New Build for Work

[Triple B]

Hey everyone, thanks for taking the time and all that. Jumping right in...

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
MS Office 2010 work, online database management, internet research, online meetings.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$1,000 to $1,200 USD, before tax & S/H
3) Where do you live?
Massachusetts
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.
Case, Mobo, RAM, CPU, Vid Card (don't want to deal with onboard video in Win7 unless it's actually good... I'm not up on that, unfortunately) HDD (not solid state), DVD burner, Monitor.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
This is a from-scratch build. I have no parts to reuse.
6) Will you be overclocking?
No.
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
Need at least 20". Something along the lines of the Dell E1910Hc line is fine.
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
ASAP
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
Networking and onboard audio capable of handling Goto Meeting style online conferencing.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? 32bit or 64bit?
No, need to include Windows 7/Office 2010 in the budget. Would prefer to go 64-bit, since that's the general consensus on here!


I'm in charge of ordering (or building) two desktops for my company. I have a pretty decent Dell configured (Vostro 430) with the following basic stats:

Windows 7 Pro 32-bit (64-bit wasn't an option for some odd reason)
Office Home/Biz 2010
Intel Core i5-650
4gb (2 dimms) DDR3 1333MHz
512MB GeForce G310
160GB SATA HDD

I haven't built a system in 10 years (last one was an Athlon T-bird from the end of 2001), but I figured this was something to look in to to potentially save some money for my company. It's a small business, so I'm just trying to figure out if we should potentially spend a little more and get a Dell, or spend a little less (maybe) and have it built by me.

Thanks everyone!

 

[lt_shiro]

suggested changes

i3 530 and drop the video card.
dell vostro is good value for the money. 3 year warranty is must.

 

[Triple B]

Dell won't let me make those changes. In fact, the vid card and CPU are the lowest priced options on the Vostro.

I miss the days of from-scratch builds with Dell.

 

[bastage]

whats the bill on that dell so we can see if we can beat it..

 

[Triple B]

The bill WAS about $1,050. Unfortunately, Dell decided to change the format of their site between yesterday and today. What used to be "Saved Items" in the cart section (where I saved three PC's I had customized) is now the wishlist. And the wishlist is empty. It's awesome, because it said the items I had saved would be available to view until the end of August.

...

Not happy. I'll go back and re-customize and post the results here.

 

[bastage]

Wow.. Was that 1050 each or total for 2.. Also was there a monitor included..

Based on it being 1 computer with no Monitor I came up with this for 789 Shipped..

200 i3-530 + Intel BOXDH55HC LGA 1156 Intel H55 HDMI ATX
220 OCZ 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) XMP-Ready + Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
60 Antec EarthWatts Green EA-380D Green 380W + Antec VSK-2000 Black ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
220 Microsoft Office 2010 Home and Business
55 SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM
20 Sony Optiarc Black 24X DVD+R

That leaves plenty of room in your 1000-1200 budget for a Monitor & maybe a CPU upgrade.. For the Uses though the i3-530 should perform great & there is no need for a stand alone graphics card for an office computer with the above described uses.

 

[Triple B]

That was 1050 each, with monitor included.

I just set up a new Vostro 230 that comes in at $1,116.99 each. The setup is listed below:

Windows® 7 Professional, w XP Mode, 64-bit
Core 2 Quad Q8400 w/ VT (2.66GHz, 4M, L2Cache, 1333FSB)
4GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz - 2DIMMs
Dell 20 inch Widescreen E2010H
Integrated Video, Intel® GMA X4500
320GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache
16X DVD-ROM Drive
Office Home and Business 2010
3 Year ProSupport for End Users and 3 Year NBD On-site Service

I'm gonna check out the parts you just listed for me. That's a huge price difference. The only question mark is my own ability to build it, but I'm confident enough since I've done it before!

EDIT: lol those components are so much better than the Dell...

 

[bastage]

That was 1050 each, with monitor included.

I just set up a new Vostro 230 that comes in at $1,116.99 each. The setup is listed below:

Windows® 7 Professional, w XP Mode, 64-bit
Core 2 Quad Q8400 w/ VT (2.66GHz, 4M, L2Cache, 1333FSB)
4GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz - 2DIMMs
Dell 20 inch Widescreen E2010H
Integrated Video, Intel® GMA X4500
320GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache
16X DVD-ROM Drive
Office Home and Business 2010
3 Year ProSupport for End Users and 3 Year NBD On-site Service

I'm gonna check out the parts you just listed for me. That's a huge price difference. The only question mark is my own ability to build it, but I'm confident enough since I've done it before!

EDIT: lol those components are so much better than the Dell...

Yea everything I linked are parts that I would trust in a business setting with no hesitation. Also firmly follows the KISS method which would make building easy for you.