• Help me build a workstation PC
    11 replies, posted
Hello. I'm looking to build or buy a desktop for officework on two 2560x1440 monitors, possibly three depending how how exactly that changes the card requirements. This is for my stepdad, so it will never touch a game or anything more intense than a youtube video. The budget is $1000 for the box, but I really doubt we'll hit that. I plan to Raid1 two 1TB disks in the box. I've been out of the pc building scene for a few years so i'm a little behind the trends. With a preference towards Intel/Nvidia, what parts would you recommend?
[url=http://pcpartpicker.com/p/QBhbgs]PCPartPicker part list[/url] / [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/p/QBhbgs/by_merchant/]Price breakdown by merchant[/url] [b]CPU:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80646i54460]Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor[/url] ($174.99 @ NCIX US) [b]CPU Cooler:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/cooler-master-cpu-cooler-rr910htx3g1]Cooler Master Hyper TX3 54.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler[/url] ($18.75 @ Amazon) [b]Motherboard:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-motherboard-gah97mhd3]Gigabyte GA-H97M-HD3 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard[/url] ($74.99 @ SuperBiiz) [b]Memory:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/geil-memory-gev38gb1866c9dc]GeIL EVO VELOCE 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory[/url] ($35.98 @ Newegg) [b]Storage:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/western-digital-internal-hard-drive-wd1003fzex]Western Digital BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive[/url] ($70.99 @ Newegg) [b]Storage:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/western-digital-internal-hard-drive-wd1003fzex]Western Digital BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive[/url] ($70.99 @ Newegg) [b]Video Card:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-video-card-n7502gd5oc]MSI GeForce GTX 750 2GB Video Card[/url] ($102.44 @ SuperBiiz) [b]Case:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/fractal-design-case-fdcacore1000usb3bl]Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case[/url] ($22.99 @ NCIX US) [b]Power Supply:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/seasonic-power-supply-m12ii520bronze]SeaSonic 520W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply[/url] ($65.99 @ SuperBiiz) [b]Total:[/b] $638.11 [i]Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available[/i] [i]Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-20 18:27 EDT-0400[/i] [editline]20th August 2015[/editline] The GPU is honestly probably unnecessary, but I notice I could use a little more oomph over integrated at work with my 3 1080p monitors. Overall it should run cool and quiet, and more importantly, reliably. [editline]20th August 2015[/editline] Also if he's going to have a crazy amount of things open I'd bump up to 16gb of RAM.
Really depends on what type of work he's doing tbh.
[QUOTE=redBadger;48505086]Really depends on what type of work he's doing tbh.[/QUOTE] From what I've understood from his post, his dad wants an office machine with a stupid large amount of multitasking ability. [editline]20th August 2015[/editline] No graphical work, just very fast and snappy with no hiccups.
[QUOTE=Levelog;48505119]From what I've understood from his post, his dad wants an office machine with a stupid large amount of multitasking ability. [editline]20th August 2015[/editline] No graphical work, just very fast and snappy with no hiccups.[/QUOTE] Yep! Exactly. Is there something similar to the GTX 750 that can be SLI'd later if he wants another screen?
[QUOTE=chimitos;48505495]Yep! Exactly. Is there something similar to the GTX 750 that can be SLI'd later if he wants another screen?[/QUOTE] Not SLI'd, but still will be able to handle multiple GPU's. You don't need SLI if they're independently handling the displays.
[QUOTE=Levelog;48504315][url=http://pcpartpicker.com/p/QBhbgs]PCPartPicker part list[/url] / [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/p/QBhbgs/by_merchant/]Price breakdown by merchant[/url] [b]CPU:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80646i54460]Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor[/url] ($174.99 @ NCIX US) [b]CPU Cooler:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/cooler-master-cpu-cooler-rr910htx3g1]Cooler Master Hyper TX3 54.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler[/url] ($18.75 @ Amazon) [b]Motherboard:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-motherboard-gah97mhd3]Gigabyte GA-H97M-HD3 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard[/url] ($74.99 @ SuperBiiz) [b]Memory:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/geil-memory-gev38gb1866c9dc]GeIL EVO VELOCE 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory[/url] ($35.98 @ Newegg) [b]Storage:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/western-digital-internal-hard-drive-wd1003fzex]Western Digital BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive[/url] ($70.99 @ Newegg) [b]Storage:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/western-digital-internal-hard-drive-wd1003fzex]Western Digital BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive[/url] ($70.99 @ Newegg) [b]Video Card:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-video-card-n7502gd5oc]MSI GeForce GTX 750 2GB Video Card[/url] ($102.44 @ SuperBiiz) [b]Case:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/fractal-design-case-fdcacore1000usb3bl]Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case[/url] ($22.99 @ NCIX US) [b]Power Supply:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/seasonic-power-supply-m12ii520bronze]SeaSonic 520W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply[/url] ($65.99 @ SuperBiiz) [b]Total:[/b] $638.11 [i]Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available[/i] [i]Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-20 18:27 EDT-0400[/i] [editline]20th August 2015[/editline] The GPU is honestly probably unnecessary, but I notice I could use a little more oomph over integrated at work with my 3 1080p monitors. Overall it should run cool and quiet, and more importantly, reliably. [editline]20th August 2015[/editline] Also if he's going to have a crazy amount of things open I'd bump up to 16gb of RAM.[/QUOTE] Considering it's not supposed to be an actual workstation PC, but essentially an office PC, the GPU might be unnecessary. The integrated graphics ought to be enough.
[QUOTE=wraithcat;48519772]Considering it's not supposed to be an actual workstation PC, but essentially an office PC, the GPU might be unnecessary. The integrated graphics ought to be enough.[/QUOTE] As I said, at work I could definitely use a bit more oomph driving my 3 1080p monitors in integrated, I'd imagine it would be the same with 2 1440p ones. The 750 is cheap and only takes power from the PCIe slot.
[QUOTE=Levelog;48504315]Build[/QUOTE] Good build, but seeing his budget, I would add an SSD as Windows drive. 256 Gb Crucial Mx100 or something. Makes windows, standard programs and browsers a lot snappier when starting up.
Yeah, didn't realize I didn't add in an SSD.
Are there motherboards that can handle two 2k monitors? As I said, I haven't been into building for a while. Edit: Googling only turns up a few with multiple HD outs, but they seem to have limited multi-display support.
[QUOTE=chimitos;48533585]Are there motherboards that can handle two 2k monitors? As I said, I haven't been into building for a while. Edit: Googling only turns up a few with multiple HD outs, but they seem to have limited multi-display support.[/QUOTE] Do you know what kind of inputs the monitors will have? Dual link DVI and DisplayPort will both handle 1440p officially. VGA technically will (but avoid it if possible as it isn't guaranteed), and HDMI does, but YMMV.
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