Components for a fast, payable office pc

[_Angie_]

(First, im sorry for spelling mistakes, my mother tongue is german)
I would like to build a fast office pc for my dad's buisness. He's self-employed and doesnt has much experience in pc-hardware, so he usually bought complete systems. (You probably all are familliar with those overprized pieces of crap) Because i built myself a gaming pc about 2 months ago, i offered him to build one out of components. Because i only find gaming based recommendations on the internet and i only have experience with gaming based components, i wonder if you could show me some good ones.
The prize shouldnt get over 1200$, but i dont expect this to happen anyway.
Thanks in advance!

 

[Karsten75]

What will your Dad use it for in his business? MS Office and email, cash register, design... ?

 

[Rapajez]

Assuming this will not be used for development, graphic design, etc. I'd go with a Mini-ITX build to save space, a cheaper quad-core i5, use the built-in, dedicated graphics, and ensure you include a Solid State Drive (SSD). Honestly, you could probably come closer to $500, and still crush any desktop he could purchase.

An SSD will make any office PC feel much "faster". The SSD will be the biggest noticeable difference to a everyday tasks in Windows & MS Office. It drastically will improve the time for Outlook to load (especially with large local mail archives), Word, Excel etc...He'll probably appreciate that more then the speed gained from a faster CPU or more memory.

If he's doing design work, coding etc...that drastically changes the recommendations. Let us know and we'll provide a more specific build recommendation.

 

[Karsten75]

Honestly, you could probably come closer to $500, and still crush any desktop he could purchase.

Well, purchase for how much? Bear in mind that the OP will have to buy Windows for nearly $100. PC manufacturers (Lenovo, Dell, HP) buy components in bulk at huge discounts, they have huge economies of scale and pay very little for the OS. THeir business is to build and sell "business computers". And in Business, the only "crush" is price. For most business tasks as you outlined, the user will notice an SSD, but almost any $300 PC will do the job.

My point being that if performance isn't an issue because low-end CPUs will get the job done adequately, it is financially sensible to buy a computer. Of course, if the Dad wants to spend a few $100 over the odds to give his son a fun project, then that is a different matter.

But bear in mind, if you buy a PC, you get a warranty, and you get tech support. That also factors into the cost.

 

[Rapajez]

True true. I figured the "fun-project" part was implied.

If you did buy a PC, I'd still recommend cheaping out on the CPU, RAM, and skipping a GPU, in favor of picking up a good SSD. The CPU that could max out office was probably invented 10 years ago, but SSDs are a drastic jump in performance for office-use.

 

[_Angie_]

First, im female, but thats not the point
My Dad needs the computer for mailing and time recording, also for description of the objects he's working on (he's a roofer). He only needs a new one because his old one was working with windows xp, which is - how all of you know - very susceptible to viruses now. The point i wanna build one by myself is that we live in switzerland, where everything is overprized, especially computers. you dont get an reasonable complete pc under 800 $, because hp. and co know that they can sell here expensive. (Most components are directly imported from germany.)
And yeah, i confess, its a fun project too

 

[Karsten75]

Start here.

Feel free to choose an alternate case. Personally I'm not too fond of Mini-ITX builds and prefer micro-ATX builds. I did, however do a build on a mini-ITX in this specific case and it was reasonable fun and the case is pretty good.

I configured only one stick of 4GB RAM. My thinking is that if you need more, you can add another, identical stick in the other slot.

If it was my PC, I would not put the optical drive in. Instead I'd get an external, USB optical drive, only use it for the installation and then put it away. That way the PC has a much cleaner look in the front.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor (€112.00 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M-ITX/AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard (€92.89 @ Home of Hardware DE)
Memory: Kingston 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory (€37.98 @ Hardwareversand)
Storage: Crucial MX100 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (€176.90 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Case: BitFenix Prodigy (Black) Mini ITX Tower Case (€76.39 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 450W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (€47.90 @ Caseking)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHDS118-04 DVD/CD Drive (€13.85 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Other: Windows 8.1 64Bit i (€109.00)
Total: €666.91
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-16 19:13 CEST+0200

 

[Rapajez]

+1 to Karsten's build.

If the price isn't too much more, I'd swap the Crucial MX100 to a Samsung 840 EVO, as the managment software for that is a joy to work with, and it's a little speedier. If it is a lot more for the Samsung, no sweat. The Crucial + new Windows install will still be a speed demon compared to his old rig.

The Gigabyte GA-H97M-D3H board is another alternative, if the price is equivalent. ASRock is what I've used in all my gaming builds, but Gigabyte's Quality Assurance and customer support is a little better, all things equal. These specific boards are tested very thoroughly before leaving the factory.

 

[_Angie_]

First thanks for all your great replies!
Ill discuss it with my dad, and we'll look what turns out!
Perhaps he decides to buy a complete one, well, its still his money.
You're a great help