Budget machine (no gaming)

dt97583

dt97583

dt97583

Associate
Joined
26 Nov 2012
Posts
937
Hello,

You've recently helped me spec a budget machine for a friends' parents, but a few months have passed so I'm looking to double check my options.

Original thread

Here's my current thoughts:

Total: £60.49 (includes shipping: £10.50)
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There's a couple more PSUs below which look good but given there's no requirement for a GPU I figure it's better going for Gold (lower watts) versus Bronze (more watts) i.e.

Total: £92.04 (includes shipping: £11.10)
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From what I can tell the OEM for the XFX is a Seasonic Eco Plus series, and the OEM for the EVGA is a Super Flower.

Total: £78.65 (includes shipping: £8.70)
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Is the above mobo worth the extra over the cheaper MSIs?

Total: £185.03 (includes shipping: £11.10)
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Total: £73.69 (includes shipping: £8.70)
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CPU is out of stock - does anyone know if this is common of late for the G4560? Any ideas if stock is likely to incoming? If not what's the next best option? I don't really want to suggest a Celeron so the next in stock Intel option would be:

Total: £107.69 (includes shipping: £8.70)
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Or do we go for AMD?

Total: £188.68 (includes shipping: £8.70)
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I don't know whether to go for 2 x 4GB RAM sticks, or 1 x 8GB and get a quicker speed too?

Total: £94.69 (includes shipping: £8.70)
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Could get the M.2 version but easy way to sayve £4 I thought!

Final bits and bobs:

Total: £153.02 (includes shipping: £11.10)
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Thank you!
 
just for office work right? could consider an intel NUC. alternatively could get a second hand dell/hp/lenovo workstation off the bay for much less outlay and stick in a ssd and be done with it.

else then
My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £470.96 (includes shipping: £11.10)
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Last edited:
Thanks Tamzzy, to be honest I didn't even consider Skylake or Coffee Lake. The G4400 does seem more in the ball park I was hoping for. Maybe the next best option with the G4560 being out of stock and there's no requirement of gaming.

Would it be worth spending an extra £9 for the Gigabyte H110M-S2H over the Asus H110M-K?

Do you prefer the bronze rated EVGA (Super Flower) over the Gold rated Super Flower Golden Green?

I think they might prefer the other case as it has a bit of a smaller footprint than the Arctic, but still accommodates a CD/DVD drive.

Yeah I've had a brief look at the Intel NUC's tonight but I can't see any better valued machines, ideally with an SSD and 8GB, versus spec'ing one on here.

Thanks
 
davidmt83 said:
Would it be worth spending an extra £9 for the Gigabyte H110M-S2H over the Asus H110M-K?
Click to expand...
not really, given the usage intent.

davidmt83 said:
Do you prefer the bronze rated EVGA (Super Flower) over the Gold rated Super Flower Golden Green?
Click to expand...
cheaper :P

davidmt83 said:
I think they might prefer the other case as it has a bit of a smaller footprint than the Arctic, but still accommodates a CD/DVD drive.
Click to expand...
don't do it, the kolink case you linked has the interior layout from the 90's lol

davidmt83 said:
Yeah I've had a brief look at the Intel NUC's tonight but I can't see any better valued machines, ideally with an SSD and 8GB, versus spec'ing one on here.
Click to expand...
a second-hand dell/hp/lenovo workstation sold on the bay would be a much better choice from a performance/price point tbh, and then swap the hdd with a ssd and you're set (or get one with a ssd already included)
of course there's no warranty as its second-hand from the bay
 
Perfect, thank you!

So here's my new proposed spec (forgive me for the case, they'll never see inside ;))

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £466.17 (includes shipping: £12.30)​
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I think unless anyone else has any thoughts then this is the best build? I'll see if stock / prices fluctuate tomorrow after the Wednesday weekly update on their website. Cheers
 
I would not touch a dual core even just for office work. I had one at work and it was awful. The slowdown was noticeable even with just a browser and multiple Office windows open. If you can't get a G4560 I think you'll have to go up the chain rather than down. Despite being an extra £40-50, an i3-8100 or R3 1200/1300X would be far better and last a lot longer, although I think the motherboard options for the former are still too expensive, and the latter requires a GPU.
 
DragonQ said:
Despite being an extra £40-50, an i3-8100 or R3 1200/1300X would be far better and last a lot longer, although I think the motherboard options for the former are still too expensive, and the latter requires a GPU.
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Thanks DragonQ. It's good to hear real world experience of the CPU, I wouldn't be keen on recommending this then.

So something like the below Coffee Lake or Kaby Lake i3 options (not sure I've picked the right chipset / model mobos):

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £230.48 (includes shipping: £10.50)
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Or maybe:

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £219.48 (includes shipping: £10.50)
​
 
Note the i3-8100 is 4c/4t, whereas the i3-7350K is only 2c/4t. The former is going to be far better for the cost, but like I said motherboards are expensive. Definitely don't get an i3-7350K with a Z270 motherboard, that's just a waste. It'd be better to pair it with a much cheaper B250 or H270 motherboard unless you plan on overclocking.
 
Eh what? dual cores are fine for basic office tasks, especially with a SSD as a boot drive.
Hell, still use my 10 year old dual core laptop to play football manager and MMOGs sometimes when I'm not at home.
 
DragonQ said:
Note the i3-8100 is 4c/4t, whereas the i3-7350K is only 2c/4t. The former is going to be far better for the cost, but like I said motherboards are expensive. Definitely don't get an i3-7350K with a Z270 motherboard, that's just a waste. It'd be better to pair it with a much cheaper b250 or h270 motherboard unless you plan on overclocking.
Click to expand...
ah thank you, that's great. so option 1 is something like this (picked this mobo over the other msis as it has more connectivity options for a monitor)

my basket at overclockers uk:
Total: £169.48 (includes shipping: £10.50)​
​

tamzzy said:
Eh what? dual cores are fine for basic office tasks, especially with a SSD as a boot drive.
Hell, still use my 10 year old dual core laptop to play football manager and MMOGs sometimes when I'm not at home.
Click to expand...
Or save a bit of money and go for:

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £108.48 (includes shipping: £10.50)​
​
 
i stand by my recommendation that for basic office use such as word-processing, internet and youtubing, a pentium dual core is more than sufficient - especially when paired with a fast ssd.
case in point, you can see the cheap laptops for say £300-400 those also have dual cores +/- hdd or a small ssd, those are perfectly fine for web browsing/light office use too.
of course, opinions differ between everyone, at the end of the day, it is your money that you are spending, so you get the final say :p
PS: have you also considered getting a cheap laptop instead? ;) as long as it comes with 8gb ram and a ssd (preferably 250gb ish) it would be very decent
 
Why not go for a Skylake i3 paired with that Asus H110M-K board?

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/inte...ocket-lga1151-processor-retail-cp-590-in.html

Quick when u need it to be.

Few years back i bought my Bro a pc with an overclockable dual core, he doesn't game that much anymore & yes he does occasionally start yelling
at it when it's slow to do what he wants it to do. I keep meaning to get him an i3..... Wish i had bought it at the time.
 
Little*Freak said:
Why not go for a Skylake i3 paired with that Asus H110M-K board?

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/inte...ocket-lga1151-processor-retail-cp-590-in.html

Quick when u need it to be.

Few years back i bought my Bro a pc with an overclockable dual core, he doesn't game that much anymore & yes he does occasionally start yelling
at it when it's slow to do what he wants it to do. I keep meaning to get him an i3..... Wish i had bought it at the time.
Click to expand...
Core i3-6100 3.70ghz (Skylake) at £109.99 or Core i3-7350k 4.20ghz (Kaby Lake) £98.99... Cheers for the feedback on the Dual Core though.
 
tamzzy said:
i stand by my recommendation that for basic office use such as word-processing, internet and youtubing, a pentium dual core is more than sufficient - especially when paired with a fast ssd.
case in point, you can see the cheap laptops for say £300-400 those also have dual cores +/- hdd or a small ssd, those are perfectly fine for web browsing/light office use too.
of course, opinions differ between everyone, at the end of the day, it is your money that you are spending, so you get the final say :p
PS: have you also considered getting a cheap laptop instead? ;) as long as it comes with 8gb ram and a ssd (preferably 250gb ish) it would be very decent
Click to expand...
Cheers Tamzzy, £61 difference between the two options so I've given both options to my friend who can see what his parents want to do.
 
Little*Freak said:
Does the Kabylake i3 work on the H110-K board ?
Click to expand...
Don't believe so, but my basket above doesn't match these two up.

One basket has:

MSI B250M Pro-VDH Intel B250 (Socket 1151)
Intel Core i3-7350K 4.20GHz (Kaby Lake) Socket LGA1151

Whilst the other has:

Asus H110M-K Intel H110 (Socket 1151)
Intel Pentium Dual Core G4400 3.30GHz (Skylake) Socket LGA1151
 
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