New Office Build

Peerzy · 6 Jul 2011 at 10:24

Need a new office build for a client. Cheap as possible basically whilst still keeping very reliable.

Will be used on a network running your usual stuff - MS Office, Internet, email, few small packages.

I'll probably go for the Coolermaster 334 or 335 case (whichever is smaller).

For my last few builds for them I got the following:

AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 840
G.SKill RipJaw 4GB DDR PC3-10666
Acer V193HQDO 18.5" Monitor
Asus M4A78LT-M 760G
BeQuiet Pure Power L7 530W
Seagate Barracude 7200 500GB Sata-II 16mb
Samsung SH-S223C/BEBE
Coolermaster 342
OcUK Mouse
OcUK Keyboard

These were the best parts at the best price at the time of ordering. New build will need to be about the same spec.

Running Win XP 32bit on a network (so I know 4GB is wasted but it was cheaper than buying 3GB last time).

R088ieS86 · 6 Jul 2011 at 10:31

I'd now change the Quad to a Sandybrige i3. lower power consumption and better performance. Couple it with a nice H67 board and you can keep the rest of the setup as it is.
Intel Core i3-2120 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail

The last PCs I built for office use used that processors and this mobo: shame its out of stock:
Asus P8H67-M PRO Intel H67

Peerzy · 6 Jul 2011 at 10:40

Looking at cost though I paid £64 for the CPU and £39 for the motherboard last time.

£150 for those two you suggested compared with £103 for the stuff I got before.

I see what you are saying but they don't need i3 performance at all. What I built before was more than they will require.

Zid_ · 6 Jul 2011 at 10:49

Lol. You can't be helped.

R088ieS86 · 6 Jul 2011 at 10:49

I'd be looking at the i3 not so much for performance but because of its low power and low noise!
But you could always go for a similar amd build again then if you wanted to save ££?

olivier renault · 6 Jul 2011 at 10:49

Budget?

Yeah, i3 and H61 / H67, and a sober case like the Antec 100, or the Fractal Design midi. Don't even need a fancy PSU, the L7 is good, or some corsair CX430, maybe a cheap Lepa. Can spend the rest on decent peripheral and screen, like a Logitech UltraX premium, a G400 (not out yet?) or some random office mouse, 22'' monitor.

BenQ G2222HDL 21.5" Widescreen LED Monitor - Black £109.99
Intel Core i3-2120 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £95.99
Asus P8H61-M Intel H61 Chipset (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard **B3 REVISION** £61.99
Corsair Builder Series CX 430W V2 ATX '80 Plus' Power Supply (CMPSU-430CXUKV2) £39.98
Fractal Design Core 1000 Midi Tower Case - Black £35.99
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) £31.19
Logitech MX518 Gaming-Grade Optical Mouse (910-000616) £25.99
Logitech UltraX Premium Keyboard - OEM (920-000189) £15.98
Total : £420.03

olivier renault · 6 Jul 2011 at 10:51

ignore me then. You probably want to go as low as possible. Shopping around is an option, would probably save around £20-£30.

Peerzy · 6 Jul 2011 at 10:55

Zid_ said:
Lol. You can't be helped.

Helpful.

R088ieS86 said:
I'd be looking at the i3 not so much for performance but because of its low power and low noise!
But you could always go for a similar amd build again then if you wanted to save ££?

Yeah I'm after a similiar AMD build - just wanted to know what was a decent price at the moment, any parts to avoid and get something spec'd up for order.

olivier renault said:
Budget?

Yeah, i3 and H61 / H67, and a sober case like the Antec 100, or the Fractal Design midi. Don't even need a fancy PSU, the L7 is good, or some corsair CX430, maybe a cheap Lepa. Can spend the rest on decent peripheral and screen, like a Logitech UltraX premium, a G400 (not out yet?) or some random office mouse, 22'' monitor.

BenQ G2222HDL 21.5" Widescreen LED Monitor - Black £109.99
Intel Core i3-2120 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £95.99
Asus P8H61-M Intel H61 Chipset (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard **B3 REVISION** £61.99
Corsair Builder Series CX 430W V2 ATX '80 Plus' Power Supply (CMPSU-430CXUKV2) £39.98
Fractal Design Core 1000 Midi Tower Case - Black £35.99
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) £31.19
Logitech MX518 Gaming-Grade Optical Mouse (910-000616) £25.99
Logitech UltraX Premium Keyboard - OEM (920-000189) £15.98
Total : £420.03

Budget is about £300. A gaming mouse and keyboard for an Office PC? The 18.5" monitor was big enough.

I'm looking for the best budget build really, nothing fancy.

The main people who will use this PC think my previous build was amazingly super fast and the best PC they'd all ever used.

Deleted member 77746 · 6 Jul 2011 at 11:01

For office builds I wouldn't even bother building them any more. Buying the base unit is much easier and just about cheaper for office environments especially when you mentioned "Will be used on a network running your usual stuff - MS Office, Internet, email, few small packages".

Peerzy · 6 Jul 2011 at 11:02

Agreed - but I've been specifically asked to build this PC.

See this as a 'Spec me the cheapest reliable build similiar to my above'.

Deleted member 77746 · 6 Jul 2011 at 11:04

Peerzy said:
Agreed - but I've been specifically asked to build this PC.

Whats the difference between a built one and a purchased pre-built one except time and maybe slightly less spec hardware.

olivier renault · 6 Jul 2011 at 11:05

I use a MX518 at work. I would get a basic microsoft office mouse though. I like the ultra X in the world of cheap office keyboards. Can be had for £10.
I still say i3 + H61. Maybe not as cheap as a AMD dual core, but its good reliable hardware in a small package.

Not much to say really. You could go as low as a athlon dual core and nforce motherboard for £100 with 4GB 1333MHz memory.

Peerzy · 6 Jul 2011 at 11:07

iDroid84 said:
Whats the difference between a built one and a purchased pre-built one except time and maybe slightly less spec hardware.

They want me to be able to warranty the parts, change bits out in the future, do other work on them. It's also ever so slightly cheaper.

olivier renault said:
I use a MX518 at work. I would get a basic microsoft office mouse though. I like the ultra X in the world of cheap office keyboards. Can be had for £10.
I still say i3 + H61. Maybe not as cheap as a AMD dual core, but its good reliable hardware in a small package.

Not much to say really. You could go as low as a athlon dual core and nforce motherboard for £100 with 4GB 1333MHz memory.

I see what you are saying completely - but at the end of the day the budget will not stretch for those components as they just don't need them.

Jony27 · 6 Jul 2011 at 11:08

BenQ G925HDA 18.5" Widescreen LCD Monitor - Black BenQ G925HDA 18.5" Widescreen LCD Monitor - Black £74.99
(£62.49) £74.99
(£62.49)
Cooler Master Elite 430 Windowed Case - Black (with 500w Elite Power PSU) Cooler Master Elite 430 Windowed Case - Black (with 500w Elite Power PSU) £61.98
(£51.65) £61.98
(£51.65)
AMD Athlon II X3 Tri Core 450 3.20GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail AMD Athlon II X3 Tri Core 450 3.20GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £59.99
(£49.99) £59.99
(£49.99)
ASRock N68C-S UCC GeForce 7025 (Socket AM3/AM2+) DDR2/DDR3 microATX Motherboard ASRock N68C-S UCC GeForce 7025 (Socket AM3/AM2+) DDR2/DDR3 microATX Motherboard £34.99
(£29.16) £34.99
(£29.16)
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (ST3500413AS) Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (ST3500413AS) £29.99
(£24.99) £29.99
(£24.99)
LG GH22NS70 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM LG GH22NS70 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
(£14.16) £16.99
(£14.16)
Corsair Value 2GB (1x2GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C9 1333MHz Low-Voltage Single Channel Module (VS2GB1333D3) Corsair Value 2GB (1x2GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C9 1333MHz Low-Voltage Single Channel Module (VS2GB1333D3) £15.98
(£13.32) £15.98
(£13.32)
OcUK USB Keyboard - Black OcUK USB Keyboard - Black £4.99
(£4.16) £4.99
(£4.16)
OcUK USB Optical Mouse - Black OcUK USB Optical Mouse - Black £2.99
(£2.49) £2.99
(£2.49)
Sub Total : £252.41
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £11.75
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £52.83
Total : £316.99

only 2GB of RAM, get 4GB if you can stretch another £15

with free shipping comes down to £305

Deleted member 77746 · 6 Jul 2011 at 11:15

Seems mad not to buy a pre-built one especially at a low cost like that. Never mind. Any spec will do aslong as it's in the budget. They won't know the difference regardless.

olivier renault · 6 Jul 2011 at 11:16

Xenon AMD Athlon II X2 250 3.00GHz Bundle £129.98
Fractal Design Core 1000 Midi Tower Case - Black £35.99
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (ST3500413AS) £29.99
Lepa N-Series 400W Power Supply £24.98
LG GH22NS70 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £12.50
Total : £252.94

Could save on the bundle hand picking components (although I have a feeling it wont give much). I know, still pushing that case... Will look good on a desk, what can I say.

4GB is where you'll get most performance benefits in a office environment. 2GB imo is too low.

Peerzy · 6 Jul 2011 at 11:22

Jony27 said:
BenQ G925HDA 18.5" Widescreen LCD Monitor - Black BenQ G925HDA 18.5" Widescreen LCD Monitor - Black £74.99
(£62.49) £74.99
(£62.49)
Cooler Master Elite 430 Windowed Case - Black (with 500w Elite Power PSU) Cooler Master Elite 430 Windowed Case - Black (with 500w Elite Power PSU) £61.98
(£51.65) £61.98
(£51.65)
AMD Athlon II X3 Tri Core 450 3.20GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail AMD Athlon II X3 Tri Core 450 3.20GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £59.99
(£49.99) £59.99
(£49.99)
ASRock N68C-S UCC GeForce 7025 (Socket AM3/AM2+) DDR2/DDR3 microATX Motherboard ASRock N68C-S UCC GeForce 7025 (Socket AM3/AM2+) DDR2/DDR3 microATX Motherboard £34.99
(£29.16) £34.99
(£29.16)
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (ST3500413AS) Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (ST3500413AS) £29.99
(£24.99) £29.99
(£24.99)
LG GH22NS70 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM LG GH22NS70 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
(£14.16) £16.99
(£14.16)
Corsair Value 2GB (1x2GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C9 1333MHz Low-Voltage Single Channel Module (VS2GB1333D3) Corsair Value 2GB (1x2GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C9 1333MHz Low-Voltage Single Channel Module (VS2GB1333D3) £15.98
(£13.32) £15.98
(£13.32)
OcUK USB Keyboard - Black OcUK USB Keyboard - Black £4.99
(£4.16) £4.99
(£4.16)
OcUK USB Optical Mouse - Black OcUK USB Optical Mouse - Black £2.99
(£2.49) £2.99
(£2.49)
Sub Total : £252.41
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £11.75
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £52.83
Total : £316.99

only 2GB of RAM, get 4GB if you can stretch another £15
with free shipping comes down to £305

Cheers - I'm gonna get the monitor elsewhere as I can get better deals I think.

Will stretch to 4GB of Ram.

Case - no need to spend that much on a Windowed case for an office under a desk.

At the moment I'm looking at something like this:

Product Name Qty Price Line Total
AMD Athlon II X4 Quad Core 640 3.00GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail AMD Athlon II X4 Quad Core 640 3.00GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £65.99
(£54.99) £65.99
(£54.99)
Gigabyte GA-M68MT-S2 (AM3) Motherboard - Retail Gigabyte GA-M68MT-S2 (AM3) Motherboard - Retail £36.00
(£30.00) £36.00
(£30.00)
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (ST3500413AS) Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (ST3500413AS) £29.99
(£24.99) £29.99
(£24.99)
Cooler Master Elite 330 Midi Tower Case - Black Cooler Master Elite 330 Midi Tower Case - Black £28.99
(£24.16) £28.99
(£24.16)
OCZ Gold 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C9 1333MHz Low-Voltage Dual Channel Kit (OCZ3G1333LV4GK) OCZ Gold 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C9 1333MHz Low-Voltage Dual Channel Kit (OCZ3G1333LV4GK) £27.98
(£23.32) £27.98
(£23.32)
Samsung SH-S222AB/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM Samsung SH-S222AB/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
(£14.16) £16.99
(£14.16)
OcUK USB Keyboard - Black OcUK USB Keyboard - Black £4.99
(£4.16) £4.99
(£4.16)
OcUK USB Optical Mouse - Black OcUK USB Optical Mouse - Black £2.99
(£2.49) £2.99
(£2.49)
Sub Total : £178.27
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £11.75
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £38.00
Total : £228.02

I've no real idea about the Motherboard and CPU though and I've not included a PSU as I'm sure sure what is required and reliable.

Jony27 · 6 Jul 2011 at 11:27

if its going to be under a desk then

Xigmatek Midgard Midi Tower - White
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-008-XG

psu, go with olivier's lepa n-series 400w, made by enermax.

olivier renault · 6 Jul 2011 at 11:46

I'm really not a fan of the nforce motherboards, but they seem to do the job, and will probably be enough for office environment. Would look at the display outputs though. Favoring digitial out (DVI-D) over analog (VGA).

Marine-RX179 · 6 Jul 2011 at 12:15

Peerzy said:
I've no real idea about the Motherboard and CPU though

If can't stretch for the SandyBridge i3 2100 etc, how about considering the socket 1155 Intel Pentium such as the G620 or G840 with a H61 board?
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist.php?groupid=701&catid=6&subid=2037

they are faster than phenom ii x2 565 and consume less power:
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/pentium-g850-g840-g620_6.html#sect0

The Quad-core CPU wouldn't really benefit much as office PC, as the everyday applications don't really make use the 3rd or the 4th core. It would make more sense to go for a faster and lower power consumption dual-core instead.