21-30k 8-10 Basic PC's for Office Work - Configuration Suggestion Required

Status
Not open for further replies.
B

beanstalk_230

Contributor
Need to purchase 6 basic PC's for a basic office work (MS Office, Cloud Based ERP, etc) and suggestions regarding their configuration is needed. I have compiled a suggestive build but I am unable to decide where to save some cash. Kindly advice.
  1. What is your budget?
    • 20-30K Each PC
  2. Which hardware component are you looking to buy:
    • CPU - i3 or lower maybe
    • Motherboard - Any basic MB
    • GPU - Integrated
    • RAM - 4GB or 8GB
    • Monitor - Basic 20 inch or so
    • PSU -
    • Cabinet - Basic
    • Keyboard / Mouse - Logitech Wired Combo
    • HDD - 1 TB Minimum
  3. Where will you buy this hardware? (Online/City/TE Dealer)
    • Open to online purchase / Lucknow
  4. Would you consider buying a second hand hardware from the TE market
    • No
  5. What is your intended use for this PC/hardware
    • Office Work
    • Browsing
  6. Which operating system do you intend to use with this configuration?
    • Windows 10
Office Build.jpg
 
Perhaps, maybe SSD and a cheaper cabinet? Is 1TB really necessary? If not, you can go ahead with 512GB, right? Please do correct me if I am wrong.
 
From your current config I'll wait for others to comment about motherboard and processors but since you are on a budget buy a cheap cabinet with an entry level PSU that will only cost around 1500 for both also if you don't need 1tb storage buy 500gb sata SSDs as its cheaper than nvme (you don't need a board with nvme port in that case), If you saved enough buy slightly better monitor (22 inch) as its something that can increase productivity. (If you buy from Naza market take a look at Sagar (he is a wholesale distributor of lots of companies) also Sachin shops as they both have good price. Dealers normally call them and sell to customers taking there cut from offered price.

P.S. you will be good buying online as local market prices are always high in Lucknow.
 
You can try used oem pc from sellers, they are cheap usually with i5 4/5/6 gen , they also sell them as a full build with monitor and peripherals and are usually cheaper. Goto the nearest biggest pc market according to your area and enquire there u will 100% find something there
 
1 TB storage drive is a mandatory requirement so cannot skimp on that. Half of the systems will be used for running smart classes for kids so ample storage will be needed.

Will look into the other suggestions but buying new is a priority since our last upgrade served us well without any major trouble.

Is there a comparable AMD alternative that I should consider as well ?
 
@tech.monk's suggestion is good. Here's a somewhat equivalent Intel build, just so you have 2 options when you go to the market.

Here are some points I think are worth noting:
  • SSD is a real productivity booster, computer runs faster, hangs less, and in general feels more snappy. It's more noticeable on laptops since 2.5" drives are much slower, but the difference will be there on desktop as well. Since it's difficult to upgrade SSD in future (since you'll have to reset the whole system and reinstall the OS), so it's better to go for it, especially if you want this to last for a while
  • RAM can be upgraded in future. You don't need dual channel for this kind of work and can save a bit by buying a single stick. But do not go lower than 8 GB. My work laptop doesn't run very well and it's really frustrating that they can't give me a good laptop which doesn't hang. Employees will really like it if the computer you provide them isn't laggy and 4 GB to 8 GB doesn't increase the cost by a lot.
  • If you get everything from one place, you might get bulk purchase discount. Do negotiate.
  • You might be able to find cheaper monitors in the local market. Do look around a bit.
Also, if possible, see if you can buy from Delhi. As someone said, prices in Lucknow will be higher. So Delhi might offer a good deal.
 
  • Like
Reactions: beanstalk_230
For office PCs, OEM would work better in 99% cases. Only if you require high-end work load, should you opt for building your own.

Something like this -

In my local market (Ahmedabad), it's not difficult to find such OEMs with 8th, 9th or 10th Gen too. Delhi should be similar if not better.

One more benefit of OEM is they are SFF and save space. On the other hand, in build-your-own, if you try to go SFF route, it comes out more expensive than say a full tower/mATX tower.
 
  • Like
Reactions: baccilus, soulweaver and Docsaab
Yes, get OEM PCs, 6th gen or newer with 8-16GB RAM, depends on the requirement of the ERP software. No doubt you'll save a lot of money. If you say the workload is just some MS office, ERP and web browsing then put in 250GB SSDs instead of HDDs. Don't even put in the HDDs. Almost all decent businesses opt for smaller capacities of SSD like 250-500GB only because of backup size. Usually if you give employees lots of storage space they tend to fill it sooner than later due to which the backups of those machines will be larger in size and hence you'll need larger backup drives to store that data increasing the costs further.

If you have no backup policy (you really should have one), then go ahead put in a drive as large as you want but the use case you described 250GB is more than plenty.
 
  • Like
Reactions: beanstalk_230, soulweaver and tech.monk
Exactly like @enthusiast29 has said, you can get mini and tiny PCs and you can outfit them with whatever RAM and SSD/HDD you want.

A 6th gen or a 7th gen i5 based system without RAM and Storage will cost you about 10k. The rest can go towards the RAM and Storage. You will find many sellers on OLX.

They draw lesser power and work really well. I have had experience with them in our office. They are also good for the planet considering you are furthering use of technology that might otherwise end up in landfills and you will be using lesser power.


This is what we use at work. MS office, Browsers and ERP work without a hitch.
 
  • Like
Reactions: beanstalk_230
Thank you all for the suggestions but we have to purchase new components and second hand purchase is not an option right now. Plus the warranty on the new components is another supporting factor. The other fixed requirement is 1TB storage and an i3 7100 processor at minimum as suggested by the software company. Rest all things are variable in nature.

6 PC's will be hooked up to 55 inch 4K/1080P panel for output and rest with 20-22 inch monitors.
 
Then, I think going for 10th gen processors makes sense. They are available for cheap (under 6k)

www.vishalperipherals.in

Intel Core I3-10100F Processor

FeaturesSeriesCore i3 (10th Gen)CORES4 CoresTHREADS8 ThreadsSocketLGA1200SPEED3.6 GHzSPEED (TURBO)4.3 GHzCACHE6 MBMAX MEMORY SUPPORT128 GBINTEGRATED GRAPHICSNoINCLUDED CPU COOLERYesUNLOCKEDNoTDP65W Specifications Essentials Product Collection 10th Generation Intel® Core™ i3 P
www.vishalperipherals.in

You could talk to them, order in bulk for further discounts.
 
soulweaver said:
Then, I think going for 10th gen processors makes sense. They are available for cheap (under 6k)

www.vishalperipherals.in

Intel Core I3-10100F Processor

FeaturesSeriesCore i3 (10th Gen)CORES4 CoresTHREADS8 ThreadsSocketLGA1200SPEED3.6 GHzSPEED (TURBO)4.3 GHzCACHE6 MBMAX MEMORY SUPPORT128 GBINTEGRATED GRAPHICSNoINCLUDED CPU COOLERYesUNLOCKEDNoTDP65W Specifications Essentials Product Collection 10th Generation Intel® Core™ i3 P
www.vishalperipherals.in

You could talk to them, order in bulk for further discounts.
Click to expand...
But it doesn't have integrated graphics and buying a separate graphics card is not possible in this budget.

Btw how is Cooler Master MWE V2 450 since it offers a 5yr warranty at an affordable price
 
A GT710 will cost you about 3.5 to 4k. Or you could look for an integrated gfx processor. An AMD 3200G should be yours in about 10 to 11k.

Cooler Master is pretty decent. The best would be for you to go to or call one of the stores and ask them for a build suggestion.
 
Please remove everything after ref while sharing Amazon links.

Also, these will be shower than desktops. Won't recommend.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom