Kaveri based office PC build

[WalderX]

Got a client who is after a new PC, his exact words are that he would like a new 'super duper pc' even though his usage for it is basic internet, email, word etc - no 2D/3D design work or gaming.

I figured the new Kaveri line of cpu's could be perfect for this? As they are not overly expensive and offer good cpu/gpu performance. Anyway here is what I have put together - what do you chaps think?

(Please note I am working with ex.vat prices as I am a trade customer)

YOUR BASKET
1 x AMD Kaveri 7850K 12 Compute Core APU w/ Radeon R7 Graphics (4 CPU + 8 GPU Compute Cores) - Retail £116.66
1 x Samsung 120GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE120BW) £72.49
1 x Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00614) £58.29
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan ORANGE 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLAD38G2400HC11CDC01) £46.66
1 x Gigabyte F2A88XM-DS2 AMD A88X (Socket FM2+) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £39.16
1 x Toshiba (7K1000.D) 1TB SATA 6GB/s 32MB Cache - OEM (DT01ACA100) HDD £36.66
1 x SuperFlower Amazon 450W "80 Plus Bronze" Power Supply £33.29
1 x BitFenix Merc Beta Gaming Case - Black £24.99
1 x OcUK 20x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £14.16
Total : £544.93 (includes shipping : £11.75).



Thanks in advance,

 

[stulid]

Nice spec. The BitFenix Comrade is a newer case for the same price.

 

[WalderX]

Nice spec. The BitFenix Comrade is a newer case for the same price.

Thanks for swift response - shall check out the comrade case cheers for the heads up.

The only thing I was unsure about is the motherboard, though it is FM2+ I couldn't find anything saying it 100% supports the new kaveri CPU's. But have just found this so it seems we are all good:
http://www.gigabyte.com/support-downloads/cpu-support-popup.aspx?pid=4726

 

[Martini1991]

The Kaveri's kinda pointless for this given its price, it's slower than a basic i5 Haswell and just as expensive, also crap cooler so it's going to get louder than a haswell i5.

I'd much sooner throw in an FX4300/6300 with cooler than a Kaveri for the requirements.

 

[stulid]

Yes it does support the Kaveri APUs with BIOS F4 or newer.

 

[The Only Beardy]

Can't really fault it... I would agree with Stulid though... the newer case has USB3.0 on the front which is always nice

 

[shadowscotland]

Some of the Matx cases have more WOW! factor that the merc beta - It's the bit you look at after all.
Bitfenix Prodigy M, Xigmatek Aquila, Aero Cool Deap Silence, Silverstone Sugo, LL PC-V351.
Even the Silverstone FT03 - Massively more expensive I know.
But would look super duper on an office desk.

The superflower or seasonic gold rated 350w psu's are worth a look at, should be quieter and use less power for only a few quid more.

Aftermarket cooler is a must - the stock ones are poor

 

[Doomedspeed]

The Kaveri's kinda pointless for this given its price, it's slower than a basic i5 Haswell and just as expensive, also crap cooler so it's going to get louder than a haswell i5.

I'd much sooner throw in an FX4300/6300 with cooler than a Kaveri for the requirements.

For CPU only performance i agree,

But with no GPU and with Piledriver lacking on-board graphics Kaveri seems a good choice..

Though personally i'd getting a low level i5.

 

[Martini1991]

Kinda forgot about AM3+ and lack of IGP's lol.
I'd be going basic i5 either way

 

[WalderX]

For CPU only performance i agree,

But with no GPU and with Piledriver lacking on-board graphics Kaveri seems a good choice..

Though personally i'd getting a low level i5.

How bout this one then? £25 more expensive. I could save money going for a cheaper board (H81 or B85) but these boards dont have a USB3 motherboard header and only seems to support 1600mhz ram...

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-4430 3.00GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £116.66
1 x Samsung 120GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE120BW) £72.49
1 x MSI Z87-G41 PC Mate Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £66.66
1 x Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00614) £58.29
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan ORANGE 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLAD38G2400HC11CDC01) £46.66
1 x Toshiba (7K1000.D) 1TB SATA 6GB/s 32MB Cache - OEM (DT01ACA100) HDD £36.66
1 x SuperFlower Amazon 450W "80 Plus Bronze" Power Supply £33.29
1 x BitFenix Comrade Midi-Tower - Black £24.99
1 x OcUK 20x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £14.16
Total : £577.93 (includes shipping : £11.75).

 

[archer_dan]

Any reason not to drop down to the 300W SuperFlower Amazon? Pretty sure either of the AMD/intel specs won't draw more than 150-200W.

 

[WalderX]

Any reason not to drop down to the 300W SuperFlower Amazon? Pretty sure either of the AMD/intel specs won't draw more than 150-200W.

Yep I'm sure you are right and I will do. For some reason the 300w one didn't come up when I sorted all PSU's in price order...

 

[Doomedspeed]

How bout this one then? £25 more expensive. I could save money going for a cheaper board (H81 or B85) but these boards dont have a USB3 motherboard header and only seems to support 1600mhz ram...

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-4430 3.00GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £116.66
1 x Samsung 120GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE120BW) £72.49
1 x MSI Z87-G41 PC Mate Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £66.66
1 x Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00614) £58.29
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan ORANGE 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLAD38G2400HC11CDC01) £46.66
1 x Toshiba (7K1000.D) 1TB SATA 6GB/s 32MB Cache - OEM (DT01ACA100) HDD £36.66
1 x SuperFlower Amazon 450W "80 Plus Bronze" Power Supply £33.29
1 x BitFenix Comrade Midi-Tower - Black £24.99
1 x OcUK 20x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £14.16
Total : £577.93 (includes shipping : £11.75).

Looks good,

Why not run the RAM at 1600mhz? For his uses it won't make any difference.

You can also keep the RAM in the spec, its RATED at 2400mhz but will run 1600mhz with ease.

Any reason not to drop down to the 300W SuperFlower Amazon? Pretty sure either of the AMD/intel specs won't draw more than 150-200W.

Fair point. 300W will be fine.

450W will let him add a small GPU later.

 

[WalderX]

Ok had another re-work as below. Dropped the ram to 4GB 1600mhz (as I know he wont need any more than 4GB doing office/internet tasks). Swapped the mobo for a lower end H81, and the psu to 300W. No usb 3.0 header on the mobo so swapped back to the bitfenix merc usb2 case (I know for a fact if I give a client a non-working front usb port they will not be happy, quite rightly too!)

Saved £75 in the process...

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-4430 3.00GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £116.66
1 x Samsung 120GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE120BW) £72.49
1 x Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00614) £58.29
1 x Toshiba (7K1000.D) 1TB SATA 6GB/s 32MB Cache - OEM (DT01ACA100) HDD £36.66
1 x Asus H81M-K Intel H81 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £31.66
1 x TeamGroup Elite 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TED34GM1600HC11DC01) £27.49
1 x SuperFlower Amazon 300W "80 Plus Bronze" Power Supply £24.99
1 x BitFenix Merc Beta Gaming Case - Black £24.99
1 x OcUK 20x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £14.16
Total : £502.97 (includes shipping : £11.75).

 

[Danny75]

This one has USB 3.0 on the midboard, and could be worth getting for £10 extra so you don't get any flak now or later on, about lack of USB 3.0 on the case of a "super duper PC".

YOUR BASKET
1 x Asus H81M-PLUS Intel H81 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £41.66

 

[WalderX]

This one has USB 3.0 on the midboard, and could be worth getting for £10 extra so you don't get any flak now or later on, about lack of USB 3.0 on the case of a "super duper PC".

YOUR BASKET
1 x Asus H81M-PLUS Intel H81 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £41.66

Ah ha thanks for this - think I have enough to work with now, thanks for all the responses.

 

[joeyjojo]

I'd stick with Kaveri personally, but only because I reckon the software is going to fly on it in 6 months time.