Workstation for heavy Excel use

[Execut1ve]

Greetings fellow Linusites!

 

I'm in a position where I may have some company money to spend on a new workstation in the not too distant future. Currently I am using the Optiplex 5040 with the 6700 cpu and 16G of memory. I'm mainly looking for recommendations on core components - I can sort out peripherals myself.

 

Main usage would be normal professional email / documents / browsing. I regularly use large spreadsheets (hundreds of thousands of rows) which can take a while to calculate, so increased performance in that area would be great. I also usually have a lot of browser tabs open, as most of my work is done in proprietary programs that run inside internet explorer (not a technical explanation - I'm not 100% sure of the nuts and bolts). OS will be Windows 7 due to company constraints. Looks like this will require a switch from Windows 7 to 10, if the company will allow it!

 

Budget would broadly be 1000-2000 USD.

 

I use 3 monitors at 1920x1080 currently, but would not hate room for more in the future.

 

I've built my own personal computers for years now, but always with a gaming focus - I'm pretty clueless when it comes to the hardware needed for increased work productivity.

Edited November 16, 2017 by Execut1ve

[NelizMastr]

You're on a dead end already. Win7 isn't supported on anything newer than Skylake and AMD Bulldozer (old FX series).

 

On the Xeon side of things, you can go up to Broadwell-E(P), so Xeon E5-1000 and E5-2000 series, specifically the v4, or i7-69xx.

[TheCherryKing]

Skylake is the last platform that Windows 7 and 8.1 have official support. Windows 7 will work on the later platforms but it will be difficult to get security patches.

[TheCherryKing]

5 minutes ago, NelizMastr said:

You're on a dead end already. Win7 isn't supported on anything newer than Skylake and AMD Bulldozer (old FX series).

 

On the Xeon side of things, you can go up to Broadwell-E(P), so Xeon E5-1000 and E5-2000 series, specifically the v4, or i7-69xx.

Skylake-SP will work too.

[Execut1ve]

So it sounds like the only way to really step forward in terms of performance requires Win10, am I understanding that right?

 

I'll have to see if that would be permissible... but let's proceed with the assumption that it is.

 

Thanks for the input so far!

[TheCherryKing]

6 minutes ago, Execut1ve said:

So it sounds like the only way to really step forward in terms of performance requires Win10, am I understanding that right?

 

I'll have to see if that would be permissible... but let's proceed with the assumption that it is.

 

Thanks for the input so far!

Skylake-SP is the latest generation of the high-end Xeon lineup. Windows Server 2008 R2 is officially supported so Windows 7 should be as well. You don't have to go to Windows 10. 

[seon123]

Using all of the budget, this is what you get. The 1920X is good at Excel, according to Techspot.

https://www.techspot.com/review/1497-intel-core-i7-8700k/

Spoiler

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Threadripper 1920X 3.5GHz 12-Core Processor  ($745.00 @ Amazon) 
CPU Cooler: Noctua - NH-U14S TR4-SP3 140.2 CFM CPU Cooler  ($79.90 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: Asus - PRIME X399-A EATX TR4 Motherboard  ($331.49 @ SuperBiiz) 
Memory: Team - Dark 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  ($139.99 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Team - Dark 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  ($139.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Crucial - MX300 1.1TB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($278.88 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: MSI - GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB Video Card  ($154.89 @ Amazon) 
Case: Corsair - Carbide 400C ATX Mid Tower Case  ($69.99 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic - FOCUS Plus Gold 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($86.89 @ Newegg) 
Total: $2027.02
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-11-16 11:09 EST-0500

Edited November 16, 2017 by seon123
Damn autocorrect

[Execut1ve]

23 minutes ago, TheCherryKing said:

Skylake-SP is the latest generation of the high-end Xeon lineup. Windows Server 2008 R2 is officially supported so Windows 7 should be as well. You don't have to go to Windows 10. 

I'm not sure I'm following you

[TheCherryKing]

1 minute ago, Execut1ve said:

I'm not sure I'm following you

I'm confused...

 

22 minutes ago, seon123 said:

Using all of the budget, this is what you get. The 1920X is good at Excel, according to Techspot.

https://www.techspot.com/review/1497-intel-core-i7-8700k/

  Reveal hidden contents

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Threadripper 1920X 3.5GHz 12-Core Processor  ($745.00 @ Amazon) 
CPU Cooler: Noctua - NH-U14S TR4-SP3 140.2 CFM CPU Cooler  ($79.90 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: Asus - PRIME X399-A EATX TR4 Motherboard  ($331.49 @ SuperBiiz) 
Memory: Team - Dark 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  ($139.99 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Team - Dark 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  ($139.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Crucial - MX300 1.1TB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($278.88 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: MSI - GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB Video Card  ($154.89 @ Amazon) 
Case: Corsair - Carbide 400C ATX Mid Tower Case  ($69.99 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic - FOCUS Plus Gold 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($86.89 @ Newegg) 
Total: $2027.02
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-11-16 11:09 EST-0500

"Gaming" memory is not going to help with excel.

[seon123]

3 minutes ago, TheCherryKing said:

"Gaming" memory is not going to help with excel.

That's the least expensive 8GB sticks at a decent speed. Faster RAM improves performance on Ryzen significantly

[TheCherryKing]

Just now, seon123 said:

That's the least expensive 8GB sticks at a decent speed. Faster RAM improves performance on Ryzen significantly

Only for certain tasks. Regular 2666 MHz memory will be fine and cut costs.

[seon123]

Just now, TheCherryKing said:

Only for certain tasks. Regular 2666 MHz memory will be fine and cut costs.

The least expensive 8GB sticks would cost $20 less for 32GB, and that's 2400 MHz. For a $2000 build, that's 1%. Saving 1% on the cost by reducing performance by more than 1% is worse value. 

[TheCherryKing]

Just now, seon123 said:

The least expensive 8GB sticks would cost $20 less for 32GB, and that's 2400 MHz. For a $2000 build, that's 1%. Saving 1% on the cost by reducing performance by more than 1% is worse value. 

That has me thinking whether ECC memory is needed for a build like this.

[NelizMastr]

3 minutes ago, TheCherryKing said:

That has me thinking whether ECC memory is needed for a build like this.

ECC generally reduces performance, and I don't see why Excel and similar workloads would benefit from the error correcting abilities.

[TheCherryKing]

1 minute ago, NelizMastr said:

ECC generally reduces performance, and I don't see why Excel and similar workloads would benefit from the error correcting abilities.

Errors are likely for such large workloads.

[Catsrules]

I would look into how well your excel is using multiple cores. Excel does support multiple cores, but it depends on your calculations if it will use other cores or not.

For example if you have any macros or VBA stuff going on, those are all single thread applications and will not use multiple cores.

Depending on what you find you might want something with less cores but has a higher clock per core. 

[TheCherryKing]

13 minutes ago, Catsrules said:

I would look into how well your excel is using multiple cores. Excel does support multiple cores, but it depends on your calculations if it will use other cores or not.

For example if you have any macros or VBA stuff going on, those are all single thread applications and will not use multiple cores.

Depending on what you find you might want something with less cores but has a higher clock per core. 

If excel uses only one core the Core i7-6700 is already a good choice. 

[brob]

@Execut1ve

 

From Excel 2007 multithreading is supported. From Excel 2010 multiple cores are supported. I expect a Ryzen 7 cpu would provide better performance processing large spreadsheets with many calculations. 

 

Since its an office pc, I've included an R7-1800X rather than counting on an overclocked 1700.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 1800X 3.6GHz 8-Core Processor  ($413.88 @ OutletPC) 
CPU Cooler: Corsair - H60 54.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($64.99 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: ASRock - X370 Gaming-ITX/ac Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard  ($139.99 @ Newegg) 
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4-3200 Memory  ($369.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Samsung - 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($149.99 @ B&H) 
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6GB SC GAMING Video Card  ($269.49 @ OutletPC) 
Case: BitFenix - Portal (Black) Mini ITX Tower Case  ($110.49 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: Corsair - SF 450W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular SFX Power Supply  ($89.99 @ Amazon) 
Total: $1608.81
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-11-16 13:02 EST-0500

 

 

[TheCherryKing]

3 minutes ago, brob said:

@Execut1ve

 

From Excel 2007 multithreading is supported. From Excel 2010 multiple cores are supported. I expect a Ryzen 7 cpu would provide better performance processing large spreadsheets with many calculations. 

 

Since its an office pc, I've included an R7-1800X rather than counting on an overclocked 1700.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 1800X 3.6GHz 8-Core Processor  ($413.88 @ OutletPC) 
CPU Cooler: Corsair - H60 54.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($64.99 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: ASRock - X370 Gaming-ITX/ac Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard  ($139.99 @ Newegg) 
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4-3200 Memory  ($369.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Samsung - 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($149.99 @ B&H) 
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6GB SC GAMING Video Card  ($269.49 @ OutletPC) 
Case: BitFenix - Portal (Black) Mini ITX Tower Case  ($110.49 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: Corsair - SF 450W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular SFX Power Supply  ($89.99 @ Amazon) 
Total: $1608.81
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-11-16 13:02 EST-0500

 

 

Why is there so much gaming stuff in an office PC?

[AncientNerd]

8 minutes ago, TheCherryKing said:

Why is there so much gaming stuff in an office PC?

Because every company slaps the word "Gaming" onto their best hardware, even if it doesn't have anything special to do with gaming. Basically if you want to avoid the word gaming in motherboards right now you get mid range and even some of those get "OC" or "Gaming" or something like it slapped on them. This is because the only people buying PC parts right now are people who are not bothered by the word gaming or sold by the word gaming.  

[TheCherryKing]

Just now, AncientNerd said:

Because every company slaps the word "Gaming" onto their best hardware, even if it doesn't have anything special to do with gaming. Basically if you want to avoid the word gaming in motherboards right now you get mid range and even some of those get "OC" or "Gaming" or something like it slapped on them. This is because the only people buying PC parts right now are people who are not bothered by the word gaming or sold by the word gaming.  

I can see why they do that. Marketing! 

[brob]

13 minutes ago, TheCherryKing said:

Why is there so much gaming stuff in an office PC?

Just because a part has "gaming" in its title or description does not mean that it is not a good choice. Besides, parts aimed at enthusiasts tend to have higher performance envelopes. The memory is a prime example. Low latency high speed memory will improve Excel performance. It is difficult to find such memory in more mundane, office oriented kits.

 

It's a similar situation with the motherboard. X370 is intended for higher-end builds. Most office builds would pick a less expensive motherboard and would give up some performance in doing so.

 

The video card was picked for its outputs. BTW, one might consider replacing the three 1920x1080 displays with a single larger monitor. A 27"/28" 3840x2160 monitor is much nicer to work on with wide spread sheets.

 

 

[AncientNerd]

Just now, TheCherryKing said:

I can see why they do that. Marketing! 

Sure, it just makes it somewhat of a hard sell to the accounting department if you want to get an office PC that doesn't come through Dell or HP...I fought this battle a couple of companies back to let my department build our own PCs rather than getting the corporate standard PC.

[brob]

Just now, AncientNerd said:

Sure, it just makes it somewhat of a hard sell to the accounting department if you want to get an office PC that doesn't come through Dell or HP...I fought this battle a couple of companies back to let my department build our own PCs rather than getting the corporate standard PC.

Did you win? I've never had any luck with larger corps.

[AncientNerd]

1 minute ago, brob said:

Did you win? I've never had any luck with larger corps.

I won, but it was a smaller corp - privately held so I could go to the owner (who had an office down the hall), and it helped that I could point out "cheaper and better". Of course we had to maintain them but we were the Software Engineering department so no big deal.