Cheap Budget Home Office PC Build Under $400 2023

In this office pc build guide, we dive into a cheap high-quality component desktop computer for everyday home or office use, web browsing, Excel working, research dwelling, Word document creating, HD movie watching, Netflixing, music playing, workstation PC. This is the perfect home personal PC or office desktop computer for those of you on a budget and in need of a cheap budget PC for everyday use.

We use the highly-rated Ryzen 5 5600G (integrated graphics) processor, which excels in work task performance.
We still offer a few pre-built options below if you want fast and easy. You will save money building your own, and it is a nice experience to build a computer.

Cheap Office PC Build For Your Home Office

Let’s jump right in with a few options.
(1) Cheap Older Renewed Office Computer
(2) Newer Prebuilt Office Computer
(3) Build your own mid workstation
For cheaper the full build your own, check out these parts below.

Option 1 – The Cheapest Office PC Under $200

[Amazon Price] [Newegg Price] [eBay Price]
Here the old cheap i5-6500 will save you a lot of money. It still works great for light office work and will be perfect for most front desk type positions. You will have no problems with web browsing, word processing, internet use, and more. If you really want to save money, we highly recommend taking advantage of the older processor. In fact, I am writing this article on an i5-6500 I built in 2016 and have no plans of replacing it any time soon. I currently have 317 tabs open in FireFox across 2 windows. Then I have 19 tabs open in Chrome, 9 open in Brave, and 12 open in Edge. Not to mention 12 open files in Photoshop and too many PDF’s to even count. This old computer works for me.
proof of purchase

Option 2 – Best Budget Performance Around $600

[Amazon Price] [ACER Refurbished on eBay]
This is a better bet if you need more power for heavy editing or video processing. It is much faster and will remain in the top tier of performance for a long time. But why get this if the i5-6500 can do all that? Well, I may run all these things, but I can see the huge speed difference when running tasks in Photoshop, for example. My wife’s computer, which is a new i5, is so much faster and more fluid when running certain tools on large files or batch-processing scripts. So to run a script on 200 jpgs for her can take only a quarter of the time it will take my computer to do the same. This means if it is time savings you need, then the i5-1200 will perform better. But it isn’t truly needed if you are not doing something that requires long processing. And even in my case, I just plan my large processes for later. So this is what it comes down to for you. I will say if money is not an issue, get this i5-1200.

Option 3 – Build-your-own Under $400

You can build your own if you want the best of both worlds, power and low cost. This build is still not as powerful as the i5-1200, but it is very close and much cheaper. It is enough to handle anything you need to do in an office position. Here we gathered the list of parts you need to make this workstation.

Home Office PC Build Parts List

Updated: 05/21/2023

  • CPU [Amazon]
    AMD Ryzen 5600G with Integrated Graphics
  • Mobo [Amazon]
    ASUS 3rd Gen Support with built-in WiFi
  • RAM [Amazon]
    16GB DDR4 3200Mhz Dual Sticks
  • Hard Drive [Amazon] [Extra Storage]
    500GB SSD NVM M.2 and optional 1TB HDD
  • Case [Amazon]
    Sleek, clean, non-intrusive case design for the office
  • Power Supply [Amazon]
    Quiet cheap power supply
  • 24″ LED Mintor(optional) [Price Check]
    If you need a monitor, this one has built-in speakers and all
  • Wireless Mouse & Keyboard(optional) [Amazon]
    Everything you need to start working today

cheap computer build for office work

This list of components is 100% compatible for this PC build. If you decide to substitute any parts, be sure to check compatibility before buying.

If you want to learn about each computer component, read this computer parts list explanation.

Prebuilt Vs. Build Your Own Office PC?

If you do not want to build your own computer, you can always buy a prebuilt office desktop and have it shipped directly to you. This will spare you the “hassle” of having to build your desktop. I say hassle, but the truth is, putting your PC together is a lot easier than you think(easier than Ikea furniture). In fact, it is fun, and you will feel accomplished afterward. You may even get addicted and start building computers for your friends.

Typically when choosing to buy a prebuilt computer, you are going to spend more money. In this case, though, if you’re truly looking for a really cheap office computer, then you have the option of purchasing a refurbished older computer at a fraction of the cost. This is because so many offices have closed down, and liquidated computers are hitting the market.

The refurbished Intel i5 is a perfect cheap workstation for any light office work. Performance-wise, it’s a bit slower than the build-your-own, but far cheaper. An excellent option if you need to buy multiple desktops for a small office. While less powerful, it will get the tasks done on a budget.

Conclusion

If you build your PC, you will have the option to upgrade and learn a thing or three about the inner workings of a computer. If you go refurbished prebuilt, you will spend less money. It’s up to you and your needs. I built the AMD computer for my moms’ husband, and he loves it and is even able to play older games on it.

Perfect Office Desktop
The AMD budget build is a great machine for any normal office tasks if you are on a budget and want a cheap internet browsing computer.
This cheap build is perfect for the average user. It will handle all the web browsing, Microsoft Office Word processing, movie streaming, normal Excel crunching, PDF reading, light to medium game running, HD movie playing, Netflixing, and Youtubing your heart can handle.

This computer can replace a $800 laptop and perform fine without overheating.

Home Office PC Build Summary

This super cheap $400ish computer perfectly fits your home office. It would work great for a front desk receptionist, sales rep, word processor, web marketing person or just about anyone. It’s a great way to save money if you need to buy several cheap machines at once. Not only will you save money, but you will also have built your first of many computers all by yourself.

As for the actual assembly of the computer from start to finish, it’s effortless.
The hardest part would be connecting the proper cables on the motherboard, which are labeled and come with clear instructions. It’s much easier than one would think.

Sources:
Intel i5-1200
User Benchmark
AMD Ryzen 5 5600G

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