47
Samsung 970 evo 500gb pcie 3.0x4lane £42
Case / PSU / Fans PC sum £100 can be ugly just no LEDs so as long as I get suitable GPU cables with PSU I should be fine?
Current total £651
If there's any massive fails in my parts choice warning would be appreciated, similarly if there's an imbalance and something will cause a massive bottleneck or make them redundant / outdated much sooner I'd be open to thoughts. I've thrown some notes on my process / parts consideration below.
CPU - I looked at i3-12100 but told it's underspecced for the CAD software (which I'm not sure I believe but w/e), then also i5-10400 but as much as I'd likely never upgrade and cost of MB increase it just seemed worth the notes.
MB - Looked at MSI B660M-A WIFI, as it came recommended in some reviews but I don't need Wifi and 2.5gb LAN isn't a priority. 1x M.2 drive is enough and USB speeds again not something I'd fret about.
GFX card - Originally considered going without a GPU and going with intel integrated gfx and throwing in more RMA to compensate but was advised against it even though it obviously increases the budget having a card. Then swung between 1650 and 3050 and that 'creep' started 😛
SSD - Read speeds are nice but not critical to our use I think and we're upgrading from mechanical drives in most of the PCs so will be noticable increase. Just want something reliable.
**I did just remember that one of computers will likely be running mirrored RAID and adding a few mechanical drives for our sales database which is a tiny amount of data but will need Raid capable MB. (I could just change specfor 1 as required).
Any help appreciated, I've built and played with computers a lot in my childhood but feel extra pressure not to <Mod Edit> when it's for work and it's going to be several systems 😉
Many thanks
Rob
Mod Edit for Language
We've a number of machines that are well beyond their expected lifetime and a few 'cheap' prebuilds bought from a large retailer which turned out completely useless which were bought at my disgust.
Anyhow, I'm now planning entirely new PCs, Midi/full tower as space isn't an issue.
Approximate Purchase Date: e.g.: Hopefully Friday (8th Sept) after my day off.
Budget Range: £600 -650 (inc VAT) is kind of a self-imposed limit as I'm liable to see value 'creep' when doing anything with technology.
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Light CAD design, Chrome, other low power software (business based) **Storage not required as data all kept on other machines
Are you buying a monitor: No
Parts to Upgrade: Full new tower, no monitor, peripherals etc to count in budget.
Do you need to buy OS: Have existing Win 10 Pro licenses I can transfer (actually unsure how licensing works now if it's mandatory?)
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Used Ebuyer/Scan/Overclockers so far in my parts serach but anywhere that is quick delivery to UK
Location: Manchester, UK. Ideally online order & delivery only.
Parts Preferences: Intel CPU, Nvidia GFX unless there's a very good reason to use alternative.
Overclocking: Doubtful, UEFI? standardised if anything but likely just wasted electricity bills
SLI or Crossfire: No
Your Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080, use doesn't really have required any FPS criteria etc
Additional Comments: Quiet would be good, but not mandatory, power consumption a small consideration as business use and on 24hr/day
And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: Garbage / outdated computers struggling with newer OS and Chrome / CAD spec demands
Current parts list (kinda top end of my budget)
i5-12400F£147
ASUS Prime B660-PLUS £110
RTX3050 8GB GDDR6 £205
16GB memory Kit DDR4 3200mhz £47
Samsung 970 evo 500gb pcie 3.0x4lane £42
Case / PSU / Fans PC sum £100 can be ugly just no LEDs so as long as I get suitable GPU cables with PSU I should be fine?
Current total £651
If there's any massive fails in my parts choice warning would be appreciated, similarly if there's an imbalance and something will cause a massive bottleneck or make them redundant / outdated much sooner I'd be open to thoughts. I've thrown some notes on my process / parts consideration below.
CPU - I looked at i3-12100 but told it's underspecced for the CAD software (which I'm not sure I believe but w/e), then also i5-10400 but as much as I'd likely never upgrade and cost of MB increase it just seemed worth the notes.
MB - Looked at MSI B660M-A WIFI, as it came recommended in some reviews but I don't need Wifi and 2.5gb LAN isn't a priority. 1x M.2 drive is enough and USB speeds again not something I'd fret about.
GFX card - Originally considered going without a GPU and going with intel integrated gfx and throwing in more RMA to compensate but was advised against it even though it obviously increases the budget having a card. Then swung between 1650 and 3050 and that 'creep' started 😛
SSD - Read speeds are nice but not critical to our use I think and we're upgrading from mechanical drives in most of the PCs so will be noticable increase. Just want something reliable.
**I did just remember that one of computers will likely be running mirrored RAID and adding a few mechanical drives for our sales database which is a tiny amount of data but will need Raid capable MB. (I could just change specfor 1 as required).
Any help appreciated, I've built and played with computers a lot in my childhood but feel extra pressure not to <Mod Edit> when it's for work and it's going to be several systems 😉
Many thanks
Rob
Mod Edit for Language
Last edited by a moderator:
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