Lecturer working from home

R

redredredredred

Member
Hi folks,

I'm a university lecturer, doing lots of teaching at home at the moment. I've been surviving on a 5 year old Lenovo Yoga laptop with single core processor. It's been a struggle at times running essential programmes while on Zoom video calls.

I'm not looking for a gaming PC, but to be able to do some basic stuff:
- Typical working day, to be able to use Outlook, Word, Powerpoint and a browser while on a Zoom video call. My laptop creaks when I do this!
- Occasionally some basic audio and video editing, using Audacity and Kdenlive.
- I have a 2TB external SSD which I use for data backup

I don't know much about computers, but figured the specifications I could put together in a custom built PC here were better than something off the shelf from Currys. The build below comes out at around £600, and that's pretty much my budget. But for all I know, the combination of components might be nonsensical. So I'll be very grateful for advice on the specs below.

Thanks,
Adam



Case
PCS 3312B BLACK CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i5 Six Core Processor i5-10400F (2.9GHz) 12MB Cache
Motherboard
Gigabyte H410M H V3: Micro-ATX, DDR4, USB 3.2, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2400MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
1GB NVIDIA GEFORCE 710 - DVI, HDMI, VGA
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3000MB/sR | 1600MB/sW)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Memory Card Reader
USB 3.0 EXTERNAL SD/MICRO SD CARD READER
Power Supply
PCS 250W 80+ BRONZE POWER SUPPLY
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
STANDARD 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 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KK3-00002]
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 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
BullGuard™ Internet Security - 3 User, 1 Year
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 16 to 19 working days
Price: £594.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-home-office-pc-III/KCCBsVRy2z/
 
R

redredredredred

Member
Ooh should have added that I will use a couple of monitors, one of which has VGA and the other HDMI, hence the choice of graphics card. Hope that makes sense..
 
R

redredredredred

Member
jamiephillips909 said:

Please read before posting:- Collaboration of Helpful Hints

NB: These forums are not an official support channel. None of us work for PCS, we're all either customers or techies who just like to help out where possible. For any official support, you need to contact PCS directly either through your PCS account, or via the contact details on the main...
www.pcspecialist.co.uk www.pcspecialist.co.uk

Some helpful hints Especially the amd vs intel thread
Click to expand...
Thanks - I read all that. Couldn't change the processor to AMD without starting the whole thing again, so I left it as was. Presumably the Intel processor will do the job well enough though given what I'm using it for..?
 
sck451

sck451

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
I'm going to give an alternative option here, because I'm really not a fan of your spec there. It'll work, but I'm not convinced it's value for money. In particular, that graphics card is pretty woeful (I'm not sure, but you may even be better with the standard 10400 non-F and just using the integrated graphics).

It'll last a couple of years, but I expect it will then start getting very tired and you'll have no real capacity to upgrade it.

For £200 more, you can get something that ought to last a good five years, probably more, and which could easily be upgraded in future.

This is an AMD build using the 5600G CPU with its integrated graphics. For your work it really is streets ahead of your original build.

If you really can't go that high, I'd at least want to switch to the integrated graphics solution, and upgrade the case and power supply, which will help enormously with longevity.

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
NONE, I ALREADY HAVE A GRAPHICS CARD
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
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 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KK3-00002]
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 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
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 16 to 19 working days
Price: £802.00 including VAT and Delivery

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

Nymor

Active member
I'm a non-gamer too and needed a new work PC with dual monitors and have just taken delivery of a very similar build to the one suggested using the 5600G - but with a bigger power supply (for possible later upgrades), and 2nd slower HDD (SSD for W10 & programs - HDD for data) and a surge protector 6 gang (just because) and different case.

Case
FRACTAL FOCUS G BLACK GAMING CASE (Window)
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 Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3000MB/sR | 1600MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W RMx SERIES™ 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
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Supplied on USB Drive
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Surge Protection
6 Socket 2m Surge Protector
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 16 to 19 working days
Promotional Item
Get a Warframe: G-Series Pack with select AMD Ryzen G-Series CPUs
Welcome Book
PCSpecialist Welcome Book - United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland
Logo Branding
PCSpecialist Logo
Price: £888.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/T2FawCn4NX/

You'd have to get a displayport to vga cable/converter as the outputs are hdmi and displayport but that's of no consequence.

I think you're looking at a budget of £800+ whichever you go but you'll get something that will last.
 
R

redredredredred

Member
Thanks for all this great advice. I'll have a proper look at the suggested specs later today. Just to clarify, I haven't ordered yet - when I said I couldn't change the processor I just meant in the existing build quote. Budget can stretch 200 but I guess I just didn't see the point in paying loads more. Sounds like that might have been false economy, from the advice I've read here. I'll post later - thanks all again.
Adam
 
Martinr36

Martinr36

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
redredredredred said:
Thanks for all this great advice. I'll have a proper look at the suggested specs later today. Just to clarify, I haven't ordered yet - when I said I couldn't change the processor I just meant in the existing build quote. Budget can stretch 200 but I guess I just didn't see the point in paying loads more. Sounds like that might have been false economy, from the advice I've read here. I'll post later - thanks all again.
Adam
Click to expand...
Phew.....................that makes life a lot easier
 
R

redredredredred

Member
sck451 said:
I'm going to give an alternative option here, because I'm really not a fan of your spec there. It'll work, but I'm not convinced it's value for money. In particular, that graphics card is pretty woeful (I'm not sure, but you may even be better with the standard 10400 non-F and just using the integrated graphics).

It'll last a couple of years, but I expect it will then start getting very tired and you'll have no real capacity to upgrade it.

For £200 more, you can get something that ought to last a good five years, probably more, and which could easily be upgraded in future.

This is an AMD build using the 5600G CPU with its integrated graphics. For your work it really is streets ahead of your original build.

If you really can't go that high, I'd at least want to switch to the integrated graphics solution, and upgrade the case and power supply, which will help enormously with longevity.

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
NONE, I ALREADY HAVE A GRAPHICS CARD
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
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 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KK3-00002]
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 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
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 16 to 19 working days
Price: £802.00 including VAT and Delivery

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

Many thanks for this. I'd really appreciate some points explaining that I have no clue about:

1. Why are the case and power supply are worth upgrading? Those two make £72 difference, but it would never occur to me that they were useful investments.

2. I take the recommendation of AMD over Intel, but will the setup you recommend, with the graphics built into the processor, support two monitors?

3. You recommended 3200MHz RAM over the 2400MHz RAM. Where will I see that £29 difference?

Again, thanks for your time and suggestions, it's very much appreciated.

Adam
 
sck451

sck451

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
redredredredred said:
Many thanks for this. I'd really appreciate some points explaining that I have no clue about:

1. Why are the case and power supply are worth upgrading? Those two make £72 difference, but it would never occur to me that they were useful investments.

2. I take the recommendation of AMD over Intel, but will the setup you recommend, with the graphics built into the processor, support two monitors?

3. You recommended 3200MHz RAM over the 2400MHz RAM. Where will I see that £29 difference?

Again, thanks for your time and suggestions, it's very much appreciated.

Adam
Click to expand...
1. Case and power supply are really the foundation of the build. A poor case will cause high temperatures, which will reduce performance and possibly diminish the lifetime of the build. A poor power supply (and an own-brand 250W is about as low-grade as you can get these days) will be noisier and less efficient, limit any potential future upgrade, and be much more likely to run into reliability problems down the road. I wouldn't want to skimp on either of these areas.

2. Yes, no problem. The Prime B550-plus has one HDMI port and one DisplayPort, so you may conceivably need to get an adapter, but it'll work fine.

3. In all areas of performance. Slow RAM will diminish the performance of both CPU (AMD CPUs want fast memory: anything under 3200MHz will result in a degraded CPU performance) and the iGPU (as the RAM acts as video memory). In video editing, this will be a whole world of difference, but also in multi-tasking.

Basically the principle is to get a solid foundation for the build, so it performs well now and can also face upgrades in the future. For example, you could stick an RTX 3060 in this build and have a very strong video editing system.
 
R

redredredredred

Member
sck451 said:
1. Case and power supply are really the foundation of the build. A poor case will cause high temperatures, which will reduce performance and possibly diminish the lifetime of the build. A poor power supply (and an own-brand 250W is about as low-grade as you can get these days) will be noisier and less efficient, limit any potential future upgrade, and be much more likely to run into reliability problems down the road. I wouldn't want to skimp on either of these areas.

2. Yes, no problem. The Prime B550-plus has one HDMI port and one DisplayPort, so you may conceivably need to get an adapter, but it'll work fine.

3. In all areas of performance. Slow RAM will diminish the performance of both CPU (AMD CPUs want fast memory: anything under 3200MHz will result in a degraded CPU performance) and the iGPU (as the RAM acts as video memory). In video editing, this will be a whole world of difference, but also in multi-tasking.

Basically the principle is to get a solid foundation for the build, so it performs well now and can also face upgrades in the future. For example, you could stick an RTX 3060 in this build and have a very strong video editing system.
Click to expand...
OK thanks very much for all your advice. I've ordered the setup you recommended. If it's rubbish, I'll know who to blame 😂
 
R

redredredredred

Member
So my computer arrived on Wednesday and all is good. Everything very fast and nicely set up. Looks great with my big screen, and I'm just waiting for Amazon to deliver a DP-VGA converter so I can hook up my second screen. My question is - what is all this stuff that was packaged neatly in a box for me. I managed to spot the screw-in aerials for my wifi and bluetooth in there, but I have no idea what the rest is. Are these things I need? Should I be using them somewhere? Should I keep them safe? Any advice gratefully received. Thanks!
 

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sck451

sck451

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
They're all the spare accessories, like extra cables that came with your power supply but that you don't need right now. Keep hold of them in case you need them in the future.

Pics and a review would be great when you can!
 
R

redredredredred

Member
TYVM, I've put everything away safely.
One issue I've been having is with my internet connection. I'm connected with wifi, and it's horrendously slow. I have just been having a morning full of Zoom meetings with students and had to abandon after the first meeting and get my old laptop back out. I'm getting
0.25 Mbps download and 0.13 Mbps upload. My old laptop, in exactly the same location as the new desktop, is getting 26.5 download and 18.4 upload. Computer is about 4 metres from the router, with an internal wall in between. Does this sound like a configuration issue or something else?
 
sck451

sck451

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
redredredredred said:
TYVM, I've put everything away safely.
One issue I've been having is with my internet connection. I'm connected with wifi, and it's horrendously slow. I have just been having a morning full of Zoom meetings with students and had to abandon after the first meeting and get my old laptop back out. I'm getting
0.25 Mbps download and 0.13 Mbps upload. My old laptop, in exactly the same location as the new desktop, is getting 26.5 download and 18.4 upload. Computer is about 4 metres from the router, with an internal wall in between. Does this sound like a configuration issue or something else?
Click to expand...
I know you mentioned the antennae further up the thread, but are they attached properly? That's the most likely cause of WiFi issues. In addition, have you run Windows Updates? I realise it'll be quite slow, but there may be drivers that need installing.
 
R

redredredredred

Member
I assume the antennae are in the right place. This is the only place that made any sense. I've set the computer to download and install the optional update that is available, as well as some driver updates it offered. I'll see what happens once those are done.

1634038571986.png

sck451 said:
I know you mentioned the antennae further up the thread, but are they attached properly? That's the most likely cause of WiFi issues. In addition, have you run Windows Updates? I realise it'll be quite slow, but there may be drivers that need installing.
Click to expand...
 
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