Building my Workstation

[GoStumpy]

1. What YOUR PC will be used for.

PC will be used for business, the front desk workstation. No gaming whatsoever.

2. What YOUR budget is.

Trying to keep under $1000 including monitor & OS

3. What country

Canada, from Newegg.ca

5. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc.

WD, Intel, Seasonic

6. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts

Luckily I still have an 8GB (2x4GB) memory kit from when they were cheap, so I'll be using that. Does not count towards total $.

8. What resolution, not monitor size, will you be using?

22" monitor resolution not a big deal, doesn't have to be HD.

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?

A month or so

X. Do you need to purchase any software to go with the system, such as Windows or Blu Ray playback software?

Windows 7 Professional, and our own company software.




The programs we use are not very intensive, so I'd be willing to bet anything currently made would run them fine... most businesses that use these programs are using very old (2005 era) computers. Some even older. Requirements from the website are:

1GHz + Processor
•[FONT=Myriad Pro,Myriad Pro][FONT=Myriad Pro,Myriad Pro]•[/FONT][/FONT]2GB+ RAM
•[FONT=Myriad Pro,Myriad Pro][FONT=Myriad Pro,Myriad Pro]•[/FONT][/FONT]4GB available Hard Drive space
•[FONT=Myriad Pro,Myriad Pro][FONT=Myriad Pro,Myriad Pro]•[/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Myriad Pro,Myriad Pro][FONT=Myriad Pro,Myriad Pro]Windows 7 Professional[/FONT][/FONT]


Here is what I have so far:

Antec GX500 Mid Tower Case $50
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16811129191

SeaSonic SSR360GP 360W 80 PLUS GOLD $70
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16817151117

GIGABYTE GA-H81M-DS2V LGA 1150 Intel H81 $55
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16813128667

Intel Core i3-4150 Haswell Dual-Core 3.5GHz $122
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16819116995

Western Digital WD BLACK WD1003FZEX 1TB 7200 RPM $80
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16822236339

ACER G6 23" LED Monitor $135
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16824009421

Microsoft Wired Desktop 400 for Business $21
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...16823109325CVF

ASUS DVD-Writer $20
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16827135305

Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 64-bit - OEM $140
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16832416804

Rosewill RDCR-11004 Card Reader $30
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16820223120

Coolermaster 4-pack Case Fans $17
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16835103052

Tripp Lite Surge Protector $12
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...16842111075CVF

Total comes to $931.76 including shipping & taxes.

_UPDATED_

Any thoughts? Something I might be missing? We will be doing cloud backup as well as the external harddrive, I do want redundancy for our images & files.

Or just tell me I'm amazing and nailed it first try, that'll work too ;-)

 

[Blain]

1. What YOUR PC will be used for.

PC will be used for business, the front desk workstation. No gaming whatsoever.

2. What YOUR budget is.

Trying to keep under $1000 including monitor & OS

3. What country

Canada, from Newegg.ca
...
Total comes to $941

Any thoughts? Something I might be missing? We will be doing cloud backup as well as the external harddrive, I do want redundancy for our images & files.

Or just tell me I'm amazing and nailed it first try, that'll work too ;-)

Waste of $CAD$ for regular desktop tasks, monitor and an external.

Let's start...
No memory listed
Get 4GB G.Skill Ripjaws F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL (1600, CAS 9, 1.5v) @ $46 + shipping

i3 @ $122 + shipping is overkill
G3220 @ $60 + shipping instead

Radeon HD 5450 @ $35 + $15 shipping not needed at all
G3220 HD instead

WD 1TB Blue @ $60 + shipping
Not needed unless storage capacity of the SSD isn't enough

Intel 530 120GB @ $120 + shipping not needed unless you're a solid fanboy
Crucial M550 128GB @ $100 + shipping instead

Windows 7 Pro @ $150 + shipping not needed unless you must run programs in XP Mode or use Windows to backup on a network
Windows 7 Home Premium @ $100 + shipping instead

If Newegg CA charges tax on purchases, you should consider that in the budget as well as shipping costs.

 

[kevinsbane]

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16820148820
Crucial Mx100 in Canada, free shipping, 2x the space, same price as the Intel SSD.

 

[MustISO]

I would grab a Dell for around $499 US:

Intel Core i3-4130 Processor 3.4GHz
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional (64-bit)
8GB DDR3-1600 RAM
1TB 7,200RPM Hard Drive
Intel HD
DVDRW Drive
8-in-1 Media Card Reader
10/100/1000 Network
802.11n Wireless
Bluetooth

Add a hard drive if you need to and the monitor.

 

[mfenn]

I would grab a Dell for around $499 US:

Intel Core i3-4130 Processor 3.4GHz
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional (64-bit)
8GB DDR3-1600 RAM
1TB 7,200RPM Hard Drive
Intel HD
DVDRW Drive
8-in-1 Media Card Reader
10/100/1000 Network
802.11n Wireless
Bluetooth

Add a hard drive if you need to and the monitor.

Agree on the Dell (Lenovo would be fine too). I don't see the point in building a PC for light office applications, especially not one that's going to be used in a business.

I'd pick up the base model Optiplex 3020 and then enjoy not having to think about the computer again for 3 years.

 

[GoStumpy]

Waste of $CAD$ for regular desktop tasks, monitor and an external.

Let's start...
No memory listed
Get 4GB G.Skill Ripjaws F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL (1600, CAS 9, 1.5v) @ $46 + shipping

i3 @ $122 + shipping is overkill
G3220 @ $60 + shipping instead

Radeon HD 5450 @ $35 + $15 shipping not needed at all
G3220 HD instead

WD 1TB Blue @ $60 + shipping
Not needed unless storage capacity of the SSD isn't enough

Intel 530 120GB @ $120 + shipping not needed unless you're a solid fanboy
Crucial M550 128GB @ $100 + shipping instead

Windows 7 Pro @ $150 + shipping not needed unless you must run programs in XP Mode or use Windows to backup on a network
Windows 7 Home Premium @ $100 + shipping instead

If Newegg CA charges tax on purchases, you should consider that in the budget as well as shipping costs.

No memory listed because I stated that "parts I already have" is a set of 8GB Ram from when ram was $40 for 8GB...

I do like Intel SSD's, but Crucial and Samsung are on my list as well. I definitely need another HDD for storage purposes, we will be taking a very large amount of photos that have to be stored for I think 5 years. I still do not 100% trust SSD's as I've had a couple lock up, I want to keep my sensitive business files on an old school HDD. But I want the snappiness of an SSD.

Win7 Pro is necessary due to the programs I will be using for business.

I will take your advice on the processor, however, the Pentium chips are plenty powerful for simple workstation tasks. Is this going to be OK for large spreadsheets, and serious multi-tasking with java and other things in the background?

I merely put a dedicated video card on there to make sure the processor doesn't have to worry about doing that, but if onboard video is as good or better than a Radeon 5450, then there's no point...

 

[GoStumpy]

Agree on the Dell (Lenovo would be fine too). I don't see the point in building a PC for light office applications, especially not one that's going to be used in a business.

I'd pick up the base model Optiplex 3020 and then enjoy not having to think about the computer again for 3 years.

I guess because I'm a nerd that builds computers on the side and see this as an opportunity to build one for my business?

I'd really rather not get a pre-built PC of any sort... I hate to think there's some proprietary crap that I can't fix or change because it's a Dell or a Lenovo....


_EDIT_

I updated my original posting with some changes, removed the SSD and chose a BLACK series WD instead. I also removed the video card, as it was unnecessary. I do not have ram listed because I still have an unused 8GB (2x4GB) kit from when they were $35.

From the parts I have listed, that would be a very nice machine, far better than any prebuilt, and I don't think I'm spending any more... the $940 includes a 23" monitor, and the Dell machines were all at least $750 without a monitor....

 

[mfenn]

I guess because I'm a nerd that builds computers on the side and see this as an opportunity to build one for my business?

I'd really rather not get a pre-built PC of any sort... I hate to think there's some proprietary crap that I can't fix or change because it's a Dell or a Lenovo....

If you're thinking like a businessman, you have to consider the TCO of the computer.

How much do you value your time? If you're paying yourself more than $0, then picking out the parts, building it, troubleshooting it, and doing repairs (vs a dude shows up at your business and fixes it), will quickly make a self-built machine more expensive.

I'd say that anyone who thinks an Optiplex is "crap" hasn't worked with too many Optiplex's. They're built like tanks and incredibly quick and easy to service. Since they're produced have long warranties and are produced by the millions, you also (a) don't have to pay for parts while it's in warranty and (b) after it's out of warranty, parts will be available for a long time. Try getting a GA-H81M-DS2V board in 5 years, it'll probably be pretty hard. Sure you can find a substitute or upgrade, but that's more time that you have to spend re-validating and reconfiguring the whole thing.

It's your money and your business, but don't fool yourself into thinking that a self-built machine has a lower TCO.

 

[GoStumpy]

How much do you value your time? If you're paying yourself more than $0, then picking out the parts, building it, troubleshooting it, and doing repairs (vs a dude shows up at your business and fixes it), will quickly make a self-built machine more expensive.

Building a PC is something I would do for free any day of the week. As well as maintaining it. I thoroughly do enjoy the nitty gritty of speccing, designing, and building a PC.

I don't see any benefit to the Optiplex over a homebuilt PC other than people that don't want to deal with building or maintaining a computer and just want to buy one off the shelf. That is something I really don't want to ever do again. I take pride in the PC's I build, I can't take pride in a Dell I bought.

Just because it's a business PC doesn't mean I can't use it as an excuse to apply my hobby and build one..

I'm asking for advice on parts, not whether to use a Dell Optiplex instead please

 

[Charlie98]

I do like Intel SSD's, but Crucial and Samsung are on my list as well. I definitely need another HDD for storage purposes, we will be taking a very large amount of photos that have to be stored for I think 5 years. I still do not 100% trust SSD's as I've had a couple lock up, I want to keep my sensitive business files on an old school HDD. But I want the snappiness of an SSD.

I will take your advice on the processor, however, the Pentium chips are plenty powerful for simple workstation tasks. Is this going to be OK for large spreadsheets, and serious multi-tasking with java and other things in the background?

I merely put a dedicated video card on there to make sure the processor doesn't have to worry about doing that, but if onboard video is as good or better than a Radeon 5450, then there's no point...

I've got an Intel 530 120GB I put in a budget build... I really like it but would easily take a Crucial MX100 and save some loot. SSDs are great, but I have lost an OS SSD before... so I have multiple data and system backups (that is to say more than one.)

I think the Pentium CPU is pretty solid, I have 3 in use right now (a G620 and 2 G3220s) and am very pleased with their performance... I wouldn't think you would have a problem given your stated use. You could make a case for the i3, though, including the better on-board graphics (even better than that found on the Pentium) negating the cost of a GPU; you could turn and plow that money into the better chip.

I would make the GPU a "try it without it first" kind of thing... it's easy enough to add a GPU later if the on-board graphics don't work out.

 

[Essence_of_War]

I don't see any benefit to the Optiplex over a homebuilt PC other than people that don't want to deal with building or maintaining a computer

Other than??? That's exactly the point of the Optiplex. When I'm messing around with my home gaming PC, the absolute worst case scenario is that I'm unable to game for a little bit if I mess something up. I can always read, or walk, or watch TV, or finally try to train my cats to dance for my amusement.

If something goes wrong with a business workstation, the user's productivity takes a huge hit until the issue is resolved. The reason most businesses value on-site, next-day repair warranty/agreements is because they've done the math. Employees generate value to the company, employees who don't have the correct tools to do the work they've been employed to do cannot generate value for the company. Salaried employees are still "costing" the company money even if their lack of usable tools is preventing them from adding value. If your employee's work is held up because you're troubleshooting which component has caused the issue, eating the cost of the new component, or possibly worse, waiting on an RMA, what is the cost? The direct financial cost might be small, but consider the opportunity costs in lost work!

You don't need to see additional benefits to the Optiplex (and its equivalents from Lenovo/HP et al), those are the benefits, and they are significant.

 

[GoStumpy]

My last two employers had a dedicated IT department, and it was a pain waiting for them to fix problems I know I could fix myself.

I will be the IT department of our business (only two employees including myself).

Why wait a day or more for someone else to come fix my computer when I can fix it myself within hours? Computers are pretty damn simple, and there's not much that can 'go wrong' physically.

Charlie98:
I've removed the SSD from my build just because I think it might be unnecessary.. a good regular HDD like a WD Black should do the trick.

I've also built a PC with the Pentium G620, and was impressed at the performance for everyday tasks, but I'm worried when I have 3 programs open, large spreadsheets, and am using Java based online tools all at the same time... I think the i3 with Hyperthreading would help there?

 

[Charlie98]

Why wait a day or more for someone else to come fix my computer when I can fix it myself within hours? Computers are pretty damn simple, and there's not much that can 'go wrong' physically.

Charlie98:
I've removed the SSD from my build just because I think it might be unnecessary.. a good regular HDD like a WD Black should do the trick.

I've also built a PC with the Pentium G620, and was impressed at the performance for everyday tasks, but I'm worried when I have 3 programs open, large spreadsheets, and am using Java based online tools all at the same time... I think the i3 with Hyperthreading would help there?

Yes and no. I would be curious which would help more... an SSD with faster read and writes, or an i3 (vs Pentium) with better compute power? Personally, I would take (I did take, in my last 3 builds...) the SSD and the lower processor over the spinner/i3 or i5. ...and maybe that's what made my initial Pentium look so good. I bought the G620 with pretty low expectations... but was very pleasantly surprised, so much so that I used G3220's in my next 2 builds even when budget wasn't much of an issue.

I see the benefits to buying a quality prebuilt, but I'm sort of with you... I build my own office machines, using good components, knowing that if something fails (it has...) I can run down to MicroCenter or elsewhere and have it fixed and running in less than 4 hours. But to each his own.

 

[GoStumpy]

I decided to donate my 19" spare monitor, keyboard, and omit a couple fancy things that can be done without... What I ended up with is a total of only $512.67 including 12% tax and shipping.

Parts:

Antec GX500 Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case $49.99 + tax
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16811129191

GIGABYTE GA-H81M-DS2V LGA 1150 Intel H81 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard $54.99 + tax
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16813128667

Intel Pentium G3220 Haswell Dual-Core 3.0GHz LGA 1150 54W Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics BX80646G3220 $59.99
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16819116950

SeaSonic SS-300ET Bronze 300W ATX12V V2.3 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply - OEM $39.99
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16817151086

Western Digital WD Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive Bare Drive - OEM $54.99
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16822136769

ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM $17.99
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16827135204

Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 64-bit - OEM $139.99
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16832416804


All items are on sale, up to 20% off or for Win7 it's 8% off... savings is savings!

Just pulled the trigger, looking forward to building.

Thanks for reminding me that it's a workplace PC and doesn't need fancy parts!

 

[Charlie98]

Just FYI... that mobo doesn't have a USB3 header for the case ports.

And... just for the record... I would have went with an SSD

 

[GoStumpy]

Good catch!

Sucks a bit, but not too worried... I have no USB3 items and don't see myself getting any

Nice case though, eh?? I'm really looking forward to working with it... seems like a good looking design with nice cooling from factory with 3 fans.. and a fan controller!

 

[Charlie98]

Just be aware, with the USB3 ports on the case... you won't be able to use them at all (unless it has a dual USB2 cable... I didn't check.) ...and that's a full ATX case, your mobo is a mATX, if size matters.

I like twin fans up front... way easier to get positive case pressure. Looks like a decent case to build in.

 

[GoStumpy]

The Motherboard I had picked has 4 x USB 2.0 Internal I/O Connectors, would that allow front USB to work?


With that advice, do you think this is a better Motherboard then? I do want the front USB ports to be functional, USB3.0 is a luxury, but I do want to be able to use a thumbdrive without reaching around the back of the PC.

Gigabyte GA-H81-D3
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...2E16813128665&

Still have time to change, it's $20 more but has USB3.0 ports & full ATX size....

-edit2- I notice the board I originally picked only has 2 Fan headers, and the ATX board mentioned above has 3... There are 3 fans in the case, not sure if the top two operate on the same fan header or not.

-edit-

And for the record, I have a set of Corsair XMS3 8GB (2x4GB) Memory going into the machine.

 

[Charlie98]

No... still no USB3.0 header.

You need something like this.

 

[GoStumpy]

Are you sure? They both list the same

Internal I/O Connectors

Onboard USB 2 x USB 3.0 + 4 x USB 2.0

I like the one you listed, surprised I didn't see it.. I like that it has VGA, DVI, and HDMI for video.. the one I picked only has VGA.

Have never seen the B series chipset..

I think I might switch tomorrow morning.

 

[escrow4]

Pentium is a bad idea. There is a reason that next to all business PC's come with an i3 minimum, you'll want the grunt in reserve, as well as longevity.

 

[Charlie98]

Are you sure? They both list the same

I like the one you listed, surprised I didn't see it.. I like that it has VGA, DVI, and HDMI for video.. the one I picked only has VGA.

Have never seen the B series chipset..

I think I might switch tomorrow morning.

No, they are talking about the USB ports on the rear mobo I/O panel. What you are looking for is a USB 3.0 mobo header... Look at the image of the mobo I linked, right next to the 24-pin plug is the USB3 header... it looks like a TPM header, but it's not.

FWIW, I have two boards... my old Z68 and the H81 I just built. I didn't realize the H81 didn't have a USB3 header, so I had to get a PCIe adapter card to plug the case USB3 plug into to be able to use the front case USB3.0 ports. It's a pain and for the cost of the card, I could have gotten a better board.

If you look at the side image of your case, look at the gang of wires.... the wire with the blue plug... that is your USB3 plug. I've seen a case that had dual connectors... to be able to use the case plugs without a USB3 header, but I don't know if your case will have that, it doesn't say at NE.

 

[GoStumpy]

Pentium is a bad idea. There is a reason that next to all business PC's come with an i3 minimum, you'll want the grunt in reserve, as well as longevity.

Considering most of the industry is using Core2Duo or AthlonII at the most, and some still use P4's, I think the Pentium will be fine for quite a while.

And it's HALF the cost of the cheapest i3.

 

[escrow4]

Considering most of the industry is using Core2Duo or AthlonII at the most, and some still use P4's, I think the Pentium will be fine for quite a while.

And it's HALF the cost of the cheapest i3.

And they are all dog slow likely running XP especially when you've used something vaguely modern.

 

[GoStumpy]

My current workstation is a 1.0ghz single core, 1gb of ram, and 40gb of HDD... I'm sure I'll be pleased with the upgrade