PC for my Grandma

[winrez]

Surface RT

[sc302 Veteran]

fusi0n,

A iPad I imagine is very easy to use for browing and emailing (long time I have used one). But lets weigh in some cons/pros:

Custom built:

+ Best bang for buck

- Support given by builder

Premade PC (Dell, HP, etc):

+ On site support

- Less customization and a bit more expensive

iPad (or any tablet for that matter):

+ More or less the same price as a prebuilt

- New OS, new way to interact, wifi only

I imagine OP weighed in the pros and cons but Ive listed some them as well. I for one if Im going to only use a device for certain things, I would get one that I am used to and know how to do those certains things myself without asking a first time around.

Custom built isn't the best bang for the buck, not on a low end system anyway.  Not if you factor in your time needed to make sure everything works, the time to load the os, and the time to update.  If you get a business class computer like the one I mentioned, there is very little bloatware installed (trial antivirus and maybe google toolbar), it's about 100 more...if the computer is on the bench any more than 4 hours between building, installing os, updating os, and troubleshooting random errors (like why is my proc fan on high speed all the time) the bang for your buck is gone.  Within an hr I can usually unbox a computer, set it up, update it, connect it to a printer and be on my way...spending time with my family either there or back at home vs giving up 4 hours of my time to build it and make sure it works right, not just slap it together and call it a day once I put an os on it (more if you include time to research).   Priorities, what is more important to you.

 

BTW, I did get my dad a refurbished dell xps back in 2008...unboxed and went on its way.  Still lives on today with no issues, just as fast as the day it was unboxed.  Had to remote in less than half a dozen times due to my cousin malwareing it up.  Since then, he has never let her touch it again.

[Requisition]

Something new to think about during all this: AMD 3-in-1 APU with 8GB MEM SuperCombo.

 

AMD 6600k Richland 3.9 Quad-Core APU with Radeon HD 8570 + ASRock FM2 A75 MOBO + AMD Radeon 8GB MEM + SimCity Game =D

 

EDIT: Oh wow, what do you think of this Newegg system? 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1444758

[#Michael]

FWIW, I'd get a sub-$300 walmart-grade laptop. 4gb ram, 250-500gb drive, dual core ~2GHz. has battery backup, built in monitor/kb/mouse and usually VGA/HDMI out. Grandpa can move his laptop to the TV and watch YouTube or stream vudo. I presume grandpa does exactly what you say, checks weather, email, facebook, etc. Theres no need for him to have a huge computer setup burning an extra 100w of power and being noisy for no real gain. I bought a $288 celeron core and it streams 1080p bluray ISOs fine, what more could you ask for?

 

 

If it is for your grandfather, do him the favor of getting a branded computer that offers good support, unless you will be the one supporting it.  I know my time for this stuff for family is limited esp being that they live 45 min or so away.  If I can offload some of the responsibility to dell or hp and just take care of some remote requests, that is where I like to keep it. 

 

If something physically goes bad, dell will come out an replace it for 3 years....it is insurance for me so I am not going out and replacing brainless crap.  They are spending 100 more maybe for that?

With a quick look I found a low end dell optiplex for 500 that comes with a 3 year warranty that covers the entire box, I don't need to go to kingston for the memory, corsair for the power supply, biostar for the mobo, or amd for the proc.  All drivers are in one place, not scattered across websites, and I have piece of mind if there are any hardware failures.  In your pricing you haven't put in for a OS. So with an OS I am at 100 more with a 3 year warranty which is Next Business Day On Site, that is right a tech will be dispatched with the part if needed, not you.

 

http://outlet.dell.com search buisness and optiplex and you will find them in that price range, you can go with lesser models (home models like dimension or vostro) that have more if you choose to, but the support doesn't seem to be as good/as quick to respond to "just get someone out there".  Oh but it isn't as good as what I can build....really you are building a internet pc, it doesn't have to be anything good, it does have to work, and it does have to have support (either by you or by the company you choose or a combination of the both).

 

I whole heartily agree with both of them.  It's your grandma and unless she is some sort of gamer or likes to watch movies on the pc then there is no reason for a custom build machine.  Plus unless you plan on providing 24/7 support its better to get a pre-built machine.  FYI...no matter what way you go expect to get calls from them.  Do yourself a favor and put some type of remote support software on it like logmein or teamviewer so you don't have to make endless trips over there for easy fixes.

[Co-ords]

Someone mentioned a tablet but for grandparents I dont think its the best choice already being introduced into the Windows PC era.

 

The beauty if an iPad is that no matter what your past experience is, the intuitive interface just works. Sure it has it's issues, but my 68 year old mother-in-law is very happy with hers, and she uses a Windows PC also.

[riahc3]

Custom built isn't the best bang for the buck, not on a low end system anyway.  Not if you factor in your time needed to make sure everything works, the time to load the os, and the time to update.  If you get a business class computer like the one I mentioned, there is very little bloatware installed (trial antivirus and maybe google toolbar), it's about 100 more...if the computer is on the bench any more than 4 hours between building, installing os, updating os, and troubleshooting random errors (like why is my proc fan on high speed all the time) the bang for your buck is gone.  Within an hr I can usually unbox a computer, set it up, update it, connect it to a printer and be on my way...spending time with my family either there or back at home vs giving up 4 hours of my time to build it and make sure it works right, not just slap it together and call it a day once I put an os on it (more if you include time to research).   Priorities, what is more important to you.

 

BTW, I did get my dad a refurbished dell xps back in 2008...unboxed and went on its way.  Still lives on today with no issues, just as fast as the day it was unboxed.  Had to remote in less than half a dozen times due to my cousin malwareing it up.  Since then, he has never let her touch it again.

 

sc302,

 

I ment best bang for buck in general but I agree that on a low end system its almost not even worth it. Building it depends if its a time losing factor: If you enjoy it, then no it isnt a time losing factor. If you dont, then I agree.

 

This is a nonthread OT question: If you buy a PC with 7 Home Premium, can you (legally) format it, download the .ISO from Microsoft and with your own DVD, reinstall 7 Home Premium clean? I ask this because of what you mentioned of the "bloatware" most come with nowadays. Thank you.

[Elliot B.]

I suggest buying a system from a reputable company. That way, if there are any issues, they can be solved without your assistance (via. warranty if hardware fails etc.).

[Crimson Rain]

 

Hey guys,

 

My grandpa wants to replace my grandma's PC, so instead of paying too much for lackluster hardware, I convinced him to let me build it. I wanted to see if you guys had any suggestions yourself. I'm merely looking for a most bang for your buck system, that can handle generally web browsing and emailing. After many revisions, here is the build I'm currently looking at:

 

AMD

 

PCPartPicker part list

 

CPU:  AMD Athlon II X4 750K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($79.98 @ Outlet PC) 

Motherboard:  Gigabyte GA-F2A85XM-D3H Micro ATX FM2 Motherboard  ($62.99 @ NCIX US) 

Memory:  Crucial Ballistix 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($30.83 @ NCIX US) 

Storage:  Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk  ($79.99 @ Amazon) 

Case:  Cougar Spike MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($19.99 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply:  Corsair CX 430W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply  ($37.99 @ Microcenter) 

Total: $311.77

 

Intel

 

PCPartPicker part list

 

CPU:  Intel Pentium G3220 3.0GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($69.98 @ SuperBiiz) 

Motherboard:  ASRock H81M-HDS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($52.99 @ Microcenter) 

Memory:  Crucial Ballistix Sport 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($34.45 @ Outlet PC) 

Storage:  Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk  ($79.99 @ Amazon) 

Video Card:  Sapphire Radeon HD 5450 1GB Video Card  ($19.99 @ Newegg) 

Case:  Cougar Spike MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($19.99 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply:  Corsair CX 430W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply  ($37.99 @ Microcenter) 

Total: $315.38

 

I welcome all of your thoughts on the matter and am open to changing anything. I can't seem to get people to agree whether it's best to go Haswell or APU. After much reading I decided a dedicated graphics card would be necessary in the Intel build, but I'm still leaning towards it. Also, my grandpa is footing the bill and isn't concerned about cost, but I'd like to keep it on the cheap side. Above all else though, I want this to be the last system she ever has to buy. Let me know your thoughts, not use to building in the low end like this. 8)

 

 

You did not list a monitor which implies there is a large screen monitor present already (also kb/m).

 

Just buy a surface 2 and hook it up with the monitor, kb/m. Install all common apps and show her how to use start screen, open office (if needed) and how to open browser. Done.

 

PS: Just to be nice to her, log her in to mail, facebook/twitter etc accounts.

[Jollibee]

 

Hey guys,

 

My grandpa wants to replace my grandma's PC, so instead of paying too much for lackluster hardware, I convinced him to let me build it. I wanted to see if you guys had any suggestions yourself. I'm merely looking for a most bang for your buck system, that can handle generally web browsing and emailing. After many revisions, here is the build I'm currently looking at:

 

AMD

 

PCPartPicker part list

 

CPU:  AMD Athlon II X4 750K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($79.98 @ Outlet PC) 

Motherboard:  Gigabyte GA-F2A85XM-D3H Micro ATX FM2 Motherboard  ($62.99 @ NCIX US) 

Memory:  Crucial Ballistix 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($30.83 @ NCIX US) 

Storage:  Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk  ($79.99 @ Amazon) 

Case:  Cougar Spike MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($19.99 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply:  Corsair CX 430W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply  ($37.99 @ Microcenter) 

Total: $311.77

 

Intel

 

PCPartPicker part list

 

CPU:  Intel Pentium G3220 3.0GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($69.98 @ SuperBiiz) 

Motherboard:  ASRock H81M-HDS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($52.99 @ Microcenter) 

Memory:  Crucial Ballistix Sport 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($34.45 @ Outlet PC) 

Storage:  Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk  ($79.99 @ Amazon) 

Video Card:  Sapphire Radeon HD 5450 1GB Video Card  ($19.99 @ Newegg) 

Case:  Cougar Spike MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($19.99 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply:  Corsair CX 430W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply  ($37.99 @ Microcenter) 

Total: $315.38

 

I welcome all of your thoughts on the matter and am open to changing anything. I can't seem to get people to agree whether it's best to go Haswell or APU. After much reading I decided a dedicated graphics card would be necessary in the Intel build, but I'm still leaning towards it. Also, my grandpa is footing the bill and isn't concerned about cost, but I'd like to keep it on the cheap side. Above all else though, I want this to be the last system she ever has to buy. Let me know your thoughts, not use to building in the low end like this. 8)

 

 

If I were you, I'd pick the Intel config and omit the Radeon HD 5450 card from the config. I feel it's a bit overkill for your grandma's tasks and the onboard Intel HD Graphics is more than enough. Plus, the Intel CPU consumes less power which will surely give you savings in the long run.

[redvamp128]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1JUFw

Okay a few things-- 

First Grandma is not a gamer... so why would she really need a SSD and a Quad core?>

If they are anything like my aging parents... they don't need fast but need space... they tend to save everything....  to include installers from 2 years ago...as well as every cat funny people post on their facebook.

Since you say all they do is Surf the Web and Email

I would say 

$259.90
 

 

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1JUPc

Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1JUPc/by_merchant/

Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1JUPc/benchmarks/

 

CPU: AMD Athlon II X2 245 2.9GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($40.97 @ Outlet PC) 

CPU Cooler: Zalman CNPS80F CPU Cooler  ($16.99 @ Newegg) 

Motherboard: Biostar A960D+ Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard  ($39.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory  ($32.98 @ Outlet PC) 

Storage: Toshiba  320GB 2.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($48.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Video Card: Asus Radeon HD 6450 1GB Video Card  ($29.99 @ Microcenter) 

Case: Ultra XBlaster V2 ATX Mid Tower Case w/450W Power Supply  ($49.99 @ Amazon) 

Total: $259.90

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-10-02 04:49 EDT-0400)

 

Use the money you saved to get them a big monitor

[blerk]

The beauty if an iPad is that no matter what your past experience is, the intuitive interface just works. Sure it has it's issues, but my 68 year old mother-in-law is very happy with hers, and she uses a Windows PC also.

 

I outfitted my Grandparents with an old Acer laptop (that was running Vista) and popped 8 on it. Works a charm - it's fast, stable and has does everything they want to do. They rarely stray out of the metro environment, and all the big tiles and other metro features were much easier for them to learn than the old desktop interface. Since they only really browse the internet + use email, I've set up their start menu so that the only things on it are favorite webpages and the email app - so they can't really go too far astray. 

 

Also, no bloody norton antivirus = no calls from them wanting to know what to do when norton pops up :)

[sc302 Veteran]

sc302,

I ment best bang for buck in general but I agree that on a low end system its almost not even worth it. Building it depends if its a time losing factor: If you enjoy it, then no it isnt a time losing factor. If you dont, then I agree.

This is a nonthread OT question: If you buy a PC with 7 Home Premium, can you (legally) format it, download the .ISO from Microsoft and with your own DVD, reinstall 7 Home Premium clean? I ask this because of what you mentioned of the "bloatware" most come with nowadays. Thank you.

Microsoft doesn't have the iso but can be had from flamingriver for free download.

Here is the link I use

http://www.heidoc.net/joomla/technology-science/microsoft/14-windows-7-direct-download-links

[riahc3]

Microsoft doesn't have the iso but can be had from flamingriver for free download.

Here is the link I use

http://www.heidoc.net/joomla/technology-science/microsoft/14-windows-7-direct-download-links

Hello,

 

I believe that server is owned by Microsoft. You can also request (paying a fee) a DVD.

 

But, and I dont mean to be rude or anything, you didnt answer my question of formatting and installing a clean Windows with the same version that came with your PC; Is that legal?

[sc302 Veteran]

Hello,

 

I believe that server is owned by Microsoft. You can also request (paying a fee) a DVD.

 

But, and I dont mean to be rude or anything, you didnt answer my question of formatting and installing a clean Windows with the same version that came with your PC; Is that legal?

The simple answer is yes, you can legally format your computer and install the same version that box is licensed for. 

 

The point of the COA on the side of the computer is to physically tie a electronic license to a physical box.  As long as you are using that key, or a key that will activate that version of windows, you are within your legal right to have it on that computer.  If you do not have the same version as what is stated on the COA, you need to have a paper trail that can prove that you have licensed windows for that physical unit (if you are using windows).  You need a physical paper trail (one that you can print out) that ties a machine to a copy of windows, if you are using windows....even big businesses have to have a physical tie (something that can be printed out to state how many licenses they are entitled to, which can be easily done on the open manage site) to the computers on their networks. 

 

Does that answer your question a little better? 

 

If it were illegal to do so, microsoft would have had that site taken down years ago or the site would have never existed in the first place.

[riahc3]

The simple answer is yes, you can legally format your computer and install the same version that box is licensed for. 

 

The point of the COA on the side of the computer is to physically tie a electronic license to a physical box.  As long as you are using that key, or a key that will activate that version of windows, you are within your legal right to have it on that computer.  If you do not have the same version as what is stated on the COA, you need to have a paper trail that can prove that you have licensed windows for that physical unit (if you are using windows).  You need a physical paper trail (one that you can print out) that ties a machine to a copy of windows, if you are using windows....even big businesses have to have a physical tie (something that can be printed out to state how many licenses they are entitled to, which can be easily done on the open manage site) to the computers on their networks. 

 

Does that answer your question a little better? 

 

If it were illegal to do so, microsoft would have had that site taken down years ago or the site would have never existed in the first place.

sc302,

Thank you :)

I didnt know if there was a difference betwen retail copies (standalone) or OEM (bundled with hardware)

[sc302 Veteran]

There is a difference between oem and retail, but in this specific case you are referring to there is no difference as they are both OEM and the site I posted is OEM media.