How much overkill is enough?

[ochadd]

How much machine do you get someone who wants a general purpose, non-gaming, PC?

Started second guessing myself about how much is too much. In the last couple of months some customers asked me to get them a new PC. Three different general purpose home PCs. They're all replacing single core Pentium 4s that are easily 7+ years old. No direction other than that. None of these people are very budget conscious. They all got:
* i7 non-K ivy bridge cpus
* Intel motherboards
* 8 or 16 GB of DDR3 1600
* 120GB Intel SSDs as system drives.
* 1 TB 7200rpm data drives with all libraries pointing here.
* Corsair power supplies in the 500 watt range
* Silent mid tower cases with quality 120mm fans
* Blu-ray reader/dvd burners.
* Quality keyboards, mice, and 1080p monitors.

They're rock solid machines that I think will go many years before going as obsolete as those P4s. I don't mark up the parts at all and only charge T&M for setup and delivery. None of these users could tell the difference between a pentium dual core and a hex core today but I bet they will by 2021 if they end up waiting that long to upgrade again.

 

[PTNL]

I'd argue that an i7 is overkill. Speculating about hardware obsolescence only goes as far as that. Starting a discussion about the build selection after-the-fact is a bit moot.

However... It sounds like the customer got several machines that they can afford. So if they are happy with the machines and you are happy with the parts chosen and income received, then I'd just call it a win.

 

[ghm3]

I'd argue that an i7 is overkill. Speculating about hardware obsolescence only goes as far as that. Starting a discussion about the build selection after-the-fact is a bit moot.

However... It sounds like the customer got several machines that they can afford. So if they are happy with the machines and you are happy with the parts chosen and income received, then I'd just call it a win.

I agree, i7 isn't at all necessary or useful for general purpose computing.

My take is, if they're just getting general purpose machines and don't need anything really powerful, put the dollars towards something they can appreciate, like low power and heat.

Examples:

CPU: Core i3-2120T

I have this badass little CPU in my HTPC, it's very good. Has more than enough power for 1080P playback w/ all the overhead of Win7/etc., all with only a 35W TDP that can easily be cooled with a heatsink only solution, making it completely silent to boot.

PSU: Seasonic Fanless 400W (460W & 520W options also available).

I have the 460W of this in my HTPC as well. Silent, great quality power.

Low voltage memory: Crucial Ballistix low-profile RAM, 1.35V

 

[singe_101]

With "extra" money they probably could upgrade their desks and chairs.

Ugh, P4. What a waste, how did they wait this long?

But I can't see them really utilizing an i5-3470 so the i7 is pretty spendy. There are various larger SSDs, 240GB to 256GB, for about $60-80 more than the 120s and at some point if they or Junior want to install four 20GB games that's already not going to work. And with 4K files 1TB may become cramped.

B75 motherboards? Silent coolers?

 

[Deleted member 88227]

Pretty sure the term "overkill" means you're already beyond "enough" so I'm not sure what you are asking here.

 

[ochadd]

With "extra" money they probably could upgrade their desks and chairs.

Ugh, P4. What a waste, how did they wait this long?

But I can't see them really utilizing an i5-3470 so the i7 is pretty spendy. There are various larger SSDs, 240GB to 256GB, for about $60-80 more than the 120s and at some point if they or Junior want to install four 20GB games that's already not going to work. And with 4K files 1TB may become cramped.

B75 motherboards? Silent coolers?

They didn't realize how much faster a new computer would be. One of them has a grandson in the 10-12 range and he wanted something faster.

Z75 MicroAtx motherboard with Intel factory cooler. I wanted to make sure I got an Intel onboard NIC as well.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813121646

I ask now, after the fact, so for future builds I might change things up. Think I'll go with an i5 on future builds. The people I build PCs for typically don't upgrade until things break.

 

[Modred189]

My sister in law needs a new general purpose computer, and after piecing some things out for a custom build, this deal seems freaking amazing:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+-+...rive/7453044.p?id=1218846427580&skuId=7453044

I mean, dedicated gpu, quad core CPU, and an absolutely silly 12gb of ram.

 

[singe_101]

That's an APU.

An SSD would affect/boost speed much more than 12GB of RAM over 8. The 5400 RPM drives slow things down.

 

[Modred189]

That's an APU.

An SSD would affect/boost speed much more than 12GB of RAM over 8. The 5400 RPM drives slow things down.

APU... so?
Remember, these are general purpose machines for a bunch of family members that have been rocking P4s. SSDs etc would likely be a waste.

 

[Deleted member 88227]

APU... so?
Remember, these are general purpose machines for a bunch of family members that have been rocking P4s. SSDs etc would likely be a waste.

An SSD would prove to make the computer seem faster than a faster processor to them.

 

[Modred189]

An SSD would prove to make the computer seem faster than a faster processor to them.

But can you do so in a computer with similar specs for $500? That's the point, I think, the specs/price.

 

[Deleted member 88227]

But can you do so in a computer with similar specs for $500? That's the point, I think, the specs/price.

For their intended uses, yes. What's going to kill the price will be paying for a Windows 7 license which will take $100 out of the budget, so essentially it's a $400 rig.

Since nothing they will be doing will take advantage of 4 cores, 2 cores is more than enough. Since they wont be utilizing a lot of memory intensive applications, 4GB is plenty, since I doubt they'll be installing a lot of large software onto the computer, 64 - 128GB SSD is plenty.

Then again, it depends on what all is needed too. I mean not only will Windows take 20% of the budget, a monitor will too.

 

[ghm3]

My sister in law needs a new general purpose computer, and after piecing some things out for a custom build, this deal seems freaking amazing:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+-+...rive/7453044.p?id=1218846427580&skuId=7453044

I mean, dedicated gpu, quad core CPU, and an absolutely silly 12gb of ram.

But can you do so in a computer with similar specs for $500? That's the point, I think, the specs/price.

Not exactly, but close. Like Skillz said, the Win 7 license takes a big bite out of the budget. However, consider these alternatives:

Build 1: ~$150 premium for much better performance:

Case & PSU $60

Motherboard: $65

APU: A10-5800K 3.8GHz (4.2Ghz Turbo) $130 (compare to older gen slower 3.2GHz A8 APU & 7470 GPU)

SSD: 120GB Samsung 840: $100 (compare to slow 5400RPM HDD)

HDD: 1TB 7200 RPM WD Blue: $75 (compare to slow 5400RPM HDD)

8GB RAM $63 (compare to 12GB)

Blu-ray reader: $50 (compare to DVD writer)

Win 7 Home Premium: $100

Total: $642.92

$143 for an SSD, faster HDD, faster CPU, and a blu-ray drive is totally worth it IMO. (if you don't care about bluray swap for a DVD drive and it'll be like $610ish)


Build 2: $435 build:

Case & PSU $60

Motherboard: $65

CPU: AMD A4-5300 3.4GHz dualcore $55

HDD: 1TB 7200 RPM WD Blue: $75

8GB RAM $63

DVD-writer: $18

Win 7 Home Premium: $100

Total: $435.93

You can get even cheaper than that if you really want to with 4GB of RAM and a smaller/slower HDD, but it's really not worth the$40 you'll save IMO. Still, it would technically make it a $400 machine, which is quite a feat considering a full quarter of that budget is earmarked for Win7.

 

[singe_101]

APU... so?
Remember, these are general purpose machines for a bunch of family members that have been rocking P4s. SSDs etc would likely be a waste.

Not criticizing the A8-5500, just describing it. It has innate Radeon HD 7560D graphics, if the PC also has a 7470 card that's redundant. Will they have new monitors?

It's not bad for $500 but it's not a huge bargain. For $400 it would be really good. The Taiwanese prebuilt PCs can be very good.

The more video memory a computer has, the better graphics and video will look...lush images...

Puffery and marketing drivel from BB.

 

[Deleted member 88227]

Neither one of those builds are that good on account of the shitty case and PSU combo.

OP, can you please answer the sticky questions so I can help you better?

 

[ghm3]

Neither one of those builds are that good on account of the shitty case and PSU combo.

OP, can you please answer the sticky questions so I can help you better?

You actually think that Asus case and PSU are less shitty?

 

[Deleted member 88227]

You actually think that Asus case and PSU are less shitty?

If I thought that, I wouldn't be recommending a custom setup. Although in reality, the OP would probably be better off with a prebuilt Dell.

Which is why I am awaiting for the OP to answer the sticky questions.

 

[ghm3]

If I thought that, I wouldn't be recommending a custom setup.

There's obviously plenty of other cases you can spend a bit more on that are better, that doesn't make the entire build bad. But getting a good enough case usually means a separate PSU next, and you're easily talking $700+ builds now.

That case doesn't look bad at all for the price though. I'm sure the PSU is crap though.

 

[Modred189]

Can't forget the cost of the time you'd spend setting these things up if you piece them yourself...
I'm not saying the Asus is awesome, but I would say it's a good price for a viable alternative with decent parts.

 

[PTNL]

Can't forget the cost of the time you'd spend setting these things up if you piece them yourself....

In addition to this, don't forget to add the time spent supporting it after the fact. If you build it, you inevitably wind up supporting it.

 

[Dangman]

Case & PSU $60
[/URL] $60

....
There's obviously plenty of other cases you can spend a bit more on that are better, that doesn't make the entire build bad. But getting a good enough case usually means a separate PSU next, and you're easily talking $700+ builds now.

That case doesn't look bad at all for the price though. I'm sure the PSU is crap though.

Since the case you listed does not have free shipping, it actually comes out to $70 shipped. A good quality PSU and far better case with free shipping will only costs $20 more:
$41 - Corsair 430CX V2 430W PSU
$49 - NZXT Source 210 Elite White with Black Front Trim ATX Case

So assuming that you actually factored in shipping costs in the total build costs, with the above case and PSU change, your build #1 would only be $662.92 shipped. Well under $700.

@SkillZ
Modred189 isn't the OP FYI. But yes if Modred wants help on a new PC, he should make his own thread and answer the stickied "ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS FIRST!"