Office PC Build

[newbuilder14]

Hi everyone,

I have a customer who is looking for an office computer. She did give me some general requirements she was looking for. I proposed about $800, but she can pay up to $1,000 she said (doubt it is necessary). To make all things fair, let's try to keep this around $750-900 (to keep my modest $50 profit margin).

Here is what she says she would like:

-Dual Core
-CD Burner
-1gb or 2gb of memory (she said 2gb)
-80gb hard drive
-XP Professional (she needs Pro actually)
-Wireless connection
-Wireless mouse and keyboard
-LCD monitor (I suggested 17")

My original thought was a Pentium D system with a P5L-MX, 1gb Corsair VS PC4200, WD 80gb SATA, etc. It is hard to decide, with these requirements, what do build.

I'd like to hear from you all as to what you would build. Thanks in advance, NB.

I was thinking about

[Mr.Ferrari]

Pretty self explanatory as it doesn't get any better then the list you just repeated.

But you said a budget of 750-900. That build you just suggested would probally come in at maybe a hundred or two less including monitor etc. If it does then I would think of bumping up the ram.

Also you sure 80g will be enough?

[newbuilder14]

Originally Posted by Mr.Ferrari Pretty self explanatory as it doesn't get any better then the list you just repeated. But you said a budget of 750-900. That build you just suggested would probally come in at maybe a hundred or two less including monitor etc. If it does then I would think of bumping up the ram. Also you sure 80g will be enough?

Yeah 80 gigs should be more than enough. She is 65 years old.

What other motherboards out there are good for a Pentium D system?

[glc]

Budget boards for dual core Intels don't get any better than that one.

I just came up with a very nice system for $1010 shipped, there's a $20 MIR on one of the items to get that back. Think you can get her to go for $1100?

Antec SLK1650B (the nice little Foxconn is out of stock)
P5L-MX
P-D 915
2 gigs Corsair VS 667
Seagate 80 gig 7200.9
Liteon DVD burner - retail - either the IDE Lightscribe or the SATA
Logitech wireless Internet Pro OEM
WMP54G
XP Pro OEM
Viewsonic 19" wide Q19WB-2 (with speakers)

If she holds firm to $1000, drop down to 1 gig ram.

[newbuilder14]

I was also upset when I heard that Foxconn was out of stock.

I think I will suggest that build to her, because we seem to have very similar builds in mind (see my post). I don't know if she really needs 2gb of memory, maybe she is mistaken, because even many gamers can do without 2gb.

By the way, any cases out there that you would even bother using the power supplies that came with them except the Foxconns and Antecs?

Thanks again for the list, GLC.

Hey, AMD isn't out of the picture.

[glc]

The Enlights, but not for a PCI-E board. They are 20 pin units. If you like that Enlight, get it without a PSU and throw a FSP 2.0 in it, compare the cost to the Antec. The Antec takes up less space though.

Unless you are ordering the parts right now, the Foxconn should be back in stock soon - looks like about 10 days - put it on auto-notify.

[newbuilder14]

Here is the proposal I have made for her:

2.66ghz Intel® Dual Core Pentium D $92
1024mb Corsair® DDR2 Memory $103
Asus® Motherboard $75
Lite-On® CD Burner $19
NEC® Floppy Drive $7
Western Digital® 80gb SATA Hard Drive $44
Linksys® WiFi Card $50
Logitech® Cordless keyboard & Mouse $30
Microsoft® Windows XP Professional w/ Free Vista Upgrade $140
ViewSonic® 17” OptiQuest LCD $180
Antec® Black Steel Case & 350w Power Supply $65
TrendNet® PCI Modem Card $10



Might take the floppy and modem card out if she doesn't need them.

[glc]

The 915 is well worth the extra 20 bucks - its 800 FSB and that 805 is 533 FSB.

[newbuilder14]

Is it really necessary for an office build? I have used a couple of 805 processors and I found them more than sufficient for mediocre needs like word processing. This is a basic computer in a sense.

[Mr.Ferrari]

It'll stay cooler; suck up less juice too. 15 bucks is well spent there..Its on a newer 65nm process.

I wouldnt want to burden that antec with anymore heat then neccesary.

[newbuilder14]

Stay cooler? Lol like all the Pentium Ds are cool in the first place, you know what I mean.

[glc]

Your choice, but I like to buy at the sweet spot - with the recent price reductions the 915 is now the sweet spot - it's $25 less than it was last month.

[newbuilder14]

"GLC knows best."

I took your advice and got the 915.

Any other motherboards I could use? I'd like to broaden my horizons with brands besides Asus. Much preferably with 4 DDR2 slots for relatively the same price, with onboard video.

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by newbuilder14 Any other motherboards I could use? I'd like to broaden my horizons with brands besides Asus.

For a basic computer that won't be used as a gamer, the only other brands I'd use would be INTEL, ABIT, AOpen, BioStar and maybe Foxconn (haven't tried one yet but if glc says they're okay I'd give it a shot).

Cricket

[newbuilder14]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128016
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813138040
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813186073

Just some others I have found. Thanks Cricket.

Edit: Ehh... my gut tells me to stick to the P5L-MX. I have used it before without any problems why change, you follow me?

[Mr.Ferrari]

If I had to pick I would choose the Gigabyte. I however second your thought on sticking with a known reliable brand like Asus.

My favorite if Asus is out of the question is Abit nowadays. They have really turned a new leaf in comparison to their recent 2 year past.

[newbuilder14]

I just hate how there are only two memory slots, leaving me with giving this woman single channel memory. I guess I COULD always do 2x512mb...

That Gigabyte doesn't sound good according to the reviews... I know reviews are not a way to buy products, but when most of the reviews are bad I have to begin to wonder.

[glc]

I still don't trust Abit's budget boards - their higher end stuff is where they are making the effort. I do believe their low end boards are made by ECS.

Definitely do dual channel. If you want a 4 slot board, do this one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813121294

[newbuilder14]

She can always have me upgrade it to 2gigs for her... (more money for me too, to think in business terms )

[newbuilder14]

Went ahead and bought the following for her:

2.80ghz Intel® Dual Core Pentium D
1024mb Corsair® DDR2 Memory
Asus® Motherboard
Lite-On® CD Burner
Western Digital® 80gb SATA Hard Drive
Linksys® WiFi Card
Logitech® Cordless keyboard & Mouse
Microsoft® Windows XP Professional w/ Free Vista Upgrade
ViewSonic® 17” OptiQuest LCD w/ Speakers
Antec® Black Steel Case & 350w Power Supply

Sorry it is not very detailed, it is what I showed the customer. Can't get too technical, ya know?

[newbuilder14]

Everything is up and working fine - temps are good - around 45c idle. I am waiting on the CD Burner to come in tomorrow but other than that everything works fine.

Let me ask you guys something - I have the CPU fan on 100% and it seems pretty loud at 2600 RPM. I don't know the noise tolerance of the person I am building it for, but I think I should have it set so that it auto adjusts. What would you recommend for this - AI Quiet, Q Fan (and which mode?), or both?

Thanks. I think I did a good job on her wire management.

One thing that really ticked me off was that my motherboard was missing the gold triangle that tells me how the CPU goes in. I guessed based on the notches that matched up the CPU and socket and it was correct. Phew.

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by newbuilder14 Everything is up and working fine - temps are good - around 45c idle. I am waiting on the CD Burner to come in tomorrow but other than that everything works fine.

Good job (temps again...).

Originally Posted by newbuilder14 Let me ask you guys something - I have the CPU fan on 100% and it seems pretty loud at 2600 RPM. I don't know the noise tolerance of the person I am building it for, but I think I should have it set so that it auto adjusts. What would you recommend for this - AI Quiet, Q Fan (and which mode?), or both?

For my wife's computer (631 Cedar Mill P4 on a ASUS P5LD2-VM) we originally had it set to the QFan setting but she got tired of listening to the fan speed up and slow down all the time so we changed it to run at normal speed all the time and now she doesn't even notice it.

Originally Posted by newbuilder14 Thanks. I think I did a good job on her wire management.

Got any pictures? Did you ask for a digital camera for Christmas?

Originally Posted by newbuilder14 One thing that really ticked me off was that my motherboard was missing the gold triangle that tells me how the CPU goes in. I guessed based on the notches that matched up the CPU and socket and it was correct. Phew.

Here's a guide. The LGA775 CPU has notches you have to line up to "keys" in the socket before you drop it in and lock it down.

Cricket

[newbuilder14]

Today I will ask my sister to borrow hers, and thanks for the Christmas idea - never thought of it.

Is 5% overvoltage on the 12v rail okay? I did some match so it is 12.566/12 - I'm not worried about it since I think 5% is nothing and it seems stable.

Thanks

[glc]

5% is within tolerance, and I'd rather have it too high than too low. Load it down and it may drop some.

[newbuilder14]

You know I had a Norton Internet Security 90 day trial installed on her machine. I took it off, LiveUpdate wouldn't work anyway, it slowed down the PC, and just overall was not worth it. I will now install Ad-Aware and AVG for her.