Lower end work PC suggestions (sub $600)

[a2love]

Hi all,

I have a request from two seperate friends for a work PC build. Both will be using their PCs for Autocad and some light HD movie streaming, but other than that they have no major requests.

Gaming is out luckily, so that should cut back on the GPU. I am also flip flopping between Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 as they may want an easy Remote Desktop connection experience.

Any thoughts on suggested builds? I'm especially curious on the mobo/gpu combination, or if onboard graphics is cheap and 'pretty good' these days. Most of this forum caters to gaming/GPU intensive rigs... hopefully someone has some experience with this alternative approach

Thanks,
Adam

 

[TheBigTroll]

we can cater work pcs as well. just remember 600 dollars wont get you far

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/fNNN

you probably have to upgrade to windows 7 pro to do remote desktoping but im not too sure about that.

the upgrades id suggest first is to 16gb of memory. here it is
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231547

the second upgrade i would suggest is to a i7 2600. it will be much better for your CAD software since it can take advantage of the extra threads. the i5 2310 nevertheless is still pretty good

 

[maninder055]

cpu--intel i5 2500k is a good option. cheaper than i7 2600 around $210.perform similar to i7 2600.use 16 gb memory.

 

[a2love]

Ok, so I've been poking around quite abit. The AMD Phenom II x4 965 seems to be a very reasonable price. Match that with an Asus M5A97, and kicking in a low level graphics card to handle abit of the CAD load (and video streaming).

Thoughts on how this is starting to look? Is it better to find an integrated graphics solution with the Mobo?


Motherboard: Asus M5A97 - $94.70

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 3.4GHz - $104.96

Graphics Card: AMD Radeon HD 7750 - $104.99

Memory: Corsair 8 GB XMS3 PC3-12800 1600MHz DDR3 Dual Channel Kit - $42.99

PSU: OCZ ModXStream Pro 600W Modular - $69.99


Thanks,
Adam

 

[a2love]

Possible alternative mobo:

ASUS M5A88-M AM3+ AMD 880G HDMI
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131758&Tpk=Asus%20M5A88-M%20Micro%20ATX%20AM3%2b%20Motherboard

Looks like it has integrated graphics, although the ability to chug through CAD may not work out. I like the microATX form factor though.

-A

 

[a2love]

Ok, here's what I've come up with. Let me know if you see any gaping holes here, specifically around the Mobo/CPU... I'm new to the A8-3870k's.


AMD A8-3870K Black APU Quad Core Processor w/ Radeon 6550D HD GFX Socket FM1 3.0GHZ 4MB Retail Box  $99.99

ASRock A75M-HVS mATX FM1 AMD A75 FCH DDR3 1PCI-E16 1PCI-E1 1PCI SATA3 HDMI D-Sub USB3.0 Motherboard  $77.99

OCZ ZS Series 550W ATX12V V2.2 24PIN ATX SLI Ready 80PLUS Bronze Performance Power Supply 135mm Fan  $59.99

Kingston HyperX KHX1600C9D3K2/8GX 8GB 2X4GB DDR3-1600 XMP Dual Channel Memory Kit  $37.99

Western Digital WD Caviar Blue 1TB SATA 6GB/S 7200RPM 32MB Cache 3.5IN Hard Drive OEM *IR-$10*  $89.99

Antec Three Hundred Mini Tower Gaming Case 300 ATX 3X5.25 6X3.5INT No PS Front USB & Audio  $44.99

ASUS DRW-24B1ST 24X SATA DVD Writer OEM Black  $17.64