It's been 5 years so it's time for a new custom built desktop pc. I'd like component recommendations for a first class desktop business computer - spreadsheets, word processing, 2d cad and heavy internet browsing, no gaming. Budget is +/- $1,200 not including keyboard, mouse, or screen. What components should I buy?
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Custom Desktop Build - What components
- Thread starter bfr
- Start date
goombawaho
MIS
Wow - totally general question. You could buy a $500 XYZ brand and it would take care of you. There are too many components out there and too many personal opinions. Give us some direction or else you'll get 2000 answers.
Start out and answer Intel vs. AMD
Then which processor family once processor brand is determined (e.g. i3, i5, i7, xeon)
Then look at MOBOs that support that device
Hard drives (RAID desired for CYA?)
Memory - relatively cheap, stock up (12GB??)
Case - fancy/funky or plain Jane?, lots of cooling fans?
Start out and answer Intel vs. AMD
Then which processor family once processor brand is determined (e.g. i3, i5, i7, xeon)
Then look at MOBOs that support that device
Hard drives (RAID desired for CYA?)
Memory - relatively cheap, stock up (12GB??)
Case - fancy/funky or plain Jane?, lots of cooling fans?
After the above, I would recommend you state which programs you plan on using. Mastercam/AutoCad/Solidworks all have their specific types of Workstation cards they work best with. Also, this will give us a baseline for RAM/HDD/CPU/PSU...
Learning - A never ending quest for knowledge usually attained by being thrown in a situation and told to fix it NOW.
Learning - A never ending quest for knowledge usually attained by being thrown in a situation and told to fix it NOW.
first class desktop business computer ≠ spreadsheets, word processing, 2d cad and heavy internet browsing
Anyway for a computer than can handle everyday tasks and last another 5 years here's my minimum spec list:
Procesor:
Intel i5 3rd Gen 2.5 or 2.7Ghz.
RAM
At least 4GB. Preferably 8GB. You probably won't need 12GB. Though expansion capacity is always good.
HD
Probably a SSD for OS.
SATA for files.
Seagate, you'll have to determine sizes based on your storage needs.
MB
Intel® DP67BA
Graphics
Standard Geforce 210 should be enough.
----------------------------------
Phil AKA Vacunita
----------------------------------
Ignorance is not necessarily Bliss, case in point:
Unknown has caused an Unknown Error on Unknown and must be shutdown to prevent damage to Unknown.
Web & Tech
Anyway for a computer than can handle everyday tasks and last another 5 years here's my minimum spec list:
Procesor:
Intel i5 3rd Gen 2.5 or 2.7Ghz.
RAM
At least 4GB. Preferably 8GB. You probably won't need 12GB. Though expansion capacity is always good.
HD
Probably a SSD for OS.
SATA for files.
Seagate, you'll have to determine sizes based on your storage needs.
MB
Intel® DP67BA
Graphics
Standard Geforce 210 should be enough.
----------------------------------
Phil AKA Vacunita
----------------------------------
Ignorance is not necessarily Bliss, case in point:
Unknown has caused an Unknown Error on Unknown and must be shutdown to prevent damage to Unknown.
Web & Tech
- Thread starter
- #5
Here is some fine tuning:
- Intel CPU near top of the line (i7?) - last CPU was AMD which worked fine; so no
particular bias against AMD; Don't mind saving some money if my needs are such
that I wouldn't notice a downgrade
- A well cooled case; otherwise nothing fancy (bad design on last one caused
plastic attachment tangs on front panel of last one to break which was pretty
annoying)
- Good power supply (650 at least, I think)
- CAD use is pretty lightweight - amateur 2d only, not AutoCad
- 8GB should be enough - last machine only had 1GB
- Would like 2 hard drives as I back up on an internal (I also back up to an
external so a fast connection for that would be really nice) 500GB on each is
plenty but more may be so cheap as to be irrelevant
- Don't have an opinion on video card GEForce 610 was suggested by someone; don't
know the difference between that and a 210
- Probably need a DVD for software but hardly ever use the one I have
Hope that gives some more direction.
- Intel CPU near top of the line (i7?) - last CPU was AMD which worked fine; so no
particular bias against AMD; Don't mind saving some money if my needs are such
that I wouldn't notice a downgrade
- A well cooled case; otherwise nothing fancy (bad design on last one caused
plastic attachment tangs on front panel of last one to break which was pretty
annoying)
- Good power supply (650 at least, I think)
- CAD use is pretty lightweight - amateur 2d only, not AutoCad
- 8GB should be enough - last machine only had 1GB
- Would like 2 hard drives as I back up on an internal (I also back up to an
external so a fast connection for that would be really nice) 500GB on each is
plenty but more may be so cheap as to be irrelevant
- Don't have an opinion on video card GEForce 610 was suggested by someone; don't
know the difference between that and a 210
- Probably need a DVD for software but hardly ever use the one I have
Hope that gives some more direction.
hairlessupportmonkey
IS-IT--Management
How about a dell XPS8500
$1199.
ACSS - SME
General Geek
$1199.
ACSS - SME
General Geek
hairlessupportmonkey
IS-IT--Management
I mean, I love building my own PCs, but if its for business use, get something already made, and with a single warranty. The unit will exceed all your requirements and matches your budget! 
ACSS - SME
General Geek
ACSS - SME
General Geek
goombawaho
MIS
.....and here come flooding the suggestions.
I second the comment that you don't need much hardware to run what you mentioned. Low end machines (Walmart) would handle your needs.
I would second the SSD for the O.S. drive and then a RAID 1 for data storage. Many of the Intel boards and ASUS boards have built in RAID.
Western Digital RE4 drives for the SATA RAID (see how we start arguing)
Memory is cheap, go 8GB w/ 64 bit O.S. required.
I like Antec power supplies and cases (you can both together that way)
Discrete as opposed to integrated video card if you need it.
I second the comment that you don't need much hardware to run what you mentioned. Low end machines (Walmart) would handle your needs.
I would second the SSD for the O.S. drive and then a RAID 1 for data storage. Many of the Intel boards and ASUS boards have built in RAID.
Western Digital RE4 drives for the SATA RAID (see how we start arguing)
Memory is cheap, go 8GB w/ 64 bit O.S. required.
I like Antec power supplies and cases (you can both together that way)
Discrete as opposed to integrated video card if you need it.
Go prebuilt as suggested for least overall trouble for your or your tech dept. But if you want a custom:
2 x 1Tb Wester Digital Black HDDs in Raid 1(as goom stated)
1 x Toshiba SSD 128 or 256GB
2 x 4GB sticks of Kingston RAM DDR3(at least as stated by others above
Windows 7 Pro 64bit(most include reduced price upgrade to Windows 8 and need 64bit for RAM also as stated)
Gigabyte/Asus i5/i7 compatible motherboard
Asus DVD burner
Basic roughly $100 video card, something along the lines of a GTX 550 Ti
Seasonic 550W or above Power Supply
Antec 300 or better case
All that should run you about $1300.
But...... that seems overkill for what you actually need. Basically any stock PC with W7 64bit, 4+ GB of RAM, and a basic video card should do everything you mentioned. Just add additional HDDs. I even think the addition of a SSD is overkill for this particular scenario.
Learning - A never ending quest for knowledge usually attained by being thrown in a situation and told to fix it NOW.
2 x 1Tb Wester Digital Black HDDs in Raid 1(as goom stated)
1 x Toshiba SSD 128 or 256GB
2 x 4GB sticks of Kingston RAM DDR3(at least as stated by others above
Windows 7 Pro 64bit(most include reduced price upgrade to Windows 8 and need 64bit for RAM also as stated)
Gigabyte/Asus i5/i7 compatible motherboard
Asus DVD burner
Basic roughly $100 video card, something along the lines of a GTX 550 Ti
Seasonic 550W or above Power Supply
Antec 300 or better case
All that should run you about $1300.
But...... that seems overkill for what you actually need. Basically any stock PC with W7 64bit, 4+ GB of RAM, and a basic video card should do everything you mentioned. Just add additional HDDs. I even think the addition of a SSD is overkill for this particular scenario.
Learning - A never ending quest for knowledge usually attained by being thrown in a situation and told to fix it NOW.
O.k so here's my shopping list from what is available at Newegg.com.
Some of the things in the list may be a bit of overkill. The SD drive may not be necessary. The Video: card perhaps a discrete one is all you need. The power source while 750 may much, its important to always have enough power for everything inside, so better more power than not enough.
So you can probably trim some things out for a cheaper setup.
----------------------------------
Phil AKA Vacunita
----------------------------------
Ignorance is not necessarily Bliss, case in point:
Unknown has caused an Unknown Error on Unknown and must be shutdown to prevent damage to Unknown.
Web & Tech
Code:
1 Sony Optiarc 24X DVD Burner, Bulk Package Black SATA Model AD-7280S-0B - OEM
$17.99
1 HEC 6T Series 6T16BB Black SECC Steel ATX Mini Tower Computer Case
$29.99
2 Seagate Constellation ES ST500NM0011 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Enterprise Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
($89.99 each)
1 GIGABYTE GV-N550D5-1GI GeForce GTX 550 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
$119.99
1 Antec EarthWatts Series EA-750 Green 750W ATX12V v2.3 SLI Certified CrossFire
$99.99
1 SYBA USB 3.0 4 External Ports PCI-e Controller Card with Molex Power Feed, Etron ChipModel SY-PEX20136
$18.99
1 G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL
$41.99
1 GIGABYTE GA-Z68XP-UD3P LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
$159.99
1 Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 ...
$219.99
1 OCZ Agility 3 AGT3-25SAT3-240G 2.5" 240GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
$169.99
Subtotal: $1,058.89Some of the things in the list may be a bit of overkill. The SD drive may not be necessary. The Video: card perhaps a discrete one is all you need. The power source while 750 may much, its important to always have enough power for everything inside, so better more power than not enough.
So you can probably trim some things out for a cheaper setup.
----------------------------------
Phil AKA Vacunita
----------------------------------
Ignorance is not necessarily Bliss, case in point:
Unknown has caused an Unknown Error on Unknown and must be shutdown to prevent damage to Unknown.
Web & Tech
- Thread starter
- #11
In response to those that suggest I buy something off-the-shelf from Dell, I would say that my experience with Dell over the years has been less than satisfactory - we've had at least three of them here in the office and my wife bought one for the house. They've always been slow (maybe I bought the wrong ones but I've always bought what was suggested by Dell Sales), and I absolutely hate their practice of loading up their machines with all kinds of promotional crap. I know I can hire someone to get rid of it but, to me, that's expensive brain damage that I shouldn't have to deal with. Maybe that's how they keep their prices down but it's not worth it to me.
On the other hand, my last computers (the one bought in 2007 and its predecessor) were homebrews, both pretty much flawless except for power supplies (one each).
I think I'm in for another homebrew but, in deference to the experts who've been kind enough to offer assistance, I'll check out the latest offerings from Dell. Thanks, especially, for suggesting exactly which Dell product to buy. And thanks to everyone for their specific hardware suggestions. I've got some studying to do but it's always fun to get a new machine!
Thanks again and keep the suggestions coming.
On the other hand, my last computers (the one bought in 2007 and its predecessor) were homebrews, both pretty much flawless except for power supplies (one each).
I think I'm in for another homebrew but, in deference to the experts who've been kind enough to offer assistance, I'll check out the latest offerings from Dell. Thanks, especially, for suggesting exactly which Dell product to buy. And thanks to everyone for their specific hardware suggestions. I've got some studying to do but it's always fun to get a new machine!
Thanks again and keep the suggestions coming.
rclarke250
Technical User
OK, I'll toss one out, this is actually a build I am running, but mine has a higher end video card for gaming, and no raid, because it's just a gaming rig, and backups to my local nas are good enough for it.
15-3350p New I5 no integrated graphics, not needed with an video card. 189.99
Antec 300 illusion Nice case, great heat dissipation. 69.99
DVD-RW DVD-rw 16.99
SSD Crucial M4 256gb 199.99 I love this drive, and it screams.
WD red 1 TB western digital red drives, new drives better for raid. 99.99 x 2
8 GB memory kit Corsair vengeance 1600 8 GB for 39.99
Motherboard MSI military grade z77a-g45 129.99
Power supply Corsair 600w builder series 69.99
MSI 55ti Nice video card for the money 139.99
Win 7 pro x64 139.99
Total 1196.89 Not including rebates,shipping,or coded sales. This is overkill for what you need now, but who knows in 3-5 years, and this system should still be fast enough to keep up with the newer stuff you would put on it. But as Goom says, this purely subjective, and really, any top tier system board that supports the newer I5 should be good, as well as Hard drives, but man, is it nice to be able to boot a system, and be on the internet in less than 30 seconds.
15-3350p New I5 no integrated graphics, not needed with an video card. 189.99
Antec 300 illusion Nice case, great heat dissipation. 69.99
DVD-RW DVD-rw 16.99
SSD Crucial M4 256gb 199.99 I love this drive, and it screams.
WD red 1 TB western digital red drives, new drives better for raid. 99.99 x 2
8 GB memory kit Corsair vengeance 1600 8 GB for 39.99
Motherboard MSI military grade z77a-g45 129.99
Power supply Corsair 600w builder series 69.99
MSI 55ti Nice video card for the money 139.99
Win 7 pro x64 139.99
Total 1196.89 Not including rebates,shipping,or coded sales. This is overkill for what you need now, but who knows in 3-5 years, and this system should still be fast enough to keep up with the newer stuff you would put on it. But as Goom says, this purely subjective, and really, any top tier system board that supports the newer I5 should be good, as well as Hard drives, but man, is it nice to be able to boot a system, and be on the internet in less than 30 seconds.
goombawaho
MIS
Note to posters and OP - if you want to have RAID, you have to go with "enterprise class drives" that play well in a RAID environment, thus my suggestion of W.D. RE4. If no RAID then use whatever H.D.D. brand/model.
goombawaho
MIS
Yet another tack-on post, this time defending Dell. There is no such thing as a slow computer from a hardware perspective unless you buy a slow computer - e.g. celeron with 512MB RAM running Windows 7.
Most of the time, it's the software load that a computer has to carry that makes it slow. Too many startup items, resource-intensive anti-virus programs, etc.
95% of the time it's lack of memory (not the machine's fault) or the software running. I have seen some machines that just seem slower than they should be and those are the head-scratchers.
All the manufacturer's seem to put their "promotional crapware" on their computers now to brag about what they're including. But 10 pounds of junk is not better than 2 pounds of junk.
My first post should have said: Decide on building your own vs. buying as step 1.
Most of the time, it's the software load that a computer has to carry that makes it slow. Too many startup items, resource-intensive anti-virus programs, etc.
95% of the time it's lack of memory (not the machine's fault) or the software running. I have seen some machines that just seem slower than they should be and those are the head-scratchers.
All the manufacturer's seem to put their "promotional crapware" on their computers now to brag about what they're including. But 10 pounds of junk is not better than 2 pounds of junk.
My first post should have said: Decide on building your own vs. buying as step 1.
rclarke250
Technical User
Actually the WD red line is new, and suited for NAS and raid. I've been running WD green drives in my NAS in a raid 1 for 3.5 years, never had a drop, or a bad drive. 24/7, never gets shut off. Used for weekly backups, and as a media server.
- Thread starter
- #16
I'm back after a few days away from computers. I genuinely appreciate all the suggestions. Thanks to the education you all have provided, I'm confident I can get everything I want (and probably some stuff I don't even need) for my budget. I would probably be more willing to buy something off the shelf if it was relatively easy to strip it all down to just hardware and Windows 7 - no add-on vendor promotional crap, but I'm not knowledgeable enough to do that - I've tried and it seems some of that stuff just can't be removed. Is it possible to irrevocably get rid of that stuff and, if so, what would be a reasonable price to pay a free-lancer to do it?
goombawaho
MIS
The best way to do that is to (re)load Windows 7 from scratch over the existing OEM installation. You just need a Windows 7 DVD and the key code from the side of your computer and you have the ultimate stripper install.
If you want to hire it done, plan on it taking 1 hour (usually the minimum billable increment) to get it done. People vary wildly from free-lancers ($50 per hour) to name brand companies ($85 - $100 per hour).
Please don't get someone off Craig's List that proudly proclaims: "I'll fix any computer problem for $20" and I'd stay away from Geek Squad.
Then put some anti-virus on there (Microsoft Security Essentials is free) and any programs you need and you have a clean computer.
@RClark250 - you got lucky on those Greens, for sure... I've seen RAIDs go bad with those drives, who also where on 24/7, and the age of the drives no less than 2 yrs old... where as with the RE3 and RE4 drives, seen them still kicking at 5 yrs plus... now as to the REDs, seen them, but have no hands on experience, but if they are better than the Greens, then by all means get them instead, and if budgets allow, then get the Enterprise models...
qbfr - When a customer comes to me and wants me to remove the crap installs. I usually tell them that it is easier and quicker, to just go ahead and do a fresh install, then to remove the crap, as you've noted, some do need special apps to remove (e.g. a certain AV named after a British Motorcycle) as they are too deeply integrated into the OS...
Rule of thumb: before one does a fresh install, one should get all the drivers for said machine and OS...
Ben
"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."
How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.
Only ask questions with yes/no answers if you want "yes" or "no"
qbfr - When a customer comes to me and wants me to remove the crap installs. I usually tell them that it is easier and quicker, to just go ahead and do a fresh install, then to remove the crap, as you've noted, some do need special apps to remove (e.g. a certain AV named after a British Motorcycle) as they are too deeply integrated into the OS...
Rule of thumb: before one does a fresh install, one should get all the drivers for said machine and OS...
Ben
"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."
How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.
Only ask questions with yes/no answers if you want "yes" or "no"
- Thread starter
- #19
Well, doing a fresh OS install is a pretty obvious way to get rid of all the crap, I guess. Even I can do that. But I didn't realize some programs will even survive that - I've noticed that the The Brit bike AV is particularly tenacious. Good advice on having the drivers handy. Thanks.
goombawaho
MIS
No, you misunderstood. Nothing will survive a full format/reload. That applied to "removal without a reload" requiring a special app to remove.
And I confess, I have no idea what software you are referring to. Why not name it??
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