Office PC Build for sister

[Aasum]

Currently don't have a set budget but it most likely will NOT be upgraded after it is built and will be expected to last 5+ years here is my current train of thought. Main use is Microsoft Office and Quick Books. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Current list is based off of my nephews first list is here.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($214.99 @ B&H)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($134.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($172.97 @ Jet)
Storage: Kingston SSDNow UV400 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($66.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Superclocked Video Card  ($113.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill FBM-01 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($69.89 @ OutletPC)
Optical Drive: LG WH14NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer  ($46.89 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Pro OEM 64-bit  ($98.99 @ My Choice Software)
Software: Microsoft Office Home and Business 2016 Software  ($196.94 @ My Choice Software)
Monitor: Asus PB238Q 23.0" 1920x1080 Monitor  ($199.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1331.61
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-11-29 22:02 EST-0500

Edited November 30, 2016 by Aasum

[Mindovermaster Moderator]

What is your sister going to do with it?

[JustGeorge]

For office use, I don't see the logic in the i5 6600 or the GPU. An i3 6100 would work just fine

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=2MN-0004-00002

 

And unless she"s doing photo/video editing, 16GB is more than plenty. Hell 8GB would probably still be ok 5 yrs later.

 

Don't buy a $15 case...Get a decent $50-$60 one at least.

 

BR drive really needed?

 

Consider an external HDD to use for backups!

 

Edited November 30, 2016 by slamfire92

[Max Veteran]

You could tone down most of those options and still have a decent office PC in 5 years time. Maybe put the extra money towards a decent case. Cheap cases are terrible.

 

Also, do you really need the features that W10 Pro offers over the home edition?

[tsupersonic]

Seems like overkill for Microsoft Office and Quick Books. I mean I game, edit photos/videos, and occasionally run VM's fine on just 16 GB of RAM.

 

Also, just know if anything goes wrong, you'll be playing tech support. If you don't mind, great, but I'd buy a prebuilt.

Edited November 30, 2016 by tsupersonic

[T3X4S]

Sometimes there is a need for prebuilt OEMs - like @tsupersonic mentioned - tech support/warranty.  Unless you are always going to be there @ a drop of the hat to help her.

Also, as others have mentioned - for general office work - 32GB is insane.  (and you dont need Corsair RAM - go with Crucial, or mushkin or kingston.  You aren't OC-ing so the only thing you need to concern yourself in terms of RAM is compatibility and reliability.)

Focus on reliability, & compatibility.
You did good with getting a quality PSU - in OEMs - the 2 things that always go out 1st is the PSU or the HDD.

Also, unless you are going to be onsite all of the time - install Teamviewer on there so you can remote in if there are issues.

Dump the blu-ray - unless she needs to watch HD movies - removable media is a thing of the past.

IMO - I would drop to 8GB RAM, and get rid of the blu-ray player - and use that money to get a better case, and maybe a different brand mobo.  Some will argue - but I have never had good luck with Gigabyte products, specifically their mobos - I hate them.  You need to think in terms of the best reliability for a long running PC - go with ASUS mobo.  Stick with the i5, I wouldnt use an i3 if it were on a damned smartphone - but that is my opinion and Ive been called a hardware snob before...

What AV are you going to use ?  Its an office - dont use that free crap.

[PGHammer]

40 minutes ago, Max said:

You could tone down most of those options and still have a decent office PC in 5 years time. Maybe put the extra money towards a decent case. Cheap cases are terrible.

 

Also, do you really need the features that W10 Pro offers over the home edition?

Windows 10 Pro includes a lot of features that would make more sense for a home office compared to 10 Home - they aren't necessarily obvious, though.

Whether or not to drop the BD player depends on the cost-difference between that and a DVD/CD burner; there may NOT be that much difference any more (especially if the BD player also burns DVDs and CDs).

If you run multiple programs at once, that means a greater memory appetite - take advantage of RAM pricing while it's cheap; stick with 16 GB.  Unless you are going to be writing databases in something larger than Excel, 32GB is seriously cuckoo.

Discrete means DX12 at the minimum at the bottom end - like it or not, GTX750 is the bottom end as far as DX12 goes; however, also keep RX4650 and GTX1050 in mind as discrete options, especially with Christmas coming up fast.

Case - ATX; period.  The reason I have stayed with the same ATX case since 2004 is due to being able to easily maneuver in there, and great airflow.  Just because the case is ATX does NOT mean that the motherboard has to be - I've had three consecutive mATX motherboards in this same case - the last is the smallest mATX motherboard I have ever used.

RAM: Vengeance is not the high-priced spread it used to be; however, I wouldn't sneer at Crucial, either.  In either case, look for support for XMP (both offer it).

[adrynalyne]

20 minutes ago, PGHammer said:

Windows 10 Pro includes a lot of features that would make more sense for a home office compared to 10 Home - they aren't necessarily obvious, though.

Whether or not to drop the BD player depends on the cost-difference between that and a DVD/CD burner; there may NOT be that much difference any more (especially if the BD player also burns DVDs and CDs).

If you run multiple programs at once, that means a greater memory appetite - take advantage of RAM pricing while it's cheap; stick with 16 GB.  Unless you are going to be writing databases in something larger than Excel, 32GB is seriously cuckoo.

Discrete means DX12 at the minimum at the bottom end - like it or not, GTX750 is the bottom end as far as DX12 goes; however, also keep RX4650 and GTX1050 in mind as discrete options, especially with Christmas coming up fast.

Case - ATX; period.  The reason I have stayed with the same ATX case since 2004 is due to being able to easily maneuver in there, and great airflow.  Just because the case is ATX does NOT mean that the motherboard has to be - I've had three consecutive mATX motherboards in this same case - the last is the smallest mATX motherboard I have ever used.

RAM: Vengeance is not the high-priced spread it used to be; however, I wouldn't sneer at Crucial, either.  In either case, look for support for XMP (both offer it).

What does Pro contain that makes more sense for home users?

[Aasum]

Currently they do use Avast free. It is a one person operation. @T3X4S what case would you recommend?

[Jim K Global Moderator]

"Main use is Microsoft Office and Quick Books."

 

Your specs are kinda overkill for that purpose.  A simple ol' i3 will suffice, 8-16GB ram (8 will due just fine), lose the GTX750 (didn't see anything about gaming) and use that savings for a bigger SSD (assuming that is the only drive...more space for the "future").  PSU is also a bit overkill (could just do with a 450 or less).  10 Home is all she'll need (unless there is a "Pro" option she needs...which I doubt).

 

My opinion ... and just basing this off of "Office and Quick Books."

[T3X4S]

19 hours ago, Aasum said:

Currently they do use Avast free. It is a one person operation. @T3X4S what case would you recommend?

These have potential.  ~ $50 USD

http://cougargaming.com/products/cases/qbx/

 

As far as the AV - 

When one can get a 3-user license for Webroot for $20 - there is no point at all in going with free anything.
IMO it is the best there is and among the cheapest.

[Circaflex]

For a nice little office computer why not pickup an Intel NUC or a Mini-PC? From the usage, it sounds like it wont need much grunt and you can easily hide a smaller unit in the office.

[T3X4S]

2 minutes ago, Circaflex said:

For a nice little office computer why not pickup an Intel NUC or a Mini-PC? From the usage, it sounds like it wont need much grunt and you can easily hide a smaller unit in the office.

NUC is an awesome little device for sure.  Love those things.  I just talked a friend into getting one for their kitchen computer.  They did have  SFF that was stuck in a cupboard - was overheating, and crashing.  I showed them how we could get a NUC - some industrial strength velcro - and the entire computer is attached/hidden behind the LED.

We went with an i5 with a 64GB M.2 SSD & 4GB RAM - she uses it for browsing, and email - no muss no fuss.

 

[Circaflex]

Yea they are nice little, compact machines, that is for sure. Along with the ability to mount them in obscure places and hide them, can't beat it for an office setup. OP I suggest you take a quick look at a few of them.

[Mindovermaster Moderator]

Too bad my NUC died on me. I think the PSU blew on it...

[Aasum]

1 minute ago, Circaflex said:

Yea they are nice little, compact machines, that is for sure. Along with the ability to mount them in obscure places and hide them, can't beat it for an office setup. OP I suggest you take a quick look at a few of them.

I'll most definitely rely the information. I was just asked for inputs on their project. Current revised list(yes still overkill for the task). Difference in price between Windows 10 Pro and Home is like $10. The Blu-Ray drive difference is like $30.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($104.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($134.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Dominator Platinum 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  ($119.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Kingston SSDNow UV400 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($67.02 @ Newegg)
Case: Cougar Spike MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($33.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG WH14NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer  ($46.89 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Pro OEM 64-bit  ($98.99 @ My Choice Software)
Software: Microsoft Office Home and Business 2016 Software  ($196.94 @ My Choice Software)
Monitor: Asus PB238Q 23.0" 1920x1080 Monitor  ($199.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1073.68
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-11-30 20:22 EST-0500

[+Mirumir Subscriber¹]

Your sister will appreciate a cute case.

 

You should save on the internal components, it's an overkill, and get her a really stylish case.

[LittleFroggy]

1 hour ago, T3X4S said:

These have potential.  ~ $50 USD

http://cougargaming.com/products/cases/qbx/

 

As far as the AV - 

When one can get a 3-user license for Webroot for $20 - there is no point at all in going with free anything.
IMO it is the best there is and among the cheapest.

 

wow.beautiful case. simple, clean but nice.

[T3X4S]

3 hours ago, Aasum said:

I'll most definitely rely the information. I was just asked for inputs on their project. Current revised list(yes still overkill for the task). Difference in price between Windows 10 Pro and Home is like $10. The Blu-Ray drive difference is like $30.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($104.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($134.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Dominator Platinum 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  ($119.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Kingston SSDNow UV400 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($67.02 @ Newegg)
Case: Cougar Spike MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($33.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG WH14NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer  ($46.89 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Pro OEM 64-bit  ($98.99 @ My Choice Software)
Software: Microsoft Office Home and Business 2016 Software  ($196.94 @ My Choice Software)
Monitor: Asus PB238Q 23.0" 1920x1080 Monitor  ($199.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1073.68
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-11-30 20:22 EST-0500

OK - I understand the price difference on 1 choice might be $20, and $20 on another - but you have 2 or 3 other parts here where you could save more money - 

Corsair Dominator PLatinum is just insane in this build - it is like putting having Louis Vuitton matched luggage in a Honda Civic. (16GB doesnt make sense either - even though price difference is small)

(Just by getting a different version of Office - (Office 365 Home) @ $70  would net you enough to go with an i5.
Drop the RAM for 8GB of Mushkin Blackline @ $60.

Those 2 changes would save you $180 - use that money to bump up to Core i5-6500 @ $190.

And you would still be saving $40. (off the top of my head)

Then go with a smaller, but still quality PSU like a 430W Corsair would save you another $20-$30.

Use that money that you saved to get her a nice keyboard & mouse - as those things are important :

Like a Logitech K550 Wave Keyboard Combo - she would appreciate that.