Please recommend a build for my Dad

[copsey99]

Hello gurus
It is time for me to replace the build I did for my Dad over a decade ago, it was on the way out because no win11, but now actually dead.
Please could you recommend me some components!

Requirements:

• Nice and fast and future proof but not so its a thermal issue and would affect reliability - this would need to chug away for the next decade
• Don't need a graphics card, it won't be doing games, so integrated with the CPU is fine
• A decent sized, clean case so I can lay everything out super neat for him - ideally one that has a slot for a dvd burner (can you still even get those?)
• Very reliable so I'm not on tech support the whole time
• Lots of storage
• New monitor too - mainly photo editing and office

Very much appreciated.

thanks

Ben

 

[Tetras]

Please could you recommend me some components!

Can we have a budget?

What is the most demanding thing he does? Photo editing? If so, is that casual/hobby usage only?

 

[copsey99]

£1000 budget including monitor - yes photo editing is the most demanding thing, hobby usage only.
Don't need to spend that much of course if not needed, but reliability and longevity is key.

 

[mattyfez]

I'd be looking at refurbished office machines from the likes of dell, HP etc.

Then you'll have plenty of budget left for a nice monitor, keyboard, mouse etc.

 

[Tetras]

£1000 budget including monitor - yes photo editing is the most demanding thing, hobby usage only.
Don't need to spend that much of course if not needed, but reliability and longevity is key.

If you don't mind white, MSI have a cheaper 1440p monitor for under £100.

You could look at Be quiet 600 pure base for a DVD slot, but currently pre-order.

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x Intel Core Ultra 5 245K (Arrow Lake) Socket LGA 1851 Processor - Retail (SKU: PRO-INT-03113) = £259.99
• 1 x Intel Gamers Days - Battlefield 6 Bundle (SKU: DIG-INT-06117) = £0.00
• 1 x Asus Prime B860-Plus WIFI (LGA 1851) DDR5 ATX Motherboard (SKU: MOT-ASU-04073) = £145.00
• 1 x Crucial Pro 64GB (2x32GB) DDR5 PC5-44800C46 5600MHz Dual Channel Kit (SKU: MEM-CRU-01085) = £158.99
• 1 x Crucial T500 2TB NVMe PCIe Gen4 M.2 Solid State Drive (SKU: STO-CRU-01090) = £131.98
• 1 x Phanteks XT Silent ATX Case Closed Panel Black (SKU: CAS-PHK-03106) = £74.99
• 1 x Phanteks AMP GH 750W 80PLUS Gold ATX Power Supply Modular - Black (SKU: POW-PHK-02517) = £84.95
• 1 x Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE Black Dual Tower CPU Air Cooler (SKU: COO-TLR-03285) = £34.99

• 1 x MSI 27" PRO MP275Q 2560x1440 IPS 100Hz sRGB 100% Business Productivity Monitor (SKU: MON-MSI-02163) = £118.99

Total: £1,009.88 (includes delivery: £0.00)​

 

[copsey99]

Thanks Tetras!
Do you think we could go lower on the CPU? Or not worth it. Would prefer to get something with a stock cooler.

Intel definitely the way to go?

 

[copsey99]

I'd be looking at refurbished office machines from the likes of dell, HP etc.

Then you'll have plenty of budget left for a nice monitor, keyboard, mouse etc.

he likes it that I've built it for him

 

[mattyfez]

he likes it that I've built it for him

Fair enough!

 

[Tetras]

Thanks Tetras!
Do you think we could go lower on the CPU? Or not worth it. Would prefer to get something with a stock cooler.

Intel definitely the way to go?

I can't recommend anything lower than the 245K for Core Ultra/15th gen, for the simple reason that there's hardly any reviews.

The only "lesser" CPU I'm aware of that you can pick up for a reasonable price is the i5-14400 (avoid -F, no graphics), though you'd have to change the motherboard for that. They come with a stock cooler, but I can't vouch for using it, probably noisy.

 

[copsey99]

ok and this ultra intel is just the new socket so this is giving future proofing

 

[Tetras]

ok and this ultra intel is just the new socket so this is giving future proofing

I don't believe so. From what I understand, it has 1 new CPU gen (a refresh) and the next new CPUs will be another socket.

The Core Ultra CPUs do have a newer integrated graphics and they're more power efficient than the last gen.

The 14400 is a fairly safe CPU to buy, but other 13th-14th gen CPUs, we have no idea how reliable they are (for the longer-term). Intel says they're fixed now, but we can't say for sure.

The AMD equivalents (like the 7700/9700X) are fine if that's what you prefer.

 

[copsey99]

I don't know what you're referring to when you say the 13-14th gen CPUs are "fine now" - was there an issue?
Is that issue (whatever it was) what made you recommend the 15th gen CPU?

I've no preference for AMD or Intel I just want it to be fast and reliable long term. It doesn't need or want to be bleeding edge.

 

[Tetras]

I don't know what you're referring to when you say the 13-14th gen CPUs are "fine now" - was there an issue?

I think saga would be a more apt description.

It started out with failure repots in the press.

This is one of Intel's last updates:

Intel Core 13th and 14th Gen Desktop Instability Root Cause Update

Following extensive investigation of the Intel® Core™ 13th and 14th Gen desktop processor Vmin Shift Instability issue, Intel can now confirm the root cause diagnosis for the issue. This post will cover Intel’s understanding of the root cause, as well as additional mitigations and next steps for...

community.intel.com

The latest microcode update is supposed to resolve the problem, but ultimately we won't know for sure until these CPUs are retired.

It applied mainly to K CPUs, like the 14600K, 14700K, 14900K.

Is that issue (whatever it was) what made you recommend the 15th gen CPU?

Yes, in part, but also because of the newer graphics and better power efficiency.

AMDs CPUs (on the lower-end) are good gaming CPUs and decent at multithreading, but Intel's Core Ultra CPUs are better for mixed usage or for productivity. It does depend a lot on the price, since there's not a 100% rule.

If you're building a cheaper system, the 14400 is a good choice for desktop use and multitasking, for the right price, though the 12600K is faster and often not much more, except it doesn't include a cooler (if you want to use that).

 

[copsey99]

thanks- let me read up on the 144 and 126k then, thank you.
What would be good mb and ram for those? Assume it would be the same recommendation for either of those processors?

 

[copsey99]

I will probably go with your original recommendation though

 

[Gray2233]

Would prefer to get something with a stock cooler.

For the tiny price increase with a good third party HSF, you're going to get better thermals, less noise, and have a much easier time with maintenance in the long term as they're much easier to clean/repair.

I've never come across a stock Intel HSF that wasn't hot garbage, and I'd be shocked if you didn't end up needing to replace the thing in a few years anyway due to fan failure/issues let alone a decade or so. Even if that happens with a third party such as the Thermalright it's as easy as buying another 120mm fan for a fiver or so.

Even if you went with something cheaper such as the following you'd be better off:

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x Thermalright Assassin X 120 Refined SE CPU Air Cooler (SKU: COO-TLR-03270) = £15.95

Total: £19.94 (includes delivery: £3.99)​

 

[Tetras]

thanks- let me read up on the 144 and 126k then, thank you.
What would be good mb and ram for those? Assume it would be the same recommendation for either of those processors?

You could get something like this (do not buy the 14400F, no graphics!!)

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x Intel Core i5-14400F (Raptor Lake-S) Socket LGA1700 Processor - Retail (SKU: PRO-INT-02972) = £128.99
• 1 x Intel Gamers Days - Battlefield 6 Bundle (SKU: DIG-INT-06117) = £0.00
• 1 x Gigabyte B760 DS3H AX (LGA 1700) DDR5 ATX Motherboard (SKU: MOT-GIG-03572) = £114.99
• 1 x Crucial Pro 48GB (2x24GB) DDR5 PC5-44800C46 5600MHz Dual Channel Kit (SKU: MEM-CRU-01086) = £99.95

Total: £351.92 (includes delivery: £7.99)​

The 12600K (don't pay this much for one):

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x Intel Core i5-12600K 3.70GHz (Alder Lake) Socket LGA1700 Processor - Retail (SKU: CP-69X-IN) = £184.99
• 1 x Gigabyte B760 GAMING X AX (LGA 1700) DDR5 ATX Motherboard (SKU: MB-5BU-GI) = £130.00
• 1 x Crucial Pro 64GB (2x32GB) DDR5 PC5-44800C46 5600MHz Dual Channel Kit (SKU: MEM-CRU-01085) = £158.99

Total: £481.97 (includes delivery: £7.99)​

What would be good mb and ram for those? Assume it would be the same recommendation for either of those processors?

It could be, but I gave you independent ones for variety.

 

[copsey99]

For the tiny price increase with a good third party HSF, you're going to get better thermals, less noise, and have a much easier time with maintenance in the long term as they're much easier to clean/repair.

I've never come across a stock Intel HSF that wasn't hot garbage, and I'd be shocked if you didn't end up needing to replace the thing in a few years anyway due to fan failure/issues let alone a decade or so. Even if that happens with a third party such as the Thermalright it's as easy as buying another 120mm fan for a fiver or so.

Even if you went with something cheaper such as the following you'd be better off:

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x Thermalright Assassin X 120 Refined SE CPU Air Cooler (SKU: COO-TLR-03270) = £15.95

Total: £19.94 (includes delivery: £3.99)​

Thank you, good points

 

[copsey99]

You could get something like this (do not buy the 14400F, no graphics!!)

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x Intel Core i5-14400F (Raptor Lake-S) Socket LGA1700 Processor - Retail (SKU: PRO-INT-02972) = £128.99
• 1 x Intel Gamers Days - Battlefield 6 Bundle (SKU: DIG-INT-06117) = £0.00
• 1 x Gigabyte B760 DS3H AX (LGA 1700) DDR5 ATX Motherboard (SKU: MOT-GIG-03572) = £114.99
• 1 x Crucial Pro 48GB (2x24GB) DDR5 PC5-44800C46 5600MHz Dual Channel Kit (SKU: MEM-CRU-01086) = £99.95

Total: £351.92 (includes delivery: £7.99)​

The 12600K (don't pay this much for one):

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x Intel Core i5-12600K 3.70GHz (Alder Lake) Socket LGA1700 Processor - Retail (SKU: CP-69X-IN) = £184.99
• 1 x Gigabyte B760 GAMING X AX (LGA 1700) DDR5 ATX Motherboard (SKU: MB-5BU-GI) = £130.00
• 1 x Crucial Pro 64GB (2x32GB) DDR5 PC5-44800C46 5600MHz Dual Channel Kit (SKU: MEM-CRU-01085) = £158.99

Total: £481.97 (includes delivery: £7.99)​

It could be, but I gave you independent ones for variety.

awesome thank you for all your help

 

[Luke_Bowman]

Sounds like you want a prebuilt or a Dell/HP office machine.

The big benefit of a prebuilt is you're not on the hook for tech support!