Basic office pc

[Jimmytwohand]

Hi all,

Had a really great PC from here a while back so looking for some more advice please.

I’m after a Christmas present for my father who currently uses an hp pavilion p6-2002uk. He uses it for basic office tasks but also does some archive work which involves scanning and basic manipulation of images.

As the current pc is so slow I’d like to ensure it has an ssd and probably 8gigs ram so that performance is very smooth. Apart from that it does not any frills or peripherals and I’m guessing on board graphics will be fine? I’d like to spend about 300 but can go higher if it will be beneficial for his use.

Any pointers appreciated either prebuilt or bespoke.

Many thanks,
James

 

[Frank100]

Hi,

I found it quite tough to get close to your preferred price with a spec I felt I could recommend. Options exist for an Intel i3 or a Ryzen 3 and I tried an Intel option first and then a Ryzen one. The Intel i3 came in slightly more expensive but for your needs is probbaly a bit more suitable: -

Case
PCS GENESIS G1B CASE + SD CARD READER
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i3 Quad Core Processor i3-9100F (3.60GHz) 6MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® H310M-A R2.0: Micro-ATX, DDR4, LGA1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM)
8GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2400MHz (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
1GB NVIDIA GEFORCE 710 - DVI, HDMI, VGA
1st Storage Drive
480GB ADATA SU630 2.5" SSD, SATA 6 Gb (520MB/R, 450MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply
CORSAIR 350W VS SERIES™ VS-350 POWER SUPPLY
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 80 Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
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 7 to 9 working days
Price: £410.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-home-office-pc-II/hJqmyjmbBE/

It required me to get creative. The Intel i3 9100 with on-board graphics worked out at £429 all in, so getting the 9100F and a separate graphics card saves £19.

You could make this cheaper quite easily. For example: -

Get the cheapest case saves £10 (possibly poorer airflow, cheaper feel)
Reduce the SSD down to 240GB and that saves £19 (providing it is enough space for OS, programs and files.
Use the basic Intel CPU cooler and save £12 (but it really isn't very good at all)

You could opt for the AMD A8 or A10, or the Intel Celeron or Pentium processors but this might leave you with a PC that's not actually better than what he has now.

If he has an existing graphics card in the current computer that could be transferred over to the new one. This would save another £26. His existing hard drive could be transferred over to become file storage meaning you could manage with a 240GB SSD quite easily.

Considering the Windows licence is about £100 these days, the PC itself including build is then only about £300.

Some options there at least.

Frank100

 

[Oussebon]

I was going to suggest looking at a Brand X off the shelf PC, but checked a certain high street retailer and couldn't see anything cheaper that wasn't trash :S

It's a very good spec by @Frank100

Could be worth checking other online retailers to see if they have any off-the-shelf units with built in discounts that give you more for the money. Sometimes the mass production gives economies you can't quite get with a custom spec at the very budget end of the PC market. But the above seems at least competitive with high street options.