Business PC build

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SirHumphreyAppleby

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#280140 29-Nov-2020 09:24

When I buy PC hardware for myself, I typically have weeks to plan and purchase hardware accordingly. I refresh my hardware about once every five years, buy a lot of embedded hardware, and generally don't keep up to date with the latest desktop platforms.

I have been asked by a family friend to recommend a computer for business purposes. Nothing fancy, just accounting software, Microsoft Word/Excel etc.

She has obtained a quote for a Ryzen 7 3700X, along with a GTX1650 graphics card, both of which seem to be significantly more than is required for the job. In terms of price, it's only a little higher than what I can purchase from PB Tech for, but I'm hoping to reduce the cost a bit by purchasing more appropriate hardware.

Does anyone have any recommendations on what would be required for business use in the AMD range?

I'd use an i5 and built-in video for this sort of task if I were purchasing for myself.

Andib

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#2612537 29-Nov-2020 09:33

IMO if it's just for business use then I'd recommend going down the route of a business class PC instead of a custom built PC. Something like a HP Elite/Pro desk is going to be more reliable and if something goes wrong it has a Next Business Day onsite warranty rather than having to return the PC back to the retailer to wait for them to repair / return it.

What's the budget?

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shrub

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#2612538 29-Nov-2020 09:34

This will do the job. Good warranty and plenty fast. https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/WKSHDT4721143/HP-EliteDesk-705-G5-DM-Business-PC-AMD-Ryzen5-Pro

SirHumphreyAppleby

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#2612544 29-Nov-2020 09:42

Andib:

What's the budget?

Under $2k. I'm assuming she told the company she got the quote from the budget and they just built a system which (marginally) exceeded that, rather than considering the actual requirements.

shrub:

This will do the job. Good warranty and plenty fast. https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/WKSHDT4721143/HP-EliteDesk-705-G5-DM-Business-PC-AMD-Ryzen5-Pro

These look quite nice. Not quite the right fit as she'd need more storage and a Display port monitor (no new monitor in current quote). Fewer monitors seem to have DP these days.

Andib

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#2612550 29-Nov-2020 09:57

SirHumphreyAppleby:

These look quite nice. Not quite the right fit as she'd need more storage and a Display port monitor (no new monitor in current quote). Fewer monitors seem to have DP these days.

How much more storage? These can have a 2.5" sata drive installed to increase storage. The intel 500GB model isn't badly priced.
https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/WKSHDT800570ABS/HP-EliteDesk-800-G5-Desktop-Mini-Business-PC-Intel

As for needing a new monitor, Just get one of the many DP to whatever adaptors DisplayPort Cables - PBTech.co.nz for $20~ each.

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SirHumphreyAppleby

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#2612551 29-Nov-2020 10:04

Andib:

How much more storage? These can have a 2.5" sata drive installed to increase storage. The intel 500GB model isn't badly priced.
https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/WKSHDT800570ABS/HP-EliteDesk-800-G5-Desktop-Mini-Business-PC-Intel

As for needing a new monitor, Just get one of the many DP to whatever adaptors DisplayPort Cables - PBTech.co.nz for $20~ each.

Ooh... thanks for that. I though DP wasn't compatible with HDMI at all. That opens up more options.

She's asked for a 2TB drive, so easily achieved in the 2.5" form factor.

xpd

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#2612559 29-Nov-2020 10:26

That spec she's asked for sounds more like work has offered to buy her a PC for work purposes and she's wanting a gaming box for "after hours". :D

Go for an HP/Dell.

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networkn

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#2612564 29-Nov-2020 10:37

If it's soley a business PC it's very unlikely she needs 2TB.

As others have said, HP Prodesk or EliteDesk are the options you should be considering. The EliteDesks have 3 years of onsite warranty to boot.

We typically see 5 Years out of them (and recommend clients budget to replace between the 4th and 5th Years. Rarely do they fail and warranty is quick and painless. They aren't as flashing, but solid, fast and reliable.

Be wary of custom made bitsa boxes, because warranty is typically return to base, and this can be delays of days and days or weeks depending on the provider.

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SirHumphreyAppleby

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#2612627 29-Nov-2020 12:10

networkn:

If it's soley a business PC it's very unlikely she needs 2TB.

I now have the output of msinfo32 and can confirm that 2TB is more than sufficient.

The primary complaint was disk space, and it turns out the system drive is 1/4 the size she thought it was. The CPU is eight years old and performs well enough.

With that in mind, I am going to recommend one of the smaller all-in-one units as these are more than capable of handling the workload. Thanks for your suggestions.

dt

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#2612633 29-Nov-2020 12:41

networkn:

As others have said, HP Prodesk or EliteDesk are the options you should be considering. The EliteDesks have 3 years of onsite warranty to boot.

I'm a huge fan of pre builts from the likes of HP, Dell, Lenovo for business purposes as well

we run Elitebooks for laptops and Elitedesks for desktops, the next business day onsite warranty is just so hard to beat for business use

Used Dell/Lenovo at my previous company and no complaints of theirs either.

You can build better and cheaper going custome but imo its not worth it for business use

timmmay

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#2612649 29-Nov-2020 13:37

Absolutely go with HP or Dell with business level support. An accountant can probably manage with 120GB SSD. I have 512GB in my business laptop, I do lots of docker work which takes up space, IDEs, design tools, etc, I still use less than 200GB.

Batman

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#2612765 29-Nov-2020 21:11

SirHumphreyAppleby:

When I buy PC hardware for myself, I typically have weeks to plan and purchase hardware accordingly. I refresh my hardware about once every five years, buy a lot of embedded hardware, and generally don't keep up to date with the latest desktop platforms.

I have been asked by a family friend to recommend a computer for business purposes. Nothing fancy, just accounting software, Microsoft Word/Excel etc.

She has obtained a quote for a Ryzen 7 3700X, along with a GTX1650 graphics card, both of which seem to be significantly more than is required for the job. In terms of price, it's only a little higher than what I can purchase from PB Tech for, but I'm hoping to reduce the cost a bit by purchasing more appropriate hardware.

Does anyone have any recommendations on what would be required for business use in the AMD range?

I'd use an i5 and built-in video for this sort of task if I were purchasing for myself.

Did you copy and paste your post from last year lol ;p

Good luck

SirHumphreyAppleby

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#2612988 30-Nov-2020 06:54

Batman:

Did you copy and paste your post from last year lol ;p

Completely different requirements, but I can see some similarity in the structure of my post.

At least I'm not a tyre kicker :)

Lias

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#2613346 30-Nov-2020 13:22

Pretty well covered already, but obligatory +1 for EliteDesk's for business purposes.

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