Building a non-gaming home/work PC. Looking for some advice on parts, CPU specifically.
Before I get started, I just want to thank anyone who reads this for their time and any responses given.
I am currently in the middle of working on a PC build for a relative. Originally I was tasked with finding a replacement for their old laptop, which was begining to show signs of failure. But as discussions progressed, the idea of building a desktop to get same or better specs for less became the better option.(as he rarely moves his laptop from his desk)
I can figure out the ram, motherboard, powersupply and stuff for him without much trouble. But the biggest thing I am having trouble with is figuring out what CPU to get for him. Since he wont be doing anything really graphically demanding, I figure he shouldnt need a dedicated GPU.
Which leaves Intel as a probable choice given most of their CPUs have integrated GPUs. But where to go from there, I could use some advice.
For his use, he will primarily be using it as a home/work PC. Using word and excel, having multiple windows with many tabs at the same time, watching Youtube, etc. One of his chief problems with his laptop currently can be it hanging up on stuff, not loading webpages well, etc. With that in mind, I am looking to try to get a CPU that will be a little more than he needs, to help future proof it a bit, as well as so he can do things without dealing with reaching its limits.
In terms of future use, we have discussed possibly having a dual monitor setup in the future, with the slim chance of a triple monitor setup in the far future. Resolution for the monitors wont be higher than 1080p.
My main focus when making this build, is to try to make him something that will last. That he can go 5-10 years using it and it will still keep on going.
The budget is open, but I would like to try to build the PC itself for around 300 dollars 400 max. This is the price for the box itself, not including mouse keyboard and monitor(which will be supplied separately). I can even save some money if needed, by using some old existing cases or power supplies I have lying around.
As it stands now, I am thinking a quad core cpu with multithreading, and dual channel ram(12+ GB) would probably be the kind rough specs I have in mind. Not sure if that line of thinking is the ball park or not. Also not sure if Intel, whether it would be better to get a I3, or I5.
So I could use some input and/or feedback into what I should be aiming for. Mostly with CPU, but if you have some other tips or advice for other components, that would also be great. I dont need a full build suggested, just some help with narrowing down and knowing what to aim for. If you have a specific CPU you would recommend, and why that also could be even more useful.And a final remaining question would be if RAM speed really matters much for his purposes?
Again I very much appreciate any responses or inputs!
Posted Dec 17, 2020, 2:57 AM UTC · edited
Quad core is absolutely fine for this, unless your relative is doing heavy data analysis in Excel (likely not). i3-10100 should be plenty even into the future and you can go with a cheap motherboard since this CPU doesn't require a lot of power and cannot be overclocked.
16GB RAM, configured as 2x8GB. You don't have to get particularly fast RAM. Whatever is cheapest in the 2666 - 3200 range.
Main thing is you should definitely use an SSD. It's so much faster at loading things in a very noticeable way even for light productivity.