Tight budget office computer

[lesshaste]

I am looking to buy a (really) budget office computer. I already have a monitor, mouse, keyboard so just need the box (cpu/mobo/ram/case/psu/drive). It's only use will be to connect via a web browser+java to a remote server for work. Ideally however it would run windows to avoid compatibility problems which may end up being half the price. Ignoring windows for the moment, what's the best you can do for <200 quid?

 

[iceclock]

lets see.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/p/zaOH
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/p/zaOH/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/p/zaOH/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Celeron G440 1.6GHz Single-Core Processor (£25.99 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Motherboard: MSI H61M-P31 (G3) Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (£31.93 @ Scan.co.uk)
Memory: Crucial 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1066 Memory (£17.51 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Samsung Spinpoint M8 250GB 2.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive (£32.86 @ CCL Computers)
Case: Xigmatek Asgard II Black ATX Mid Tower Case (£28.31 @ Novatech)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W ATX12V Power Supply (£35.32 @ Scan.co.uk)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer (£12.98 @ Scan.co.uk)
Total: £184.90
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-23 20:28 GMT+0000)

184$.

thats about what u can expect for 200 quid.

 

[djangoringo]

My suggestion :

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD A4-5300 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor (£34.74 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: MSI FM2-A55M-E33 Micro ATX FM2 Motherboard (£37.55 @ Scan.co.uk)
Memory: Kingston 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£18.19 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 160GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£22.79 @ Aria PC)
Case: Xigmatek Asgard II Black ATX Mid Tower Case (£28.31 @ Novatech)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W ATX12V Power Supply (£35.32 @ Scan.co.uk)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer (£12.98 @ Scan.co.uk)
Total: £189.88
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

 

[iceclock]

not bad build.

 

[lesshaste]

Those are great suggestions although one is much faster than the other it seems.

I however forgot that I really don't like tower systems. What's the best option to small form factor (or similar) case? I would this system to be as inconspicuous as possible. I don't mind adding a few extra quid for a better case.

 

[lesshaste]

I mean .. "[...]What's the best option for a small form factor (or similar) case? I would like this system to be as inconspicuous as possible. I don't mind adding a few extra quid for a better case."

I couldn't edit my post it seems.

 

[iceclock]

ok lets see.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/p/zb3T
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/p/zb3T/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/p/zb3T/benchmarks/

CPU: AMD A4-5300 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor (£34.74 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: MSI FM2-A55M-E33 Micro ATX FM2 Motherboard (£37.55 @ Scan.co.uk)
Memory: Crucial 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1066 Memory (£17.51 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Samsung Spinpoint M8 500GB 2.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive (£37.20 @ Aria PC)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 MicroATX Mini Tower Case (£31.12 @ Aria PC)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W ATX12V Power Supply (£35.32 @ Scan.co.uk)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer (£12.98 @ Scan.co.uk)
Total: £206.42
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-23 20:56 GMT+0000)

206$ with the better amd processor+mini-atx tower.

 

[iceclock]

thanks

 

[lesshaste]

It's a great build!

The case is still a tower though right (40 x 20 x 45 cm)? The case you gave before was 47.5 cm x 18.5 cm x 40.8 cm which seems very similar. Did I miss something?

 

[iceclock]

its micro-atx yes

 

[djangoringo]

In my suggestion if you want a mini case(the coolermaster is mini), and are will to spend a few quids more than 200 :

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD A4-5300 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor (£34.74 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: MSI FM2-A55M-E33 Micro ATX FM2 Motherboard (£37.55 @ Scan.co.uk)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£34.51 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 160GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£22.79 @ Aria PC)
Case: Cooler Master RC-361-KKN1 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case (£28.78 @ Scan.co.uk)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W ATX12V Power Supply (£35.32 @ Scan.co.uk)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer (£12.98 @ Scan.co.uk)
Total: £206.67
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

You can see the specs of the case here : http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B006Z476NO/
With 8GB ram.

 

[iceclock]

thats not micro-atx thats mid-tower case tho.

and 4 gigs is enought for office pc

 

[djangoringo]

Designed with a modern and sleek appeal in a compact form, Elite 361 Mini Tower

http://www.coolermaster-usa.com/product.php?product_id=3074

150 x 368 x 464 mm

Just put 8GB for him, for gpu allocation and ram for the system at 1600MHZ.

 

[iceclock]

he asked for a micro or mini-atx. if u read above.

hes running office and excel not autocad

 

[austing]

Why is no one building him an ITX if what he wants is small form factor?

 

[iceclock]

i chose a micro-atx box, a decent micro-itx would cost more than his budget would permit.

 

[lesshaste]

I used to have an antec aria case http://www.amazon.co.uk/Antec-Aria-UK-silver-supply/dp/B0007SQGOE which fitted a micro-atx motherboard. Is that sort of option not available any more/just too expensive?

 

[pcgamer719]

this case sounds like its your best option and it includes a 300w psu so it will keep you in line with your budget. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811208049

 

[pcgamer719]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157310&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-_-pla-_-Intel+Motherboards-_-N82E16813157310&gclid=CITly-7KgLUCFQWe4AodWxMAAQ

 

[pcgamer719]

you need you go itx mobo and a micro atx pc case those two links i posted will be perfect.

 

[lesshaste]

i chose a micro-atx box, a decent micro-itx would cost more than his budget would permit.

I am not sure I am using this forum correctly. I have attempted to up vote your previous answer and I would also like to select it as the "best answer" but I don't seem to be able to do either. Sorry about this.

 

[Mousemonkey]

I am not sure I am using this forum correctly. I have attempted to up vote your previous answer and I would also like to select it as the "best answer" but I don't seem to be able to do either. Sorry about this.

Try now.

 

[Aristotelian]

I like the first Intel build except for the G440 CPU. For a few quid (or whatever currency) more, you could get G540 dual core Sandy Bridge and stay within your budget. From what I have read, G540 has the advantage for basic computing (better CPU), A4-3400 has the advantage for gaming (better GPU). Since poster is not gaming, I would go with Intel.

Here is a revised build with a Micro-Atx Mini-tower case.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/p/zjaL
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/p/zjaL/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/p/zjaL/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Celeron G540 2.5GHz Dual-Core Processor (£31.80 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: MSI H61M-P31 (G3) Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (£31.93 @ Scan.co.uk)
Memory: Crucial 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1066 Memory (£17.51 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Samsung Spinpoint M8 250GB 2.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive (£35.00 @ Ebuyer)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 MicroATX Mini Tower Case (£31.12 @ Aria PC)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W ATX12V Power Supply (£35.32 @ Scan.co.uk)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer (£12.98 @ Scan.co.uk)
Total: £195.66
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-24 14:21 GMT+0000)

 

[iceclock]

lesshate theres a best answer option, just select the answer u find deserves it, than click voila

 

[mikerockett]

Thought i'd add my two cents in here first. Here's my take on a mini itx build for this budget. Decided to step away from the norm and stick an SSD in there. As your only use is remoting into your computer at work i'm imagining you don't need storage on this computer. Also for that reason i haven't included a DVD drive as you can install either from a bootable USB or over LAN.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Pentium G550 2.6GHz Dual-Core Processor (£31.99 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H61N-USB3 Mini ITX LGA1155 Motherboard (£57.13 @ Scan.co.uk)
Memory: Crucial 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1066 Memory (£17.51 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Crucial V4 32GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (£35.00 @ Ebuyer)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced (Black) Mini ITX Tower Case (£32.38 @ Scan.co.uk)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V Power Supply (£35.32 @ Scan.co.uk)
Total: £209.33
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-24 15:23 GMT+0000)