Home office PC with maximum sex appeal

Pixelsmith

Pixelsmith

Pixelsmith

Associate
Joined
2 May 2009
Posts
18
Hi there - I'm asking for a bit of build help with a budget of £1000.

I'd like to make a really sexy home office PC - if that's even a thing. No home theatre duties, no developer software, no high-end gaming - just OS stuff, browser operation and office software (maybe the odd bit of Photoshop) running so luxuriously fast, smooth and easy that it makes me weep with joy. That mythical PC I always dream of when the ones at work chug and stutter - that's this, baby!

I'm sorry that I don't have a full build for you to check out - I'm not quite at that level (I did build a PC once, but it was over 10 years ago). Even so, I'd guess the builds in this thread are along the right lines: http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18549929&highlight=office+pc


My wish list would include SSD, low noise, mid-level gaming and upgrade potential for a second monitor. Windows 7 and monitor need to be factored into the budget, and I have a monitor idea:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Dell UltraSharp U2412M 24" Widescreen LED Monitor - Midnight Grey £229.99
Total : £242.59 (includes shipping : £10.50).



Any help much appreciated!
 
i5 based build, with an R7 for some moderate gaming..

Your Basket »
1 x Dell UltraSharp U2412M 24" Widescreen LED Monitor - Midnight Grey £229.99
1 x Intel Core i5-4670 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £169.99
1 x Sapphire Radeon R7 260X OC 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £107.99
1 x Samsung 120GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE120BW) £83.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £79.99
1 x Gigabyte H87M-HD3 Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £73.99
1 x NZXT H230 Classic Silent Midtower Case White £59.99
1 x Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (BLS2CP4G3D1609DS1S00CEU) £59.99
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 500w Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020059-UK) £55.99
1 x Western Digital Caviar Green 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (WD10EZRX) **SINGLE PLATTER** HDD £53.99
2 x BitFenix Spectre Plain BLACK 120mm Fan £5.99 (£11.98)



Total: £1,004.38 (includes shipping: £13.75)

Choose the NZXT H230 as the most sleek looking case that'll fit in the budget(only comes with a single fan though, so added a couple into the build).

The following two cases might be good alternatives and both come with two fans(so wouldn't need the additional ones above).
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-323-CM&groupid=2362&catid=2277
or
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-045-NX&groupid=2362&catid=2277
 
TooMuchCheese said:
i5 based build, with an R7 for some moderate gaming..

Your Basket »
1 x Dell UltraSharp U2412M 24" Widescreen LED Monitor - Midnight Grey £229.99
1 x Intel Core i5-4670 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £169.99
1 x Sapphire Radeon R7 260X OC 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £107.99
1 x Samsung 120GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE120BW) £83.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £79.99
1 x Gigabyte H87M-HD3 Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £73.99
1 x NZXT H230 Classic Silent Midtower Case White £59.99
1 x Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (BLS2CP4G3D1609DS1S00CEU) £59.99
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 500w Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020059-UK) £55.99
1 x Western Digital Caviar Green 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (WD10EZRX) **SINGLE PLATTER** HDD £53.99
2 x BitFenix Spectre Plain BLACK 120mm Fan £5.99 (£11.98)



Total: £1,004.38 (includes shipping: £13.75)

Choose the NZXT H230 as the most sleek looking case that'll fit in the budget(only comes with a single fan though, so added a couple into the build).

The following two cases might be good alternatives and both come with two fans(so wouldn't need the additional ones above).
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-323-CM&groupid=2362&catid=2277
or
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-045-NX&groupid=2362&catid=2277
Click to expand...

Amazing - thank you so much! I love the look of the NZXT H230. Proper swish.
 
I'd guess you should be looking at mac.

Otherwise, I'd go for a high frequency intel dual core, ssd, expensive cooling, small box. Probably a silverstone sg06 with a 120mm radiator in the front. Onboard graphics to avoid the heat dump and noise of a dedicated card if any support dual monitors yet.

ATX is very big for no gain here, so m-itx seems sensible.
 
JonJ678 said:
I'd guess you should be looking at mac.

Otherwise, I'd go for a high frequency intel dual core, ssd, expensive cooling, small box. Probably a silverstone sg06 with a 120mm radiator in the front. Onboard graphics to avoid the heat dump and noise of a dedicated card if any support dual monitors yet.

ATX is very big for no gain here, so m-itx seems sensible.
Click to expand...

So what is ITX or mATX offering here that an ATX build isn't? The OP does not specifically state that there's an issue with space, so exactly what problem are we trying to solve by moving away from an ATX build?
Pixelsmith said:
Amazing - thank you so much! I love the look of the NZXT H230. Proper swish.
Click to expand...

Happy to help... :)

Whatever you decide, take some pics and post them up for us to see! :D
 
Last edited:
Space isn't a problem. And I've definitely considered a Mac, but PCs are my comfort zone. I think I want the feeling of ownership (and confidence in modular upgrades) that comes from building the thing.
 
Calneon said:
I would highly recommend getting a 120Hz monitor if you're after maximum sexiness. Even if you're not gaming it makes using your PC a lot nicer, moving windows, moving the mouse, etc feels a lot smoother.

I have one of these http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MO-070-BQ&groupid=17&catid=510 and it's brilliant.
Click to expand...


Op says he wants a system for office work and some photo shop how would a 120hz be better than an ips top quality screen with best possible colour?
 
YOUR BASKET
1 x Asus VS24AHL 24.1" Widescreen Professional/Gaming LED Monitor - Black £239.99
1 x Samsung 250GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE250BW) £142.99
1 x MSI HD 7850 OC 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Cards £119.99
1 x AMD Piledriver FX-6 Six Core 6300 Black Edition 3.50GHz (Socket AM3+) Processor - Retail £89.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £79.99
1 x BitFenix Phenom MATX Cube Case - Arctic White £74.95
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) HDD £68.99
1 x Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (BLS2CP4G3D1609DS1S00CEU) £59.99
1 x Antec High Current Gamer 520W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £55.99
1 x Asus M5A78L-M/USB3 AMD 760G (Socket AM3+) DDR3 MicroATX Motherboard £52.99
Total : £1,021.62 (includes shipping : £29.80).

 
My attempt. Slightly over budget, use win 8.1 trial until extra money for Os comes along. Or go Ubuntu, especially since steam is on Linux now :)

YOUR BASKET
1 x Asus VX279Q 27" Widescreen Super-Slim Bezel LED Monitor - Black £269.99
1 x Gainward GeForce GTX 760 Phantom 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £191.99
1 x Crucial M500 240GB SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive - (CT240M500SSD1) £149.99
1 x AMD Piledriver FX-8 Eight Core 8320 Black Edition 3.50GHz (Socket AM3+) Processor - Retail £119.99
1 x Asus M5A97 EVO R2.0 AMD 970 (Socket AM3+) DDR3 Motherboard £89.99
1 x Lian Li PC-7HX Midi-Tower Case - All Black £82.99
1 x Seasonic G series 550w '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply £79.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Beast 8GB (2x4GB) PC3-17100C11 2133MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX21C11T3K2/8X) £71.99
Total : £1,079.83 (includes shipping : £19.10).

 
 
systemerror said:
Op says he wants a system for office work and some photo shop how would a 120hz be better than an ips top quality screen with best possible colour?
Click to expand...

I'm sure the faster refresh rate is great if you're primarily a gamer, i do a bit of both myself and i'm still happily playing FPS games on an old Dell IPS with a 16ms response time(2007FPB). I do however definitely appreciate the picture quality more compared to my previous TN based screens with faster response times. Best of all, i got the Dell screen totally free(office clear out).. :)

In terms of priorities, i think a nicer IPS screen would suit the OP more and thus agree with systemerror. If i hadn't already decided on a newer model Dell(P2414H - having to source that elsewhere unfortunately), i'd have likely chosen the same model as the OP did, despite my desire to play games(i'm use to 16ms, anything even half of that on an IPS will suit me).

That said, i also spent a great deal of time on a 21 inch Sony Trinitron CRT and it took me a while to adapt to LCD screens after switching(tearing especially). Nothing compares to that old screen for games(that i've used), but having used VA/IPS screens now, i'd never give up that picture quality just to cut down on ghosting, tearing, some extra smoothness in fast moving games, etc..

I'm probably not as hardcore a gamer as many of you guys though and do spend a lot of time in the web browser and/or watching tv/movies... etc..
 
Mr Smith

I spent a grand on new surfing PC -and new monitor - iiyama 24" and really pleased with system
The only thing that let's it down is total rubbish Broad band speed 7mb and 0.38kb.

I could cry sometime when see speed some people on here have.

Go for it - I did and was my first build.
 
Thank you so much to everyone for the advice and build suggestions!

Just a query - as an enthusiastic novice, how would you recommend I weigh these various builds against each other. My plan is to just take a look through the components and see which things are most important to me - SSD capacity, monitor size etc. I'm going to assume they're all good builds!

As for the monitor, I suppose an 120HZ isn't for me - at least if picture quality and viewing angle are the trade-off. I do love the idea of a smoother experience, but I'd probably need to see it in action to work out whether it would have a noticeable effect on office apps and browsing.

Just to confirm, I did mention Photoshop editing but all I'd be doing would be low end stuff. By which I mean that not having professionally perfect colour representation would never be a serious problem for me.

The only thing that let's it down is total rubbish Broad band speed 7mb and 0.38kb... Go for it - I did and was my first build.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry you have to deal with that - it sounds like torture! And thanks for the encouragement.
 
I've got most of a build now, with your help! I'm gone over budget a bit (inevitably) and am going for:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Asus VX279Q 27" Widescreen Super-Slim Bezel LED Monitor - Black £269.99
1 x Gigabyte Radeon R9 270X WindForce 3X OC 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £155.99
1 x Crucial M500 240GB SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive - (CT240M500SSD1) £149.99
1 x Asus M5A97 EVO R2.0 AMD 970 (Socket AM3+) DDR3 Motherboard £89.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £79.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) HDD £62.99
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 500w Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020059-UK) £55.99
Total : £885.44 (includes shipping : £17.10).



How does that look to people? I'm now just trying to work out whether I'd benefit from the extra performance in the more expensive of these two processors:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-4670 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £169.99
1 x AMD Piledriver FX-8 Eight Core 8320 Black Edition 3.50GHz (Socket AM3+) Processor - Retail £119.99
Total : £300.78 (includes shipping : £9.00).



And the same question for the more expensive RAM:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Kingston HyperX Beast 8GB (2x4GB) PC3-17100C11 2133MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX21C11T3K2/8X) £71.99
1 x Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (BLS2CP4G3D1609DS1S00CEU) £59.99
Total : £140.68 (includes shipping : £7.25).




Lastly, there's the case to think about. I love the look of the NZXT but as it's from a different build suggestion to most of my components, I'm not sure it's suitable for my build. In which case, I'm sizing up between the Lian-Li and the Lian-Li dampened. I do want my machine to be as quiet as possible - do your think I would notice the different with the dampened one, given that my PC isn't too high end?

YOUR BASKET
1 x OcUK Tech Labs - Lian Li PC-7HX - Black - Noise Dampened £119.99
1 x Lian Li PC-7HX Midi-Tower Case - All Black £82.99
1 x NZXT H230 Classic Silent Midtower Case White £59.99
Total : £277.07 (includes shipping : £11.75).



I do have one last question, actually. As a newbie builder, is there any kit I really should have before I start? Thermal paste, screwdriver kits, antistatic wristbands, cable tidies? And indeed any cables I may have forgotten...

Once again, thank you so much for all your help. I'll be making sure to post the build pics.
 
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