51-70k Productivity build for around 50k

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icysmoke

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Need a build for general productivity - browsing with many tabs open, array formulas and lookups on Excel, basic coding on R and Python on small data sets not running into millions of rows. Need zero gaming or media watching. Want the system to live fuss free for 4-5 years at least. Please recommend a configuration.

Have nothing to upgrade from. Will have to buy everything. I need the system to have at least 4 ram slots and 2 hdd slots plus 1 SSD slot.

I was planning to go with an Intel 12400f config but can also go for 12600 if it adds value. Can also go for Ryzen 5600x since it costs just 17k right now. Don't think I care much about ddr5 or something. I am happy with the 2666 ddr4 ram on my laptop. Please guide on how to go about choosing a motherboard and a graphic card. Also will I need to buy a wifi card separately.

Also does a high quality cabinet and cooler really matter for a productivity desktop.
Please guide.
 
You can't/shouldn't go for 12400f or 5600x. These processors do not have iGPU, so you'll need a graphics card for display. Since you don't need gaming/media, this will be a complete waste.

If going for Intel, go for 12400 or 12500 (no f). If going for AMD, go for 5600G. I personally have no preference for either, both will be similarly priced and offer similar performance. Ryzen may be a bit more power efficient at the upper end of performance, but your usage is unlikely to stress the CPU, so it wouldn't matter.

For Intel, I'd recommend Gigabyte B660M DS3H. It has WiFi AC and AX variants, pick as per your preference.

For AMD, I'd recommend MSI 550M Pro VDH. But I'm not well versed with motherboards, so you can wait for other's suggestions.

Pick a Crucial or Corsair 16 GB stick. Should come under 5k. Prefer 3600 MHz if possible, especially for AMD. 3200 MHz is also fine though, in case budgeting is required.

WD SN570 SSD should be good. It's quite cheap now and has decent reviews. Buy 250 or 500 GB as per your needs.

Stock cooler will be fine, but it's always good to make sure your cabinet gas good airflow. Pick a cabinet with one front and one rear fan, that should be sufficient. Cooler components have a longer life. Deepcool Mattrexx 40 is a decent cabinet which fulfills this while being small and decent looking.

Since there's no GPU, 450w bronze PSU should be sufficient.
 
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gourav said:
You can't/shouldn't go for 12400f or 5600x. These processors do not have iGPU, so you'll need a graphics card for display. Since you don't need gaming/media, this will be a complete waste.

If going for Intel, go for 12400 or 12500 (no f). If going for AMD, go for 5600G. I personally have no preference for either, both will be similarly priced and offer similar performance. Ryzen may be a bit more power efficient at the upper end of performance, but your usage is unlikely to stress the CPU, so it wouldn't matter.

For Intel, I'd recommend Gigabyte B660M DS3H. It has WiFi AC and AX variants, pick as per your preference.

For AMD, I'd recommend MSI 550M Pro VDH. But I'm not well versed with motherboards, so you can wait for other's suggestions.

Pick a Crucial or Corsair 16 GB stick. Should come under 5k. Prefer 3600 MHz if possible, especially for AMD. 3200 MHz is also fine though, in case budgeting is required.

WD SN570 SSD should be good. It's quite cheap now and has decent reviews. Buy 250 or 500 GB as per your needs.

Stock cooler will be fine, but it's always good to make sure your cabinet gas good airflow. Pick a cabinet with one front and one rear fan, that should be sufficient. Cooler components have a longer life. Deepcool Mattrexx 40 is a decent cabinet which fulfills this while being small and decent looking.

Since there's no GPU, 450w bronze PSU should be sufficient.
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Thanks a lot for the detailed reply. I think i will go with intel 12400 in that case. Newer architecture. Your post answers everything i needed to know.
 
You need strong single thread performance for your requirements. If you are planning to use bigger data set in the future then I'd suggest spending more on RAM. Go with DDR4 but get 32 gigs at the very least.
 
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lockhrt999 said:
You need strong single thread performance for your requirements
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Agree. As of now, 12th gen Intel has slightly better single threaded performance than Ryzen 5600. So for this budget, 12400 and 12500 would be the best options.

Budget permitting, 16 GBx2 would be a good option.

While desktops are not as cheap today as they were 15 years ago, the performance gains, especially in the last 5 years have been insane. So I'm pretty sure these components will easily last for 5 years.
 
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I have made this build based on the suggestions and it costs 43k.


For 5k more I can get this compact lenovo computer pre built from amazon

The only difference I can see is that the Lenovo has a power supply of 260W instead of 450w. Rest looks similar. Having a 3 year onsite warranty from Lenovo makes me tilt towards it. Are there any significant downsides to using a pre built compact lenovo machine.
 
Lenovo -
Pro- You get everything working out of the box, hours saved on building/installation stuff. 3yr onsite warranty.

Con- You get proprietary motherboard, PSU and almost everything else other than CPU. Most likely cheap PSU, RAM and SSD. No room for upgradability in the future. Extra HDD and RAM slots might not be available.
 
john1911 said:
Lenovo -
Pro- You get everything working out of the box, hours saved on building/installation stuff. 3yr onsite warranty.

Con- You get proprietary motherboard, PSU and almost everything else other than CPU. Most likely cheap PSU, RAM and SSD. No room for upgradability in the future. Extra HDD and RAM slots might not be available.
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Don't care much about upgrades apart from the Ram which is upgradable in Lenovo too. But you are right, if they use cheap components then that will be a pain.

Building installation etc is not a problem as anyway I will get it done through a computer shop person. It's just hassle of dealing with the non-onsite warranty policies of Gigabyte, adata, crucial etc that scares me. If components going bad is a rare event then it's fine. Otherwise going to 10 km in Bangalore takes 1 hour. Can't afford to waste half a day in claiming warranties
 
icysmoke said:
Don't care much about upgrades apart from the Ram which is upgradable in Lenovo too. But you are right, if they use cheap components then that will be a pain.

Building installation etc is not a problem as anyway I will get it done through a computer shop person. It's just hassle of dealing with the non-onsite warranty policies of Gigabyte, adata, crucial etc that scares me. If components going bad is a rare event then it's fine. Otherwise going to 10 km in Bangalore takes 1 hour. Can't afford to waste half a day in claiming warranties
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In that case, if I were at your place, I would have gone with Lenovo because of 3 year Onsite Warranty. There is no price for peace of mind.
 
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Laptop with a solid warranty, monitor, keyboard, mouse and a UPS for the monitor if needed. That's what I'd suggest. Something like a Ryzen 3 or the Intel equivallent, 12 GB RAM an Nvme drive and a hard drive or SSD SATA and you're golden. You'll have the benefit of portability too and no issues with power cuts (I have loads of them where I live, but I have to switch to a desktop for my work)
 
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