Office PC build for Windows 11

[EddScott]

We've recently lost our IT support - he's retired. There's plenty in the area and we may well take on a new contract but for now, I'll get on with it myself. We're very low maintenance to be fair. We have 7 PCs, 1 PC runs headless as a server for printing and back office software and that's it. Files are on Onedrive. Nothing fancy.

One thing we did talk about before the dude left was upgrading the PCs for Windows 11. Usually I wouldn't rush - we've rarely moved quickly on OS upgrades etc. However, the worry regarding business IT security seems greater than in the past - whether actual or just influenced to make us buy ever newer equipment, I'm not sure.

Anyway, I'm going to build new PCs, we'll have new monitors and input devices too.

This is my first attempt. We're not necessarily on a tight budget, but we do have 7/8 machines to pay for so sub £550 each minus OS is where I'm looking at.

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x MSI Pro B760M-A WIFI DDR4 (LGA 1700) DDR4 Micro-ATX Motherboard (SKU: MB-37H-MS) = £130.00
• 1 x Intel Core i3-12100F 3.30GHz (Alder Lake) Socket LGA1700 Processor - Retail (SKU: CP-6AS-IN) = £73.99
• 1 x Corsair CV Series CV550 550W 80 Plus Bronze Power Supply (CP-9020210-UK) (SKU: CA-25C-CS) = £48.95
• 1 x Kingston Fury Beast 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-28800C17 3600MHz Dual Channel Kit (SKU: MY-29A-KS) = £35.98
• 1 x WD Blue SN580 1TB SSD NVME M.2 2280 PCIe Gen4 Solid State Drive (SKU: STO-WDC-00540) = £48.95
• 1 x Gigabyte 27" GS27F-EK 1920x1080 SS IPS 165Hz 1ms FreeSync Widescreen Gaming Monitor (SKU: MON-GIG-02979) = £119.99
• 1 x Logitech Wireless Desktop MK270 Wireless Keyboard and Mouse (920-004523) (SKU: KB-252-LG) = £29.99
• 1 x Kolink Satellite Micro-ATX Cube Case - Black (SKU: CA-005-KK) = £44.99

Total: £532.84 (includes delivery: £0.00)​

 

[Tetras]

1 x Intel Core i3-12100F 3.30GHz (Alder Lake) Socket LGA1700 Processor - Retail (SKU: CP-6AS-IN) = £73.99

You won't get a picture with this CPU, are you aware of that?

1 x Kingston Fury Beast 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-28800C17 3600MHz Dual Channel Kit (SKU: MY-29A-KS) = £35.98

I'd strongly recommend paying the extra £15 or whatever for 32GB and for these type of systems I usually buy JEDEC memory instead of XMP for the lower voltage.

1 x Kolink Satellite Micro-ATX Cube Case - Black (SKU: CA-005-KK) = £44.99

There's a lot of vents on this case, is that not a concern for you in an office environment?

1 x Gigabyte 27" GS27F-EK 1920x1080 SS IPS 165Hz 1ms FreeSync Widescreen Gaming Monitor (SKU: MON-GIG-02979) = £119.99

You can get 1440p screens for similar money to this which could be beneficial for productivity. I don't think the 165 Hz 1ms is going to be much help for desktop stuff?

 

[EddScott]

Hello, thank you. I wasn't aware of the CPU - I thought that was just an AMD thing.

Good points on the other items, I'll have another play around.

 

[Tetras]

Hello, thank you. I wasn't aware of the CPU - I thought that was just an AMD thing.

Any Intel F/KF CPU doesn't have integrated graphics, the rest of them do.

All Ryzen 5000 CPUs do not have integrated graphics, except G.

All Ryzen 7000/9000 CPUs do have integrated graphics, except F.

 

[Fluffybob]

Would you not be as well off looking at what DELL/HP/Lenovo have to offer ?

 

[Quartz]

This is my first attempt.

For basic desktop office use consider a bunch of NUCs (Intel or Minisforum.) You'll be pleased at the amount of space and power saved as well as the noise reduction.

 

[SilentGameTestR]

There are plenty of options, but unless you needed desktops then you could get some mini pcs be it intel or ryzen that will do what you want which also have ssd expansion option if extra storage was needed. Since they mount to the back of monitors then you could just buy a bunch of new screens and hook them on the back.

 

[Quartz]

Since these are office PCs, I urge you to look at 4k non-gaming monitors. 32" 4k non-gaming monitors from Samsung and Lenovo are a bit over £200 and 27" ones are available from £155 - Dell's S2722QC is £260.