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powerful office PC

B

Benpalmason

n00b
Joined
Oct 20, 2011
Messages
3
Hi all !
This forum is really good and amazing what ppl are doing. I've built a lot of gaming systems where heat, power and noise has not been the main worry.
I run an office of about 10 PCs and we have been buying Dell's. I bought 2 new ones the other day and well they are good PCs but as soon as you want something extra they get damn expensive. Like adding a small SSD is 250€ (300+ USD) and so on. With these amazing mini-ITX mobos with integrated graphics I think one can buy a really good office computer for way less.
I want a snappy office computer, support of 2 monitors, and I'm willing to pay extra for less noise. Would fantastic to get some opinions on my ideas so far.

  • Asus P8H67-I - I think that with this mobo I can run one monitor from the DVI and another from DP
  • Intel Core i5-2405S - 65w TDP but should still be quite fast. With a good cooler, I could even run it passively for most of the time
  • Scythe Shuriken - Low formfactor but good.
  • Silverstone ST45SF - Should I rather take Seasonic X-400 ?? (in case I would want to run completely passive)
  • Lian Li Q11 - Maybe too big? Would be great to get comments...

Other parts less important;
Intel SSD 320 (a reliable SSD); 2x4 GB, DVD-drive, Win7 Pro.

Not having a GPU of course saves a lot of space, heat and power...
Any comments would be great (I apologize for too much text and bad English !)
 
For an office PC, I would not bother with an aftermarket cooler. The stock Sandy Bridge Intel coolers are fairly quiet unless under extreme load, which you shouldn't be, and the Sandy Bridge CPUs are very cool running at idle.

Both the case and PSU are overkill, IMO. You need nothing beyond a 120W PSU, even a pico with a power brick will do. Case is a matter of taste. Will it be seen in the office? If not, one of the Antec 310-150 models should work just fine. Plenty of other choices, however. Is there a space/style requirement for this?
 
Pretty much agree with everything flopticalcube said. I built my wife's machine with that motherboard and an i5-2400 in an SG05 and can say it is plenty powerful for most uses (included a GTX 460 for gaming graphics for her). If you don't anticipate the need for the onboard wireless and think that SATA2 is enough, I think a person could probably save even more money by going with the ASUS P8H61-I.
 
I have the P8H61-I and i5-2400S and I can't imagine that in a work environment you would notice the difference with a 'proper' i5/i7. Of course I can't guess what software you are running there. If you won't have an extra GPU then you can run on stock Intel cooler no problem. Also, I don't understand why you need 320GB of ssd? Why not just enough for Windows and Applications on the ssd, while using a cheaper 3.5" hdd for data?

So here's my suggestion for your new list:

  • SG05 or SG06 300W
  • Asus P8H61-I
  • Intel i5-2405S
  • Mushkin 8GB 1333MHz
  • Corsair 60GB SSD
  • Seagate 500GB 3.5" 7200rpm HDD
  • LiteOn Slimline DVD-RW

At my local computer cash and carry this lot comes to 600 euros. It would be more like 540 euros when the hard drive crisis in Thailand is over. Only thing you need to add is Windows, and I'm sure you can get some kind of corporate deal when buying for 10 users at once.
 
Antec ISK 300-65 case
Pico PSU 150XT or 160XT
ASRock Z68 ITX mobo
8GB DDR3
slim ODD
Marvell or SF2200 SSD (with latest firmware)
 
Thank you all for your comments !

I will probably do a few office computers, so I have some room for trial and errors :)
Checked with Dell, SFF, i5-2400, 8gb, small SSD, W7 pro + Office is 1566€ with VAT; so that's my benchmark :p

@ zap and @flopticalcube: You are absolutley right. Case don't make any sense. I've bought a Lian Li Q09 and an Antec 300-150. Both have some pros and cons; see how they work out.

@DesertCat: The P8H67-I is only standard (the Delux has wifi). The price difference is not that big.

@WiSK: I've been thinking about that. A proper i5-2500 cost the same. But it's 95W and the Lian Li has a 110w PSU. Then again these thing usually can handle more and the CPU very seldom runs @ 95w for a long time for office applications. I'm gonna try both :)
Small misunderstanding with SDD, I meant the Intel 320-series. But anyway, I'm buying the Corsair GT 60gb. It's Sata3 and cost under 100€.

Will post comments when everything arrives.
 
I just built a dozen or so computers for my office...each pc utilizes varying sizes of Dell P series monitors. We primarily use our pc's in financial applications.

These we're the parts I used in each pc.

CPU: Intel 2100T
Motherboard: Intel DH61BE(matx) and several with the Intel BOXDQ67EPB3(mitx)
memory: Kingston Value Series low profile 2x4gb
SSD: Intel 320 series 80gb
GPU: NVS 300, a couple of machines I used the PNY Quadro 600, three or so I'm reusing the NVS 295's I have lying around. The Quadro 600 is overkill for even two 24's.
PSU: Antec Earthwatts 380D

Averaged about $500 per machine.

The machines are silent with very low power, but amazingly fast for office use. Still waiting on a case to be released from Silverstone for the matx boards. Going to use the PS-07.

I've dealt with and owned multi-monitor set ups since the early 90's. You'll find Intel drivers don't play very nice with dual monitor set-ups. Buggy and unreliable are the words that come to mind.

Good luck with your build,

Liquid Cool
 
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