Home/office pc

[JohFre]

I'm finally thinking of getting a new home/office pc.

The motherboard and processor (an intel core 2 duo E8400) of my current pc date from 2008! I've done a few upgrades over the years and it now has 8 gb of ram. It is getting quite slow. It struggles with high resolution photos or if I have lots of windows open. I can't upgrade it to windows 11 (although I'm not in any rush to do this).

This is the spec I've come up with. I will be playing no games. I do a bit of photo editing but it is mainly for internet browsing and office work with multitasking.

Case PCS 3601 CASE
Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™ i5 Six Core Processor i5-12500 (3.0GHz) 18MB Cache
Motherboard GIGABYTE B660M DS3H DDR4 (rev. 1.0) : LGA1700, DDR4, USB 3.2
Memory (RAM) 16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2400MHz (2 x 8GB)
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)
2nd M.2 SSD Drive 512GB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3000MB/sR |
1600MB/sW)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply CORSAIR 450W CV SERIES™ CV-450 POWER SUPPLY
Power Cable 1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling PCS FrostFlow 100 V3 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)
Network Card 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD
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 [KK3-00027]
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 Google Chrome™
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 12 to 14 working days
Welcome Book PCSpecialist Welcome Book - United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland
Quantity 1
Total Order Price Ex VAT £577.50
Total VAT (20%) £115.50
Total Order Price £693.00

Things I'm not sure about

• Is it worth upgrading to 3200 mhz ram from 2400 mhz ram? It's £18 more.
• Does the motherboard seem ok?
• I've put in 2 ssd's. Mainly so I can easily back up from one to the other. I don't back up enough at the moment and I want to easily be able to back up.
• I'm not sure what the difference is between having a 2nd M.2 ssd drive and having a storage device. I went for the 2nd M.2 storage device as it seems faster. Is that the right thing to do?
• Is there anything I should change or add to the spec? I've tried to make it reasonably future proof.

Thanks

 

[ThoRob]

Your budget is really tight even for an office PC.
Do you have a PC you are replacing which has windows on it? If so you can port it to your new PC and update it to windows 10 / 11 as you wish for free.
If that is the case you could spend the same money on the below which would give you better performance. and more options to upgrade in the future (this still makes significant compromises to stay below £700).
Although the Intel processors do give slightly better performance for your money when paired with a GPU the AMD processors still have superior integrated graphics which I believe gives it the edge in a budget build even in an office PC that is rarely/never used for gaming.

Case
CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600G Six Core CPU with Radeon™ Graphics (3.9GHz-4.4GHz/19MB CACHE/AM4) (Better Integrated Graphics)
Motherboard
ASUS® PRIME B550-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB) (much faster RAM)
Graphics Card
INTEGRATED GRAPHICS ACCELERATOR (GPU) (better than Intel graphics)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR | 2500MB/sW) (2 might be a bit faster but 1 is cheaper. Get external back up as backing up on another internal drive still leave you open to viruses etc.)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET (better quality and quieter, also allows a bit more room to upgrade ideally you would want the 650W)
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER (all that's required for this build)
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 (much better WIFI card)
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
NO RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Firefox™
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 12 to 14 working days
Price: £693.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/KM3ntYsMBh/

 

[Scott]

Above advice is on the money and totally agree with it all for sticking inside £700. If you could stretch a little I think a second drive would be worthwhile for your uses.

Case
CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600G Six Core CPU with Radeon™ Graphics (3.9GHz-4.4GHz/19MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® PRIME B550-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
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 M.2 SSD Drive
1TB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR | 2500MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 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
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
NO RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Firefox™
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 12 to 14 working days
Price: £742.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/vB0txyAPpz/

 

[JohFre]

Thanks for your replies. It is much appreciated.

I don’t have a budget, so can spend more money if needed. But I don’t want to pay for components I’m never going to use or don’t need.

To put things in context, I’m a yoga teacher. I will never use the pc for games. I do some photo editing and short video editing for posting on Facebook and Instagram for advertising my business. So I don’t t think I need powerful graphics? My current pc has an AMD radeon HD6450 graphics card. From my research, the integrated graphics on either the i5-12500 or the ryzen 5 5600g will be much better than what I currently have. I use excel, word, etc and do multitask a lot. I have some accounting and other office software. I also use the pc for internet browsing.

Looking at both of your suggestions I have some questions please.

• In my original spec it was a straight choice between the i5-12500 and the ryzen 5 5600g. I went for the i5-12500, as from the little I could find on the web (because the i5-12500 is so new), the consensus seemed to be that the i5-12500 is a bit faster/better. But I could find very little on either of their integrated graphics. If I’m not playing games, will the integrated graphics on the ryzen be that much better for basic photo and video editing? If the ryzen runs quieter/cooler that would be an advantage for it. I’m not sure why I would go for the ryzen rather than the i5? But I'm not very knowledgeable about current processors.
• The case you recommended is £37 more than the cheaper case I put in the spec. I can see it has two 120 mm case fans rather than the one 80 mm case fan in the cheaper case. But the cheaper case takes up less space. If the Corsair case runs quieter, then that would be an advantage for it. Will cooling be an issue between the cases if I don’t have a dedicated graphics card? What advantages does the corsair case have?
• The other main difference I can see, is the psu which is £32 more. If I ever put in a graphics card, it will be a bottom of the range card. Do I need more than a 450 watt psu? But if the psu you suggested is more reliable and quiet, then I don’t mind upgrading to it.
• I’m going to remove the wifi card from the spec. At the moment my pc is connected to the internet with an ethernet cable and I can’t see that changing. If it ever does, I can fit a wifi card at that time.
• SSD/hard drives. My current pc has a hard drive with a capacity of 465 gb. I have used about 155 gb of that. So a 512 gb M.2 ssd will be more than big enough. I like the idea of having 2 of them for back ups. At the moment I back up to a usb stick but that is very slow. I’m guessing that backing up to a second M.2 ssd will be much quicker and that is likely to make me back up more often. If I ever need more capacity, I can swop in a 1 TB ssd at that time and they will probably have come down in price.
• Windows. My current os was originally windows xp professional. I then bought an upgrade to windows 7 professional. I then did the free upgrade to Windows 10. So I’m currently running Windows 10 pro, with a product key from Windows xp professional. I have the original dvd’s for windows xp and the upgrade to windows 7. But I’m not going to get a dvd drive for the new pc as I don’t use them anymore. I could swap the old dvd drive across. Is it possible to port my os across? I’m not sure how I’d do this. Can I still do the free upgrade from Windows 7 to windows 10? I’m wondering if it’s simpler to buy the new pc with windows 11. I don’t want to spend a long time working out how to port the os across and then porting it across.

Thanks again for your help.

 

[Scott]

Thanks for your replies. It is much appreciated.

I don’t have a budget, so can spend more money if needed. But I don’t want to pay for components I’m never going to use or don’t need.

To put things in context, I’m a yoga teacher. I will never use the pc for games. I do some photo editing and short video editing for posting on Facebook and Instagram for advertising my business. So I don’t t think I need powerful graphics? My current pc has an AMD radeon HD6450 graphics card. From my research, the integrated graphics on either the i5-12500 or the ryzen 5 5600g will be much better than what I currently have. I use excel, word, etc and do multitask a lot. I have some accounting and other office software. I also use the pc for internet browsing.

Looking at both of your suggestions I have some questions please.

• In my original spec it was a straight choice between the i5-12500 and the ryzen 5 5600g. I went for the i5-12500, as from the little I could find on the web (because the i5-12500 is so new), the consensus seemed to be that the i5-12500 is a bit faster/better. But I could find very little on either of their integrated graphics. If I’m not playing games, will the integrated graphics on the ryzen be that much better for basic photo and video editing? If the ryzen runs quieter/cooler that would be an advantage for it. I’m not sure why I would go for the ryzen rather than the i5? But I'm not very knowledgeable about current processors.
• The case you recommended is £37 more than the cheaper case I put in the spec. I can see it has two 120 mm case fans rather than the one 80 mm case fan in the cheaper case. But the cheaper case takes up less space. If the Corsair case runs quieter, then that would be an advantage for it. Will cooling be an issue between the cases if I don’t have a dedicated graphics card? What advantages does the corsair case have?
• The other main difference I can see, is the psu which is £32 more. If I ever put in a graphics card, it will be a bottom of the range card. Do I need more than a 450 watt psu? But if the psu you suggested is more reliable and quiet, then I don’t mind upgrading to it.
• I’m going to remove the wifi card from the spec. At the moment my pc is connected to the internet with an ethernet cable and I can’t see that changing. If it ever does, I can fit a wifi card at that time.
• SSD/hard drives. My current pc has a hard drive with a capacity of 465 gb. I have used about 155 gb of that. So a 512 gb M.2 ssd will be more than big enough. I like the idea of having 2 of them for back ups. At the moment I back up to a usb stick but that is very slow. I’m guessing that backing up to a second M.2 ssd will be much quicker and that is likely to make me back up more often. If I ever need more capacity, I can swop in a 1 TB ssd at that time and they will probably have come down in price.
• Windows. My current os was originally windows xp professional. I then bought an upgrade to windows 7 professional. I then did the free upgrade to Windows 10. So I’m currently running Windows 10 pro, with a product key from Windows xp professional. I have the original dvd’s for windows xp and the upgrade to windows 7. But I’m not going to get a dvd drive for the new pc as I don’t use them anymore. I could swap the old dvd drive across. Is it possible to port my os across? I’m not sure how I’d do this. Can I still do the free upgrade from Windows 7 to windows 10? I’m wondering if it’s simpler to buy the new pc with windows 11. I don’t want to spend a long time working out how to port the os across and then porting it across.

Thanks again for your help.

I'll try to hit all your queries:

The integrated graphics on the 5600G is vastly superior to that on the 12500. As much as you aren't gaming, the graphics acceleration is used in many more areas. One of the lesser considered impacts is on web browsers. They can be quite graphically demanding (at a low level) and a snappier GPU can have a big impact on how those pages run. It'll also help considerably with the screen acceleration during photoshop and the likes. For video editing I don't think there is much impact though, it would be negligible as it's mostly CPU driven.

The case is one of the most important, and also one of the most overlooked, areas to consider. All your expensive parts are in this box, the thermal efficiency of that box determines the thermal impact of those expensive components. You could get a lesser known case and save a little money but it would be to the detriment of the internal components and also potentially the heat. As much as you don't have a GPU in there, you do have an air cooled CPU. If there isn't reasonable airflow the air cooler will need to work harder to keep the chip cool. This would lead to more noise. There aren't many cheap case options now, the recommended one is the lowest we would recommend. It is entirely up to you though as there is a significant saving to be had with the lesser options. We would simply never recommend them.

The PSU is a higher quality unit. It offers a better warranty and will run more efficiently. I understand it's more expensive but for longevity I think it's worth it. Even the cheapest corsair PSU is still decent for an office based PC so if you really wanted to cut the cloth it's a fair assessment. I would always recommend, what I consider, a good PSU & case combination.

Removing the WIFI is a decent saving, it's just a default choice for us.

The second SSD is more of a luxury item for backups. With your intentions you could save a few by opting for a 500GB PCS drive, over the 1TB one I selected. Or save more by opting for one of the 1TB standard HDDs (selected in the example below). It won't be anywhere near as fast to back up as an M2 option, but it won't be a slouch either. It'll be significantly faster than an older usb pen/hdd regardless. This is another area that's up to you. I would recommend having a backup option of sorts though, how much you wish to spend to get the luxury of speed is up to yourself.

If you create a Microsoft account (or if you already have one) you can link your current Windows 10 license to that account. When you receive the new PC, you can remove the license from the old PC via the M$ user page. You can then login to your new PC and link the license to it. It's called a digital license. If you wish to do this we can help take you through the steps.

A more reasoned offering:

Case
CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600G Six Core CPU with Radeon™ Graphics (3.9GHz-4.4GHz/19MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® PRIME B550-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
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 SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 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
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
NO RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Firefox™
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 12 to 14 working days
Price: £672.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/jHwCyu6xB2/

 

[Salmon Fisher]

I think you're on the right track, it's true however that the Ryzen chip does have better graphics so if you want to watch a movie or something then that'll be nicer, also? I'd be tempted to pair that with a b450 board, you won't get pcie4 but you don't need that. The PSU is slightly more powerful, but that's good, it's also going to run quieter, so that's better. I can see what your after is a better version of the eponymous beige box to go under the desk. Nothing wrong with that.

 

[JohFre]

Thanks again for your replies.

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600G was what I was originally going to get until the i5-12500 came out. If you think it is better for what I need, then I’m happy to go with the AMD processor.

I take the point about the case and psu. I remember when I last upgraded my pc, I put in a decent psu (an OCZ StealthXStream2 500W) and it has been great and quiet.

I’m not sure what to do about a second storage drive. The M.2 option isn’t expensive in the grand scheme of things and so I am tempted to go for that. But which is more reliable, an M.2 ssd or a SATA III 3.5” hard drive? I was looking in my current pc. I have a Samsung Spinpoint F3 500gb SATA II 7200rpm 16mb cache hard drive. Is it worth moving that across? I remember I fitted it myself so I’m sure I could do this. Would it be much slower than everything else? Although I could have it as a 3rd storage unit rather than throwing it away.

And I guess I might as well swap across my dvd drive rather than throwing it away.

I checked and I already have a Microsoft account with my current pc registered on it. Although I couldn’t see any way of moving the licence. So how would I do this?

Thanks

 

[Salmon Fisher]

If, if it was me, I'd get a sata SSD for programs games etc then if poss a HDD for data / photos / videos, maybe use the one out of the old unit?
Not sure about OS, as you've registered a copy you can possibly just download windows and it will remember the key.

 

[Scott]

There's next to no difference in costing now between Sata SSD & M2 so there's no point in middling IMO. You won't have any issues with longevity either. Mechanical drives have a decent lifespan when looked after, but so do modern day SSDs so there's no real consideration to be made on longevity.

In your shoes I would go with the Intel 670 500GB primary and secondary then transfer over your 500GB spinpoint. That gives you a fast storage option and a backup storage option.

 

[JohFre]

Ok, thanks.

The last thing is whether or not I port across my os. I have a Microsoft account with my current pc registered on it. So how do I move the os licence on my current pc to my new pc? I'd like to make sure I can do this before ordering the new pc, as otherwise I'll order the new pc with Windows 11 pre-installed.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Ok, thanks.

The last thing is whether or not I port across my os. I have a Microsoft account with my current pc registered on it. So how do I move the os licence on my current pc to my new pc? I'd like to make sure I can do this before ordering the new pc, as otherwise I'll order the new pc with Windows 11 pre-installed.

Transferring digital windows 10 license to new machine

Hi all Quite a few people already have a windows 10 License which they want to transfer over to the new PC. Windows 10 now makes this easy, even if you have an OEM license, you can legitimately turn it into a "digital license" by tying it to your microsoft account, and then transfer it legally...

www.pcspecialist.co.uk

 

[JohFre]

Thanks. Very useful link.

My current pc has a retail channel digital license of Windows 10 pro linked to my Microsoft account. So presumably I download windows 10 pro to a memory stick and use that to boot up the new pc. Is that right? I guess I download it from here? https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/software-download/windows10

Once I activate the licence on the new pc, will windows stop working on my old pc? I have a few software programmes I want to use on the new pc, so to transfer the data in those programmes across I will presumably need to create a back up of those programmes and then install the back ups on the new pc after I've done a fresh install of those software programmes. And for that I'll need to move my dvd player across as the software programmes are on dvds. I haven't done this for a long time, so I'm winging it from memory. Is there anything major I've forgotten/not thought about? Is there a better way of doing this?

Thanks

 

[SpyderTracks]

My current pc has a retail channel digital license of Windows 10 pro linked to my Microsoft account. So presumably I download windows 10 pro to a memory stick and use that to boot up the new pc. Is that right? I guess I download it from here? https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/software-download/windows10

It's just a single download and you select the license type during install.

Once I activate the licence on the new pc, will windows stop working on my old pc? I have a few software programmes I want to use on the new pc, so to transfer the data in those programmes across I will presumably need to create a back up of those programmes and then install the back ups on the new pc after I've done a fresh install of those software programmes. And for that I'll need to move my dvd player across as the software programmes are on dvds. I haven't done this for a long time, so I'm winging it from memory. Is there anything major I've forgotten/not thought about? Is there a better way of doing this?

The Old PC will still work, it just won't be licensed and eventually will pop up to reflect that, at that point it's illegal to use under the licensing terms.
Normally you would have any data on a secondary drive, in which case you just simply transfer the drive to the new PC.
Obviously if you're talking about backing up databases or something, then yes, you'd need to do that. Can you be more specific about what you mean?
What programs are you referring to that are on DVD's? You'll find almost any software is available for download online, anything on DVD will be well out of date and shouldn't be used unless it's a legacy program that's out of support?

 

[JohFre]

I've got Microsoft office enterprise 2007 which I still use for word, excel, etc as I bought it many years ago and don't have to pay anything further for it. I use Outlook 2007 for keeping track of contacts and tasks and I believe that information is saved within the programme. So if I need to transfer the data to another pc, from memory I do an Outlook backup and then move the backup to the new pc after installing Outlook on the new pc. Those programmes are all on dvds. I also have Microsoft Money which is a very old programme with no support but I find it very useful for keeping track of income and outgoings and I believe all the data is saved within the programme. Again, the software is on a dvd. And things like firefox and chrome favourites.

Like you say, for all my other data, I tend to copy and paste it to the new hard drive. I'm sure there's a more efficient way to do this

 

[SpyderTracks]

I've got Microsoft office enterprise 2007 which I still use for word, excel, etc as I bought it many years ago and don't have to pay anything further for it. I use Outlook 2007 for keeping track of contacts and tasks and I believe that information is saved within the programme. So if I need to transfer the data to another pc, from memory I do an Outlook backup and then move the backup to the new pc after installing Outlook on the new pc. Those programmes are all on dvds. I also have Microsoft Money which is a very old programme with no support but I find it very useful for keeping track of income and outgoings and I believe all the data is saved within the programme. Again, the software is on a dvd. And things like firefox and chrome favourites.

Like you say, for all my other data, I tend to copy and paste it to the new hard drive. I'm sure there's a more efficient way to do this

What email provider do you use? I have to say, for the sake of buying a modern version of office, you're causing yourself very unecessary hardships from a useability and security standpoint, plus having an extremely reduced experience day to day

Office 2007 went end of life in April 2017. This means 2 important things, even though modern email providers mean that all your data is stored in the cloud, so setup is literally just logging in, your version of office doesn't support modern email protocols. This also means you have zero redundancy. But more important, the email client and office itself is wide open to attack from the internet as the protocols you're using are no longer secure.

Office 2007 end of support - Microsoft Lifecycle

Office 2007 has reached the end of its support lifecycle next year. Users should plan to move to Office 365 or to Office 2016.

docs.microsoft.com

I would strongly suggest reaching into your pocket for a modern upgrade. You don't realise how poor and unnecessary experience you're having. Many people think you have no option but to subscribe to office 365, this just isn't the case, there are plenty of modern full suite packages that are single licenses for a one off cost.

Microsoft Money Sunset (the final version) is freeware available for download direct from Microsoft:

Download Microsoft Money from Official Microsoft Download Center

www.microsoft.com

Like you say, for all my other data, I tend to copy and paste it to the new hard drive. I'm sure there's a more efficient way to do this

Just transfer the dirve to the new build.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Just noticed, that Microsoft Money link is only downloading a PDF, it does appear that the official sunset links have been pulled on Microsofts site, so you would be better off using your DVD. Apologies.

 

[JohFre]

Thanks again. Everyone's help and advice is very much appreciated.

So I think this is the final suggested specification? And then I'd transfer my existing hard drive and DVD player across (I'd better check it still works!).

Case
CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600G Six Core CPU with Radeon™ Graphics (3.9GHz-4.4GHz/19MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® PRIME B550-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
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 M.2 SSD Drive
512GB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3000MB/sR | 1600MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 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
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
NO RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Firefox™
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 11 to 13 working days
Price: £683.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/QVbkgePUNv/

I take the point about office 2007. We only use it for word, excel, outlook (on 1 pc) and very occasionally powerpoint (on a different pc). But it is on 3 pc's, 2 of which we are about to replace. On the laptop we won't replace, we use word and excel occasionally. For the amount we use them, I can't really justify the full cost of new licences for 3 pc's. But I've seen online I can get cheaper single machine licences through sites like buy-keys.com or wowcher at £20 to £30 per licence, which is fine for 2 pc's. Do you have any idea if these websites are ok to buy the licences through? Otherwise I'm tempted to stick with office 2007.

 

[Martinr36]

Will that case take an internal DVD, most modern cases don't, as it screws with airflow

 

[Scott]

4000D doesn't take an internal DVD drive. Would need to be an external one or a conversion cable to use the current one. As above, most cases don't support internal 5.25" drives now, they're pretty much redundant.

 

[JohFre]

So would the simplest way round this be to copy the software setups from the DVDs to a usb memory stick on my current pc (which has a DVD drive) and then run the software setups from the memory stick on the new pc?

If I upgrade office that would also simplify things. Does anyone have any experience of buying microsoft licenses through websites like buy-keys.com or wowcher?