Office PC Build vs Workstation Reburb?

[gradyhawks]

Hey Folks,

Spoiler

Dad called and said that his PC is on it's last legs, it was one I built around 7 years ago and is starting to show its age I think. Whilst I could try and get it upgraded, I just can't be bothered to try and source old DDR3 parts and 1150 CPUs to upgrade it with.

So, looking at what you can get for around £500 in terms of an office PC that can handle multiple screens, loads of google chrome tabs (what is with old people and using a billion tabs?).

Looking around, I can get a refurbished workstation for £400 with an E5-1630V4 with 16gb of DDR4 alongside a Quadro M2000. Part of me thinks that it's a great price, the other part of me doesn't want to upgrade my dads 7-year-old PC with 5-year-old parts. On the other hand, it's all built, has a warranty, and means I don't have to build anything

Pre-Built from Overclockers and £480 we've got a Ryzen 5 3600 and 16gb of DDR4 but no graphics card but pretty sure that the motherboard can output to 2 screens. Whilst it's still 2-year-old hardware, it's still all brand new. I think if I made it myself, I could save a few quid and get it for the same price as the workstation.

So... what's the better buy?

E5-1630v4 + 16gb DDR4 + Quadro M200 -VS- Ryzen 5 3600 + 16gb DDR4

 

[bremen1874]

That Ryzen isn’t going to display anything without a discrete video card.

 

[Gray2233]

What sort of things does your dad use the PC for? Hold in mind the 3600 doesn't have a built in GPU.

One option could be buying the new Intel 11400 (not the F) and using it's onboard GPU until GPU's are more readily available, assuming the onboard isn't enough for his needs in the long term.

My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x Intel Core i5-11400 2.60GHz (Rocket Lake) Socket LGA1200 Processor - Retail= £169.99

Total: £178.69 (includes shipping: £8.70)
​

It's a solid performer for the cost, edging out the 3600 in most cases. The only real potential issue it has is that there's nowhere worth upgrading to from it, whereas with a modern AM4 chipset you could pop in a second hand 8-16 core 3000-5000 series in a few years should you need a performance uplift.

 

[Quartz]

The Ryzen 5 3600 has no video output. You'll want a Ryzen 3400G.

If he's just browsing the web and running MS Office then take a look at the Intel NUC boxes.

 

[Journey]

PC is on it's last legs, it was one I built around 7 years ago and is starting to show its age I think.

What exactly is wrong with it? People use the term last legs, when what they really mean in sticking a decent SSD, 8GB more RAM in it, and a clean install of Window 10 would bring it back to better than when it was first built, all for a fraction of the cost.

Laziness should be no excuse for e-waste btw.

 

[mickyflinn]

At least list his spec and as @Journey said a ssd will transform his pc.

 

[gradyhawks]

That Ryzen isn’t going to display anything without a discrete video card.

Indeed they do not! Totally forgot about that one.

If he's just browsing the web and running MS Office then take a look at the Intel NUC boxes.

What sort of things does your dad use the PC for? Hold in mind the 3600 doesn't have a built in GPU.

One option could be buying the new Intel 11400 (not the F)

So it is only general office work and internet browsing but sometimes he'll need to do a bit of photo editing on it if the person who usually does that isn't around. It's rare, but does happen occasionally but very likely that onboard is more than sufficient (as long as the motherboard can output to two different screens). TBH a NUC could work, but you end up paying a pretty big premium for the tiny size I find.

What exactly is wrong with it? People use the term last legs, when what they really mean in sticking a decent SSD, 8GB more RAM in it, and a clean install of Window 10 would bring it back to better than when it was first built, all for a fraction of the cost.

Laziness should be no excuse for e-waste btw.

At least list his spec and as @Journey said a ssd will transform his pc.

Current Specs are a PC I made way back for him:
Intel G3258
AMD 270 (I think, certainly has a GPU inside it)
8gb DDR3 (can't remember the speed or make)
240gb Crucial SSD
Corsair 400w PSU

One worry, with this being relatively old, is that a part on it will go and I'll have to spend however long diagnosing the thing (although, likely to be the PSU). I say last leg, but I'm sure I could add another stick of ram, upgrade the SSD to a newer, larger one, reinstall windows, and away we go but sooner or later something inside it is going to die. It's more a case of that he has £500 now to upgrade the PC, and not sure he will in 2 years time etc when something dies.

The PC, if replaced, would be reused for some project of mine, so wouldn't just e-waste it up (I need some parts for an arcade machine I want to make!).

 

[Journey]

Current Specs are a PC I made way back for him:
Intel G3258
AMD 270 (I think, certainly has a GPU inside it)
8gb DDR3 (can't remember the speed or make)
240gb Crucial SSD
Corsair 400w PSU

The G3258 could be swapped for something decent, there is no excuse for a dual core in this day and age, and it will cost you ~£30-50 for a 4c or 4c/8t part, so an i5-4570, or an i7-4770 (non-K), andother 8GB RAm for ~£15-20.

One worry, with this being relatively old, is that a part on it will go and I'll have to spend however long diagnosing the thing (although, likely to be the PSU).

Again, clean the system top-to-bottom, re-install Windows etc. You can spend £50-60 and end up with the same performance as spending £500, and create no more waste, then spend the saved money on something else.

 

[APW]

As said above, a i5 or even i7 wouldn't cost more than 30-60£, stick another 8gb of ram and clean install.

Alternatively if you really need NEW shiny, you could get the 3600 and cheap b450 with some value sticks for around 250-300£ total and reuse other parts, although frankly for someone watching videos and browsing it's a bit overkill.


Ps. There is a couple of i5-4590 and similar for £30ish from a known "2nd hand item" shop ending with X

 

[OldKitMan]

Like others have said replacing the CPU would be the best idea here, i5/i7 would transform it. Maybe a reinstall of Windows would be useful as well as who knows how much junk has been installed over the years on it as well slowing it right down.

 

[Cooler running]

The Ryzen 5 3600 has no video output. You'll want a Ryzen 3400G.

If he's just browsing the web and running MS Office then take a look at the Intel NUC boxes.

I actually have to one Ryzen setup which has no DGPU and a 3600, but it's because there are a small number of Motherboards out there which have a IGP in the motherboard.

Looking around, I can get a refurbished workstation for £400 with an E5-1630V4 with 16gb of DDR4 alongside a Quadro M2000. Part of me thinks that it's a great price, the other part of me doesn't want to upgrade my dads 7-year-old PC with 5-year-old parts. On the other hand, it's all built, has a warranty, and means I don't have to build anything

Sounds expensive to me, the processor is OK and the RAM is decent but don't think it's worth £400, maybe if you can argue it down to £250 then I'd be good, but that's a long way off.

I'd buy this:
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/b-gr...st-canyon-mini-pc-barebone-kit-bg-168-in.html
It's cheaper than that old workstation, probably faster too. Will have to add SODIMM and an SSD, but said shouldn't break the bank.

 

[Rroff]

Assuming nothing else the matter with it the 2 core, 2 thread CPU is going to be what is making it feel like it is on its last legs. But I'd only throw money at it if you can source parts of that era reasonably cheaply.

It is surprising how well these older systems hold up with a decent amount of RAM and an SSD along with ideally a 4 core, 8 thread CPU or better.