New office build

[cranked]

Approximate Purchase Date: e.g.: this week

Budget Range: $400-500

System Usage from Most to Least Important: General office use (Word, internet, watching videos)

Are you buying a monitor: no

Parts to Upgrade:
Need: CPU, Mobo, Ram, Case, PSU, SSD
Have: Monitor, kb/mouse, 1tb standard drive, optical drive

Do you need to buy OS: yes, but I am not including that into the budget.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Any. Usually buy from Newegg.

Location: USA

Parts Preferences: Intel I guess. Looking at the i3 skylake cpu.

Overclocking: No

SLI or Crossfire: No

Your Monitor Resolution: Have a 1920x 1080 V243H Acer monitor

Additional Comments: Hoping to put together an Intel build using the HD gfx. Won't be doing any gaming. PC will be used for general office stuff only.

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: This PC is older and running slower than I would like.

Thanks for any help!

 

[CTurbo]

This would be perfect. PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor ($110.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI B150M ECO Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($59.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Mushkin Essentials 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($39.99 @ Directron)
Storage: Crucial MX300 275GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($69.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.49 @ OutletPC)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 350W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($38.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($85.70 @ My Choice Software)
Total: $480.09
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-10-25 14:38 EDT-0400

 

[manddy123]

Without the OS this is a solid choice, if you wanna stay under $500 with the OS, might have to change somethings tho

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($195.79 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H110M-A Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($53.88 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($40.88 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($94.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.49 @ OutletPC)
Case: Fractal Design Core 2300 ATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Corsair CXM 450W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($25.00 @ Newegg)
Total: $495.02
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-10-25 14:39 EDT-0400

 

[hdmark]

not sure if youve considering a barebones or mini pc. but something to look into:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856102145

but also the two builds the people above me have suggested seem solid too!

 

[why_wolf]

I like this build using the new STX form factor. Small size but can still use a desktop class CPU. OS is in my build but you can just use that money for an SSD to make it a bit more peppy if you want.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor ($120.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Hitachi Travelstar 1TB 2.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($58.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($92.99 @ Amazon)
Other: ASRock Desk Mini 110 ($139.99)
Total: $462.94
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-10-25 14:54 EDT-0400

 

[coozie7]

And as a strange alternative... https://pcpartpicker.com/user/coozie7/saved/#view=3PTBmG

Odd I know but the parts are there for a reason: AMD has better integrated video than Intel an the A8 is still far more than most office applications will ever need.
No need for a noisy, vibrating HDD, although I'll admit 480Gb on a SSD is maybe OTT, most office users won't get any where close to using 250Gb, so you can always drop it down a level. And it's not a flashy drive, either, just fast and workpersonlike.
That case is a cheap one but DOES carry the PSU at the bottom and has plenty of ventilation for such a low powered system.
A Seasonic PSU is a little more expensive, but quality always is.
And finally a full retail, not OEM version of Win 10, as many activations as you like and it's transferrable, swap it for an OEM licence to save some extra cash.

 

[cranked]

All great builds, thank you guys for all the help so far.

As far as coozie7's build goes, I don't know much about AMD CPU's, what is the A8-7600 comparable to from intel? The current PC that this build is replacing has an i3-2100, is it far and away better than that?

 

[manddy123]

All great builds, thank you guys for all the help so far.

As far as coozie7's build goes, I don't know much about AMD CPU's, what is the A8-7600 comparable to from intel? The current PC that this build is replacing has an i3-2100, is it far and away better than that?

The Ax series from AMD comes with integrated graphics ( a tiny GPU inside the CPU ), which the FX series don't.
Almost all Intel CPUs comes too with integrated graphics too, but as @coozie7's said, they are a little worse than the AMD ones.

Overall a Intel CPU is much better than a AMD ( heavily deppends on the model obviously ), his point is that those AMD Ax will handle gaming/video editing better than a Intel CPU by the fact that you don't have a proper GPU to handle those tasks.

I'd recommend still getting the Intel CPU, as your main focus is Working and not gaming, so you don't really need a stronger Integrated Graphic, and that's just the case with the Intel's.

The i3 6100 will be a good jump from yours current one, and that jump would be even bigger with the i5 6500.

 

[cranked]

So I kind of combined some of the builds from up top and upgraded CTurbo's i3 CPU to this build, is this list a solid PC and is everything compatible? It would work nice because I could get everything WITH the OS and still be right about in budget.

http://pcpartpicker.com/list/3w7Gjc

 

[manddy123]

So I kind of combined some of the builds from up top and upgraded CTurbo's i3 CPU to this build, is this list a solid PC and is everything compatible? It would work nice because I could get everything WITH the OS and still be right about in budget.
http://pcpartpicker.com/list/3w7Gjc

All is about right, but you forgot the HDD, we can cut a bit that PSU price switching it for CX450M, it's stronger and cheaper.
Also, the i3 6320, although stronger isn't the best for it's value, as it's abouth $50 more expensive than the 6100 and not thaaat much stronger.

You could add a HDD with those cuts, because i believe that maybe only 250GB will be little space for you.

Just 300W is enough for your system right now, but if in the future you want to add a GPU it would be insuficient so that's why the PSU change.


Aside from that, nice build you made there, surely will suit your needs ^^

 

[g-unit1111]

All great builds, thank you guys for all the help so far.

As far as coozie7's build goes, I don't know much about AMD CPU's, what is the A8-7600 comparable to from intel? The current PC that this build is replacing has an i3-2100, is it far and away better than that?

There's no AMD CPU that is comparable to the i3-6100 at the moment. The best CPU they currently offer in that category is the X4-860K but even then the i3-6100 is still a better purchase. The on board Intel video is fine for your uses and you can always add a GPU if you need it.

 

[ComputerSecurityGuy]

I have a suggestion- mini ITX Broadwell.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-5675C 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($290.98 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H97N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($116.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2400 Memory ($76.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX300 275GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($69.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Mini-Box M350 HTPC Case ($52.56 @ Amazon)
Total: $607.47
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-10-26 12:55 EDT-0400

 

[CTurbo]

So I kind of combined some of the builds from up top and upgraded CTurbo's i3 CPU to this build, is this list a solid PC and is everything compatible? It would work nice because I could get everything WITH the OS and still be right about in budget.

http://pcpartpicker.com/list/3w7Gjc

The i3 6320 is absolutely NOT worth almost $50. Total waste of money. Stick with the i3 6100 or get the i5 6400 for around $175 if you feel like you need more cpu power(you do not)

 

[coozie7]

Just to throw another spanner into the works.

Yep, my A8 build isn't much better than the current i3 used by Cranked, I chose the AMD option purely for its better Internet/video graphics performance and far lower cost, allowing me to go all silicon for storage.

@ Cranked: Have you considered just swapping out the current HDD for a SSD and maybe adding some memory? Check the usage of the current HDD, most office systems I've used don't get anywhere near to 256Gb of used space, and yet are often very sluggish because they have cluttered drives, limited memory and are all too often tied up by IT to snail like local networks.
Moving my brothers ancient i5 750 from HDD to a 128Gb SSD transformed its performance in his type of home/office use, keeping this old Dinosaur alive and well.

 

[CTurbo]

As far as cpu power goes, the A8 would perform similarly to a Pentium G4400 and no where near the power of an i3. The A8 does have an edge in integrated graphics performance, but the i3's igpu is plenty strong enough.

You don't NEED a lot of cpu power for "an office build" though and the A8 is a solid choice if you wanted to save some money. FM2+ motherboards offer the best features to price than any other chipset IMO. The bad part is the upgrade path. You would have to replace the entire platform in the future if you wanted to upgrade. I would personally rather have the newer i3 as I feel it would be relevant longer and be much easier to upgrade in the future if need be.

Remember, an ssd will make more of an impact of overall system speed that a faster cpu will.

 

[coozie7]

^ Totally agree, the build I put together was aimed at 'enough' for a office build intended to operate for a few years then be swapped out again rather than looking for an upgrade path at a later date, hence the fairly weak CPU and emphasis on all solid state storage and a full retail license of Win 10, both of which could be migrated over to a later build/upgrade, but ramped the price up significantly.

Looks like we both agree on the SSD, maybe the OP will get one and try it out on his existing system to start with, which may pep things up enough to avoid the whole upgrade anyway, it worked nicely on my brothers Jurassic i5 setup.

 

[g-unit1111]

As far as cpu power goes, the A8 would perform similarly to a Pentium G4400 and no where near the power of an i3. The A8 does have an edge in integrated graphics performance, but the i3's igpu is plenty strong enough.

You don't NEED a lot of cpu power for "an office build" though and the A8 is a solid choice if you wanted to save some money. FM2+ motherboards offer the best features to price than any other chipset IMO. The bad part is the upgrade path. You would have to replace the entire platform in the future if you wanted to upgrade. I would personally rather have the newer i3 as I feel it would be relevant longer and be much easier to upgrade in the future if need be.

Remember, an ssd will make more of an impact of overall system speed that a faster cpu will.

I think it depends on what you want to get out of it. For office use (which I define as web browsing, MS office, etc) you don't need anything more than an 860K or i3-6100. If you need something more I wouldn't go any higher than a i5-6500, and a $300 CPU is flat out absurd.

 

[cranked]

Just to throw another spanner into the works.

Yep, my A8 build isn't much better than the current i3 used by Cranked, I chose the AMD option purely for its better Internet/video graphics performance and far lower cost, allowing me to go all silicon for storage.

@ Cranked: Have you considered just swapping out the current HDD for a SSD and maybe adding some memory? Check the usage of the current HDD, most office systems I've used don't get anywhere near to 256Gb of used space, and yet are often very sluggish because they have cluttered drives, limited memory and are all too often tied up by IT to snail like local networks.
Moving my brothers ancient i5 750 from HDD to a 128Gb SSD transformed its performance in his type of home/office use, keeping this old Dinosaur alive and well.

I checked the current PC and it has 4gb of ram and a 1TB HDD that is only about 20% full. I also checked to make sure it wasn't fragmented really badly for some reason and it is not.

I think I am just going to go with the build I re-posted with the i3-6100. I can put that together with a copy of windows and stay within my $500 budget.

 

[CTurbo]

I think I am just going to go with the build I re-posted with the i3-6100. I can put that together with a copy of windows and stay within my $500 budget.

It's a solid build, just get the i3 6100 instead. The i3 6320 is a terrible terrible value.

 

[cranked]

Thank you all very much. As always you guys in the forums here have been very helpful!