Price/Performance Coffee Shop Basic Build

[rodion.zissou]

I work for a great couple that own and run 3 coffee shops in the bay area. We are very popular with constant growth. That said we have some pretty poopy systems to work with. I've been an Assistant Manager at one of our locations for about a year, and I'm steadily becoming their tech guy. I've overhauled our website, spearheaded our POS system, setup wifi networks, taken on machine maintenance, and other semi basic tech projects. I want to propose an overhaul on our systems. We have 3 locations, each needing a system for basic office work. I'd like them to run windows 7 with the option to upgrade to 9 when it's released. I was thinking of just suggesting a few Nucs. They seem to be the right price, but I'm concerned they'll be incompatible with our VGA monitors. Is there a more efficient price/performance ratio that could be achieved with a custom built system? If you'd like to take a stab at a build/parts list (no peripherals), post it here. Thanks to all who take the time to help.

 

Each systems needs:

VGA (or even HDMI to VGA adapter) support

128GB Storage (EDITED, SORRY!)

4GB ram

[Archangel1994]

How much storage would you need? @rodion.zissou ?

[rodion.zissou]

How much storage would you need? @rodion.zissou ?

256GB in each, they don't need to be SSDs, unless they are very competitively priced. I'll edit OP to list some more specifics.

[Archangel1994]

Will they need an optical drive?

[StofPCs]

Here you go OP:

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/LtPbTW

Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/LtPbTW/by_merchant/

 

CPU: Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($116.98 @ Newegg) 

Motherboard: ASRock H81M-HDS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($56.99 @ Newegg) 

Memory: Crucial 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($37.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: A-Data Premier Pro SP600 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($109.99 @ Newegg) 

Case: Antec VSK-4000 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($29.98 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply  ($56.13 @ Newegg) 

Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/RSBS DVD/CD Writer  ($14.99 @ Newegg) 

Total: $423.05

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-04 16:53 EDT-0400

[Archangel1994]

 

Here you go OP:

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/LtPbTW

Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/LtPbTW/by_merchant/

 

CPU: Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($116.98 @ Newegg) 

Motherboard: ASRock H81M-HDS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($56.99 @ Newegg) 

Memory: Crucial 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($37.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: A-Data Premier Pro SP600 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($109.99 @ Newegg) 

Case: Antec VSK-4000 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($29.98 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply  ($56.13 @ Newegg) 

Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/RSBS DVD/CD Writer  ($14.99 @ Newegg) 

Total: $423.05

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-04 16:53 EDT-0400

 

The PSU is stupid overkill to the next level and he said he needed at least 256GB of storage.

[Archangel1994]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Celeron G1620 2.7GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($37.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Motherboard: ASRock H77M Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard  ($69.99 @ Newegg) 

Memory: Kingston 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory  ($39.99 @ NCIX US) 

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 320GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($42.45 @ Amazon) 

Case: Cougar Solution (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($19.99 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply: FSP Group 300W 80+ Certified Micro ATX Power Supply  ($39.99 @ Mwave) 

Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer  ($14.98 @ OutletPC) 

Total: $265.38

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-04 16:56 EDT-0400

 

This build is much cheaper, has USB 3.0 and is more than enough. ramping up the price with an SSD is just pointless.

[brob]

240GB seems like a lot of storage for an office system.

 

I would suggest that ssd really are necessary. The cost is not that great and it makes a low-end system really perform, especially in office applications. The labor savings will pay for the added cost.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($117.00 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M-ITX/AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($92.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston XMP Blu Red Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($75.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Mushkin Chronos 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Antec ISK 310-150 Mini ITX Desktop Case w/150W Power Supply  ($74.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($144.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $605.93
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-04 16:58 EDT-0400

[StofPCs]

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Celeron G1620 2.7GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($37.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Motherboard: ASRock H77M Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard  ($69.99 @ Newegg) 

Memory: Kingston 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory  ($39.99 @ NCIX US) 

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 320GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($42.45 @ Amazon) 

Case: Cougar Solution (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($19.99 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply: FSP Group 300W 80+ Certified Micro ATX Power Supply  ($39.99 @ Mwave) 

Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer  ($14.98 @ OutletPC) 

Total: $265.38

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-04 16:56 EDT-0400

 

This build is much cheaper, has USB 3.0 and is more than enough. ramping up the price with an SSD is just pointless.

 

Sorry I fixed it:

 

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/LtPbTW

Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/LtPbTW/by_merchant/

 

CPU: Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($116.97 @ OutletPC) 

Motherboard: ASRock H81M-HDS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($49.99 @ Micro Center) 

Memory: Crucial 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($37.99 @ Amazon) 

Storage: A-Data Premier Pro SP600 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($109.99 @ Amazon) 

Case: Antec VSK-4000 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($29.98 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply  ($39.00 @ Amazon) 

Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/RSBS DVD/CD Writer  ($14.99 @ Amazon) 

Total: $398.91

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-04 16:57 EDT-0400

 

EVGA PSU is better than the FSP but the same price.  This setup is vastly superior but also has an SSD

[Archangel1994]

 

Sorry I fixed it:

 

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/LtPbTW

Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/LtPbTW/by_merchant/

 

CPU: Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($116.97 @ OutletPC) 

Motherboard: ASRock H81M-HDS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($49.99 @ Micro Center) 

Memory: Crucial 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($37.99 @ Amazon) 

Storage: A-Data Premier Pro SP600 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($109.99 @ Amazon) 

Case: Antec VSK-4000 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($29.98 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply  ($39.00 @ Amazon) 

Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/RSBS DVD/CD Writer  ($14.99 @ Amazon) 

Total: $398.91

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-04 16:57 EDT-0400

 

EVGA PSU is better than the FSP but the same price.  This setup is vastly superior but also has an SSD

 

And costs more than 1.5 times as much yet will most likely not deliver a noticeable difference in performance except windows boot times which are irrelevant since the pc's will power up over the course of 1-2 minutes giving you time to grab a drink before you start working.

[ThyFeared]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i3-2120 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($118.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Motherboard: ASRock H77M Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard  ($69.99 @ Newegg) 

Memory: Crucial 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1333 Memory  ($43.64 @ Amazon) 

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($50.00 @ Amazon) 

Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($19.99 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply: EVGA 430W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply  ($27.99 @ Micro Center) 

Total: $330.60

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-04 17:04 EDT-0400

 

Or SSD

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i3-2120 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($118.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Motherboard: ASRock H77M Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard  ($69.99 @ Newegg) 

Memory: Crucial 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1333 Memory  ($43.64 @ Amazon) 

Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($184.99 @ NCIX US) 

Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($19.99 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply: EVGA 430W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply  ($27.99 @ Micro Center) 

Total: $465.59

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-04 17:07 EDT-0400

[rodion.zissou]

Will they need an optical drive?

no

[Archangel1994]

240GB seems like a lot of storage for an office system.

 

I would suggest that ssd really are necessary. The cost is not that great and it makes a low-end system really perform, especially in office applications. The labor savings will pay for the added cost.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($117.00 @ Newegg)

Motherboard: ASRock H97M-ITX/AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($92.98 @ Newegg)

Memory: Kingston XMP Blu Red Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($75.99 @ Amazon)

Storage: Mushkin Chronos 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($99.99 @ Newegg)

Case: Antec ISK 310-150 Mini ITX Desktop Case w/150W Power Supply  ($74.99 @ NCIX US)

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($144.98 @ OutletPC)

Total: $605.93

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-04 16:58 EDT-0400

Same here, massively overkill for what he needs. He needs a simple pc, not an SSD. I do not call $100 competitively priced just to get slightly faster boot times.

[MaDoHo]

500w is still overkill.

[rodion.zissou]

240GB seems like a lot of storage for an office system.

 

I would suggest that ssd really are necessary. The cost is not that great and it makes a low-end system really perform, especially in office applications. The labor savings will pay for the added cost.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($117.00 @ Newegg)

Motherboard: ASRock H97M-ITX/AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($92.98 @ Newegg)

Memory: Kingston XMP Blu Red Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($75.99 @ Amazon)

Storage: Mushkin Chronos 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($99.99 @ Newegg)

Case: Antec ISK 310-150 Mini ITX Desktop Case w/150W Power Supply  ($74.99 @ NCIX US)

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($144.98 @ OutletPC)

Total: $605.93

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-04 16:58 EDT-0400

OK, I was on the fence, but honestly agree, lets bring it down to 128GB

[rodion.zissou]

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Celeron G1620 2.7GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($37.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Motherboard: ASRock H77M Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard  ($69.99 @ Newegg) 

Memory: Kingston 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory  ($39.99 @ NCIX US) 

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 320GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($42.45 @ Amazon) 

Case: Cougar Solution (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($19.99 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply: FSP Group 300W 80+ Certified Micro ATX Power Supply  ($39.99 @ Mwave) 

Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer  ($14.98 @ OutletPC) 

Total: $265.38

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-04 16:56 EDT-0400

 

This build is much cheaper, has USB 3.0 and is more than enough. ramping up the price with an SSD is just pointless.

 

Oh, this is a great build, thank you for the suggestion. This definitely gives me a starting point, if not ends my hunt all together.

[brob]

Same here, massively overkill for what he needs. He needs a simple pc, not an SSD. I do not call $100 competitively priced just to get slightly faster boot times.

 

Have you ever worked in an office environment? It is not simply a question of boot times. In fact most office systems are either on 24x7 or switched on in the morning and off at night. What makes an ssd important in this environment is how fast one can load and store documents, spreadsheets, etc. and how much faster it makes browsing.

 

Spending more initially provides a system that will have a very long useful life. It also results in a better performing system that reduces labor costs - i.e. it makes the user(s) much more productive.

[GzeroD]

How many computers are they looking to buy/ build?

 

If they are ordering in sufficient volume they might get discounts that would make prebuilt units more price efficent.

[StofPCs]

Oh, this is a great build, thank you for the suggestion. This definitely gives me a starting point, if not ends my hunt all together.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/QFzmmG

Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/QFzmmG/by_merchant/

 

CPU: Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($116.97 @ OutletPC) 

Motherboard: ASRock H81M-HDS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($49.99 @ Micro Center) 

Memory: Crucial 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($37.99 @ Amazon) 

Storage: A-Data Premier Pro SP600 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($64.99 @ Amazon) 

Case: Antec VSK-4000 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($29.98 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply  ($39.00 @ Amazon) 

Total: $338.92

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-04 17:08 EDT-0400

[rodion.zissou]

How many computers are they looking to buy/ build?

 

If they are ordering in sufficient volume they might get discounts that would make prebuilt units more price efficent.

Ya, I thought about that, but we only need 3 so....ya. I don't think we'll get any sizable discount.

[rodion.zissou]

 

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/QFzmmG

Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/QFzmmG/by_merchant/

 

CPU: Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($116.97 @ OutletPC) 

Motherboard: ASRock H81M-HDS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($49.99 @ Micro Center) 

Memory: Crucial 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($37.99 @ Amazon) 

Storage: A-Data Premier Pro SP600 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($64.99 @ Amazon) 

Case: Antec VSK-4000 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($29.98 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply  ($39.00 @ Amazon) 

Total: $338.92

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-04 17:08 EDT-0400

 

This is a nice build also.

[brob]

OK, I was on the fence, but honestly agree, lets bring it down to 128GB

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($117.00 @ Newegg)

Motherboard: ASRock H97M-ITX/AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($92.98 @ Newegg)

Memory: Kingston XMP Blu Red Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($75.99 @ Amazon)

Storage: Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($54.99 @ Newegg)

Storage: Mushkin Chronos 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($99.99 @ Newegg)

Case: Antec ISK 310-150 Mini ITX Desktop Case w/150W Power Supply  ($74.99 @ NCIX US)

Total: $515.94

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-04 17:11 EDT-0400

[GzeroD]

Is form factor important? I'm thinking that a nuc or Brixx based micro system would fit into a cafe enviorment. as well as being much more power efficient. .

[rodion.zissou]

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Celeron G1620 2.7GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($37.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Motherboard: ASRock H77M Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard  ($69.99 @ Newegg) 

Memory: Kingston 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory  ($39.99 @ NCIX US) 

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 320GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($42.45 @ Amazon) 

Case: Cougar Solution (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($19.99 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply: FSP Group 300W 80+ Certified Micro ATX Power Supply  ($39.99 @ Mwave) 

Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer  ($14.98 @ OutletPC) 

Total: $265.38

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-04 16:56 EDT-0400

 

This build is much cheaper, has USB 3.0 and is more than enough. ramping up the price with an SSD is just pointless.

 

 

 

 

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/QFzmmG

Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/QFzmmG/by_merchant/

 

CPU: Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($116.97 @ OutletPC) 

Motherboard: ASRock H81M-HDS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($49.99 @ Micro Center) 

Memory: Crucial 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($37.99 @ Amazon) 

Storage: A-Data Premier Pro SP600 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($64.99 @ Amazon) 

Case: Antec VSK-4000 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($29.98 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply  ($39.00 @ Amazon) 

Total: $338.92

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-04 17:08 EDT-0400

 

These builds are close to what I'm looking for.  I'm wondering if the 1150 socket would be wiser because I'd like these machine to be able to keep up (with office work mind you) for about 4 years, and remain easily upgradable. A LOT of our work is just MSO applications, and web applications.

[rodion.zissou]

Is form factor important? I'm thinking that a nuc or Brixx based micro system would fit into a cafe enviorment. as well as being much more power efficient. .

Yes, that is definitely an option, I'm just concerned about VGA compatibility. I don't want to have to replace our monitors. I was also curious if we could undercut their price with a custom build.