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Dads build :P

thefryguy
By thefryguy
in New Builds and Planning
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So my dad needs a new computer and I offered to build him one.

 

Budget:

£500-£700

 

Usage:

Mainly boring work related stuff; exel, outlook... etc

 

Note: My dad is a huge power user and needs to do lots of things simultaneously, hence the dual monitors. He is also a sucker for silence, hence the case. The 2TB HDD was also a request of his.

 

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/kTz399

 

EDIT: I'm worried that i will need a GPU for those monitors. Is that so?

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CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor  (£84.16 @ Scan.co.uk) 

Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  (£33.72 @ CCL Computers) 

Memory: Kingston Fury Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  (£45.68 @ Amazon UK) 


Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  (£58.28 @ Scan.co.uk) 

Case: Zalman Z3 Plus ATX Mid Tower Case  (£26.99 @ Amazon UK) 

Power Supply: Zalman 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  (£49.08 @ CCL Computers) 

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)  (£74.34 @ Aria PC) 

Monitor: ViewSonic VA2349S 60Hz 23.0" Monitor  (£104.99 @ Amazon UK) 

Monitor: ViewSonic VA2349S 60Hz 23.0" Monitor  (£104.99 @ Amazon UK) 


Total: £655.58

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-05 18:06 BST+0100

 

 

 

Better monitors. That case is too expensive considering it won't have a noisy GPU in it, you can go with something a bit more economical. That HDD is slower and more expensive than the one I picked. PSU is an Enhance OEM, very nice. You can add a 120mm CPU cooler if you want to, it's within the budget still: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/zalman-cpu-cooler-cnps10xoptima

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As long as he won't do any gaming. you won't need a GPU in that build.

Project Pluto
i3 4170 • MSI H97 PC Mate • MSI R9 380 2GD5T @ 1095MHz • Kingston HyperX Fury Blue 2x4gb @ 1600Mhz • WD 1TB Blue • be quiet! Pure Rock • NZXT S340 Black • XFX TS 550w • BenQ GW2265HM

 

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He could have easily go by with cheap quad core AMD APU and invest in better keyboard and mouse, very important!
He would really enjoy typing on mech keyboard! So i3 is out of the question! Even locked pentium is perfectly fine. In fact its probably best option, it doesnt use lots of power and it should be quiet.

You could even fit aftermarket cpu cooler and noctua fans inside, instead of going to R5...

 

What was his last build?

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CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor  (£84.16 @ Scan.co.uk) 
Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  (£33.72 @ CCL Computers) 
Memory: Kingston Fury Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  (£45.68 @ Amazon UK) 
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  (£58.28 @ Scan.co.uk) 
Case: Zalman Z3 Plus ATX Mid Tower Case  (£26.99 @ Amazon UK) 
Power Supply: Zalman 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  (£49.08 @ CCL Computers) 
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)  (£74.34 @ Aria PC) 
Monitor: ViewSonic VA2349S 60Hz 23.0" Monitor  (£104.99 @ Amazon UK) 
Monitor: ViewSonic VA2349S 60Hz 23.0" Monitor  (£104.99 @ Amazon UK) 
Total: £655.58
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-05 18:06 BST+0100
 
 
 
Better monitors. That case is too expensive considering it won't have a noisy GPU in it, you can go with something a bit more economical. That HDD is slower and more expensive than the one I picked. PSU is an Enhance OEM, very nice. You can add a 120mm CPU cooler if you want to, it's within the budget still: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/zalman-cpu-cooler-cnps10xoptima

 

thanks but, the keyboard? for an office user?

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That build is good enough. But if he is such a heavy multitasker the i3 may not cut it for him. Also, spend the extra 2 bucks for a 2x4gb ram kit, dual channel is worth that much.

what, running excel, word and youtube all at the same time?

 

you amaze me. you can do that on 1 core.

 

OP, we must know exactly how much power he needs. Office, outlook dont need much at all, any new proc can do that.

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thanks but, the keyboard? for an office user?

 

A bit of bling.  :)

 

It's nice though, buttons are nice and chunky for membrane switches. The mouse also has a couple of side buttons for auxiliary functions. Normally you can use it on websites to go back and forward pages.

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what, running excel, word and youtube all at the same time?

 

you amaze me. you can do that on 1 core.

 

Note: My dad is a huge power user and needs to do lots of things simultaneously,

Don't ask to ask, just ask... please 🤨

sudo chmod -R 000 /*

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what, running excel, word and youtube all at the same time?

 

you amaze me. you can do that on 1 core.

 

OP, we must know exactly how much power he needs. Office, outlook dont need much at all, any new proc can do that.

nothing a pentium couldn't handle. im more concerned about the dual monitors and a quiet case

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nothing a pentium couldn't handle. im more concerned about the dual monitors and a quiet case

 

Z3 Plus is quiet. The question you need to ask yourself is: What will make noise in the case? No GPU so not that. PSU? It's barely functioning under such low load. Stock intel cooler? Maybe. The real problem will be the HDD's, but thats not a major problem, you can do a solution that costs pennies. You can "isolate" the mounts using tape, or rubber studs, anything you like that will work. The monitors I chose are nicer than the ones you had originally. I don't think having TN panels would be a better solution than nice IPS panels, not when they cost less like the ones I chose.

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Z3 Plus is quiet. The question you need to ask yourself is: What will make noise in the case? No GPU so not that. PSU? It's barely functioning under such low load. Stock intel cooler? Maybe. The real problem will be the HDD's, but thats not a major problem, you can do a solution that costs pennies. You can "isolate" the mounts using tape, or rubber studs, anything you like that will work. The monitors I chose are nicer than the ones you had originally. I don't think having TN panels would be a better solution than nice IPS panels, not when they cost less like the ones I chose.

silence-wise i worried about case fans. i have a friend with a n200 and he hates the fans on it as they are very loud

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well... if he plays BF3 while doing powerpoint presentation and listening to youtube, having 50 tabs open all at the same time... yh power user

 

but for "Mainly boring work related stuff; exel, outlook... etc" you could go by with 1 core, on pentium you could probably play minecraft and office stuff aswell :P

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silence-wise i worried about case fans. i have a friend with a n200 and he hates the fans on it as they are very loud

yes, you only need 2 fans, exhaust and intake, you can reuse old case and just put in two noctua fans at 7v

and then choose cheap aftermarket cpu cooler like t4 and also put noctua fan on

and you probably end up at similar as R5 range pricepoint

also main concern should be that 2TB drive, so R5 (or r4 if its cheaper) is good option. its just that its really expensive, but ok.

 

 

yes, there are other cheap silent fans but noctua have long life, warranty, default option no frills

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silence-wise i worried about case fans. i have a friend with a n200 and he hates the fans on it as they are very loud

The Z3 Plus is not the N200.

 

I know a Dutch guy who got the Z3 Plus on my recommendation, he said it was quiet. Virtually silent. But for £27, you could tear out the fans, get Noctua fans, and still cost less than a Define R5. Z3 Plus also comes with a fan speed button. The case itself comes with 4 fans, 1 rear exhaust, 2 top exhaust, and 1 front intake. All you need to do to maintain neutral air pressure is remove the front most top fan, and put it in the front as another intake. Boom; neutral air pressure.

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CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor  (£84.16 @ Scan.co.uk) 
Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  (£33.72 @ CCL Computers) 
Memory: Kingston Fury Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  (£45.68 @ Amazon UK) 
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  (£58.28 @ Scan.co.uk) 
Case: Zalman Z3 Plus ATX Mid Tower Case  (£26.99 @ Amazon UK) 
Power Supply: Zalman 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  (£49.08 @ CCL Computers) 
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)  (£74.34 @ Aria PC) 
Monitor: ViewSonic VA2349S 60Hz 23.0" Monitor  (£104.99 @ Amazon UK) 
Monitor: ViewSonic VA2349S 60Hz 23.0" Monitor  (£104.99 @ Amazon UK) 
Total: £655.58
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-05 18:06 BST+0100
 
 
 
Better monitors. That case is too expensive considering it won't have a noisy GPU in it, you can go with something a bit more economical. That HDD is slower and more expensive than the one I picked. PSU is an Enhance OEM, very nice. You can add a 120mm CPU cooler if you want to, it's within the budget still: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/zalman-cpu-cooler-cnps10xoptima

 

How about this? http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/7JWppg

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I don't know how well or not the platform change will help him in his work, not knowing the nature of it. But I have changed the other components where I felt I should.

 

 
CPU: AMD A6-6400K 3.9GHz Dual-Core Processor  (£33.53 @ Amazon UK) 
CPU Cooler: Zalman CNPS10X OPTIMA CPU Cooler  (£17.34 @ CCL Computers) 
Motherboard: MSI A78M-E35 Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard  (£37.06 @ Scan.co.uk) 
Memory: Team Vulcan 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  (£48.90 @ Overclockers.co.uk) 
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  (£58.28 @ Scan.co.uk) 
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  (£38.63 @ Scan.co.uk) 
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)  (£74.34 @ Aria PC) 
Monitor: ViewSonic VA2349S 60Hz 23.0" Monitor  (£104.99 @ Amazon UK) 
Monitor: ViewSonic VA2349S 60Hz 23.0" Monitor  (£104.99 @ Amazon UK) 
Keyboard: Gigabyte GK-OSMIUM BRN Wired Gaming Keyboard  (£77.36 @ Scan.co.uk) 
Other: Cooler Master Silencio 352 Matte Computer Case (£40.00)
Total: £686.74
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-05 18:46 BST+0100
 
 
 
Cherry MX Brown keyboard as opposed to Blue (those clicks would drive me mad, probably your Dad too). Not sure why you changed the HDD back to the slower more expensive one. Cheaper RAM, same speed. Better CPU cooler.
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