Advice: 5 year Business PC

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BigKat

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Jun 6, 2010
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First off, hello everyone, i was referred to your site by a trusted friend, and he mentioned the knowledge and kindness this forum had to offer! First post, here is goes!

Im looking to build a new business PC. I would like to be able to get 5 years out of it, with that said, i would like good core components that i can easily upgrade around. Also, this is going to be mainly a work PC and i am building it entirely from scratch, so when it comes to cases and fans, LED and noise are not desirable.

Finally before i get the ball rolling, some things that come into mind, so far i have only been useing intel proccessors, help with i5 or i7? DDR3 or better? SSD hard drive? Just some questions on my mind.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
I would really like this PC to be very well rounded. Things to focus on however are very fast internet viewing(email, videos, upload/download), I am also going to be working with multiple big files at once(word, powerpoint, xcel, and some other data analysis programs), that said, I wont need a harddrive bigger then 200gig, a lot of the files come and go, i just need to be able to load and move them quickly. Thirdly, i do not want to be slowed down if i want to zip through some family photos quickly, pop in a blueray dvd, or if a game comes out that i would like to play.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
Flexable, lets start with around $1000? Dont worry about tax or shipping. I would rather spend a some extra then have to buy a new PC in a couple years.

3) Where do you live?
Minnesota, USA

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
I need...
Case
Powersupply
CPU
Heatsink
RAM
Hardrive (ssd?)
Graphics card
Motherboard
CD/dvd drive

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Have mouse and keyboard, other then that pretty much need a full tower.

6) Will you be overclocking?
No

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
Would like to have LED 21" (1900x1080 or 1200), reccomendations?

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Today or Tomorrow, no later then Tuesday.

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
Longevity. I want to be able to get 5 years out of this machine, what do i need to do that?

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? 32bit or 64bit?
I will be purchaseing Windows 7 64bit.

I realize i am asking a lot, and pretty much for a full computer build. I really appreciate any help in picking out great components for this machine.

Thanks again for any help, it is really appreciated,
Will
 
Longevity is more a matter of taking care of your computer, plus a little bit of luck, than it is in trying to obtain the latest and greatest parts. If I were you, I'd expect to swap out at least one component, like the hard drive/SSD or power supply, and/or "upgrade" the operating system at least once during the five years that you want the computer to last. However, some people would recommend sticking with mid-range parts and upgrading/overhauling them more often (at a two- to three-year interval) than trying to make high-end parts last five years or more.

Some of your requirements are contradictory to what computer components are capable of. First, "fast" downloading/uploading is more dependent on your ISP and the Internet service it offers than it is by having the latest Gigabit Ethernet connection. Likewise, you may want no more than 200GB of storage capacity, but a good 120GB or 160GB SSD can cost upwards to nearly (or over) $500 on its own. On the HDD front, the new single-platter 500GB hard drives can compete with the last-gen Raptors and even come within striking distance of the current-gen VelociRaptors.

But before I recommend anything, please answer the following questions:

- Are the operating system and LED monitor included within the parts requirements?
- What's the most that you're willing to spend on this system?
- What's the most resource-intensive program that you'll be running on this system?
- How often do you watch Blu-ray movies? (This is important, as many OEM BD drives don't have any media playback software.)
- Do you anticipate playing any games (that require DirectX 9 or newer) on this system?
 
MrGuvernment said:
i7 930, 8G of ram

SSD if you want fast file if not then a raptor HD
Click to expand...

8gb doesn't even make sense for an i7, its 3, 6, 9, 12, etc. And I would never suggest a raptor to anyone nowadays, most single platter 500gb 7200rpm drives (wd blue, samsung f3) are as fast, if not faster than the raptors.

That being said, @ op, we need to know whether the OS and monitor are in the $1000 budget allotted. If not then I believe you could go with a solid
Phenom II X4 + 890GX + 4GB ram
WD/Samsung 1TB
Corsair/Antec 500-600w
Intel or equivalent SSD.

That way if you ever do decide to game you could purchase the most up to date card in your price range. Until then the onboard video would be plenty for all of your normal non-gaming activities (bluray playback included).
 
lt_shiro said:
is the monitor and os with in the budget?
Click to expand...
No monitor and OS are not in the budget, sorry i should have clarified, any monitor reccomendation is nice. Dont need the latest greatest, just a solid LED 21" 1900x1080, by solid, good color, speed, response

tiraides said:
But before I recommend anything, please answer the following questions:
Click to expand...

- Are the operating system and LED monitor included within the parts requirements?
No, talking about the tower. $1000 is a ballpark, as mentioned, its flexable.
- What's the most that you're willing to spend on this system?
$1500? Lets see when we get there :)
- What's the most resource-intensive program that you'll be running on this system?
Windows Office really, 800+ page word documents, powerpoints with many charts/graphs/spreadsheets, and a data analysis program called SPSS.
- How often do you watch Blu-ray movies? (This is important, as many OEM BD drives don't have any media playback software.)
Let's scratch this and not put it in the budget.
- Do you anticipate playing any games (that require DirectX 9 or newer) on this system?
I would like to be able to run the newest version of Flight Simulator smoothly, doesnt have to be on max graphics, but to look nice.

What would be some advantages and disadvantages(besides price) between an 200gig SSD and a 200gig VelociRaptor?
Also, i think i would like to do an i5 or i7. If there is something in there i should lean towards?
I am thinking of purchaseing my parts from newegg if that helps for part choices.
 
The main advantage of an SSD versus an HDD is speed; everything loads and runs faster on an SSD. The price of an SSD is currently its biggest disadvantage against a comparable HDD. The average longevity of an SSD is another question mark; while flash memory, in general, have a set number of rewrites before it fails, it's only been about two years since SSDs were introduced as mainstream (as compared to niche) components.

With today's single- and dual- platter HDDs, a VelociRaptor is a bad purchase in general. Most of those aforementioned drives are only 10% slower (in most benchmarks) than the VelociRaptor, but they're also available for a fraction of the VR's price.

If you really want to play FSX, a quad-core processor and a good, mid-range (DX10 or DX11) video card are highly recommended. So FSX will be the most resource-intensive program you'll run (by itself).

I wasn't trying to discourage you from using Blu-ray, but I wanted you to be aware that you can't just insert a Blu-ray disc into a BD drive and expect things to run smoothly. However, you'll have to find some acceptable media software capable of playing Blu-ray discs on your own -- it's not something that we focus much on around here.

I have to run a few errands, so I may not be able to respond before tomorrow night. However, your answers should help another enterprising soul come up with a good solution for your needs.
 
tiraides said:
The main advantage of an SSD versus an HDD is speed; everything loads and runs faster on an SSD. The price of an SSD is currently its biggest disadvantage against a comparable HDD. The average longevity of an SSD is another question mark; while flash memory, in general, have a set number of rewrites before it fails, it's only been about two years since SSDs were introduced as mainstream (as compared to niche) components.

With today's single- and dual- platter HDDs, a VelociRaptor is a bad purchase in general. Most of those aforementioned drives are only 10% slower (in most benchmarks) than the VelociRaptor, but they're also available for a fraction of the VR's price.

If you really want to play FSX, a quad-core processor and a good, mid-range (DX10 or DX11) video card are highly recommended. So FSX will be the most resource-intensive program you'll run (by itself).

I wasn't trying to discourage you from using Blu-ray, but I wanted you to be aware that you can't just insert a Blu-ray disc into a BD drive and expect things to run smoothly. However, you'll have to find some acceptable media software capable of playing Blu-ray discs on your own -- it's not something that we focus much on around here.

I have to run a few errands, so I may not be able to respond before tomorrow night. However, your answers should help another enterprising soul come up with a good solution for your needs.
Click to expand...

I really appreciate the info. Since i dont need a ton of space, i just need speed. I think i will be going with the SSD. Also, i guess i didnt realize how much FSX would put on the computer. Good to know.

As far as blueray. That is something that can always be added later, not something that makes the computer.

So i will look for a good SSD unless people have suggestions for something in the 150gig-200gig range.

Also still looking for a lot of reccomendations for all the above parts. i5 or i7 models? Mobo that wont hold me back if i want to upgrade. good ram for what i would like to do. I understand most mobo's are 1gig ethernet so that shouldnt be a worry, i got a 1gig router and good connection from the provider.

Keep the info coming! Im loving this forum :D
 
at the 150~200GB range, I think the 160gb intel x25-m ssd may be what you're looking for. it's not the fastest on the market for any singular task, but it doesn't have any dramatic weaknesses, and it's hard to beat with a ~450 price tag. after that, any of the newer ssds with the new sandforce controllers are probably the fastest currently on the market (aside from pci-e ssds that cost rediculous amounts), but at that storage capacity they're going to cost quite a bit more (for a quick comparison the sata 2 ocz vertex 2 200gb is currently ~$750 on newegg, and the pci-e ocz z-drive r2 m84 200gb is ~$1000).

currently, most ppl tend to get a smaller ssd and use it for; os, time critical programs, and such then have a second large capacity hard drive for storing anything/using any other programs that don't need that high speed read/write performance. expecting for the pc to last more than several years this might be the better route considering that it looks like most of your programs won't take up too much space, so personally I'd go with a 100gb ocz vertex 2 ssd and add a samsung spinpoint f3 1tb hdd to go with it for close to the same price of the 160gb intel x25-m.
 
Ok so i have done some thinking, and correct me if im wrong on anything...

Ok im starting to narrow things down,

Motherboards? I need something that is going to last me 5 years. Good upgrade options, ample PCI/PCI-e slots.

Best i5 out there - is there better then the 750? To me best doesnt mean most expensive, all around quality please. (also, is the stock heatsink enough? no overclocking)

Would like 6 gigs of ddr3 ram(the good stuff, no value brand).

80gig SSD(to be main storage and OS) to be paired with a 100gig FAST HD for storing big files, something with a great transfer rate.

Professional looking case, minimal lights, no view panal, good circulation.

Graphics card to handle FSX - i like nvidia.

Before i finish this post i would just like to add, it would be easy to just log onto newegg and pick the stuff with biggest number next to it, i am really hopeing to tap into this forums knowledge for some really quality parts.

Thanks again for everyones time in helping me out!
Will

EDIT:
Skull_Angel said:
currently, most ppl tend to get a smaller ssd and use it for; os, time critical programs, and such then have a second large capacity hard drive for storing anything/using any other programs that don't need that high speed read/write performance. expecting for the pc to last more than several years this might be the better route considering that it looks like most of your programs won't take up too much space, so personally I'd go with a 100gb ocz vertex 2 ssd and add a samsung spinpoint f3 1tb hdd to go with it for close to the same price of the 160gb intel x25-m.
Click to expand...

Awesome! This is exactly the kind of info i am looking for, great specifics! Just read this post after i posted mine!
 
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I can't say much for your other questions, but the stock heatsink should be enough with a case that has good airflow. if you don't mind tossing a few bucks at it, the coolermaster hyper 212+ is very decent for the price (can usually be found under $30). pick up some decent thermal paste either way you go, articsilver 5 is pretty hassle free for the performance it offers.

quick edit: for your specific needs I don't think you'll need more than 4gb ram considering FSX will be your biggest resource hog and you may go with an i5 build. any decent brand-name memory with good warranty will do (the whole timings thing is more of a sales gimmic outside of synthetic benchmarks), corsair is usually pricier and offers no real gains over other brands, I see g.skill is suggested a lot on these boards (seem to have good customer service). can't really make any solid recommendations here because it'll depend on the board you choose.
 
Last edited:
BigKat said:
Ok so i have done some thinking, and correct me if im wrong on anything...

Ok im starting to narrow things down,

Motherboards? I need something that is going to last me 5 years. Good upgrade options, ample PCI/PCI-e slots.

Best i5 out there - is there better then the 750? To me best doesnt mean most expensive, all around quality please. (also, is the stock heatsink enough? no overclocking)

Would like 6 gigs of ddr3 ram(the good stuff, no value brand).

80gig SSD(to be main storage and OS) to be paired with a 100gig FAST HD for storing big files, something with a great transfer rate.

Professional looking case, minimal lights, no view panal, good circulation.

Graphics card to handle FSX - i like nvidia.

Before i finish this post i would just like to add, it would be easy to just log onto newegg and pick the stuff with biggest number next to it, i am really hopeing to tap into this forums knowledge for some really quality parts.

Thanks again for everyones time in helping me out!
Will

EDIT:


Awesome! This is exactly the kind of info i am looking for, great specifics! Just read this post after i posted mine!
Click to expand...

From what I can see you are better off going with an X58 build.
i7 930 + Gigabyte X58A-UD3R
6GB G.Skill DDR3-1600
XFX 5770 (Not sure how gpu intensive FSX is)
WD Black 1TB (FAEX) HDD
Intel X25-M 80GB SSD
Antec/Corsair PSU 500-600w (quality antec, none of the "basiq" shit)

And Danny can post his insanely long list of cases that he has.
 
BigKat said:
Motherboards? I need something that is going to last me 5 years. Good upgrade options, ample PCI/PCI-e slots.

Best i5 out there - is there better then the 750? To me best doesnt mean most expensive, all around quality please. (also, is the stock heatsink enough? no overclocking)

Would like 6 gigs of ddr3 ram(the good stuff, no value brand).
Click to expand...

We're gonna have to narrow things down now: If you want 6GB of RAM, that leaves out any i5 route. 6GB of RAM is basically the Core i7/X58 route.

BigKat said:
80gig SSD(to be main storage and OS) to be paired with a 100gig FAST HD for storing big files, something with a great transfer rate.
Click to expand...
I recommend the following:
$230 - Intel SSDSA2MH080G2R5 2.5" 80GB SSD
$100 - Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s Hard Drive

BigKat said:
Professional looking case, minimal lights, no view panal, good circulation.
Click to expand...
Look through my "insanely long list of cases" and see which one strikes you the most:
$40 - Cooler Master Elite 330 RC-330-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$50 - Cooler Master Elite 335 RC-335-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$50 - Thermaltake WingRS 201 VJ60001N2Z ATX Case
$60 - Antec 300 ATX Case
$70 - Cooler Master RC-590-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$80 - Cooler Master RC-690-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$80 - Cooler Master CM690 II ATX Case
$90 - Cooler Master HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$100 - Lian Li PC-7B Plus II ATX Case
$100 - Lian Li Lancool PC-K7B ATX Case
$100 - Cooler Master HAF 922M RC-922M-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$110 - Lian Li PC-E8B ATX Case
$110 - Lian Li PC-7FN ATX Case
$120 - Velocity Micro GX2-W Silver Classic Aluminum Case with Side Window
$120 - Thermaltake ElementS VK60001N2Z ATX Case
$130 - Cooler Master Storm Sniper ATX Case
$150 - Antec P183 ATX Case
$150 - Cooler Master HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$170 - Cooler Master Cosmos S 1000 RC-1100-KSN1-GP Full Tower ATX Case
$180 - Cooler Master ATCS 840 RC-840-KKN1-GP Full Tower ATX Case
$180 - Lian Li PC-B25F ATX Case
$210 - Silverstone FT01-B ATX Case
$240 - Lian Li PC-V1200A Plus II ATX Case
$300 - Corsair Obsidian Series 800D CC800DW Full Tower ATX Case
$330 - Silverstone Temjin SST-TJ07B Full Tower ATX Case


BigKat said:
Graphics card to handle FSX - i like nvidia.
Click to expand...

That's gonna cost ya as the cheapest best price to performance Nvidia card out now is the $350 GTX 470. The best bang for the buck cards out now happen to be ATI's HD 5770 and HD 5850 cards.
 
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You might be better off splitting your budget in half and buying another computer in a few years time if you really want longevity.
 
Danny Bui said:
We're gonna have to narrow things down now: If you want 6GB of RAM, that leaves out any i5 route. 6GB of RAM is basically the Core i7/X58 route.

...

That's gonna cost ya as the cheapest best price to performance Nvidia card out now is the $350 GTX 470. The best bang for the buck cards out now happen to be ATI's HD 5770 and HD 5850 cards.
Click to expand...

Ok good to know. I was mistaken with the ram. Lets stick with the i5 route. So 4gigs of ram it is.

Any good suggestions of motherboard to go with the i5-750?
 
BigKat said:
Any good suggestions of motherboard to go with the i5-750?
Click to expand...

BigKat said:
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
Longevity. I want to be able to get 5 years out of this machine, what do i need to do that?
Click to expand...

The big problem is your longevity requirement: Basically while many expensive mobos do have some features that enables them to last a bit longer than cheaper mobos, those features can easily be nullified if the user improperly treats the PC. i.e not enough cooling, poor cooling setup, overclocking the PC too hard, not cleaning out the PC every month or so, etc etc. I've seen $60 motherboards that have lasted just as long as $300 motherboards.

So in other words, your "longevity" requirement doesn't really narrow things down at all. Do note that the LGA 1156 socket doesn't have much life in it left as there will be no cost-effective CPU upgrades over a i5 750 planned for that socket.
 
BigKat, do you really want to go with an Intel Socket 1366 build? Outside of FSX, it's unnecessary, but to ensure maximum long-term upgrading options (though that really can't be guaranteed, given Intel's past actions), it's either that or AMD's Socket AM3. If you want to spend closer to $1000 than $1500, however, then you may want to consider AMD (even though its longevity, in terms of future upgrading options, isn't guaranteed, either).

Since you don't want a lot of storage, instead of the 1TB Caviar Black that Danny recommended earlier, go with the 500GB Caviar Blue. However, the Caviar Black is slightly faster in terms of transfer rates.
 
Ok here is what i have so far... none is set in stone...

SSD (80gb) - $230.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...s-_-na-_-na&AID=10521304&PID=3891137&SID=194r
HD (500gb) - $55.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...e=samsung_spinpoint_f3-_-22-152-181-_-Product
Proccessor (i5-750) - $200.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115215&cm_re=i5-_-19-115-215-_-Product
Graphics (HD 5770) - $180.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127490&cm_re=hd_5770-_-14-127-490-_-Product
Mobo(option) ($260.00)(220.00 after rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...cm_re=1156_motherboard-_-13-188-057-_-Product

The mobo will be well taken care of, cleaned regularly.

What do you all think of the EVGA mobo?
Any certain RAM that would be good with it?
Still need to pick out a PSU and a case(thanks for the list).
500gig HD - little more space then i need but cant argue with $55.

Would like a PSU that i could beef up my graphics card if i needed too.

I would like to stick with a simular build to this, but if there is a peice that should be replaced with a better option (price/quality), please let me know!

Thanks again!
Will
 
You shouldn't be spending more than $160 for a decent Socket 1156 or AMD-based board. As for which board you should consider, please tell use which motherboard features that you really need (based off your five-year plan).
 
Yeah $200 to $260 for a LGA 1156 or AM3 motherboard defeats the very purpose of a Core i5 build or AMD build: Good price to performance ratio at relatively low costs. There are X58 motherboards in that price range. Spending more than $200 for a non-server LGA 1156 or AM3 motherboard is akin to someone spending $5K on an old Honda Civic and spending $20K ricing/modifying the car the same week that person bought it. That person could have gotten a better quality car for $25K.

And so that's the case here.
 
I guess my reasoning is it offers room for a lot of advancement, plus evga has unrivaled customer support. Im open for suggestions though.

Anybody point out some good RAM, the evga board says 2600+ for RAM, anyone englighten me as to when is meant by that? i see like 1600, 1333... nothing 2600+

Also, a powersupply?

Thanks!
 
Last edited:
BigKat said:
I guess my reasoning is it offers room for a lot of advancement, plus evga has unrivaled customer support. Im open for suggestions though.

Anybody point out some good RAM, the evga board says 2600+ for RAM, anyone englighten me as to when is meant by that? i see like 1600, 1333... nothing 2600+

Also, a powersupply?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

The thing is though, is that the mobo doesn't offer that much advancement at all since A) it's based on the LGA 1156 socket and B) most of the times people don't use up all of their PCI-E slots. Not to mention the total lack of SATA 6Gb/s or USB 3.0.

I recommend this mobo instead:
$140 - Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD3 Intel P55 ATX Motherboard

I recommend this RAM:
$108 - G.Skill Ripjaw Series F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL 2 x 2GB DDR3 1600 RAM

As for the DDR3 2600+ reference in the eVGA mobo, most likely means that it can overclock RAM as high as DDR3 2600+ or is ready for such a RAM as it becomes available in the future.

PSU wise, I recommend this:
$120 - Antec Truepower New TP-750 750W PSU
 
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