Parents Upgrading Home Computer

[Ian SLagle]

Budget (including currency): $850

Country: United States

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Home Office Use, Windows 11

Other details (existing parts lists, whether any peripherals are needed, what you're upgrading from, when you're going to buy, what resolution and refresh rate you want to play at, etc): Upgrading from 10+ year old PC, hoping to last a similar length

 

Am I missing something or is this pre-built (https://www.bestbuy.com/site/dell-inspiron-desktop-3030-intel-core-i7-processor-14-gen-16gb-memory-1tb-ssd-mist-blue/6574637.p?skuId=6574637) a really good deal? Even more so with open box. I tried replicating it in PCPartPicker and got basically the same price. Might be that the CPU is pretty expensive in the parts market, alternatives welcome. (Also tried to sell them on the idea of using ChromeOS Flex or similar to keep the old hardware but they're pretty set on Windows, and feel it necessary to upgrade to 11).

 

PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/TWpj6D

CPU: Intel Core i7-14700 2.1 GHz 20-Core Processor  ($394.96 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: MSI PRO Z690-A WIFI ATX LGA1700 Motherboard  ($169.00 @ Amazon) 
Memory: TEAMGROUP Elite 16 GB (1 x 16 GB) DDR5-5600 CL46 Memory  ($42.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: TEAMGROUP MP33 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($54.99 @ Amazon) 
Case: Cougar MX331 MESH-X ATX Mid Tower Case  ($48.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic G 450 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply  ($13.85 @ Amazon) 
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 11 Home OEM - DVD 64-bit  ($119.99 @ Amazon) 
Total: $844.77
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-08-03 14:26 EDT-0400

 

[Tetras]

11 minutes ago, Ian SLagle said:

Am I missing something

You don't read/watch the tech news, I assume?

 

 

[Ian SLagle]

Oh this is that chip? To be honest, no I don't, following parts is really time-intensive. I super appreciate the folks that do.

[Jeppes]

Mac mini is great for that kind of stuff.

[Tetras]

5 minutes ago, Ian SLagle said:

Oh this is that chip? To be honest, no I don't, following parts is really time-intensive. I super appreciate the folks that do.

Yes, any Intel 13th-14th gen CPU is potentially broken at the point of sale, or will be broken some time afterwards, so it might be having an impact on the sales at some outlets and leading to discounts. I'd suggest switching from the 14700 non-K to a Ryzen 7900, assuming you need something that powerful (for casual office use either of those CPUs is enormous overkill).

[Ian SLagle]

3 minutes ago, Tetras said:

Yes, any Intel 13th-14th gen CPU is potentially broken at the point of sale, or will be broken some time afterwards, so it might be having an impact on the sales at some outlets and leading to discounts. I'd suggest switching from the 14700 non-K to a Ryzen 7900, assuming you need something that powerful (for casual office use either of those CPUs is enormous overkill).

I think this is non-K, no? And yeah, I need to look more at the budget options.

 

Edit: sorry, can't read today

[Tetras]

1 minute ago, Ian SLagle said:

I think this is non-K, no? And yeah, I need to look more at the budget options.

For a regular office user with no high demand usage (like some spreadsheet users are actually very high demand!) then I'd suggest an i5-12400 or Ryzen 5 5600 as a minimum spec. They're both 6 core CPUs and pretty responsive for opening apps and such, so should easily accommodate light desktop use for the next 5+ years. 

 

An AM5 system would have more future upgradability, but if they just replace the entire PC anyway then obviously not much advantage there.

[Ian SLagle]

8 minutes ago, Tetras said:

For a regular office user with no high demand usage (like some spreadsheet users are actually very high demand!) then I'd suggest an i5-12400 or Ryzen 5 5600 as a minimum spec. They're both 6 core CPUs and pretty responsive for opening apps and such, so should easily accommodate light desktop use for the next 5+ years. 

 

An AM5 system would have more future upgradability, but if they just replace the entire PC anyway then obviously not much advantage there.

PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/7Mq6GP

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600G 3.9 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($142.00 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: MSI MAG B550 TOMAHAWK MAX WIFI ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($139.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: TEAMGROUP T-Force Vulcan Z 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($50.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Crucial P3 Plus 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($112.09 @ Amazon) 
Case: Cougar MX331 MESH-X ATX Mid Tower Case  ($48.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic G 450 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply  ($13.85 @ Amazon) 
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 11 Home OEM - DVD 64-bit  ($119.99 @ Amazon) 
Total: $627.90
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-08-03 15:18 EDT-0400

 

Okay something like this is what I'm looking at now. Motherboard might be a bit overkill but they use it exclusively over WiFi (I don't think I can sell them on the benefits of running an Ethernet cable to where they put it), so I think a WiFi 6 board would go a ways to make it feel snappier.

[Tetras]

1 minute ago, Ian SLagle said:

PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/7Mq6GP

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600G 3.9 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($142.00 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: MSI MAG B550 TOMAHAWK MAX WIFI ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($139.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: TEAMGROUP T-Force Vulcan Z 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($50.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Crucial P3 Plus 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($112.09 @ Amazon) 
Case: Cougar MX331 MESH-X ATX Mid Tower Case  ($48.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic G 450 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply  ($13.85 @ Amazon) 
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 11 Home OEM - DVD 64-bit  ($119.99 @ Amazon) 
Total: $627.90
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-08-03 15:18 EDT-0400

 

Okay something like this is what I'm looking at now. Motherboard might be a bit overkill but they use it exclusively over WiFi (I don't think I can sell them on the benefits of running an Ethernet cable to where they put it), so I think a WiFi 6 board would go a ways to make it feel snappier.

Yeah, something like that. I forgot to mention that the 5600 non-X doesn't have integrated graphics, but you included the 5600G which does.

 

All Ryzen 7000 and 8000 CPUs except F models (e.g. 7500F) have integrated graphics.

 

I'd also look at a 12600K, depending on prices (again, F models, like KF do not have integrated graphics).

[Ian SLagle]

31 minutes ago, Tetras said:

Yeah, something like that. I forgot to mention that the 5600 non-X doesn't have integrated graphics, but you included the 5600G which does.

 

All Ryzen 7000 and 8000 CPUs except F models (e.g. 7500F) have integrated graphics.

 

I'd also look at a 12600K, depending on prices (again, F models, like KF do not have integrated graphics).

Still finding it hard to compete with pre-builts though (https://www.samsclub.com/p/hp-victus-gaming-desktop-12-generation-intel-core/P03006998?xid=plp_product_8).

[Tetras]

26 minutes ago, Ian SLagle said:

Still finding it hard to compete with pre-builts though (https://www.samsclub.com/p/hp-victus-gaming-desktop-12-generation-intel-core/P03006998?xid=plp_product_8).

I'd look at something like this. Overkill, but the CPU/RAM shouldn't need replacing for 5-10 years in a basic office PC and the PSU is a higher-tier model with a 10-year warranty, so hopefully will also last the duration.

 

You can obviously downgrade the SSD if you don't think they'll need that much storage. This is a TLC drive with a 5 year warranty and decent endurance figures, though it does lack DRAM.

 

The case doesn't have RGB, but it includes all the fans needed and is pretty roomy if a graphics card is ever required.

 

The K CPUs don't come with a cooler like the 12400 does, but the Freezer 36 is pretty good for $25 and can handle it fine.

 

The board has 1x HDMI and 1x DP, which uses the integrated graphics in the 12600K.

 

AX means wireless in Gigabyte speak.

 

PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/z8MnbL

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-12600K 3.7 GHz 10-Core Processor  ($171.74 @ Newegg) 
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Freezer 36 CPU Cooler  ($25.40 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte Z690 UD AX DDR4 ATX LGA1700 Motherboard  ($121.32 @ Amazon) 
Memory: Klevv BOLT X 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($48.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Western Digital Black SN770 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($124.99 @ Amazon) 
Case: Lian Li LANCOOL 216 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($79.99 @ Adorama) 
Power Supply: MSI MPG A750GF 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($79.98 @ Amazon) 
Total: $652.41

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-08-03 16:16 EDT-0400