Hey whats up everyone! Today I’m going to be posting the November office system build for the month. I really like this build because it’s so versatile and can easily be converted into a gaming or workstation build in the future.

This month it’s going to be a budget office build so this would be excellent for those looking to a build a cheap, but powerful machine for the office. On Amazon, this machine came out under $600, but with a case and memory downgrade, this build can easily be under $500.

CPU – Intel Core i3 2100

While the i3 2100 isn’t an i5 or i7, it isn’t slow either. Considering a budget office machine won’t be seeing much gaming or video encoding, the i3 2100 includes more than enough processing power for running through word documents and shooting off e-mails.

Motherboard – ASUS P8Z68-LE

The office machine won’t need all the advanced features a gaming motherboard offers so the simple ASUS P8Z68-LE is fine. The Z68 board allows you to use onboard video and has overclocking capability. While you probably won’t be overclocking the i3 2100, if you find you do need extra cpu power in the future, upgrading to an i5 2500K, i7 2600K or i7 2700K will still allow you to overclock.

Memory – Corsair Vengeance 1600MHZ Low Profile 1.5v

I’m carrying this memory over from the November gaming build because it is excellent ram at a great price to boot. It also offers a wide compatibility range with a lot of motherboards which is a very big plus in my book.

Video Card – None

Since this is an office build, we won’t be needing a video card. What we will be doing is using the i3 2100’s onboard Intel HD2000 video which will be more than enough for office applications and watching the occasional movie or two on break. If you do feel like you need to do a bit of light gaming in the future, the P8Z68-LE does offer a PCI-E x16 slot for a video card.

Hard Drive – Seagate Barracuda 7200.12

The Seagate Barracuda is an excellent drive. While I would’ve preferred a Western Digital Caviar Black, the Seagate Barracuda is an excellent budget friendly boot drive for an office machine.

Optical Drive – OEM DVD Drive or OEM Blu Ray Drive (Any Manufacturer)

PSU – Corsair CX430 v2

While it would be nice to get a Corsair TX, HX, or AX series PSU, these aren’t necessary for a power sipping low budget office machine. This Corsair CX series 430w power supply will have plenty of power and at under $50, it’s easily got the most bang for the buck.

Case – Corsair 400R

Carrying over from the November gaming build, I’m recommending the same case as it is an excellent case at an excellent price point. I do tend to recommend you spend a bit more on a case as cases will last at least a second build if not more if they are properly taken care of.

CPU Cooler – None

The i3 2100 has a locked multiplier so a CPU cooler is unnecessary. If you must get a CPU cooler, a Hyper 212 Plus is an excellent, budget friendly choice.

 

What do you think of this build? Want to modify the build and need an opinion?

Discuss in the forums! http://www.forums.custompcreview.com