A Simple Office PC for my Mom

[Adorable Cat]

I'm making this PC for my Mom who's starting a small business (so I may end up making 2, one for her partner) and I'm just looking for a bit of feedback.

 

PCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/4TNfcY
Price breakdown by merchant: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/4TNfcY/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel - Core i3-8100 3.6 GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($118.89 @ OutletPC) 
Motherboard: ASRock - H310M-HDV Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($58.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: G.Skill - NT Series 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($49.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Kingston - A400 120 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($25.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($44.89 @ OutletPC) 
Case: Rosewill - SRM-01 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($19.99 @ Newegg Business) 
Power Supply: EVGA - BT 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($29.89 @ Amazon) 
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit  ($98.89 @ OutletPC) 
Wireless Network Adapter: Rosewill - RNX-N250PCe PCI-Express x1 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi Adapter  ($16.99 @ Amazon) 
Monitor: Acer - G226HQLBbd 21.5" 1920x1080 60 Hz Monitor  ($80.99 @ Amazon) 
Keyboard: Microsoft - Desktop 850 Wireless Standard Keyboard w/Optical Mouse  ($19.85 @ Amazon) 
Total: $565.35
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-01-15 12:02 EST-0500

 

She's only really gonna need this PC for simple office stuff, so I opted for an i3. There are a couple other questions I have:

-Is it worth it to get 8Gb RAM or do you think saving a bit and getting 4Gb will be alright.

-Should I get a pentium or Ryzen CPU instead? It would maybe be cheaper but I'm not very well versed with them, so I'd need a mobo and CPU recommendation.

 

Thanks!

 

[Dedayog]

 

Another good start...

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/guide/nYCmP6/budget-homeoffice-build

[SupaKomputa]

i3 is too much, you can get a Athlon 200ge or Pentium Gold 5600 for $50.

get a grey market windows key for just $20, just as good.

and you really need 1tb hdd? 120gb is plenty to store office files you know.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Athlon 200GE 3.2 GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($50.79 @ OutletPC) 
Motherboard: ASRock - B450M PRO4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($59.89 @ OutletPC) 
Memory: G.Skill - NT Series 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($49.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Kingston - A400 120 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($25.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($44.89 @ OutletPC) 
Case: Rosewill - SRM-01 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($19.99 @ Newegg Business) 
Power Supply: EVGA - BT 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($29.89 @ Amazon) 
Wireless Network Adapter: Rosewill - RNX-N250PCe PCI-Express x1 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi Adapter  ($16.99 @ Amazon) 
Monitor: Acer - G226HQLBbd 21.5" 1920x1080 60 Hz Monitor  ($80.99 @ Amazon) 
Keyboard: Microsoft - Desktop 850 Wireless Standard Keyboard w/Optical Mouse  ($19.85 @ Amazon) 
Total: $399.26
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-01-15 12:21 EST-0500

[Guest]

As far as storage, your SSD+HDD budget could get you a 480/500GB SSD instead. I'd recommend that over 1.1GB of total storage. If you find she needs more space down the road, adding more space would be simpler. This way you get a much better drive than those Kingstons and it's all SSD.

[Nocte]

I would probably get the Windows key "elsewhere" instead of spending 20% of the build on Windows. But you do you. This is a bit cheaper and has a much better PSU than the one you've selected.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD - Ryzen 3 2200G 3.5 GHz Quad-Core Processor	$99.47 @ OutletPC
Motherboard	ASRock - AB350M Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard	$42.99 @ Newegg
Memory	GeIL - EVO SPEAR 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-2400 Memory	$50.98 @ Newegg
Storage	Kingston - A400 120 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive	$25.99 @ Amazon
Storage	Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive	$44.89 @ OutletPC
Case	Rosewill - SRM-01 MicroATX Mini Tower Case	$19.99 @ Newegg Business
Power Supply	Corsair - CX (2017) 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply	$19.99 @ Newegg
Operating System	Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit	$98.89 @ OutletPC
Wireless Network Adapter	Rosewill - RNX-N250PCe PCI-Express x1 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi Adapter	$16.99 @ Amazon
Monitor	Acer - G226HQLBbd 21.5" 1920x1080 60 Hz Monitor	$80.99 @ Amazon
Keyboard	Microsoft - Desktop 850 Wireless Standard Keyboard w/Optical Mouse	$19.85 @ Amazon
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total (before mail-in rebates)	$566.02
	Mail-in rebates	-$45.00
	Total	$521.02
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-01-15 12:32 EST-0500

 

[SupaKomputa]

a quad core is too much of an office system.

remember people are more than comfortable with just a dual core not so long ago.

now the bottom of the well gives you 2 core + 4 threads, its a last gen i3 territory not counting dual cores i5/i7 on laptops.

[Adorable Cat]

Alright, with the advice I've brought it down $175, thanks!

 

PCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/ZYj3nH
Price breakdown by merchant: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/ZYj3nH/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel - Pentium G4400 3.3 GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($49.99 @ Newegg Business) 
Motherboard: MSI - H110M PRO-VD PLUS Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($54.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: G.Skill - NT Series 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($49.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Crucial - MX500 500 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($67.89 @ OutletPC) 
Case: Rosewill - SRM-01 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($19.99 @ Newegg Business) 
Power Supply: EVGA - BT 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($29.89 @ Amazon) 
Wireless Network Adapter: Rosewill - RNX-N250PCe PCI-Express x1 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi Adapter  ($16.99 @ Amazon) 
Monitor: Acer - G226HQLBbd 21.5" 1920x1080 60 Hz Monitor  ($80.99 @ Amazon) 
Keyboard: Microsoft - Desktop 850 Wireless Standard Keyboard w/Optical Mouse  ($19.85 @ Amazon) 
Total: $390.57
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-01-15 13:13 EST-0500

 

 

[Nocte]

1 hour ago, Adorable Cat said:

Power Supply: EVGA - BT 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($29.89 @ Amazon)

Get the CX450 (2017)... It's much better quality.

[grss1982]

On 1/16/2019 at 1:11 AM, Adorable Cat said:

I'm making this PC for my Mom who's starting a small business (so I may end up making 2, one for her partner) and I'm just looking for a bit of feedback.

 

PCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/4TNfcY
Price breakdown by merchant: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/4TNfcY/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel - Core i3-8100 3.6 GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($118.89 @ OutletPC) 
Motherboard: ASRock - H310M-HDV Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($58.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: G.Skill - NT Series 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($49.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Kingston - A400 120 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($25.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($44.89 @ OutletPC) 
Case: Rosewill - SRM-01 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($19.99 @ Newegg Business) 
Power Supply: EVGA - BT 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($29.89 @ Amazon) 
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit  ($98.89 @ OutletPC) 
Wireless Network Adapter: Rosewill - RNX-N250PCe PCI-Express x1 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi Adapter  ($16.99 @ Amazon) 
Monitor: Acer - G226HQLBbd 21.5" 1920x1080 60 Hz Monitor  ($80.99 @ Amazon) 
Keyboard: Microsoft - Desktop 850 Wireless Standard Keyboard w/Optical Mouse  ($19.85 @ Amazon) 
Total: $565.35
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-01-15 12:02 EST-0500

 

She's only really gonna need this PC for simple office stuff, so I opted for an i3. There are a couple other questions I have:

-Is it worth it to get 8Gb RAM or do you think saving a bit and getting 4Gb will be alright.

-Should I get a pentium or Ryzen CPU instead? It would maybe be cheaper but I'm not very well versed with them, so I'd need a mobo and CPU recommendation.

 

Thanks!

 

If it's an Office PC, does your mom need MS Office or she's okay with just having Open Office or Libre Office on it?  I did not see from your build above if it's included.

 

Hardware-wise, go for a Pentium Gold.  i3 seem overkill if just regular Office tasks.

 

You can also go with an AMD build built around the Athlon 200GE and a A320-based motherboard.

 

Keep the ram at 8GB in a 2x4GB configuration.  Dual channel does have it's benefits.

 

And if you have unused Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 keys you can use them to activate Windows 10 and thus not have to actually spend on a Windows 10 license.