Small form factor for office work?

[Dome]

we're setting up new offices, and i'll be getting a 2nd computer so i don't need to drag my laptop around with me. the desk doesn't have a lot of space underneath (to put a tower) so i was thinking about either leaving my laptop at the office as my work computer, and building a new one for home, or getting a small form factor pc for work.

basically i need a solution at work that takes up little room and handles wires okay (the desk is not up against a wall, so i don't want wires everywhere). work involves internet/word processing/excel, the easy stuff. at home the only games i play are diablo and starcraft, and the rest on my xbox.

i have thrown around the idea of a media center pc, so if that's a viable option that doesn't cost an arm and a leg (and if typing the occasional word document on a 50"tv isn't stroke-inducing) then that's an idea too.

long story short: would you guys recommend building a small form factor pc for work or using my home laptop and building a new rig?

EDIT: i'd prefer to spend less than 1000. forgot to include my budget

 

[Topweasel]

FYI people are going to recommend that you answer the questions from the sticky.

My recommendation would be to build a little ITX case and decide which features you want (like you can get wireless and bluetooth on some boards). CPU is really going to be the deciding factor. Most other components can be gotten for $300-$500. But CPU choice (whether you want 2 cores, 4 cores, better IGP, game playable IGP and so on.

I just built for ~600 a pretty useful portable gaming system using an AMD A8 in a SG05. Has wireless and Bluetooth.

But you can go more or less expensive dependent one whether you end up using this as home or work and what the use case is at work.

 

[PTNL]

If your needs would be better resolved with a laptop, then get one that supports a docking station. Have a dock at work and at home (or at least at work), and be more comfortable when you're not traveling by attaching full size keyboards, mice, and monitors.

 

[Topweasel]

If your needs would be better resolved with a laptop, then get one that supports a docking station. Have a dock at work and at home (or at least at work), and be more comfortable when you're not traveling by attaching full size keyboards, mice, and monitors.

No he said he didn't want a laptop. That he had one but didn't want to move it back and forth anymore.

It's actually funny working as an IT guy at my company, how many people wanted a laptop because its a laptop. Then they end up leaving their computer at work 90% of the time or complain about how much of a pain it is to take it back and forth. Sure Laptops are nice to have when you need it, and there are dozens of jobs that need a laptop 90% of the time, but it really is becoming an issue of how many people are requesting and getting a laptop and spending the extra money on one while keeping it slower and less upgradeable then a desktop and then treat it as a desktop except on the 1% of the time where it can actually be of use.

But to answer OP's major question. You could probably build up computer on par with you laptop cheaper then building up a primary home computer where your demands would probably exceed the type you would need at work. But if you really shop around you could build a pretty decent home computer for $700-800. It's hard to say. Depends on what you want from home and what you want at work.

 

[PTNL]

No he said he didn't want a laptop. That he had one but didn't want to move it back and forth anymore.

I understand that, but I've often heard the same reasoning b/c a user hadn't thought about a docking station before.

Additionally, there's other concerns raised by this idea:
- Should the internet/excel/whatever work be done from home? (One reason is data safety.)
- Other than internet/excel/whatever, are there any other applications that need to be loaded?
- Would the home machine need connectivity to work? If so, what are the IT guidelines?

It would be better for the OP to partner with the IT department on the second computer, and use their guidance as a point of reference to continue on this thread.

 

[Dome]

Low security risk, nothing vital that i do on my computer.

no other applications other than office suite

i would like to connect the 2 computers, but cloud storage is good enough.

family owned small business, no IT department.

I don't hate laptops, its just that my laptop is 17 inches and heavy. and its a couple years old and still has legs, so i'm not ready to replace it. and i don't want a 2nd laptop. hence, desktop or small form factor.

I'll probably just build a SFF pc for work. my question is: do i start with a barebones systems or should i start from scratch?

 

[Topweasel]

A barebones is going to be within ~$50. Build it yourself so you know how to work with it and replace parts as needed.

The SG05 seemed to be easier to work in and as small if not smaller then the old Shuttles I used off and on.

 

[Topweasel]

I understand that, but I've often heard the same reasoning b/c a user hadn't thought about a docking station before.

Additionally, there's other concerns raised by this idea:
- Should the internet/excel/whatever work be done from home? (One reason is data safety.)
- Other than internet/excel/whatever, are there any other applications that need to be loaded?
- Would the home machine need connectivity to work? If so, what are the IT guidelines?

It would be better for the OP to partner with the IT department on the second computer, and use their guidance as a point of reference to continue on this thread.

Everyone at my work has a docking station for their laptops. Seriously the complaint is about the annoyance of dragging it from the house to the car, car to work, work to car, car to house and back again. To a point I get it and the OP's 17 incher, I feel for him. Mine is like 10 lbs (9.8). But I have people complaining about 4.2 lbs E6520's. I had one guy try to tell me he had to have a 13" laptop, because of weight, when I told him it was a only .5 lbs less he showed me his stuffed to rim bag and told me with a straight face that the .5 lbs would make it unbearable, that he needed everything in his bag, and that extra weight would be the straw that broke the camels back.

People are learning very slowly that Laptops are not what they are cracked up to be and getting a laptop "to have a laptop" isn't worth the hassle.It won't ever get rid of the "but its a laptop" portion, but things like tablets and smart phones are doing one thing right, and that is getting people who don't really need to move around a laptop wherever they are going to stop moving around a laptop everywhere they go. Just means that they request a laptop and leave on their desks every day, except the one day every two or three months that proves they needed a laptop all along.

 

[PTNL]

Low security risk, nothing vital that i do on my computer.

no other applications other than office suite

i would like to connect the 2 computers, but cloud storage is good enough.

family owned small business, no IT department.

I don't hate laptops, its just that my laptop is 17 inches and heavy. and its a couple years old and still has legs, so i'm not ready to replace it. and i don't want a 2nd laptop. hence, desktop or small form factor.

I'll probably just build a SFF pc for work. my question is: do i start with a barebones systems or should i start from scratch?

This context helps. Run with Topweasel's earlier suggestion.