Need help with office/admin PC build

I am looking for advice on a build to perform web browsing and office/admin type work and maybe mild game usage. I'm not committed to any of the listed components from PC Hound. I would like to stay with a variation of the i5 CPU and I've used ASUS on my higher end build which I like. I understand that I may be able to use an H97 since I'm not OC'ing. I've used Corsair Power in the past with no problems but I've read SeaSonic is better so I'm willing to try it. Other than CPU and MB brand, I'm open to changing whatever needs to be changed. Thanks in advance and I appreciate your help!

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Web browsing, admin type work, maybe mild gaming
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$1,000usd, yes
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.

US, Towson, Maryland
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
CPU, RAM, case, MOBO, monitor, PS, storage, DVD, OS, Keyboard/mouse
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
I do have a Crucial 128gb SSD from a previous build
6) Will you be overclocking?
No
7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
Shooting for 24", 1920x1080
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
1-2 weeks
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? UEFI? etc.
Onboard video as main GPU, USB 3.0, SATA 6Gb/s
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
No, but will get Win 7 Home Premium 64bit


PC Hound Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690 ($213.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASUS Z97-A ($119.97 @ TigerDirect)
Memory: G.SKILL 16GB (2 x 8GB) Ripjaws X Series ($123.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 550W G Series SSR-550RM ($86.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: WD 2TB BLACK SERIES WD2003FZEX ($114.99 @ Best Buy)
Case: Fractal Design Define R5 FD-CA-DEF-R5-BK ($109.99 @ NCIX US)
Windows: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Monitor: ASUS VN248H-P ($167.58 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS ($19.99 @ TigerDirect)
Networking: TP-LINK TL-WDN4800 ($35.39 @ Amazon)
Total: $1,082.87
Price may include shipping, rebates, promotions, and tax
Generated by PC Hound

If you're in Towson, I'd go to Microcenter to pick up things like the motherboard, CPU, etc. Their combo deals are great and if you have any issues it's easy to return.

Do the applications you use require 16GB of RAM. 8GB should be plenty for your use assuming it's just office applications, email and browsing.
For office use I would go for a cheaper case to save some money and spend it elsewhere.

Yes, I thought about Microcenter. Hate paying 6% sales tax though

I could get away using 8GB of RAM as long as it will be enough for Win7 64bit.
That case doesn't matter too much to me as long as it's attractive. This is for the wife so styling is everything!

Check to see the price after the combo discount, may be cheaper than online even with sales tax.

You might want to pay a little extra for a monitor with DVI input, or buy a discrete AMD card if you don't want to deal with restricted RGB range over HDMI.

https://communities.intel.com/thread/29420?start=60&tstart=0

AFAIK, Nvidia has similar issues. HDMI is an annoying format saddled with cruft from the years it was HDTV-only.

If you don't care, then don't worry. It will work just fine, just won't have true colors.

Wingnut225 said:

Yes, I thought about Microcenter. Hate paying 6% sales tax though

Click to expand...

How long is the drive to Microcenter? At 6% sales tax and depending on how long the drive is, you might be better off buying a CPU and mobo from there.

Wingnut225 said:

I could get away using 8GB of RAM as long as it will be enough for Win7 64bit.

Click to expand...

I really wouldn't recommend using Windows 7 HP nowadays considering that it's getting rather old these days and support for it is going to end. So I recommend going with Windows 8.1. As for the RAM, considering that 16GB of RAM is pretty cheap compared to just three months ago, I say go for 16GB of RAM if possible. I recommend this cheaper and equally performing RAM instead:
$115 - Crucial BLS2KIT8G3D1609DS1S00 Ballistix Sport 2 x 8GB DDR3 1600 RAM

Disagree on no Windows 7 hp dang:

In six months he will get a free upgrade to Windows ten no matter which he chooses

defaultluser said:

Disagree on no Windows 7 hp dang:

In six months he will get a free upgrade to Windows ten no matter which he chooses

Click to expand...

I'm a bit skeptical of Microsoft's plan for free Windows 10 upgrades. As such, I'd rather err on the side of caution and recommend Windows 8.1 just in case the plan fails or changes.

Dangman said:

I really wouldn't recommend using Windows 7 HP nowadays considering that it's getting rather old these days and support for it is going to end

Click to expand...

Mainstream support ended in January, but it will have extended support until 2020. It's not like Windows 7 will stop receiving updates and security fixes. Windows 8/8.1 only gets you an additional 3 years and the pain known as Metro.

Dangman said:

I'm a bit skeptical of Microsoft's plan for free Windows 10 upgrades. As such, I'd rather err on the side of caution and recommend Windows 8.1 just in case the plan fails or changes.

Click to expand...

There's really nothing to be skeptical about. They had the $25 or so upgrade from 7 to 8 and the free upgrade from 8 to 8.1. They've also had similar upgrade deals in the past that were pretty reasonable.

GiGaBiTe said:

Mainstream support ended in January, but it will have extended support until 2020. It's not like Windows 7 will stop receiving updates and security fixes. Windows 8/8.1 only gets you an additional 3 years and the pain known as Metro..

Click to expand...

Considering the planned use, I would not be surprised if the PC is used for 6+ years. As for Metro, a simple download and install fixes the main complaint with Metro.

GiGaBiTe said:

There's really nothing to be skeptical about. They had the $25 or so upgrade from 7 to 8 and the free upgrade from 8 to 8.1. They've also had similar upgrade deals in the past that were pretty reasonable.

Click to expand...

The thing is that MS charged for it. Therefore there were relatively little restrictions. As for 8 to 8.1, that's basically a bloody service pack which MS has never charged for. With the free upgrade, the terms and eligibility of systems able to upgrade are still subject to change since its releases is still several months away.

I see nothing wrong with erring on the side of caution and going with Window 8.1.

If it weren't for the gaming requirement, I'd say go get yourself a NUC.

Just using Newegg vs Hover
(Rounded up to nearest $5 increment)
$420 : NUC
$110 : Memory
$120 : 250GB SSD
$140 : Windows
$170 : Monitor
$ 30 : USB CD/DVD Burner

$990 + Tax and Shipping sole-sourced from Newegg.

A bit of economizing by sourcing from the cheapest places you can find will reduce the price further.
(NCIX will save you $50 on Windows)

While performance won't be QUITE on par with your Hover PC, it'll do just fine for most office work, should handle light gaming okay, and will save a metric fuckton on electricity. Not to mention the absolutely TINY desktop footprint.

The only part I don't understand.

Why a wifi card? If it's supposed to be an office PC, just run a physical line and call it done.

Chas said:

The only part I don't understand.

Why a wifi card? If it's supposed to be an office PC, just run a physical line and call it done.

Click to expand...

This is going into an upstairs bedroom where there is no physical line available. Therefore, wireless will have to do for now.

This build will more than likely last longer than 6 years.

MIcrocenter is close by so I will check them out for the combo deals.

I'll table the Windows version discussion for now.

I think I'll change this to a micro form factor. The one I built for myself is a mid and the wife doesn't want something that big.

The only thing I'm not sure of is the MB. I am thinking of going with the H97 instead of the Z97. Reason being is that there are no plans to OC this build. Are there any other major differences?

Here is my new list:
PC Hound Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 ($198.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M Pro4 ($81.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.SKILL 16GB (2 x 8GB) Ripjaws X Series ($123.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 650W SSR-650RM ($93.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: WD 1TB BLACK SERIES WD1003FZEX ($69.99 @ Amazon)
Case: COOLER MASTER N Series NSE-200-KKN1 N200 ($39.99 @ NCIX US)
Windows: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS ($19.99 @ TigerDirect)
Networking: TP-LINK TL-WDN4800 ($35.39 @ Amazon)
Total: $754.30
Price may include shipping, rebates, promotions, and tax
Generated by PC Hound

If you're looking to keep a small form factor, maybe look at this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188164

EVGA Z97 Stinger (mini-ITX)
Wifi, LGA1150

If The Provider Of BoomBoom dislikes big boxes (and she cannot lie), then look at something nice and compact. And has the wifi built right into it already!

Also, honestly, for the price differential, take the drive to MicroCenter and pick up the $200 4690K.
Even if you never overclock, you wind up with a better processor for the same price.

Wingnut225 said:

The only thing I'm not sure of is the MB. I am thinking of going with the H97 instead of the Z97. Reason being is that there are no plans to OC this build. Are there any other major differences?

Click to expand...

Just generally lack of overclocking capability. With that said, higher-end mobos tends to be Z97 rather than H97.

Wingnut225 said:

I think I'll change this to a micro form factor. The one I built for myself is a mid and the wife doesn't want something that big.

Click to expand...

Hmm.. mITX might be a good idea here. It doesn't look like your wife needs more than 16GB of RAM and a quite a few mITX mobos do have integrated wifi.

Wingnut225 said:

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 ($198.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M Pro4 ($81.98 @ Newegg)]

Click to expand...

If you go mATX:
$269 - Intel Core i5 4690K CPU + Asus H97M-E/CSM mATX Motherboard

If you go mITX:
$255 - Intel Core i5 4690K CPU + Asrock H97M-ITX/AC mITX Motherboard

Both of the above quoted prices already include the 6% sales tax. So they'll end being cheaper than buying online, you'll gain a slightly faster CPU, and faster ability to exchange in case your mobo is a dud. Not to mention that the miTX setup already includes a wifi adapter and therefore helping to lower your overall costs.

Wingnut225 said:

Memory: G.SKILL 16GB (2 x 8GB) Ripjaws X Series ($123.99 @ Newegg)

Click to expand...

Not a good choices for two reasons:
1) This RAM performs the same and is cheaper:
$115 - Crucial BLS2KIT8G3D1609DS1S00 Ballistix Sport 2 x 8GB DDR3 1600 RAM

2) Its tall heatsinks may impede the building of a mITX setup.

Wingnut225 said:

Power Supply: SeaSonic 650W SSR-650RM ($93.99 @ Amazon)

Click to expand...

As of this post, you can get this better quality and quieter Seasonic 650W PSU for only $9 more:
$103 - Seasonic X650 Gold 650W Modular PSU

JUMP on that deal ASAP. Yes your wife does not need anywhere near a 650W PSU but for that price and the quality you're getting, can't really complain.

Wingnut225 said:

Case: COOLER MASTER N Series NSE-200-KKN1 N200 ($39.99 @ NCIX US)

Click to expand...

Good case if you're doing mATX. But if you want mITX, then I recommend these cases:
$40 - Coolermaster Elite 110 mITX Case
$50 - Coolermaster Elite 120 Advanced mITX Case
$50 - Coolermaster Elite 130 mITX Case

I'll be getting the i5-4690K and Asrock H97M-ITX/AC mITX Motherboard this weekend from Microcenter. Also, the Crucial BLS2KIT8G3D1609DS1S00 Ballistix Sport 2 x 8GB DDR3 1600 RAM may be on sale there as well and the Coolermaster Elite 130 mITX Case is on sale for $33!

I ordered the Seasonic X650 Gold 650W Modular PSU and ASUS DVD drive today.

I'll probably install my Crucial 128Gb SSD for OS (version yet to be determined) and get the WD Black 1Tb drive for storage.

I might even up grade my monitor for my photo processing to an Eizo and give my wife my HP ZR24w. Shhh, she'll never know!

I can figure everything else out.

Thanks very much for your time and suggestions!

Chuck