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Need help building a business compter

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  • Computers
  • Intel
  • Build
  • Business Computing
Last response: in Business Computing
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April 17, 2013 9:11:50 AM

I'm building a business computer for a friend of mine and I need some help. He runs a restaurant and is planning on expanding into other things. He needs a computer that will last him at least 5 years. His wants a compact computer that will be able to run 2-3 monitors, a pretty big hard drive, and a wireless internet adapter. I don't plan to overclock anything as this will be his primary work computer. He's budgeted $800 towards his new computer, but I would like to give him what he needs while staying under his budget. I plan on showing him an Intel build list and 2 AMD build lists.

Intel Build
Case: Rosewill FBM-01 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Processor: Intel Core i5-3330 Ivy Bridge http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Motherboard: ASRock H77M LGA 1155 Intel H77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
PSU: SeaSonic SS-350ET Bronze 350W http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Ram: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.14 ST3000DM001 3TB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Optical Drive: ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 64-bit http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Wireless Adapter: Rosewill RNX-N250PC2 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

AMD Builds
Everything in the Intel build except

Build 1
Board: ASRock 960GM/U3S3 FX AM3+ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Processor: AMD FX-6300 Vishera 3.5GHz http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Build 2
Board: MSI FM2-A85XMA-E35 FM2 Trinity AMD A85X http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Processor: AMD A10-5800K Trinity 3.8GHz http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Here are my questions:
1) Are the on board graphics good enough or do I need to add a GPU?
2) Which one build will give him the best bang for his buck?
3) Which build will last him longer?

More about : building business compter

April 18, 2013 7:16:21 AM

The setup looks like a decent office build. There are a few things personally I would do differently, but I have set certain standards that I just don't ever come below when it comes to the custom computers our company builds.

On to your questions. First, the onboard graphics for the Intel HD is actually pretty nice if you're not doing demanding stuff. To ask if it's good enough we would have to know first what he is intending to do with it. In other words, is this basic web access, word processing, and bookkeeping? If so, then yes definitely. You can run two monitors off of the onboard graphics will no problem. However, if you are wanting to run three or more monitors on this computer, or are wanting to get into more demanding multimedia or graphics production work, or gaming, then you will need a dedicated graphics card. Again, which one to go with is going to depend upon the software you are intending to run.

Your second question is in regards to the best bang for the buck. This is gonna be a little harder to compare. Really, all the systems are pretty equal. The AM3+ six-core processor has the added benefit of additional processing cores, but there are not many basic business tasks which can utilize all those threads, so while it might offer better multi-threaded capabilities, I don't know if it would be the most efficient choice. Also, the graphics for that configuration is more limiting than the Intel or the FM2 platform selections. The AMD A10-5800K seems to be a very popular basic multimedia processor because it does have a quad-core chip with high clock speeds, and a powerful integrated graphics core. This gives you pretty great value. It has been a while since I have done anything on the AMD side for custom builds, personally, so I can't really give you much input on that. Our custom builds are based on the Intel platform like your first option.

Finally, longevity. This is a harder one to answer because two identical computers, running in identical environments and under identical situations should in theory last the exact same time, but this isn't the case. One may experience memory or hard drive failure, or even power supply or motherboard, after a year or two while the other computer may truck on for seven or more years. There are just too many unknowns. If you are referring to upgradability and the possibility of replacing parts into the future, then again it is going to be a toss up. Usually AMD tends to keep their platforms around longer, and be more cross-compatible, but Intel platforms have been going much the same way, and overall the general concept is clock-for-clock an Intel platform will be overall more efficient and powerful than a similar configured AMD platform. The difference is the AMD platform may cost a little less.

There are several small things to me that are red flags or concerns with the configurations you linked when it comes to business longevity. Again, a lot of this just comes from personal experience, testing, and preferences. But I think that any of the platform configurations you have quoted would be fine to use. My personal preference right now would say that the Intel would be your better option, though the AMD A10-5800K is definitely a possibility.
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