Suggestions needed for a productivity PC build

Buying Advice Desktop & PC Buying Advice
1

Hello TEam mates !

Right now my Lenovo laptop with (i5-1035G1 / 12GB RAM ) is my daily workhorse. Now it is showing some signs of fatigue.

I want to make a productivity PC which can be further upgraded to AI/ML PC in next 1 year.

PC usage profile : what is always running on the PC
50% - heavy browsing (150+ chrome tabs open across 3 chrome profiles/ + Opera/Firefox for some other work/ )
20% - Word/Excel/Email Clients/ Note taking/Claude/VS code/ WhatsApp/ etc almost always open
15% - Image editing/Video edits
10%- Movie/Audio/
5% - Coding
0%- Gaming -Yes - Zero Gaming !

**
I also fancy about learning (local LLM ) AI and add a 16GB+ VRAM GPU some day.**

I already have PSU/SSD/Monitor/ (Corsair TX750M/WD Blue SN 5000)

I am confused between following two builds.

Cheap build with used/new 12400 CPU

    1. Used 12400F - 6000 with stock cooler
    2. Used GPU - 5000
    3. Compatible Mobo New - 7000
    4. DDR4 RAM New - 32 GB- 8000
    5. Repurposed Dell OptiPlex 9020 Cabinet
    6. Total Price : 26K

OR

Spend now and be future proof -

    1. Ryzen 7600- 16000 (post GST cut + Deal price) with GPU , not the X version .
    2. MSI PRO B650M-P - 10000
    3. G Skill Ripjaws M5 DDR5 - 32 GB - 10000
    4. Deepcool Ak 400 - 2400
    5. Ant Sports Elite 1100 cabinet - 2000
    6. Total Cost : 40K

I know that modern day basic processors are powerful enough to power office workstations easily, but do you think that 12400F based setup will be powerful enough to cater to my needs ? Also note that I may add a decent GPU for AI workflow later.

Or I should spend around 12-14K extra and get future proof 7600 based setup. I guess this 7600 based setup will surely fit /surpass my needs.

PS :

  1. I am skipping 13th/14th gen for various reasons like fried CPU/comparatively higher power consumption for little productivity improvement /higher cooling requirement etc
  2. If you have LGA 1700 based mobo with 2 M.2 slots/DDR -4 RAM for sale , let me know.
  3. Also looking for used GPU under 5K for this 12400F

Thanks for a long read ! Over to you !

2

You could probably look at basic used setup with 32 GB ram and a used GPU like Intel Arc

3

Not that I’m trying to convert you, but this is something MacOS can do exceptionally well, like 2x better than Windows for the same amount of RAM. Just an FYI.

4

Yes , the kind of work he is doing a Mac would handle better with the GPU in built . That is why I suggested a graphic card and I see a lot of Intel arc used cards at throw away prices in case the OP wants to stick with Windows .