Budget workstation/family PC

[Spork829]

 

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/list/nQh64C

 

Will be used for photo editing, general family use, and maybe some architecture programs. They want small, silent, and future-proof, and it needs wifi as ethernet isn't an option where it will go. 

 

Opinions? 

 

Thanks.

[The Sloth]

2 minutes ago, Spork829 said:

 

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/list/nQh64C

 

Will be used for photo editing, general family use, and maybe some architecture programs. They want small, silent, and future-proof, and it needs wifi as ethernet isn't an option where it will go. 

 

Opinions? 

 

Thanks.

i would go for a i7 also what architecture programs for cad go for a gpu like a 480 cad is a program best works with a gpu 

http://pcpartpicker.com/list/RGHvZ8 

[Spork829]

1 minute ago, nerdslayer1 said:

i would go for a i7 also what architecture programs for cad go for a gpu like a 480 cad is a program best works with a gpu 

http://pcpartpicker.com/list/RGHvZ8 

Derp, I should have mentioned that they want to keep it under $700. And I'm not sure if CAD is the program, I think it may just be Sketchup. I'll have to ask.

[antisleep]

>remove cpu cooler and go for i5-6500

>Corsair CX430 or CX450M PSU

>get the SK Hynix SL308 $65 or Crucial MX300 $69 over that older SSD

[The Sloth]

1 minute ago, Spork829 said:

Derp, I should have mentioned that they want to keep it under $700. And I'm not sure if CAD is the program, I think it may just be Sketchup. I'll have to ask.

ok http://pcpartpicker.com/list/pDMGjc a 6600 will do nice unless you want to overclock photo editing should not be a problem unless you want to edit huge files 

[Xanthe_2871]

Avoid the 6400! Get a 6500! You're losing so much for so little savings!

[Spork829]

Just now, Xanthe_2871 said:

Avoid the 6400! Get a 6500! You're losing so much for so little savings!

Wow yeah, I never looked at that closely. Thanks!

[Xanthe_2871]

7 minutes ago, Spork829 said:

Wow yeah, I never looked at that closely. Thanks!

Edited November 5, 2016 by Xanthe_2871
Wrong thread, multiple tabs open.

[Spork829]

1 minute ago, Xanthe_2871 said:

Do you need a battery? If you can live with only using it on wall power this is a great deal:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-Pavilion-Laptop-8GB-RAM-Pls-Read-Description-/172398313585?hash=item2823bd8071:g:VIEAAOSw44BYHJsB

 

If not, maybe one like this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lenovo-Thinkpad-T430-Laptop-Core-i5-2-60-GHZ-8GB-180GB-SSD-Windows-7-Pro-Camera-/262705122650?hash=item3d2a720d5a:g:tZ4AAOSw4GVYHQpt

 

Or maybe this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lenovo-ThinkPad-T430S-Core-i5-3320M-2-6GHz-128GB-SSD-8GB-DVD-RW-14-Win-7-Pro-/172394919793?hash=item282389b771:g:N-IAAOSwCGVYAP0Y

Think ya got the wrong thread  

[Xanthe_2871]

Just now, Spork829 said:

Think ya got the wrong thread  

Yes, I believe you are correct!  

[antisleep]

If you want to use up all the budget:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($293.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Motherboard: ASRock H110M-ITX/ac Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($67.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($73.80 @ Newegg) 

SSD: SK hynix SL308 250GB SSD  ($64.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($52.99 @ Newegg) 
Case: Phanteks Enthoo EVOLV ITX Mini ITX Tower Case  ($49.99 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: Fractal Design Integra M 450W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($49.99 @ Newegg) 
Other: Windows ($30.00)
Total: $683.74

 

Or i5-6500 + RX 460 for a bit of casual gaming.

[Xanthe_2871]

By the way, I'd suggest you throw a DVD drive in there, they're like $15 and will come in handy more often than you might think.

[Spork829]

Just now, Xanthe_2871 said:

By the way, I'd suggest you throw a DVD drive in there, they're like $15 and will come in handy more often than you might think.

Funny you mention it, I was going to stick one in there but PCPP's optical drive page refuses to load. 

[antisleep]

2 minutes ago, Spork829 said:

Funny you mention it, I was going to stick one in there but PCPP's optical drive page refuses to load. 

It's not showing cuz of the compatibility check feature, the EVOLV case doesn't have 5.25" bay.

 

I'd suggest buy an external optical drive if you want to keep the case.

[ARikozuM]

If you're using AutoCAD, I'd suggest an i5, GTX equivalent of a 750 Ti, with 8GB RAM. Unless you'll be using hi-res textures VRAM shouldn't be a concern.

 

User @Energycore has a passively cooled PC that did very well once I built one with spare parts.

[Spork829]

Just now, antisleep said:

It's not showing cuz of the compatibility check feature, the EVOLV case doesn't have 5.25" drive bay.

 

I'd suggest buy an external if you to keep the case.

Oh yeah that would make sense, I'm really tired. And yeah that case is more or less a placeholder, since they do care a bit about looks so I'll go through options and see what they like best that fits the parameters. 

[Xanthe_2871]

2 minutes ago, antisleep said:

It's not showing cuz of the compatibility check feature, the EVOLV case doesn't have 5.25" bay.

 

I'd suggest buy an external optical drive if you want to keep the case.

@Spork750 Micro Center has a LG external drive for $22 and that's a steal. Target has an Asus one for $39 that you can price match with Amazon for $28ish, I forget exactly but I know I saw it just the other day.

[Spork829]

Just now, Xanthe_2871 said:

@Spork750 Micro Center has a LG external drive for $22 and that's a steal. Target has an Asus one for $39 that you can price match with Amazon for $28ish, I forget exactly but I know I saw it just the other day.

Interesting. Also you tagged the wrong Spork, you're all over the place today

[Xanthe_2871]

Just now, Spork829 said:

Interesting. Also you tagged the wrong Spork, you're all over the place today

Mother of a f...duck. I should probably go to bed! 

[ARikozuM]

Just now, Spork829 said:

Interesting. Also you tagged the wrong Spork, you're all over the place today

She went to Costco and bought the 1000 pack of sporks.

[Spork829]

1 minute ago, Xanthe_2871 said:

Mother of a f...duck. I should probably go to bed! 

Me too...

[Xanthe_2871]

2 minutes ago, ARikozuM said:

She went to Costco and bought the 1000 pack of sporks.

I'll make it even worse, I kept reading it as 'spock' until you said that.

 

P.S: Why do we have so many sporks? We even have a hero spork, a mighty spork, and a moneky spork. When you type @spork you get so many flipping sporks!

[Spork829]

1 minute ago, Xanthe_2871 said:

I'll make it even worse, I kept reading it as 'spock' until you said that.

Don't worry, that happens quite often. In fact I often use Spock when this name is taken  

[Energycore]

9 hours ago, ARikozuM said:

If you're using AutoCAD, I'd suggest an i5, GTX equivalent of a 750 Ti, with 8GB RAM. Unless you'll be using hi-res textures VRAM shouldn't be a concern.

 

User @Energycore has a passively cooled PC that did very well once I built one with spare parts.

You mean the one in my sig

 

I would adapt it for the sake of it being a workstation, but give me just a minute.

 

I thought to myself "what would I want if I were to make a very small, silent workstation" and actually ended up with an actively cooled build

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($194.89 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: RAIJINTEK Pallas Black 56.5 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($32.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock H110M-ITX/ac Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($67.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($73.80 @ Newegg)
Storage: SK hynix SL308 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($65.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Green 1TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($48.84 @ Amazon)
Case: Silverstone ML05B HTPC Case  ($40.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Corsair SF 450W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular SFX Power Supply  ($89.99 @ Corsair)
Total: $615.48
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-11-05 11:48 EDT-0400

 

Even then, every component choice has silence in mind. There are other SFX power supplies that would be fine for much less, but the Corsair SF is the quietest of them all, and you may not even see its fan spin during its lifetime.

In general, bigger fans are less loud, so I grabbed a CPU cooler that should be able to cool the CPU while running at its minimum temps.

WD Green Hard Drives aren't as slow as their rated speed makes them out to be, and more importantly they're very silent (according to silentpcreview.com)

All of these components housed in a tiny HTPC-style case that should be easy to move around.

 

If I don't like something about this build, it's that it will be a bit hard to put together, but once it's on it should do the work you want it to do just fine while being whisper quiet.