Need recommendations for a OFFICE computer….

[JakeStateFarm]

Hey all!

so I have a decent 3060 intel i7 and Mac mini for gaming, BUT

i need a new work computer. Specifically the best for spread sheets, lots of chrome tabs, ect.

 

like idk is a i7/i9 overkill? How much Ram? Does it really need a graphics card ? 
 

I might have 5 email tabs open, some CRM sites open, some excel sheets open and maybe google earth open. And I do use 2 monitors. What do I actually need to do this efficiently 

 

I have a i3 with 4gb ram computer at work (left over from who ever had the position before me) and it is slow as heck and takes no joke 20-30 seconds to load my email in the morning. I’ve had it take 2+ minutes to open a NEW BLANK excel sheet.So I want the best bang to buck ratio specs to look for a new one.

thank you ! 

[Lhukov]

Hey Jake, 

 

In my view an i7 or an i9 would be overkill for your usage. For my work I use a Surface Laptop with an integrated GPU and it works fine when I am accessing multiple inboxes, emails, fairly complicated excel spreadsheets and various SharePoint sites. There is a slight delay when accessing shared excel documents where dozens of people are accessing them but I doubt this has anything to do with my local resources. 

I think any Laptop or Desktop CPU with decent integrated graphics would work fine. Personally I would go an i5 or Ryzen 5 with at least 6 to 8 cores, 16GB ram and not worry about a GPU. 

 

Hope that helps. 

[brob]

CPU: i3-13100 or i5-13400

CPU cooler: stock 

Memory: 2x8 DDR4-3200 CL16

Motherboard: any that supports dual monitors and M.2 NVMe drive

Storage: 1TB NVMe drive

 

[DrMacintosh]

https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-mac/mac-mini/apple-m2-chip-with-8-core-cpu-and-10-core-gpu-256gb

 

You could get away with the base model but 16GB will fly.

[JakeStateFarm]

6 minutes ago, DrMacintosh said:

https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-mac/mac-mini/apple-m2-chip-with-8-core-cpu-and-10-core-gpu-512gb

 

You could get away with the base model but 16GB will fly.

Honestly I love my m1 Mac mini at home, sadly it doesn’t play nicely with OneDrive or our CRM program. Or else I’d hands down get another Mac mini  I actually have a spare i7 Mac mini at home I’d bring to work if Mac worked nicer with the work softwares.

[RyanWakileh]

3 minutes ago, JakeStateFarm said:

Honestly I love my m1 Mac mini at home, sadly it doesn’t play nicely with OneDrive or our CRM program. Or else I’d hands down get another Mac mini  I actually have a spare i7 Mac mini at home I’d bring to work if Mac worked nicer with the work softwares.

This should work if you just need a fast work prebuilt. https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/workstations-isv-certified/precision-3460-small-form-factor-workstation/spd/precision-3460-workstation/s003dp3460us_vp

[DrMacintosh]

Just now, JakeStateFarm said:

sadly it doesn’t play nicely with OneDrive or our CRM program.

Really? What CRM do you guys use. My work (its literally 8 ppl, mostly family) just started using Salesforce. Its web based and its great. As for OneDrive, I'm our IT department, and I run a 16" 2019 MacBook Pro in office and as my personal computer. It works great with Microsoft 365.

 

That being said, if the Mac mini is out for you, anything with an R5 w/ graphics or an i5 (6 cores min) and 16GB of memory will do the job nicely. I'm not super familiar with prebuilt windows desktops so I can't give a specific recommendation. 

[JakeStateFarm]

6 minutes ago, RyanWakileh said:

This should work if you just need a fast work prebuilt. https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/workstations-isv-certified/precision-3460-small-form-factor-workstation/spd/precision-3460-workstation/s003dp3460us_vp

Those specs look nice. Seems a little pricey for what’s in it but it’s also exactly what I’m looking for I think. Def a contender thanks ! 

[JakeStateFarm]

6 minutes ago, DrMacintosh said:

Really? What CRM do you guys use. My work (its literally 8 ppl, mostly family) just started using Salesforce. Its web based and its great. As for OneDrive, I'm our IT department, and I run a 16" 2019 MacBook Pro in office and as my personal computer. It works great with Microsoft 365.

 

That being said, if the Mac mini is out for you, anything with an R5 w/ graphics or an i5 (6 cores min) and 16GB of memory will do the job nicely. I'm not super familiar with prebuilt windows desktops so I can't give a specific recommendation. 

We use Jobber and Service Auto Pilot right now. It works fine in jobber but service auto pilot, kinda rough . It hates all the pop up windows and stuff it does.