I'm glad you found my comments useful although I apologise for my inarticulateness as I was in a rush before. I'll explain a little more carefully now;
CPU aka the benefits of going AMD
- they're faster and snappier
- the whole build is cheaper and very significantly so if you end up using an Intel platform using DDR2 RAM
- they run cooler due to a more efficient architecture, manufacturing process and the downclocking technology 'cool and quiet'.
- they leave you the flexibility of overclocking if you choose to at a later date.
What CPU to go for?
Personally for a business computer I'd recommend the AMD64 3000+ for the simply reason that the 3200+ is 30% more expensive and only offers an approximate 10% speed bonus. Given what you've said this 10% extra speed doesn't seem to be critical at all. Anyway, if you wanted to you could easily overclock the 3000+ processor far beyond 3200+ speeds. Moreover, if you're focused on reducing heat and making as quiet a setup as possible (while retaining as economical potential for overclockign as possible) I'd recommend going for the 90nm Winchester chips as they run cooler than their 130nm brethren. See here.. However, ultimately the heat difference will probably be minimal and has to be weighed against the cost difference of being able to go a cheaper route eg S754.
Going into overclocking more and why its viable and should not be much concern:
First and foremost because of the its architecture an AMD64 produces alot less heat than an equivocal Intel solution when running at 100% load. Moreover, for most of the time in an office environment when you don't need the power it'll be using 'cool and quiet' meaning it might be downclocked to as little as 600mhz so any overclock here regardless would not be causing any constant extra heat. Of course, then when you needed the power the AMD64 would then speed up the full speed or whatever overclock you've set it to.
More specifically on the overclocking procedure:
When it comes to heat production it can be effectively simplified into two factors: what mhz the processor is running at and at what voltage it is running at also.
In that scenario obiously a AMD64 3000+ which runs natively at 1.8ghz and 1.4V if overclocked to 2.4ghz needing 1.55V would obviously produce more heat than a 3200+ (2ghz @1.4V) because it runs faster and has more voltage. At the same time it would produce more heat than a 3800+ (2.4ghz @1.4V) because of the increase voltage. However, because you might not necessarily need to increase the voltage to the cpu for a more moderate overclock you could end up running a 3000+ at say 2.2ghz @1.4v stock voltage. Therefore, intrinsically, the processor heatwise would act the same as both the speed and voltage would be the same. The only difference would be in that the overclocked 3000+ would be running using a faster hypertransport meaning the motherboard would need to be able to reliably run it at that speed - some motherboards are better than others but at a relataively moderate overclock like that many should be capable - more research on specific motherboards would be necessary of course.
Choosing a motherboard:
Well, this is a more complex area where I don't know the specifics of each motherboard so you'll need to research and get second opinions than me. However, go for a quality manufacturer eg MSI, Gigabyte, Asus, Abit, DFI etc and if you want to save money the nforce3 platform could offer you some cost savings and allow you to use AGP cards which could make things a little big cheaper/more flexible for you depending how you end up deciding on the graphics card. Of the nforce3 platforms the MSI Neo2 Platinum is considered most highly regarding overclocking.
On the SATA side of things, this is for someone else to clarify but I was under the impression than both nforce3 and nforce4 offered only a maximum of 4 SATA ports and more specifically only 2 of them were locked (needed) if you were locking to overclock. That would mean you might want to look into investing in a RAID card, but of course that would add to the cost and you'd only need to start considering that if you were using more than 2 hardrives.
Choosing a hardrive:
Yeah, as before and as you've looked at WD a five year warranty should be a priority. My personal preference would be towards Seagate myself. Capacity-wise 2x 80GB sounds like it would be sufficient, but with the small differentiation between 80GB and 120GB and 160GB drives it's probably worth going larger.
2 hardrives in a nice RAID setup would provide many benefits as stated before - performance (a yet snappier system) and reliability (data might be salvageable if one hardrive crashed). On a slightly different note, having a RAID setup will differentiate your build providing a more unique service than typically seen with DELL business machines. Nevertheless, still encourage them to back up ALL data every day and especially any critical data all the time - you may want to figure purchasing a USB removavle device into the build. You can go buy a USB pen type device or else get a compact flash card and a card reader which might provide better value althought perhaps not have the same convience or immediate friendliness of use ie having the bring two things together etc.
Video Card:
Fundamentally, all you'd want is a card capable of good solid DVI output if you're using an LCD monitor or else looking to use one in the future. As such a cheap card like an ATI X300 would provide a perfect solution if you went with a nforce4 motherboard which uses a PCI-E graphics slot. If you went with nforce3 because you'd have AGP you'd have more alternatives and would be able to put in a better graphics card (primarily the ATI 9600 PRO as providing excellent bang/buck - the XT isn't worth the additional cost while avoid the non-Pro versions including the 256MB ones) that would be capable of playing current games (albeit not at resolution and detail) compared to the X300 that would be wholly inadequate. The 6600GT I only mentioned earlier as an option if you were seriously considering gaming as that'd play all current games well. 🙂
On RAM:
Again as before a quality manufacturer and a lifetime warranty is what you should look for. After that a preference for lower latency RAM would wise to make. Of course, like the CPU, RAM can be overclocked as well in the sense of both increasing the speed it runs at and/or lowering its timings. RAM is typically capable of much tighter timings than specified especially with a bit of voltage added. For example the 512MB sticks of DDR3200 Crucial Value RAM are rated among the very slowest and worst overclocking RAM yet with a bit of voltage 2.6V --> 2.8V I managed to tighten the timings from 3-3-3 to 2.5-2-2 which can even run up until about 218mhz. I'd recommend tightening the timings and raising the voltage if needed upto 2.8V - indeed 2.8V should mean the RAM should still be within warranty specs. Nevertheless, check for whatever RAM you're using. Moreover, for an AMD64 platform you don't need to worry about increasing the speed of the RAM as the AMD64 is not bandwidth starved by any means. If you're overclocking you can run a divider. RAM-wise 512MB is both desirable and probably sufficient unless you're using very RAM hungry programs or heavily multitasking.
Choosing a case:
This is a matter of personal preference really but choosing on cost, cooling and simple looks should be the main criteria. I'd say really try and aim for a case with 120mm fans because they can provide better cooling at a lower noise - a 120mm fan at the front blowing over the hardrives could provide a more optimum temperature for the harddrives so that the risk of failure from too high heat is reduced. Additionally, I'd say don't bother with an aluminium case - aluminium increases the cost massively to only make a lighter case (and noisier) which presumably is not a key requirement unless the computer is going to be transported far and frequently. Therefore to provide you with a few choices of what I'd look into myself:
Antec 3000B - for it's truely excellent cooling, low noise and good value (no PSU is included in the cost however)
Antec 3700BQE - for it's excellent value (a good PSU is included), very good cooling with low noise
Antect Sonata - again for it's very low noise and good cooling (albeit not quite as good as the other two where the 3000B particularly excels). It also comes with a good PSU also.
Outside of those Lian-Li, Coolermaster and Silverstone would be worth looking at in my opinion. Lian Li and Silverstone look particularly professional in my opinion. Although, my preference would be towards Silverstone for typically providing more affordable cases (as they're most made of steel say with a front aluminium bezel) with better cooling (ie 120mm fans) and looking very elegant and professional. Of course, there'd also be Silver version of that the TJ02 which would mean you don't have to risk noticeable scratches on the black paintwork of the TJ04.
Of those cases I'd reckon the Sonata, 3000B and the Silverstone cases would be the top ones to choose from.
Further notes - with the cases check how many fans come with it and if an additional perchase might be needed.
I think that's mostly it and it should allow you to build a business computer with excellent bang/$ for a hell of alot cheaper than $1800. I hope that is of more help.
CPU aka the benefits of going AMD
- they're faster and snappier
- the whole build is cheaper and very significantly so if you end up using an Intel platform using DDR2 RAM
- they run cooler due to a more efficient architecture, manufacturing process and the downclocking technology 'cool and quiet'.
- they leave you the flexibility of overclocking if you choose to at a later date.
What CPU to go for?
Personally for a business computer I'd recommend the AMD64 3000+ for the simply reason that the 3200+ is 30% more expensive and only offers an approximate 10% speed bonus. Given what you've said this 10% extra speed doesn't seem to be critical at all. Anyway, if you wanted to you could easily overclock the 3000+ processor far beyond 3200+ speeds. Moreover, if you're focused on reducing heat and making as quiet a setup as possible (while retaining as economical potential for overclockign as possible) I'd recommend going for the 90nm Winchester chips as they run cooler than their 130nm brethren. See here.. However, ultimately the heat difference will probably be minimal and has to be weighed against the cost difference of being able to go a cheaper route eg S754.
Going into overclocking more and why its viable and should not be much concern:
First and foremost because of the its architecture an AMD64 produces alot less heat than an equivocal Intel solution when running at 100% load. Moreover, for most of the time in an office environment when you don't need the power it'll be using 'cool and quiet' meaning it might be downclocked to as little as 600mhz so any overclock here regardless would not be causing any constant extra heat. Of course, then when you needed the power the AMD64 would then speed up the full speed or whatever overclock you've set it to.
More specifically on the overclocking procedure:
When it comes to heat production it can be effectively simplified into two factors: what mhz the processor is running at and at what voltage it is running at also.
In that scenario obiously a AMD64 3000+ which runs natively at 1.8ghz and 1.4V if overclocked to 2.4ghz needing 1.55V would obviously produce more heat than a 3200+ (2ghz @1.4V) because it runs faster and has more voltage. At the same time it would produce more heat than a 3800+ (2.4ghz @1.4V) because of the increase voltage. However, because you might not necessarily need to increase the voltage to the cpu for a more moderate overclock you could end up running a 3000+ at say 2.2ghz @1.4v stock voltage. Therefore, intrinsically, the processor heatwise would act the same as both the speed and voltage would be the same. The only difference would be in that the overclocked 3000+ would be running using a faster hypertransport meaning the motherboard would need to be able to reliably run it at that speed - some motherboards are better than others but at a relataively moderate overclock like that many should be capable - more research on specific motherboards would be necessary of course.
Choosing a motherboard:
Well, this is a more complex area where I don't know the specifics of each motherboard so you'll need to research and get second opinions than me. However, go for a quality manufacturer eg MSI, Gigabyte, Asus, Abit, DFI etc and if you want to save money the nforce3 platform could offer you some cost savings and allow you to use AGP cards which could make things a little big cheaper/more flexible for you depending how you end up deciding on the graphics card. Of the nforce3 platforms the MSI Neo2 Platinum is considered most highly regarding overclocking.
On the SATA side of things, this is for someone else to clarify but I was under the impression than both nforce3 and nforce4 offered only a maximum of 4 SATA ports and more specifically only 2 of them were locked (needed) if you were locking to overclock. That would mean you might want to look into investing in a RAID card, but of course that would add to the cost and you'd only need to start considering that if you were using more than 2 hardrives.
Choosing a hardrive:
Yeah, as before and as you've looked at WD a five year warranty should be a priority. My personal preference would be towards Seagate myself. Capacity-wise 2x 80GB sounds like it would be sufficient, but with the small differentiation between 80GB and 120GB and 160GB drives it's probably worth going larger.
2 hardrives in a nice RAID setup would provide many benefits as stated before - performance (a yet snappier system) and reliability (data might be salvageable if one hardrive crashed). On a slightly different note, having a RAID setup will differentiate your build providing a more unique service than typically seen with DELL business machines. Nevertheless, still encourage them to back up ALL data every day and especially any critical data all the time - you may want to figure purchasing a USB removavle device into the build. You can go buy a USB pen type device or else get a compact flash card and a card reader which might provide better value althought perhaps not have the same convience or immediate friendliness of use ie having the bring two things together etc.
Video Card:
Fundamentally, all you'd want is a card capable of good solid DVI output if you're using an LCD monitor or else looking to use one in the future. As such a cheap card like an ATI X300 would provide a perfect solution if you went with a nforce4 motherboard which uses a PCI-E graphics slot. If you went with nforce3 because you'd have AGP you'd have more alternatives and would be able to put in a better graphics card (primarily the ATI 9600 PRO as providing excellent bang/buck - the XT isn't worth the additional cost while avoid the non-Pro versions including the 256MB ones) that would be capable of playing current games (albeit not at resolution and detail) compared to the X300 that would be wholly inadequate. The 6600GT I only mentioned earlier as an option if you were seriously considering gaming as that'd play all current games well. 🙂
On RAM:
Again as before a quality manufacturer and a lifetime warranty is what you should look for. After that a preference for lower latency RAM would wise to make. Of course, like the CPU, RAM can be overclocked as well in the sense of both increasing the speed it runs at and/or lowering its timings. RAM is typically capable of much tighter timings than specified especially with a bit of voltage added. For example the 512MB sticks of DDR3200 Crucial Value RAM are rated among the very slowest and worst overclocking RAM yet with a bit of voltage 2.6V --> 2.8V I managed to tighten the timings from 3-3-3 to 2.5-2-2 which can even run up until about 218mhz. I'd recommend tightening the timings and raising the voltage if needed upto 2.8V - indeed 2.8V should mean the RAM should still be within warranty specs. Nevertheless, check for whatever RAM you're using. Moreover, for an AMD64 platform you don't need to worry about increasing the speed of the RAM as the AMD64 is not bandwidth starved by any means. If you're overclocking you can run a divider. RAM-wise 512MB is both desirable and probably sufficient unless you're using very RAM hungry programs or heavily multitasking.
Choosing a case:
This is a matter of personal preference really but choosing on cost, cooling and simple looks should be the main criteria. I'd say really try and aim for a case with 120mm fans because they can provide better cooling at a lower noise - a 120mm fan at the front blowing over the hardrives could provide a more optimum temperature for the harddrives so that the risk of failure from too high heat is reduced. Additionally, I'd say don't bother with an aluminium case - aluminium increases the cost massively to only make a lighter case (and noisier) which presumably is not a key requirement unless the computer is going to be transported far and frequently. Therefore to provide you with a few choices of what I'd look into myself:
Antec 3000B - for it's truely excellent cooling, low noise and good value (no PSU is included in the cost however)
Antec 3700BQE - for it's excellent value (a good PSU is included), very good cooling with low noise
Antect Sonata - again for it's very low noise and good cooling (albeit not quite as good as the other two where the 3000B particularly excels). It also comes with a good PSU also.
Outside of those Lian-Li, Coolermaster and Silverstone would be worth looking at in my opinion. Lian Li and Silverstone look particularly professional in my opinion. Although, my preference would be towards Silverstone for typically providing more affordable cases (as they're most made of steel say with a front aluminium bezel) with better cooling (ie 120mm fans) and looking very elegant and professional. Of course, there'd also be Silver version of that the TJ02 which would mean you don't have to risk noticeable scratches on the black paintwork of the TJ04.
Of those cases I'd reckon the Sonata, 3000B and the Silverstone cases would be the top ones to choose from.
Further notes - with the cases check how many fans come with it and if an additional perchase might be needed.
I think that's mostly it and it should allow you to build a business computer with excellent bang/$ for a hell of alot cheaper than $1800. I hope that is of more help.
