Looking to build new work/productivity pc 500-600 budget

Polioz

Polioz

Polioz

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14 Aug 2014
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I'm looking to build a new desktop PC with a budget of 500-600. I primarily will be using it for work (Microsoft office programs) , browsing the web and streaming . I will be using a dual screen setup so I want my PC to run very quickly with multiple tabs and programs running.

Another priority is for the PC to be relatively quiet.I also require a fast WiFi card and Bluetooth capability

The budget does not include monitors as I already have those. No CD drive required either .


Many thanks , appreciate any build advice .
 
No CD drive required because you already have one to use, or none required because you're not going to use one? Just to know, for the case choice (a lot aren't coming with optical bays these days).

Windows required?

Which monitors are you going to use? Need to know the type of display connectors they come with.

Doesn't sound like you're going to need a graphics card (or an expensive one anyway) for those purposes. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

250GB SSD + 1TB HDD okay? Prefer single 500GB SSD? Less/more?
 
Danny75 said:
No CD drive required because you already have one to use, or none required because you're not going to use one? Just to know, for the case choice (a lot aren't coming with optical bays these days).

Windows required?

Which monitors are you going to use? Need to know the type of display connectors they come with.

Doesn't sound like you're going to need a graphics card (or an expensive one anyway) for those purposes. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

250GB SSD + 1TB HDD okay? Prefer single 500GB SSD? Less/more?
Click to expand...

Not going to use a CD drive, windows is required however so will I need a CD drive for this?

I have 2 monitors , 1 with VGA only and the other has both VGA and HDMI.

That is correct I do not require a GPU for gaming purposes anyway, just enough to have rapid word processing, streaming and browsing functionality.

A single 500gb SSD seems ideal, however if 250gb SSD + 1TB HDD is cheaper then that is preferable. To be honest, I only use around 250gb of my HDD at the moment so I do not need much space. I suppose a 250gb SSD would be sufficient and then in the future I could buy another HDD if I need more space.


Many thanks
 
Polioz said:
Not going to use a CD drive, windows is required however so will I need a CD drive for this?

I have 2 monitors , 1 with VGA only and the other has both VGA and HDMI.

That is correct I do not require a GPU for gaming purposes anyway, just enough to have rapid word processing, streaming and browsing functionality.

A single 500gb SSD seems ideal, however if 250gb SSD + 1TB HDD is cheaper then that is preferable. To be honest, I only use around 250gb of my HDD at the moment so I do not need much space. I suppose a 250gb SSD would be sufficient and then in the future I could buy another HDD if I need more space.


Many thanks
Click to expand...

Great.

Windows also comes in a USB version now.


My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £269.57
(includes shipping: £11.10)



​

The only way I can get an i5-7600 system to work for £600-ish (£606.98) is if you buy Windows 10 USB (£75), an i5-7600 (£201) and an MSI B250M PRO-VH Micro ATX motherboard (£61.41) from elsewhere, or ask OcUK to price match (or just pay the extra).

The motherboard needs to have a HDMI and a VGA port, obviously, like the one above. OcUK don't have that particular motherboard, but there are other B250Ms starting at £69.95.

Given you'll have multiple tabs and programs open it's best to go for 16GB RAM.

I did try an AMD Ryzen build with the Ryzen 5 1400 which would just pip the i5-7600 for streaming because of its extra threads (and overclocking the 1400 a bit would help in this regard). But once a £75 board and a modern budget GPU was added (GTX 1030 2GB) the total was £638.42. Still, that could come down with an older, cheaper DDR3 GPU like the one below. Unfortunately the Ryzens (3,5,7) don't come with onboard graphics.


My basket at Overclockers UK:


​
 
In case you're wondering about Intel HD 630 graphics v GT 710:

R0eAz0B.png


https://technewswith.me/intel-hd-graphics-630
 
Danny75 said:
Great.

Windows also comes in a USB version now.


My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £269.57
(includes shipping: £11.10)



​

The only way I can get an i5-7600 system to work for £600-ish (£606.98) is if you buy Windows 10 USB (£75), an i5-7600 (£201) and an MSI B250M PRO-VH Micro ATX motherboard (£61.41) from elsewhere, or ask OcUK to price match (or just pay the extra).

The motherboard needs to have a HDMI and a VGA port, obviously, like the one above. OcUK don't have that particular motherboard, but there are other B250Ms starting at £69.95.

Given you'll have multiple tabs and programs open it's best to go for 16GB RAM.

I did try an AMD Ryzen build with the Ryzen 5 1400 which would just pip the i5-7600 for streaming because of its extra threads (and overclocking the 1400 a bit would help in this regard). But once a £75 board and a modern budget GPU was added (GTX 1030 2GB) the total was £638.42. Still, that could come down with an older, cheaper DDR3 GPU like the one below. Unfortunately the Ryzens (3,5,7) don't come with onboard graphics.


My basket at Overclockers UK:


​
Click to expand...

Thank you very much for your help Danny, do you think going with intels onboard GPU would affect the speed of my PC during work and streaming use? Or should I add a gtx 1030 2gb to my intel build?

Also I think it would be fine for my use to half the RAM from 16 gb --> and save 60 quid.
 
Polioz said:
Thank you very much for your help Danny, do you think going with intels onboard GPU would affect the speed of my PC during work and streaming use? Or should I add a gtx 1030 2gb to my intel build?
Click to expand...

I don't think it should if the graphics load isn't intensive (doesn't sound like it). At the point you add a GTX 1030 2GB card, you're better off going with Ryzen 1400 anyway. It'll cost less and should be slightly better for streaming. So for me, the choice would be: i5-7600 and onboard graphics for £600-ish, or Ryzen 1400 and GTX 1030 for £640.


Polioz said:
Also I think it would be fine for my use to half the RAM from 16 gb --> and save 60 quid.
Click to expand...

Fair enough. If you go for a motherboard with only two memory slots, I'd get a single 8GB stick so you can upgrade for less cost if needed in future. There are some with four slots for not much more.

P.S. Actually the Ryzen 1500X, which tends to cost £10-15 more than the 1400, is more worth it because it has twice the L3 cache (16MB v 8MB). If you go with Ryzen, that is.
 
Polioz said:
I agree, will go for that. Really appreciate the help.
Click to expand...

Alright.

For that build, get yourself 2400MHz DDR4 memory. Something like:

My basket at Overclockers UK:




Also, go into the B250M's BIOS, and ensure that the amount of shared memory the onboard graphics can use, is set to max (unless max is over 2GB in which case just set to 2GB, imo).​
 
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