Budget workstation build ideas?

[philfromMPC]

Hi all,
I am thinking of building a PC. Upgrading from an HP Z420 (Intel Xeon with 32 GB RAM and Nvidia K4000 (not sure on gfx though)).

So I had wanted to upgrade my parents PC and bought some parts but the CPU/mobo I bought had some issues and I didn't have time to figure it out (I live in another state). So the CPU/Mobo was returned but I have some other new parts that I want to use in this new build for me. Can you help me figure out my options for CPU and Mobo?

Uses: Office Workstation, software (usual ms office, video editing with Lightworks, typesetting programs like MS Publisher or InDesign, GIMP for graphics design, etc). Not much into games now, but I have the habit of having around a hundred tabs open. I am looking to put it all in a smaller PC case than the Z420 but not mini-ITX. I'm not look to upgrade in the near term, I usually keep PCs 5-10 years because that's all I need.

CPU budget around $200 (max $250)
Mobo budget ($100-150)
CPU cooler: mainly air cooling

Purchased parts:
RAM (Team Group Vulcan 32GB Kit (2x16GB) DDR4 3600, CL18-22-22-42 1.35V)

Graphics: Nvidia GT1030 4GB

I have HDD/SSD also.

So please help with figuring out CPU and Mobo that will work with my available parts. Thanks

 

[LukeTbk]

I would go with a modern cpu that has a good iGPU instead of an graphic card (they tend to have, you have a lot of option) it would give you modern codec support quicksync tend to play nice with Adobe product suite and other of the genre that target large audience, modern up to date display port-hdmi output, for what you describe a nice SSD and at least 32GB( that you already have) are pretty much the only must have, anything will do the job pretty much.

A 14100 cpu would give you an UHD 730, right now at $110, 3,763-15,000 passmark arguably better than a 11600k (3,347-19,564), you could go cheaper but if you keep your pc 5-10 years could be worth it:
https://pcpartpicker.com/products/c...7&g=421,409,515,502,503,512&sort=price&page=1

14xxx gen still has ddr-4 options, if you go for modern AMD igpu they are often DDr5 only.

 

[MrGuvernment]

I just have a distaste for Intel and their issues on 13th/14th gen, fixed, not fixed..

AMD with iGPU instead?

 

[LukeTbk]

AMD with iGPU instead?

DId not had great experience with them and they re-started having them with zen4 (DDR-5)

Their apu (marketing term difference, mostly mean large igpu) could to the trick here and would have all around good drivers (maybe the iGPU are ok now, my experience was with a 7900x when there iGPU were relative new):
https://pcpartpicker.com/products/cpu/#m=6&sort=price&g=537,489&page=1

5600G at $140 for example (5700G for 8 core available), AMD is not clear on spec:
https://www.amd.com/en/support/down...yzen/ryzen-5000-series/amd-ryzen-5-5600g.html

But we can imagine recent enough DP-hdmi being available here (codec has well like h.265/av1) versus an aging 1030.

 

[MrGuvernment]

Didnt know that, I am still rocking my 5950x / RX6800 under linux and been rock solid, but no recent experience with AMD iGPUs

 

[cdabc123]

A modern intel chip and igpu sounds like a terrible option... pretty close to a 1030

Get a am4 motherboard and used 3900x, 5900x or one of the smaller chips with a igpu if ya want. Microcenter has great combos. That would be about twice as powerful as a weak i3.. not to be mean but Luke why recommend a 4core cpu for a workstation in 2025?

Get a decent 1tb nvme drive for the os.

 

[LukeTbk]

Get a am4 motherboard and used 3900x, 5900x or one of the smaller chips with a igpu if ya want.

3900x and 5900x do not have an iGPU and a 4gb 1030 is still selling at high price, probably better spending that elsewhere and buying a modern GPU for the codec he lack for is video editing from is iGPU one day. 1030 would not have nvenc I do not think, up to date quicksync would feel safer to me, being by a giant amount the most popular gpu for those type of task (80%+) for more than a decade, software maker need to always make sure everything work on them.

How a modern intel iGPU terrible for what the op want to do with is computer ?

n but Luke why recommend a 4core cpu for a workstation in 2025?

workstation for ms office and gimp do not necessarily scale the core that much, the title could make it sound like a solidwork affair but it sound closer to an office desktop if you will.

 

[El_Capitan]

Based on your uses, I would go with something along the lines of a 12600, 12600K, 13600, 13600T, 13600K, 14500T, 14600, 14600K. If you overclock, go with the K variants, if you don't, then the others. The T variants just operate at a lower TDP, but it seems that may only be based off the motherboard capability from my experience. You'll want the Intel iGPU to help with video editing, and you wouldn't have to use the GT1030 4GB except if you wanted to use it for some gaming. Prices are absurdly high right now, but I found my 12600K locally for $125 used, 13600K locally for $150 new, and 13600T used on eBay for $113.22. LGA1700 motherboards can be found as cheap as $60 used, or $120 new.

If you prefer AMD, I'd stick with AM3 like the 5600, 5600X, or 5800X. You won't have an integrated GPU with these, however. Overclocking will also be limited. I got a used 5600X from a forum member for $60, paired with a new B550M motherboard for $78.67. The above mentioned Intel CPU's will perform better and have an iGPU, but as far as price, these can be a literal steal. A few months ago, they had a 5800X (new, not used) sale at Newegg bundled with 2x16GB DDR4 3200MHz RAM for $128. Hard to beat that if you need DDR4 with your CPU/MB. Not sure if they'll have another deal like that, soon.

I also have hundreds of tabs open. I have 128GB DDR4 memory, 64GB used as a RAMDisk, and around 46.7GB available with all my tabs open. So, 32GB will be more than enough, and your speed and timings are fine, you may have to adjust your SA a bit for your Intel CPU MB, or your SOC a bit for your AMD CPU MB (1.05V should be fine) in order to reach 3600MHz.

 

[cdabc123]

3900x and 5900x do not have an iGPU and a 4gb 1030 is still selling at high price, probably better spending that elsewhere and buying a modern GPU for the codec he lack for is video editing from is iGPU one day. 1030 would not have nvenc I do not think, up to date quicksync would feel safer to me, being by a giant amount the most popular gpu for those type of task (80%+) for more than a decade, software maker need to always make sure everything work on them.

How a modern intel iGPU terrible for what the op want to do with is computer ?


workstation for ms office and gimp do not necessarily scale the core that much, the title could make it sound like a solidwork affair but it sound closer to an office desktop if you will.

I read it as he already has a 1030, I wouldn't recommend paying high price for such a lame gpu. Some software acceleration codecs do benfit from modern hardware. But there are just so many better cpus for sale, mostly from amd. And desktop apus really arent that powerful.

Find a am4 atx sized decent motherboard for $100, then put a 12core chip in it. The provided 32gb of ram is adequate, no need to go with anything ddr5.

If microcenter is avalible there can be great deals on am4 combos. Else id find a 5900x 5800x 5700g (if no gpu) on ebay.

Software will eventually fully outgrow 4 cores, i3s are never the answer. There just seems to be many better options available, and intel isnt necessarily the solution with their missteps.

 

[philfromMPC]

Yes, I do have a GT1030 gfx card that I plan to use and 32GB RAM. Sorry if I made it seem like I was doing heavy computing. I do want to use some cycles to run Folding@home.

It's really confusing to compare the CPUs and their naming. What do you think of the following CPU ranging in price from $150-200 before taxes (I'm planning to get from my local Microcenter):


AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D
Intel Core i7-12700K
Intel Core i5-14400
AMD Ryzen 7 8700G (most expensive at $240)

 

[LukeTbk]

If the 1030 is already owned and do what you need to do to export your edited video well enough in the format you want (or do not mind doing it cpu-software), it open the door quite a bit to the older nicely priced and ultra mature AMD cpu/motherboard zen3 world,

You would need to look for your specific app, x3d mean an extra amount of cache over the cpu at the cost of slower frequency to make up for that added heat transfer resistance, the 5700x could be faster and cheaper for you.

5700x, passmark of 3380/26650 in single/multi thread
12700k, k mean overclockable, 12700k give you 4000/34500 passmark a big upgrade over the 5700x
14400 (no k, but also no F that mean you still have an really nice iGPU with a 14400), 3770/25400 bit slower than the 12700k in st, about the same as a 5700x in multithread task (but with less core, usually same perf on less core the better)
8700G, G mean a big iGPU (an apu), you could not use ddr4 memory with that one, it is a zen4 that need ddr5 memory to work, 5700G would be more appropriate if you want to use DDR4 and have an AMD gpu with your cpu.

 

[cdabc123]

Good to hear on the clarification, sounds like you are mostly good to go.

microcenter has a Ryzen 7 5800XT for 170 right now, https://www.microcenter.com/product...hz-8-core-boxed-processor-wraith-prism-cooler
then just grab a motherboard ~$150 https://www.microcenter.com/product/647157/asus-b550-plus-tuf-gaming-wifi-ii-amd-am4-atx-motherboard

If youre willing to buy used a am4 motherboard can be found around $100, and you may be able to get a 5900x around $200. But the microcenter prices are pretty decent.
12700k and a ddr4 lga 1700 motherboard is decently performant. Would be around $300 used for the chip and board. nvm, microicenter has a good combo for this.
https://www.microcenter.com/product...-crucial-ddr4-3200-kit,-computer-build-bundle

What do you have for the ssd? A very quick nvme drive is nessisary as it will be most of the speed you notice.

run the 1030 for now and upgrade to something abit more modern and powerful 1-2 years from now.

 

[LukeTbk]

The gap between a good sata SSD and a nvme SSD can be thin when you do not make nvme drive to nvme drive copies of files.

They are cheap enough (at 2TB or less) to not really matter and go for the nvme now too.

 

[cdabc123]

The gap between a good sata SSD and a nvme SSD can be thin when you do not make nvme drive to nvme drive copies of files.

They are cheap enough (at 2TB or less) to not really matter and go for the nvme now too.

The gap between 600mbs and 3000mbs read write is very noticeable for a os drive. The os drive has lots to do you will notice the speed every time you open a program or do anything incentive. I would absolutly not consider running a os on anything but a decent nvme drive in 2025. especially when a 1tb drive can be found for like 60

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1861498393...01JJ2R2SEC1EKJXXEFP0Z30YSZ&hash=item2b5765220

 

[LukeTbk]

The gap between 600mbs and 3000mbs read write is very noticeable for a os drive.

Maybe, and it is subjective, I feel fast random 4k than total raw bandwith on very large file is more noticeable for an os drive. (if you felt a large different I suspect it would be more those gain than 3000 instead of 600 for very large continuous file read)

At least for me going from sata ssd to nvme for my OS drive was nowhere close to spin HDD hard drive to ssd or that noticeable.

When I do drive to drive copy now that I am pure all my 3 drives are fast pci 4.0 nvme, that when it is quite nice to have over even a really good regular sata ssd.

 

[cdabc123]

Maybe, and it is subjective, I feel fast random 4k than total raw bandwith on very large file is more noticeable for an os drive. (if you felt a large different I suspect it would be more those gain than 3000 instead of 600 for very large continuous file read)

At least for me going from sata ssd to nvme for my OS drive was nowhere close to spin HDD hard drive to ssd or that noticeable.

When I do drive to drive copy now that I am pure all my 3 drives are fast pci 4.0 nvme, that when it is quite nice to have over even a really good regular sata ssd.

You are right that perhaps the continuous measurement is not accurately depicting os drive performance. But a nvme drive is superior in every way. going from hdd to sata sdd was a great jump, going from sata to nvme is another great jump. There will be substantial performance gains in a variety of applications and general os snappiness. Boot times wont even be comparable.

 

[LukeTbk]

There will be substantial performance gains in a variety of applications and general os snappiness. Boot times wont even be comparable.

Sound to be a bit of a large overstating, the benchmark on those are more my experience, windows 10 boot:

or

Did you change something or made a fresh wiindows install when you shifted to an nvme ? Did you had a good Sata SSD before ?

 

[cdabc123]

Sound to be a bit of a large overstating, the benchmark on those are more my experience, windows 10 boot:

View attachment 705165 or View attachment 705166

Did you change something or made a fresh wiindows install when you shifted to an nvme ? Did you had a good Sata SSD before ?

ya windows 10 on a laptop is the test rig, one os with nvme one with sata ssd gen 3. It is much more then a 1 second difference... one os you wait for like the old days and one boots so quick its like the computer came out of sleep. noticed the same with other computer installs and os types (havent tried win 11) but the difference is so noticeable its been years since I even considered using something other then a nvme drive for the os. It is a SUBSTANTIAL upgrade.

 

[philfromMPC]

I'm thinking to get the i7 12700k. I am looking for motherboard options. What do you think of the Gigabyte B760M DS3H? I think it has most of the features.

Reviews I read mention something about throttling due to heat. Is that something I should worry about. Part of my workflow is occasionally rendering short videos in Lightworks or maybe using Handbrake (I haven't had to use it in a while).

 

[zandor]

i7-12700k is what I'd get given your parameters, particularly the budget, DDR4 and not really into gaming. 12th gen is cheap right now and the 12700k has faster single thread than pretty much anything AM4 (so can use DDR4) and multithread close to a 5900X (~$300 new).

You should be concerned about overheating, but that's as much a system setup issue as anything else. Board vendors tend to disable power limits by default rather than use Intel's stock settings, which results in max turbo all the time and overheating/thermal throttling if you don't have enough cooling. CPU reviewers tend to pair up whatever CPU they're testing with a top end AIO and vid card to make sure their test setup doesn't hold the CPU back and shows its full potantial... which means the power limits off setting makes their boards look a few percent better... or would if everyone wasn't doing it. AIO vendors are making a lot of money off of this. Stock for an i7-12700K is PL1 = 125W, PL2 = 190W, PL1 tau (max time in PL2) = 56s. Rather than spend a bunch of $ on cooling you can just limit the power to whatever your cooling can handle in the BIOS. If you're using air cooling I'd start with Intel stock and go from there. I test this by firing up a CPU load testing app and something to monitor temps, like Prime95 + MSI Afterburner.

I'm not 100% on that board. It doesn't have VRM heatsinks and the VRM setup is a bit light, so I'm not sure if it'll be able to provide full power to a "K" CPU, particularly for a continuous load. The problem is I didn't see anything in the manual or on Gigabyte's site about how much power it can actually deliver, so I really don't know. If you're ok with an ATX sized board just buy the bundle. You'll end up with a couple of unneeded 8GB DIMMs, but it's still cheaper than the cpu + board you're looking at and you get a better board. If you want mATX, what's in stock at your Microcenter? Mine doesn't have much.

 

[TheHig]

I'm thinking to get the i7 12700k. I am looking for motherboard options. What do you think of the Gigabyte B760M DS3H? I think it has most of the features.

Reviews I read mention something about throttling due to heat. Is that something I should worry about. Part of my workflow is occasionally rendering short videos in Lightworks or maybe using Handbrake (I haven't had to use it in a while).

This has been my go to ddr4 mATX LGA 1700 board. You can add wifi easily in the slot or they sell a wifi version. On sale now at Amazon for 99 bucks

ASRock B760M Pro RS/D4 Motherboard​

https://a.co/d/9sihO0D

 

[zandor]

This has been my go to ddr4 mATX LGA 1700 board. You can add wifi easily in the slot or they sell a wifi version. On sale now at Amazon for 99 bucks

ASRock B760M Pro RS/D4 Motherboard​

https://a.co/d/9sihO0D

Now that's more like it for a cheap board. $99 + tax and at least it has some VRM cooling.

 

[Axman]

I am thinking of building a PC.

You should look into some of these.

 

[philfromMPC]

Finished my build:

CASE: Chieftec CI-01B-OP
CPU: Intel i7 12700k
MOBO: MSI PRO B760MA WIFI
HEATSINK: Thermalright Peerless Assassin SE
RAM: 32GB TeamForce DDR4 3600
STORAGE: 512GB M.2 SSD
PSU: beQuiet PURE POWER 12 M 750W
GPU: Nvidia GT1030 4GB

First time building with mATX in a small case. How do people even building cases smaller than this? I will have to figure out how to arrange the cables. It was really tough in this case...PSU cables were tough to manage. I like the case, it's very sturdy although it was a tight build.

Thanks for the help everyone!