Home Office Computer

[Bapadaboopy]

Hi All,
Im looking into building a computer for my dad. His is at least 10 years old and needs to be replaced. He only uses it for his work (invoicing, financial statements, etc) and web browsing. I am stuck between getting him a cheap pre-built computer, or a custom one which may last a little longer and be more reliable. I would like to keep it around $1,000.

I made an AMD build list (I've always used intel myself). I'm not sure where to downgrade to fit in a really budget video card because the CPU doesn't have onboard graphics)

System Builder

ca.pcpartpicker.com

I went for the Lian Li because I got the Dynamic ROG XL and love it

This is the Intel build list:

System Builder

ca.pcpartpicker.com

 

[lowfat]

IMO It seems super excessive for an office computer.

I'd probably personally do something along these lines.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3400G 3.7 GHz Quad-Core Processor ($188.99 @ Mike's Computer Shop)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper T2 54.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($15.79 @ Vuugo)
Motherboard: ASRock B450M-HDV R4.0 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($63.95 @ Vuugo)
Memory: G.Skill Aegis 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($77.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Western Digital Blue 1 TB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($119.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Case: Deepcool MATREXX 30 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($39.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Power Supply: EVGA 400 W ATX Power Supply ($46.99 @ Vuugo)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home Full - USB 32/64-bit ($134.46 @ Amazon Canada)
Total: $688.15
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-12-08 13:14 EST-0500

 

[CMetaphor]

Seems you went super overkill in many areas? If he's not a gamer then the X470 isn't necessary, nor is a top end 970evo or ddr4 at those speeds. A regular b450 motherboard, ddr4 2400-2600 and something like a Corsair mp510 will still give you about 90-95% of the same performance of those other parts, but it'll save you enough money to buy a simple graphics card, IF you're certain you don't want to get him something like a Ryzen 3 3200G. It's true you'll get more threads going discrete though, so maybe a 100$ GPU will work just fine.

 

[CMetaphor]

@lowfat ya ninja'd by seconds haha. Think he wants to keep the purty case tho.

 

[JD]

Yeah, 3400G is plenty. Keeping with the more mid-high end approach though:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3400G 3.7 GHz Quad-Core Processor ($188.99 @ Mike's Computer Shop)
Motherboard: MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX ATX AM4 Motherboard ($149.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Memory: Team T-FORCE VULCAN Z 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($78.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Western Digital SN750 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($99.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Case: Lian Li PC-O11 Dynamic ATX Full Tower Case ($162.99 @ Mike's Computer Shop)
Power Supply: SeaSonic FOCUS Gold 550 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply ($90.75 @ Vuugo)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($134.50 @ Vuugo)
Total: $906.20
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-12-08 13:19 EST-0500

 

[CMetaphor]

Yeah, 3400G is plenty.

Eehhhh not positive. Maybe he's just a regular old dude that types with one finger and thinks three tabs open is "a lot", BUT maybe he opens twenty tabs, massive spreadsheets, livestreams and watches Netflix all at once? Haha, who knows?

I was about to say something as cheap as a 1030 will outperform the vega on a 3200G... But apparently, it doesn't? Damn AMD, flexing massive. According to several sources I just just checked, the Vega 8 (surprisingly little info on wiki detailing the newest vega/ryzen chips) is within 10% the performance of the GT1030. And it's a Vega "8"? Isn't there a Vega10/11 in a chip somewhere as well?

I'm off topic completely now, but AMD seriously needs to move with the Ryzen all-in-one stuff asap. A single chip that could get near 1050 performance would be an absolute Monster. Tablets running 1080p max graphics. It would be amazing, and it seems almost possible soon.

 

[Bapadaboopy]

I know I did go a little excessive, my reasoning was that if he only upgrades every 7-10 years (based on what he's done the past few times) I thought it would be better to have a better computer which may be a little more future-proof.

However, I do like the options you guys gave me.. More options now! Although I like having cheaper options and not buying pre-built box store computers.

 

[Bapadaboopy]

Eehhhh not positive. Maybe he's just a regular old dude that types with one finger and thinks three tabs open is "a lot", BUT maybe he opens twenty tabs, massive spreadsheets, livestreams and watches Netflix all at once? Haha, who knows?

Yep, regular old dude that types with one finger.. you nailed it! Onboard graphics is more than capable for his needs.

Would there be a noticeable difference between the recommended SSD's and the samsung evo? I don't know how benchmarks translate in real world performance difference.

 

[Prickly007]

Given the long upgrade cycle, shouldn't SSD endurance be considered? Data backups??

 

[lowfat]

Would there be a noticeable difference between the recommended SSD's and the samsung evo? I don't know how benchmarks translate in real world performance difference.

Absolutely not for most people. The difference between HDD and SATA SSD is massive. But the difference between some cheaper SATA SSD and a performance NVMe SSD is a couple percent @ best in real world performance.

Given the long upgrade cycle, shouldn't SSD endurance be considered? Data backups??

Unless he is downloading a massive amount, then no. The controller will fail long before the NAND.