You have decided to mount a new PC. You are looking for a configuration that can be offered an optimal experience Teleworking is easy for both office work and playing multimedia content, but you have a very limited budget and want to spend as little as possible.
Don't worry, don't worry You don't have to spend 500 or 600 euros building a good PC that can actually achieve these three goals With 200 euros you have enough. Does that sound too good to be true? Read on, we will explain in turn all the components you should choose and the performance you can expect from the final configuration.
In this manual, we limit ourselves to the components that are part of the PC, i.e. H. Accessories or peripheral devices are not included in the scope of delivery. For teleworking both the monitor and keyboard, the mouse and webcam (if you need one) are very important, especially if we spend many hours continuously typing. This is inexpensive and invests more money in these elements.
I remind you before you start that you can leave questions in the comments and I will help you to solve it. If you prefer a laptop, read this guide. Now let's start.
Platform chosen for this PC
We have a clear goal of minimizing expenses without giving up, and therefore achieving a configuration that enables us to have fun Good user experience, good performance and long life. We do not enter into any important restrictions or components with inflated prices that do not compensate for the investment that represents them.
For example It makes no sense to mount a Core i5 9600K processor or Ryzen 5 3600X On a PC for teleworking, office automation and multimedia, we do not need a dedicated graphics card or a motherboard of the latest generation.
With that in mind, and after looking at the alternatives from Intel and AMD, I think this is currently the case the strongest value in the price-performance ratio Such a PC is installed via the AMD socket from Sunnyvale. It is a mature platform that consists of high quality motherboards at very reasonable prices and also offers excellent support as it enables the use of inexpensive Athlon processors up to the Ryzen 1000, 2000 and 3000 series.
We could opt for the LGA1151 socket from Intel and combine an H310 motherboard with a Celeron, but we would have done it Same or higher price, poorer performance and much more limited support for the important shortcomings that this chipset has.
Motherboard: MSI A320M-A PRO M2
It is one of the best motherboards currently offering good value for money with the AM4 socket. The A320 chipset is part of the low-end AMD range and debuted with the first-generation Ryzen, but this MSI model It has everything we will need medium and long term.
Supports first, second and third generation Ryzen processors, supports up to 32 GB DDR4 at 3,200 MHz and has one M.2 slot It offers a variety of connections for the use of high-performance SSDs and is available in format Micro ATXSo we can seamlessly integrate it into a small chassis.
We can get it for 48.99 euros.
Processor: Athlon 200GE
We don't need a very powerful chip, but it's also not worth saving a lot in this section, as it is ultimately the heart of the team and makes a significant contribution the total performance of the PC.
As mentioned at the beginning, we do not need a dedicated graphics card. So if we want to save money without sacrificing good performance, we opt for an AMD APU. For a PC of this type that focuses on telework, office automation and multimedia, this is Athlon 200GE It is the best option currently available.
This chip also integrates a 14 nm in-process Zen processor two cores and four threads at 3.2 GHzand is accompanied by a GPU Radeon Vega 3 This brings 192 shaders, 12 texturing units and 4 raster units. It has nothing to envy the Pentium G4560 in terms of CPU performance, and its GPU offers very good multimedia performance, even for less demanding games.
His TDP is barely 35 watts And it comes with a small fan that fits perfectly.
It is available for 45.99 euros.
RAM memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport LT
The RAM must match the configuration we have chosen and also the final destination of the equipment. So we chose a module Decisive Ballistix Sport LT "single rank" 4 GB 2.666 MHz DDR4 with CL16 latencies that cope very well with the Athlon 200GE and allow us to make the best of it.
With 4 GB of RAM, we have enough to have a good experience in Windows 10 and also with most of the professional applications that currently exist, and yes, I know that with a two-channel configuration, the Radeon Vega 3, which is the Athlon 200GE mounted would offer superior performance, however It is unnecessary because the goal of this PC is not to play.
If you want to mount a longer configuration with a minimal investment, it's very easy You can add a second module and you have 8 GB DDR4 in a double channel at 2.666 MHz. It is not strictly necessary, but when the budget reaches you, it is no doubt recommended.
A 4,666 MHz CL16 4 GB Crucial Ballistix Sport LT DDR4 module costs € 25.99.
Storage: 240 GB SATA III SanDisk SDSSDA SSD
The installation of an SSD is essential if we want to achieve minimum switch-on and switch-off times and generally want to enjoy a feeling of total fluidity.
We should keep the costs as low as possible It's not worth sacrificing the value of an SSD and choose a hard drive, especially when a PC doesn't take up much space for teleworking, office and multimedia.
At the moment the SanDisk SDSSDA SSD is in its version of 240 GB It is one of the most balanced alternatives out there. This gives us considerable leeway to install Windows 10 and a large number of applications without the need for storage space, and its 535 MB / s and 445 MB / s sequential read and write speeds let our PC "fly" .
It is available at a price of 41.99 euros.
Tower and power supply: Tacens Anima AC0500
This point depends somewhat on the personal taste of each individual and also on the space we want to occupy. We have A configuration with minimal consumption and in micro ATX formatSo we can choose between a large number of small towers without space or heat dissipation being a problem.
To continue saving money, ideally look for a tower with an integrated source. The Tacens Anima AC0500 It's an interesting option because it's compact, has a 500-watt power supply, and has front USB ports and a 3.5mm jack to make connecting peripherals easier.
It has a price of 28.99 euros.
Concluding remarks: price and valuation
In its basic configuration with 4 GB RAM, this PC costs 191.95 euros. We have achieved the goal of keeping costs below 200 euros. If we add a second module with 4 GB of RAM, the price would go up 217.94 euros.
There is no doubt that both prices are very interesting, but what can we expect from this PC? Even the basic configuration with 4 GB of RAM is able to move Windows 10 and most of the most popular office and teleworking applications that exist today with full fluidity.
For example Zoom requires a dual-core dual-core processor and 4 GB of RAM for the recommended requirementsThis also applies to the recommended requirements of Microsoft 365. Thanks to the SSD, we enjoy the full fluidity when using the operating system, reduced switch-on and switch-off and loading times as well as high speeds when copying documents and files. and when installing applications or tools.
It's a very versatile configuration, and if we provide 8 GB of RAM, we've had a PC for many years. I don't want to end without remembering that it is additional minimal energy consumption, something that we will notice in the electricity bill and that is ready to use with current peripherals or accessories.
