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Office PC... High End

M

motolube

Gawd
Joined
Dec 18, 2006
Messages
1,002
Ok, you guys have help me with the previous 2 office builts but this one is different, this one is for the Big Kahuna and it needs to be something high end as he would expect no less.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Web Browsing, Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Publisher, Outlook), Accounting/Point of Sale that will need to be run inside Virtual XP, normal Multitasking.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$ 1,500.00
Tax and Shipping are included

3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
Miami, Florida 33155

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.

Case
PSU
CPU ----- (Must be Intel, he does not like AMD... I5 should suffice)
MOBO ----- (Asus or similar or better quality. I figure Asus is one of the top ones? :confused:)
RAM ----- (16GBs of Good Ram)
Video Card ----- (Nvidia is preferred)
SSD -------------- (80 to 90 GBs)
HDD -------------- (500GBs to 1 TB Max)
CD/DVD/r/w
Keyboard
Mouse
25" LCD Monitor

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
No reusable parts

6) Will you be overclocking?
No overclocking

7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
N/A

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
As soon as I can get all the components together

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)? etc.
USB 3.0 would be cool.
SATA 6 GB/s would also be cool
Onboard video as well
but none of these are real requirements or deal breakers.

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Yes, we will be ordering Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bits from a friend that works for MS and gets me the software at a very good price but this will not be part of the budget.


I expect to install win 7 ultimate 64 bit on this rig and since the Accounting/Point of Sale software must run on XP, I plan to make a Virtual XP to run it, this way, he can make use of the 16 GBs of good Ram for the other stuff and still leave some of that ram to run the virtual XP.

I have chosen a 80 to 90 GB SSD because I figure that as long as he can run the OS and the main applications on it, the rest will be handled by the Backup HDD spinner.

I am looking for a nice looking case, lots of room to breath but not something that will break the bank or the budget.

I also want a decent Video Card but since he will not be doing heavy editing or drawing, it does not have to be top of the line... He does prefer Nvidia.

Again, thanks for the help folks... and enjoy spending my money. :D
 
Well, why exactly does he want a discrete video card? For anything business related (web browsing, any office software, accounting software, etc) the onboard video on an i5 will be more than enough. The only things that really demand a discrete GPU nowdays is gaming, video editing, and rendering. Even photoshop can be run off of an integrated graphics card.

However, if he has a personal preference of having a discrete, then a GTX 560, 560 Ti, Radeon 6850, 6870, and 6950 are all good choices, depending on how much he wants to spend on it.

As for the rest of the build:

Since he's not overclocking, i5-2500 or even i5-2400 will be plenty.

MoBo: Asus P8Z68V vanilla (not the pro, delux, gen 3, etc) will be more than enough, and it has onboard video, sata 6, etc.

RAM: honestly take your pick. Corsair, G.Skill, Patriot, etc, as long as its rated 1.5v or lower. Typically Corsair and G.Skill are the best bang for the buck, just get any DDR3 1333 or 1600 RAM.

CD/DVD r/w: Any Asus, Samsung, etc one is fine, should be like $20-$25.

Keyboard/Mouse: Does he care more about comfort, key response, size, etc? For office uses the Microsoft comfort curve keyboards are usually great choices, very quiet, and ergonomic for extended use.

LCD wise, Asus, Dell, and Samsung LCDs are great, honestly it depends on what form factor he likes.

PSU/Case/Fans: Since it's an office, I'm assuming he'd want it to be as quiet as possible, and for it to not be blinged out with case windows and LED lights. In that case, Antec P183 case, Seasonic PSU (600-750W would all be fine), and GELID NFB fans. The case is very sleek and business appropriate, and more importantly very quiet, the PSU is very reliable and also very quiet, and those fans are the quietest I've ever heard.

With that budget, as long as you don't go overboard for a high end graphics card or monitor, you should have enough budget to slap in a 128 or even 256 GB SSD. Go with a Crucial M4, they are the most reliable, and reliability is what counts in an office. I would suggest at least 128 GB, since windows 7 plus office software etc will take up a sizeable chunk of it already.
 
Thanks Tsuyoi.

If its not to much bother and if say, money was no object... what is the main difference between the i7 and the i5?

As an example, at least one I can understand... is that both of them are fast but the i5 will only do 150 mph whereas the i7 will get to 170 mph?

Or is it more that the i7 has air suspension and the i5 doesn't, the i5 has a v6 motor the i7 a v8?


My problem with choosing the RAM is that I usually pick one that is the LESS compatible with the board, this is mainly where I need the help. LOL
 
The i7 has more hyperthreading, and clocks SLIGHTLY higher on average. However, hyperthreading is something that the majority of programs can't even take advantage of fully, and definitely none of the programs he uses will benefit from the i7 over the i5.

So I guess its like... the i7 has one of those neato rear spoilers that pops up only when you go over 80mph, but your driving on a road with an absolutely enforced speed limit of 60.


RAM wise, Sandy Bridge will be compatible with any DDR3 RAM rated at 1.5V or lower, with speeds of either 1333,1600,1866, or 2133. For office purposes, 1333 is plenty, but 1600 isn't that much more, so most people just get two 2x4GB kits of DDR 1600 RAM. I know G.Skill Ripjaws/Ripjaws X and Corsair Vengeance RAM are all fine.
 
For productivity nothing beats screen real estate. I would spend $1000 on a 30" monitor or a pair of nice 1920x1200 24" monitors, then spend the rest of the money on a Dell - they're perfectly fine for office work.
 
Thanks a lot... that made a lot of sense to me. I get lost when it comes to reading computer terminologies.

Oh and... do any motherboard comes with Bluetooh or can I get that all by itself?
 
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I've i3 2100T, with asus MOBO and 8GB gskill ram with windows 7 and i can ran POS system + wow + office at the same time, and i tested these things on 1080p (and the game was running on 1080p) without a problem.

IDK why do you want to run xp for pos, what kinds of POS software you are using. and the asus mobo i've does come with BT and wireless internet.

EDIT: the BT i've only used to connect headphone and ipod, though never sync they ipod nor i've used headphone that much to use BT. also as far as connections go i used DVI and HDMI (both on different monitors) to run these things without hitch (the game ran at like 45fps) though that was when 2100T first came out i tested it and haven't played since) since than i did put in SSD in the system to boost up boot time other than that i haven't used much on it.
 
Some Vengeance RAM say they are Quad Channel Kits and some say Dual Channel Kits.

Looking at the Memory supported on the Asus P8Z68-M Pro, it says it supports only Dual Channel. Oh and also, nowhere on the details of the P8Z68-M Pro do I read that it comes with BT... can you show me?

Being said that... what is the difference between these two Ram Kits and why 1 so much more than the other?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233246

vs

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145347
 
If you look closely, one is a 4x4GB RAM set, which will take up all 4 RAM slots on your MoBo, for a combined 16 GB (this isn't an issue, just pointing it out).

The other is a 2x8GB RAM set, and thus will only take up 2 RAM slots. This gives you the option of getting two more, for a 4x8GB setup, resulting in 32GB of total RAM.

Also, you shouldn't need the pro version of the P8Z68, unless he needs FireWire support. Otherwise, the following suffices:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131729

Under details, go to Onboard LAN, you'll find the following:
Bluetooth v2.1 + EDR
 
Hmmmmmm, both P8Z68 (M-Pro and V-LX) I have seen are way less than the one you are telling me... perhaps I would be better off just snatching the latest BT as an add-on?

This is getting a little difficult... I gotta a little more thought into it... I want some bling to go along so the Boss is happy but I think I can find a cheaper solution BT than onboard... I have read that flash readers now come with BT as well?
 
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Ok so here's a rundown of the key differences between the V-LX, the M-Pro, and the V vanilla.

The V-LX is essentially a budgeted version of the normal V that removes a few features. The first is performance on the PCIe slots, but since your boss isn't doing gaming or SLIing, that's not a problem. The audio chipset used is also an older version, but unless he's going to be listening to hifi music from the comp, that also shouldn't be a problem. It also uses a Realtek lan chipset instead of Intel like the regular V, but unless he needs every last kbps he can get, that isn't a real issue. It lacks onboard USB 3.0 for front connectors, but that depends on which case he goes for. If he wants a case with built in front USB 3.0 ports, he'll need to get the regular V. Finally, as you noted, it lacks onboard Bluetooth support.

The M-Pro is actually a micro-ATX board, and as such is much smaller. This means less space to work with when you are setting it up. On the features level, again it lacks the PCIe performance of the regular V, but that shouldn't be an issue. It has the same audio chipset as the regular V, so better than the LX. Like the LX however, it uses a RealTek LAN chipset. And again, it lacks onboard USB 3.0 and Bluetooth.

Of course, you can always get a tiny Bluetooth USB dongle, those are like $10-20 a pop and work fine.

Since he's the big kahuna, the main things he'll probably notice are: keyboard, mouse, case, monitor, and speed. Therefore, those are probably the areas you wanna focus on. Get a nice sleek solid case like the Antec P183, get a large monitor or dual monitors, and get a very comfortable keyboard/mouse set. For speed, definitely get a 128 GB SSD, load the OS, browser, Office, virtual pc etc onto it, he'll love how fast everything loads up.
 
Tsuyoi, again, many thanks for the explanations... those are extremely clear to understand, no Mumbo Jumbo... most excellent.

I think I have it down to this... still not satisfied with the cases but again, Big Kahuna needs all the latest Goodies and bling, even if he won't use half of it LOL.

Cases...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811108376
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133183
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133183

Mainly because of the USB 3.0 front ports... I need a good looking case with 2 to 4 USB 3.0 ports, that is my goal.

PSU + CD/DVD Rom Combo...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.812499

Asus Motherboard P8Z68-V... w/BT capabilities
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131729

Intel i5 Sandy Bridge 2500K...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115073

Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB)...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233246

Hard Drives...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148448
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148767

Monitor...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236123

Keyboard & Mouse...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823126043
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826104321

Card Reader...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820223108
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817994080


Feel Free to add, take and make references to other preferences... I am all ears and want to start buying the components as soon as Monday. This way I can have some time to make informed decisions. :D
 
PersonalJ said:
I'd probably get a case like this, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139007 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139006
They are high end cases and don't look like a light show, he may not want a bunch of lights on the fans, they can look tacky.
Click to expand...

On the contrary, the guy loves to show off his bling... those would surely be to bland for him. I rather blue lights than red but I will take anything that looks cool and is user friendly as well.
 
Well then that changes EVERYTHING, if he likes bling on his case. I was making recommendations on assuming it was one of those stuffy offices where everything must be regulation black and what not.

For bling/cool factor, there's the following just to name a few good ones:
NZXT Phantom: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146067 - $130

NZXT LEXA: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146060 - $80

Corsair 600T: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139005 - $170 (looks plain at first, but once you add some LED Fans and the lights from the side panel, sexy as hell)

Bitfenix Colossus: http://www.bitfenix.com/global/en/products/chassis/colossus/ - $170

And if he REALLY wants to get crazy:
Thermaltake Level 10 GT: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133192 - $290

Edit:

If he's a fan of Tron, you can build him a whole Tron themed computer. Get the Bitfenix Colossus, then get the Razer Tron Mouse and Keyboard and Mousepad combo. Will make any Tron fanboy squeal.
 
IMO get a 27" 2560x1440 monitor or better since that'll give a massive boost to productivity. For a budget that high, I'd say spend the most money on the peripherals (monitor, keyboard, mice).
 
Great choice for an office mouse. I would change the keyboard for a Logitech K750 solar though. During office hours, you typically don't need a backlit keyboard. I use one myself and it certainly has the bling + green factor going for it. Also, the wireless is so good that missing keystrokes has not been an issue.
 
Also, he might want to consider a mechanical keyboard (e..g IBM Model M).
 
No need for a mechanical keyboard unless he games. No other applications short of hardcore programming uses that many simultaneous keystrokes at a time.
 
If you aren't overclocking, no need for the "K" version of that processor, in fact the cheaper 2400 would do everything he needs then some. Spend the money else where. (bigger monitor, larger SSD)
 
Agreed. No need for the K version if you're not overclocking. Invest in a bigger SSD and BlueRay burner.

BlueRay always makes bosses happy ;)
 
And this is why I always like to wait a few day before I pull the pin on a purchase... to late now, The Brown truck was already here with a box from NewEgg.
 
That's ok, go install ASUS AI Suite II, run the extreme overclock function, should get that i5 to well over 4GHz. Then run Windows Experience Index, watch it max out on everything but graphics performance. Show boss, boss is happy.
 
Tsuyoi said:
That's ok, go install ASUS AI Suite II, run the extreme overclock function, should get that i5 to well over 4GHz. Then run Windows Experience Index, watch it max out on everything but graphics performance. Show boss, boss is happy.
Click to expand...

Not on the stock HSF.
 
Well that's the awesome thing about i5/i7 with a Z68 chipset. He'll OC it to 4.5, do the index, get amazing results. But with the i5 with a Z68, EPU and all the other acronymn happy functions will limit the actual output during regular use, so no over-heating.
 
Um, do not overclock on a stock heatsink. While you 'might' be protected by the over limit inside the CPU, your boss will be pissed if one day he can't boot due to too much voltage being used during the AI suite tune.
 
No worries, never been to fond of OC my rigs... they are more trouble than I know what to do with it. :eek: :)

Case and Monitor will be there tomorrow so I will be starting to build everything then... I have already seated the CPU on the mobo along with the fan... mobo sure looks purdy :D :p
 
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