Worse CPU + SSD or Better CPU w/o SSD for Office

[dthompson321]

So I'm building a $500 dollar office pc for a client of mine and I've been wondering which will better affect his pc's performance, a worse CPU + SSD or a better CPU without an SSD? The CPU I'd be using with the SSD(Some $50 128 GB Sandisk) is the Pentium G3258. The other option is a i3 4150 without an SSD. I know the main difference between the CPUs is just the fact that there's only 2 threads for the G3258, not 4, but will that affect the performance that badly?

 

[BadBoyGreek]

For an office PC doing just daily routine tasks like checking e-mails, Excel spreadsheets, Word documents etc., the Pentium G3258 would be more than enough and the SSD will have more impact than a better CPU w/o SSD. Office apps don't benefit from multiple threads.

 

[USAFRet]

The G3258 and an SSD, hands down.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

On a $500 PC, I wouldn't bother with a SSD. I'd put in a SSHD and double the size. My guess is you have a 1 TB HD + a 128 GB SSD.....a 2 TB SSHD will cost the same

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822178380

SSD boots in 15.6 seconds
SSHD boots in 16.5 seconds

But honestly, there will be 0 productivity gain from either.

Another benefit is, you won't have to go over to the office and clean off the SSD because your user has it all filled up..... we have two lappies here....one with an SSHD and one with 128 SSD - 750 GB HD

The only thing anyone has noticed performance wise between the two is that occasionally, the SSD needs to be cleaned out a bit.

 

[BadBoyGreek]

On a $500 PC, I wouldn't bother with a SSD. I'd put in a SSHD and double the size. My guess is you have a 1 TB HD + a 128 GB SSD.....a 2 TB SSHD will cost the same

SSD boots in 15.6 seconds
SSHD boots in 16.5 seconds

But honestly, there will be 0 productivity gain from either.

Productivity wise, no. But apps and docs would launch much faster from the SSD. Problem with an SSHD is that the majority of the SSD portion is taken up by the OS alone.

 

[USAFRet]

For office use, you'll see little if any difference between the 2 CPU's.
The SSD will enhance the experience. But if that drive is the only drive, 128GB may be too small.

What are you doing for a backup situation?

 

[JackNaylorPE]

On a $500 PC, I wouldn't bother with a SSD. I'd put in a SSHD and double the size. My guess is you have a 1 TB HD + a 128 GB SSD.....a 2 TB SSHD will cost the same

SSD boots in 15.6 seconds
SSHD boots in 16.5 seconds

But honestly, there will be 0 productivity gain from either.

Productivity wise, no. But apps and docs would launch much faster from the SSD. Problem with an SSHD is that the majority of the SSD portion is taken up by the OS alone.

So if there's no gain what's the point ? What benefit is there between booting in 15.6 versus 16.5 ? What benefit is there in having the word processor open or load a file in 0.8 seconds or 0.9 ? The problem is it's like arguing whether to get a car that does 60 mph versus one that does 120 mph to deliver packages around the city where the maximum speed limit is 40 mph.

On the other hand, there is an advantage difference between getting 1 TB of storage versus double that at 2 TB for the same price.

We bought the two laptops configured as described for exactly that purpose, we actually monitored productivity and surveyed user experience..... 1) no one could actually tell them apart..... so what is the difference between booting and launching faster when no one could observe a difference.... you needed a stop watch to observe the difference.

As for the observation part, we watched technical typists, CAD operators and engineers use the machines. When we asked how the machines performed, everyone felt that the puter spent a helluva lot more time waiting for them then they did waiting on it. The only waiting that was reported at all was waiting for web pages to load. more a function of server said than anything client side.

I have two machines on my home office desk.

Desktop = 4770k @ 4.6 Ghz, twin 780 Tis (OC'd 27%), two SSDs, two SSHDs, 16 GB DDR3 2400
Laptop = i7-3720QM, GTX 675M, 750 GB 7200 rpm SSHD, 16 GB DDR3-1600

I spend 80% - 100% of my days on the lappie, simply because I can lean back in the chair and change my position and how fast I work is in no way impacted.

Let's say I have my technical typist or account manager a 4790k w/ a GTX 980 and SSD and hand here a pile of work to do saying she can go home when she's done. Are you saying she will actually get to go home earlier than if she had G3258 build with a SSHD ? If not, the value of a SSD to the Business owner is non existent.

If ya wanna get a shock..... look at Task Manager at the end of the day and see how much time your CPU spent working ? Hint ... a lot less than you put on ya time sheet

 

[Outlander_04]

If its just email then a Pentium G3220 , and a hybrid hard drive . Seagate make some relatively cheap 3.5 inch hybrids .
They only have 8 gig of SSD but thats plenty for windows and office programs you would use

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3240 3.1GHz Dual-Core Processor ($52.98 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($68.98 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($60.88 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Hybrid Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1300 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($42.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Enermax REVOLUTION X't 430W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($56.00 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-14 DVD/CD Writer ($17.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $369.80
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-29 23:01 EDT-0400

A copy of windows is about $90 . Make sure you get a 64 bit verion of 7 , or preferably 8.1