Simple PC for office tasks

R

RobConway350

Member
Hello everyone!

I would like somebody to check that everything is sensible with this spec before hitting the GO button.

This machine is for simple Office use (Word / Web / Email) for an elderly relative - no gaming or fancy requirements. I just want something that will last a few years.
I appreciate that it is over specced for the requirement, but was burned by my previous choice and Windows and Web Browsers ability to bloat and eat up resources.

Any thoughts on changes or additions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Rob

Case
InWin CJ708 Black Micro ATX Case 265W
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i5 Six Core Processor i5-10500 (3.1GHz) 12MB Cache
Motherboard
GIGABYTE H510M S2H (rev. 1.0) : Micro-ATX, DDR4, USB 3.2, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM)
32GB PCS PRO DDR4 2666MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
INTEGRATED GRAPHICS ACCELERATOR (GPU)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR | 2500MB/sW)
Power Supply
InWin 265W INTEGRATED POWER SUPPLY
Processor Cooling
STANDARD CPU COOLER
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 4 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KK3-00027]
Monitor
IIYAMA ProLite B2791QSU-B1 27" WQHD
Webcam
Logitech® HD Webcam C920 - 1080p recording & 720p video calling

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-office-mini/EWe7PugEdD/
 
Aza

Aza

Rising Star
Whats the budget for it?
Would a laptop be more appropriate? less to deal with and going to be lightweight/easy to handle
 
R

RobConway350

Member
Budget around 1k
I don't think that a laptop is the best option - it lives in one place, (iPad for moving around anyway), needs a bigger screen than a laptop and she has a great big ergonomic keyboard that she likes.

Previous PC was a Dell all-in-one (pretty much a laptop) which has been a complete lemon in terms of performance - takes 10 mins just to launch Word these days despite re-installing Windows.
 
Aza

Aza

Rising Star
All In Ones are generally terrible, you cant do anything with them and tend to be very limited on specs.
If i'm honest, I dont think PCS is really geared towards that market... on the home pc configurattor you cant choose a 5600G and the RAM is all pretty slow.... so if you go to the proper custom configurator, you get those options, but minimum 16GB on the RAM choices to get decent speeds lol

Is there an existing copy of windows that can be transferred? Free's up £120 of the budget and will be very useful
 
Last edited:
J

Jasontvnd

Bronze Level Poster
I'm not sure the 32GB of ram or a six core i5 are needed but the rest looks fine , Its just unless your elderly relative is going to be editing 4k videos and running graphic design software 16gb and a quad core are going to do the same job for them.
 
Aza

Aza

Rising Star
Its actually pretty fustrating, I would like to stick a 5600G on something like a 550/570 motherboard, 8GB 3600MHz RAM (although I dont think 4GB sticks exist at 3600MHz...but 1 stick of 8GB should be fine) a 500GB OS Drive M.2 and then a bulk storage drive, with a RMx PSU (but minimum seems to be 750W which is massive overkill in this situation)

But I cant find a configurator that can give me those options.

But if im really honest, this spec would still be overkill for the actual uses...
Case
CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 3 3200G Quad Core CPU with Vega Graphics (3.6GHz-4.0GHz/6MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® PRIME B450-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.1, 6Gb/s) - RGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
8GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2666MHz (2 x 4GB)
Graphics Card
INTEGRATED GRAPHICS ACCELERATOR (GPU)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3000MB/sR, 1600MB/sW)
1st Storage Drive
1TB Samsung 870 QVO 2.5" SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (up to 560MB/sR | 530MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00003]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 4 to 7 working days
Price: £726.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-home-office/rFav7ZYNmK/
 
Last edited:
Aza

Aza

Rising Star
The thinking with the PSU is to get one thats gonna last 10 years (RMx are exceptional quality)
No need for a GPU with your uses
CPU is a few generations old, but still more than capable for what its being used for
Id still prefer faster RAM...but doesnt give you that option
Storage options are going to be silent, OS drive still very fast but bulk storage SSD could just as easily be a HDD

But the build is still a massive overshoot.... for Office use, video calling and browsing the web... you mention theres an Ipad?
I'd just buy a monitor it can connect to (might even be able to set the all in one up as just a monitor), you can even get keyboards for ipads (that might be ipad pros though)
 
Aza

Aza

Rising Star
.....How about this.. (admitedly I hate the RAM choice but it doesnt have 3600MHz or 3200MHz options)
Wondering about the power supply though

Case
CiT MTX-007B Mini ITX Case 180W
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600G Six Core CPU with Radeon™ Graphics (3.9GHz-4.4GHz/19MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
GIGABYTE A520I AC: Mini-ITX, AM4, USB 3.1, 6GB/s - RGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
8GB PCS PRO DDR4 2666MHz (2 x 4GB)
Graphics Card
INTEGRATED GRAPHICS ACCELERATOR (GPU)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3000MB/sR, 1600MB/sW)
1st Storage Drive
1TB Samsung 870 QVO 2.5" SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (up to 560MB/sR | 530MB/sW)
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre Cloverleaf UK Power Cable
Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
USB/Thunderbolt Options
2 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 4 x USB 2.0 PORTS AS STANDARD
Operating System
Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00003]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 4 to 7 working days
Price: £655.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/AMD-performance-mini/KZrRAPuYhd/

Im still going back to my original conclusion though, I dont think PCS really cater to that market, not in desktop form.
If you want a bigger screen than a laptop would provide, then i'd just buy a monitor you can hook a laptop up to or the ipad up to.

That or take an off-the-shelf cheap computer with inbuilt graphics and 8GB RAM (and stop your elderly relative using muck like Chrome as a web browser)
 
Last edited:
J

Jasontvnd

Bronze Level Poster
Aza said:
.....How about this.. (admitedly I hate the RAM choice but it doesnt have 3600MHz or 3200MHz options)
Wondering about the power supply though

Case
CiT MTX-007B Mini ITX Case 180W
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600G Six Core CPU with Radeon™ Graphics (3.9GHz-4.4GHz/19MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
GIGABYTE A520I AC: Mini-ITX, AM4, USB 3.1, 6GB/s - RGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
8GB PCS PRO DDR4 2666MHz (2 x 4GB)
Graphics Card
INTEGRATED GRAPHICS ACCELERATOR (GPU)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3000MB/sR, 1600MB/sW)
1st Storage Drive
1TB Samsung 870 QVO 2.5" SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (up to 560MB/sR | 530MB/sW)
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre Cloverleaf UK Power Cable
Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
USB/Thunderbolt Options
2 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 4 x USB 2.0 PORTS AS STANDARD
Operating System
Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00003]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 4 to 7 working days
Price: £655.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/AMD-performance-mini/KZrRAPuYhd/

Im still going back to my original conclusion though, I dont think PCS really cater to that market, not in desktop form.
If you want a bigger screen than a laptop would provide, then i'd just buy a monitor you can hook a laptop up to or the ipad up to.

That or take an off-the-shelf cheap computer with inbuilt graphics and 8GB RAM (and stop your elderly relative using muck like Chrome as a web browser)
Click to expand...
This to me is the best performance you can get for the money , If budget allowed a decent branded PSU and maybe 16gb of ram would work aswell though.

That being said honestly 8gb is plenty but I know how older folk like to just keep adding more and more stuff to there computer so 16gb if you want to just let them go a bit wild.
 
Aza

Aza

Rising Star
Jasontvnd said:
This to me is the best performance you can get for the money , If budget allowed a decent branded PSU and maybe 16gb of ram would work aswell though.

That being said honestly 8gb is plenty but I know how older folk like to just keep adding more and more stuff to there computer so 16gb if you want to just let them go a bit wild.
Click to expand...
The problem with it is theres no PSU choice, its part of the case configuration with that one....
It was through the mini pc config choices but its a set case choice (Performance mini pc sub menu)

There really isnt a "perfect" configurator to fit the uses, to get access to items i'd actually want to put in to get quality/lifespan out of it it also then means overspeccing half of it.

I know we're not supposed to advice on competitor stuff, but I genuinely think a desktop isnt the best option here.
Laptop and then maybe a monitor to attach it to, or just a monitor and hook the ipad up to it when you need to... I think there are other solutions that would be less expensive and more suitable for what its being used for.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top