So here's the situation:

We were given an old (2009) iMac last year and have been trying to use it but it's PAINFULLY slow and EOL. Buying a new Mac is just out of the question budget-wise.

I'm actually really used to Win10 now and like it once you get it tweaked, it's actually very good and fast. I'd like to build a basic small desktop PC that will sit on a computer desk in our upstairs hallway, to be used for basic online work, typing and printing documents etc. We now do a vast majority of everyday internet on our phones but it would be nice to have a real desktop machine again. I don't want a laptop at this time.

I used to build PC's regularly from around 1999 to 2009, so basically the entire Win98 to WinXP era. I know how to do it, but just have been out of the building game for so long I know there are lots of new things since then I won't be familiar with like SSD's and the newer video ports.

What I'm thinking is:

Mini or Micro desktop form factor case
8GB RAM
SSD Hard Drive
Video - on-board? Need it for very basic functions, no gaming etc
Sound - on-board?
Processor - ???
NO Optical drives
WiFi adapter
Windows 10 - do you install this via USB now? (All my installs were always off a CD/DVD)

It's not a big desk so I want something I can stick off to the side or underneath and attach a 21-24 inch monitor to.

Anyone have any ideas for me? I am close to a Micro Center at work so I planned to buy my parts there or from Tiger Direct, NewEgg, etc

Thanks!

My wife needed a basic PC for internet and email
I got this one and the case will mount to the back of the monitor - I swapped the hard drive for SSD and hte temp went down and the response went up - hard to beat the price

Do you have a source for a cheap win10 license? If you have to pay $100, it will be cheaper to buy from Dell/HP/etc vs Build.

Get the right kind of SSD. Look up NVMe to see the improvement over SATA SSD and I think there's something newer that's even better like M.2 or something like that.

Take a look at Costco offerings. I like Dell over HP by a long ways. If the one you want doesn't have a SSD, one can be added easily.

I added a 500GB to my aging desktop for under $100.
Mike

If you're looking for a relatively inexpensive PC, I recommend this one:

https://www.amazon.com/PB60-i3...TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

On the page for the PC, there are a variety of configuration options for amount of RAM and SSD size. Bought one (8GB RAM/256GB SSD) and set it up for our mother and it fits her needs perfectly.

The process of putting together a PC hasn't changed all that much.

Some thoughts:

Ram: If you can afford it, go with at least 16 GB. Make sure whatever you buy is compatible with your motherboard.

Processor: Either Intel or AMD. Go with whatever you can afford. I'm using an Intel i7 from several years. For what you want it will probably be fine. Usually you can get a bundle of a processor and a motherboard together to make sure they are compatible. If not, make sure the sockets are the same.

SSD: For sure get an SSD. Possibly get a cheaper hard drive for additional storage.

Sound: Usually on-board now.

Video: I don't recommend on-board. Even a cheap video card is better than the ob-board. Look into NVIDIA or AMD. Might need the smaller size ones based on the case you're getting.

Wifi: Some motherboards have this on-board now too.

Windows: Get Windows 10 Pro not Home. You can buy a license key off of Amazon or I've heard some people have success getting licenses from ebay. You download the media creation tool and it loads the files onto a USB drive. Then you tell your BIOS to read the USB first before the SSD.

Good luck!

quote:

It's not a big desk so I want something I can stick off to the side or underneath and attach a 21-24 inch monitor to

Consider a NUC, these are small enough that some will even mount to the VESA mount on the back of most monitors, taking up no desk space at all.

You can get something very small, but it's going to cost more for less features.
I would first see what size of case is the biggest you can fit. Something like the Fractal Design Node 202 or is that too big?
Your budget will also be a factor.

quote:

Mini or Micro desktop form factor case8GB RAMSSD Hard DriveVideo - on-board?
Need it for very basic functions, no gaming etcSound - on-board?Processor - ???
NO Optical drivesWiFi adapterWindows 10 - do you install this via USB now? (All my installs were always off a CD/DVD)

I build a LOT of small footprint computers.

May I suggest:
* motherboard: ITX form factor ~ ASUS or GIGABYTE (not limited to but the primary brands I support).
Note: many of these have a "WIFI" version with built in (including antenna on the back panel)
Also pay attention to the back panel of the mb and note what type of monitor connections it supports so it matches your monitor.
Also what USB type of connections ~ not all USB are equal and depending on your devices something to consider.
* CHIPSET: on motherboard ~ Z390 or H390 ~ these are the better ones and will have the WIFI included.
Z is the one if you are gaming or use unlocked CPU's. INTEL is the only thing I will install or sell.
* CPU: INTEL only ~ I5 or I7 ~ Gen 9 is the latest ~ Has video built into the CPU and it is VERY GOOD.
* You do not just want a SSD ~ you want a M2 NVMe drive (I prefer Intel primarily but will use Samsung if necessary)
Note: most all current motherboards/chipsets will support this.
* Find the ITX case that fits your footprint ~ plenty of these ~ Silverstone has many great ones, Antec, others)


NO you do not have to have a DVD to install ~ I keep an bootable USB install disk for each of all the MS OS's)

quote:

Originally posted by Navman316:

Video: I don't recommend on-board.
Even a cheap video card is better than the ob-board. Look into NVIDIA or AMD.
Might need the smaller size ones based on the case you're getting.

The video now days is not "on-board" the motherboard.
It is built into the CPU and unless you are a die hard gamer it works very very well.
A cheap video card is better than current built in is completely FALSE and a big waste of resources.
Any good Gaming Graphic card will require space which is at a premium in a small footprint computer and may not fit as well as a larger more expensive power supply.

quote:

Originally posted by smschulz:

quote:

Originally posted by Navman316:

Video: I don't recommend on-board.
Even a cheap video card is better than the ob-board. Look into NVIDIA or AMD.
Might need the smaller size ones based on the case you're getting.

The video now days is not "on-board" the motherboard.
It is built into the CPU and unless you are a die hard gamer it works very very well.
A cheap video card is better than current built in is completely FALSE and a big waste of resources.
Any good Gaming Graphic card will require space which is at a premium in a small footprint computer and may not fit as well as a larger more expensive power supply.

Word.

Just make double sure the processor is no more than one generation back from the newest available.

Don't short change yourself on memory. The amount you need depends on what you do.

Tips

Whatever motherboard you choose get two of them. Every time a computer I use goes down it's always due to the same cause, a capacitor on the motherboard gets fried and it generally fails in the third year of use. Due to obsolescence when the motherboard fails you'll have to replace the motherboard, RAM, and the power supply. IF you have a spare motherboard in storage all you have to do is swap out the motherboard and boot up the computer.

Get a spare hard drive. SSD drives will fail at some point because the memory cells can only cycle for about 5000 read/write cycles. When you start losing memory cells they will eventually throw up enough errors that they become non functional. One solution to provide a simple and quick restore of your system is to have a spare drive that contains a recent clone of your primary drive. When you drive fails all you have to do is swap the failed primary for that Clone. BTW, Acronis produces excellent cloning software PLUS backup software and if you are running SATA drives you can plug in the clone, clear the data on that drive, and then re-write a fresh clone.

Get a portable hard drive that attaches via USB, preferably USB 3.0 compliant. BTW USB 3.o is quite a bit faster than USB 2.0 so it's a real time saver when you are copying a lot of Data. Organize your hard drive so all of your personal files are within the Documents or Pictures folders. If you are computer savy create folders within these primary folders that have your personal data. Doing this makes it easy to backup the files you do not ever want to lose to the portable hard drive using drag and drop.

I'll also note that I prefer a Tower Case because they do NOT infringe on desk top space, they sit on the floor under the desk. My most recent build has a 500 GB primary drive and a 1 TB secondary to hold my images and CAD files. Put it together with an Asus motherboard and gen 8 I7 with 32 GB of ram and it works fine. One thing that is nice about that big old tower case is the real estate they provide. It's allowed me to use 120mm Case fan and a flat out HUGE CPU cooler assembly with another 120mm fan. The final result is that the fans turn slowly enough that they don't produce any audible noise unless you have your ear right on the case. Naturally the SSD drives are also soundless. The only sound producer in the computer is the Blueray/DVD/CD drive and that doesn't get used very often.

quote:

Originally posted by Scooter123:
Tips

Whatever motherboard you choose get two of them.

Great advice.

In fact, my advice would be order two of everything, from a place where you can return for free.

You may luck out and have all your stuff come in working. Or not. If you do find an issue, having something to swap in then-and-there to see if it helps will be a godsend.

Why do I say this? My most recent build-it-yourself failed because it'd been so long since I had done the prior build, that none of my known-good components would work with the newest stuff. (Well, to be fair, it failed because three separate supposedly new-in-box components - two motherboards and one power supply - were faulty. If those had been good, my lack of swap-in known-good stuff wouldn't have mattered.)

So a word to the wise - one way or another, your sanity would benefit from having known-good components to swap in, to test. It sounds like any remainders from your most recent build projects (10+ years ago) won't fit that bill.

Do you have a Micro Center near by? They will literally hold your hand and help you select the parts for your build.

I just checked and there is one in Saint David's, PA.

Also, here is a website that you can use to educate yourself. It's real close to the SIGforum of computer stuff: https://forums.tomshardware.com/

JP

quote:

Originally posted by radioman:
Get the right kind of SSD. Look up NVMe to see the improvement over SATA SSD and I think there's something newer that's even better like M.2 or something like that.

The average person will never see, feel, or notice any difference in actual-use performance between a good SATA SSD and an good NVME drive. Games or home type applications (Browsing, office apps, emailing, etc) will not show any difference in performance. If price per GB is the same, then go NVME simply because it's newer, but I'd take a 1TB SATA SSD over a 512GB NVME SSD for the same price any day oof the week, especially for a home computer.

quote:

Originally posted by Scooter123:
Get a spare hard drive. SSD drives will fail at some point because the memory cells can only cycle for about 5000 read/write cycles. When you start losing memory cells they will eventually throw up enough errors that they become non functional.

This is awful. While you may have had issues with SSD's your explanation about how SSD's work and why he should have a spare hard drive is pure junk.

quote:

Originally posted by architect:
Consider a NUC, these are small enough that some will even mount to the VESA mount on the back of most monitors, taking up no desk space at all.

Another vote for nuc. Tiny, simple build, surprisingly powerful. I built an i5 8th gen for ~$680 dollars all in, including the windows 10 pro license. It took 10 minutes to assemble and then another couple hours to load, update,and configure software.

When I built mine, I used the reviews on Newegg.

They are filled with what works and doesn’t work along with pitfalls of their builds. Followed up with google once I had a part selected and used other reviews and sites.

I started with motherboard and worked out from there.

Since you have a Micro Center nearby just skip building something and buy one of their house brand computers (powerspec). It’s a great bang for your buck price which will very well likely be cheaper than if you build yourself. I just bought a powerspec gaming pc from them two weekends ago and it’s a beast.