Theoretical builds for a Public Library

[DigitalHermit]

Hey there,

I'm in the process of writing a proposal for an implementation of a network for a public library in my area...

 

I'd like to ask for suggestions on what hardware to suggest for them... The main factors to consider are that the computers will be serving for a decade or so, that the budget is minimal, and that these computers will be for public use..

 

Purpose: General office work, web browsing, media consumption. No gaming.

 

Budget: As low as possible.

 

Other considerations: 10-year expected lifespan, public use, include peripherals. 18" Monitor preferred.

 

I need 2 builds for this. One for the clients, and another for the librarians...

 

Fire away.

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Hermit

 

PS. Can you also suggest a good 16-port Ethernet Switch and a Wi-Fi Access Point?

[TheKDub]

You could probably easily get away with a locked i5, or maybe a pentium g3258.

 

Sadly I am not at home right now, so I don't have access to my buttloads of bookmarks for good networking devices to suggest to people...

For a wifi access point, there are some good ones from asus that you could take a look at.

And for a switch, Netgear is a pretty decent brand, same for TP-Link.

[Enderman]

i3 with hyperthreading for librarians, g3258 for the normal PCs.

only use integrated graphics.

[DigitalHermit]

You could probably easily get away with a locked i5, or maybe a pentium g3258.

 

locked i5... hmm... (I'll try and see how much influence the library has over the mayor...)

[HeathCliff]

i3-4150 with 4GB of 1333 ram and a H81 board should really be enough for the core parts. Any generic case with an 80+ PSU as well as a 250GB/500GB HDD could be considered. Anything else would really be for you to decide. 

[DigitalHermit]

i3-4150 with 4GB of 1333 ram and a H81 board should really be enough for the core parts. Anything else would really be for you to decide.

 

4GB? It might be fine now, but in 5 years?

[HeathCliff]

4GB? It might be fine now, but in 5 years?

 

Well for the tasks that you stated in your OP, 4GB would be fine for 3-5 years. However, if you want to bump it up to 8GB, go for it.  

[JoaoPRSousa]

This or something similar

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Pentium G3450 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($87.99 @ NCIX US) 

Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($27.99 @ Newegg) 

Memory: Kingston 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory  ($34.64 @ SuperBiiz) 

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($45.99 @ Amazon) 

Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($25.99 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($29.99 @ Micro Center) 

Total: $252.59

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-25 10:40 EST-0500

[connorpiper]

 

This or something similar

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Pentium G3450 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($87.99 @ NCIX US) 

Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($27.99 @ Newegg) 

Memory: Kingston 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory  ($34.64 @ SuperBiiz) 

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($45.99 @ Amazon) 

Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($25.99 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($29.99 @ Micro Center) 

Total: $252.59

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-25 10:40 EST-0500

 

 

Actually looking at that now, the 1TB WD Blue (WD10EZEX) is just a bit more. 

[Deserter15]

My old computer has an athlon x4, integrated graphics, and 3gb of ddr2 ram and can run any of the described activities above.  You really don't need much for this kind of a build.  Office work and what not will not become anymore intensive in the next 4-5 years unless they decide that CAD is office work.

[Toddwjp]

you thought about building a load of dumy machines and having them networked to a small server server?

[Jack.EXE]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU/Motherboard: ECS BAT-I W/ Embedded Celeron J1900 ($56.98)

Memory: 8GB G.Skill Ripjaws 8GB laptop ram ($58.99)

Storage: Toshiba  500GB 2.5" 5400RPM Hybrid Internal Hard Drive  ($57.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Inwin BP655.FH300TB3 Mini ITX Tower Case w/200W Power Supply  ($57.91 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer  ($13.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $245.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-25 10:45 EST-0500

 

Everything you'd ever need for that situation.

And yes, that is a quad core celery, 8 gigs of ram, and a hybrid drive.

[JoaoPRSousa]

Actually looking at that now, the 1TB WD Blue (WD10EZEX) is just a bit more. 

 

He from the Philippines not US

But if the difference is small, the 1TB is the one to go with

[connorpiper]

He from the Philippines not US

But if the difference is small, the 1TB is the one to go with

 

It looks to be ~$7 more. 

[jnmbhj]

Try this

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/c3PyQ7

[sirtoby]

When it comes to switches, I've had a good experience with Netgear. The FS116 (10/100) is around 60$, the GS116 (10/100/1000) is around 100$. Both have 16 ports and a metal case. Unfortunately both come with a external power supply.

[Tacitus]

My university's library uses locked i5 processors, 8gb RAM, integrated graphics. But across the various libraries and buildings they own, plus those provided to staff I'd assume they have over 1000 of them, so got them on the cheap.

[Dredgy]

I'd actually go a low end NUC route -  something like this:

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1813869

 

And a monitor such as:

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824276025

 

Then just mount the PC onto the back of the monitor. It has a few advantages - saves desk space, noise (this is a library), if there's a failure you can RMA the unit cheaply (cheap to ship) and the whole system has a good warranty. Whether you want a beffier CPU is up to you, but a Celeron for word processing and web pages will be sufficient, and an SSD will mean it won't wear badly over time, plus applications such as MS Office will be snappy and quick loading.

[Jack.EXE]

Almost forgot perifirals:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA1ZD11G6029 (monitor, 16:10, 19" Asus, $79.99)
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007QEDMF8 (Mouse, Rosewill, Wired, $4.99)
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00552PPL2 (Keyboard, Rosewill, Wired, $6.99)

[DigitalHermit]

you thought about building a load of dumy machines and having them networked to a small server server?

 

Thin-client setup? Might not work since by EOL, these machines might end up in public elementary schools... Also, it would be hard to justify the additional cost of getting server-grade hardware for this application (especially because the administration is almost tech-illiterate)...

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU/Motherboard: ECS BAT-I W/ Embedded Celeron J1900 ($56.98)

Memory: 8GB G.Skill Ripjaws 8GB laptop ram ($58.99)

Storage: Toshiba  500GB 2.5" 5400RPM Hybrid Internal Hard Drive  ($57.99 @ Amazon)

Case: Inwin BP655.FH300TB3 Mini ITX Tower Case w/200W Power Supply  ($57.91 @ Amazon)

Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer  ($13.99 @ Amazon)

Total: $245.86

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-25 10:45 EST-0500

 

Looks good from here... That PSU should last the first six years if my estimates are correct...

 

 

Try this

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/c3PyQ7

 

Looks good... I can cut costs by reducing the HDD to a smaller one or replacing it with a small SSD...

 

So here's how the user build currently looks:

 

CPU: Intel G3250

Mobo: Compatible H81 mATX

RAM: 2x4GB DDR3 1333MHz

HDD: 500GB/64GB SSD (60GB Kingston SSDNow?)

PSU: Antec EarthWatts 380W or Generic 400W

Case: Generic mATX Case

Monitor: 18" Samsung TN Panel

Keyboard and Mouse: A4Tech Package

Headset: ? (Maybe something from A4Tech or CDR-King)

 

Edit: Forgot to note that There would be 15 units maximum so bulk order discounts might not apply...

[Flyguygamer]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Pentium G3450 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($87.99 @ NCIX US) 

Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($27.99 @ Newegg) 

Memory: Kingston 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory  ($34.64 @ SuperBiiz) 

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 160GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($20.99 @ Amazon) 

Case: Cooler Master TC102 ATX Mid Tower Case w/500W Power Supply  ($36.99 @ Micro Center) 

Total: $208.60

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-25 10:58 EST-0500

[sirtoby]

How many computers will be needed? If it's anything larger than 20 then I would go with a prebuilt HP/Dell/... Those manufacturers can provide you with a proper support plan. Doing the maintenance for a larger amount of computers is a pain in the arse, if you have all the responsibility. I would put the responsibility for service on the support of a larger company.

[Jack.EXE]

For some reason, I feel like it would be easier to convince them with a quad core than a dual core.

[DigitalHermit]

For some reason, I feel like it would be easier to convince them with a quad core than a dual core.

 

Can you suggest a build? I might be able to justify the i5s for the librarians (library marketing includes video production and photo editing), but the user builds would be problematic...

 

 

 

How many computers will be needed? If it's anything larger than 20 then I would go with a prebuilt HP/Dell/... Those manufacturers can provide you with a proper support plan. Doing the maintenance for a larger amount of computers is a pain in the arse, if you have all the responsibility. I would put the responsibility for service on the support of a larger company.

 

This is still theoretical... Current statistics indicate that around 8 units can fill the demand, but I'd like to prepare for an increase in foot traffic...

[Jack.EXE]

Can you suggest a build? I might be able to justify the i5s for the librarians (library marketing includes video production and photo editing), but the user builds would be problematic...

 

 

 

 

This is still theoretical... Current statistics indicate that around 8 units can fill the demand, but I'd like to prepare for an increase in foot traffic...

 

Celeron J1900 is a quad core. I know it's equal or less to the rest of the builds, but it would be much easier to convince them to get, thanks to everyone buying into the more cores = better marketing, and besides, power consumption is less, runs cooler, and is pretty close in performance in the first place/