Building a "mom & pop" pc

[Plutoburn]

How would you build a typical computer for the 50 something?

 

[lxskllr]

I'd buy a Dell, or use my old parts to put together something cheap. This is assuming that we're talking email and web surfing. In reality though it could be any machine. They could be hardcore gamers, so you'll have to build accordingly.

 

[Plutoburn]

Hardcore gamer at mid50 is anything but typical.

And I just upgraded recently and sold my parts, so hand-me-down is not an option unfortunately.

It would disgust me greatly if I have to end up buying them a dell, that's the absolutely last resort.

 

[lxskllr]

Originally posted by: Plutoburn
Hardcore gamer at mid50 is anything but typical.

And I just upgraded recently and sold my parts, so hand-me-down is not an option unfortunately.

It would disgust me greatly if I have to end up buying them a dell, that's the absolutely last resort.

We have a few over 50s in my UT2k4 clan. There's more out there than you may believe. There's nothing wrong with Dell. they make a good cheap machine, and they have pretty good service. If you are talking a basic machine, that's the only way to go. You'll only be throwing money away by building it yourself.

 

[blackangst1]

Unfortunately, buying a dell/gateway/hp at walmart is cheaper than building a cheap rig yourself. And you cant really get what they put in and on it for the price. I ended up getting my mom one last year for x-mas for that very reason.

 

[Blain]

Dell or maybe a Dell. But if they can't live with those, get a Dell.

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Yeah, if you need an OS and monitor it is really hard to beat prebuilts from Dell/HP/Gateway in the lowend price range.

And count me in the 50 something Gamer/Poweruser category, there are more of us than U think.🙂

 

[nick1985]

Originally posted by: Blain
Dell or maybe a Dell. But if they can't live with those, get a Dell.

QFT

 

[Drexl]

If getting a Dell is cheaper, buying an OEM license for XP Home should be feasible if you're concerned about bloatware and the lack of a "real" install disc.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: Plutoburn
It would disgust me greatly if I have to end up buying them a dell, that's the absolutely last resort.

Though everyone's intentions are good with the Dell recommendations, I'll try another route.

CPU - cheap AMD X2 $66 example
Mobo - AMD 690G chipset $70 example
RAM - 1GB DDR2 667 $30 example
HDD - 160GB $40 example
optical drive - $28 example
keyboard - basic one without extra multimedia buttons $15
mouse - optical 2 button with wheel $15
monitor - 22" widescreen $200 give or take depending on hot deals
case - Antec NSK3840 $75 example
shipping $20
operating system - Ubuntu $FREE

Total under $600

My reasoning... Simple mouse/keyboard because all those extra buttons can be confusing. Case is nice looking without extra bling, and makes for a quiet system. Also the included PSU is made by Seasonic and is 80+ certified and of good quality. Monitor is great for those with older eyes, having a larger dot pitch than 20" and 24" monitors. Ubuntu is pretty easy to use and perfect for typical internet usage. AMD chips are inexpensive and price/performance competitive with Intel chips. You aren't going to be overclocking, so this AMD chip at 2.1GHz is definately competitive with the same price Intel chip, which is the E2140 at 1.6GHz with only 1MB cache. AMD 690G chipset has best onboard video, with DVI output and capable of driving twin displays (690V only single display) and even light gaming if it comes to that... at very low cost.

So, this under $600 system will be reasonably fast, high quality, quiet and with a good feature set.

 

[tcsenter]

How would you build a typical computer for the 50 something?

By letting HP, Compaq, or Dell do it for me, but that's not what you asked. Here's the problem...

Foxconn 945G7MC-KS2HV LGA775 Intel 945GC mATX - $51.33 shipped AR

Intel Celeron 440 2.0GHz 512KB L2 - $66.00 shipped

GeIL 1024MB (2 x 512MB) DDR2-800 KIT - $44.00 shipped AR

Hitachi 160GB SATA-300 7200RPM 8MB - $51.00 shipped

MSI GeForce 7300LE 128MB 64-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 - $35.84 shipped

SAMSUNG Black 20X ATAPI DVD Writer - $30.00 free ship

COOLMAX CS-480-Black ATX Mid Tower (no PSU) - $31.00 shipped

-OR-

RAIDMAX ATX-528B Black ATX Mid Tower (no PSU) - $36.00 shipped

COOLER MASTER eXtreme Power 430W ATX12V PSU - $21.00 shipped

CHIMEI CMV 946D 19" 2ms DVI Widescreen LCD - $185.00 shipped AR

No mouse, keyboard, speakers, OS, or applications

Total = $521.00 shipped

For about the same price, you can get a comparably configured Dell or HP that comes with mouse, keyboard, speakers, OS, and applications.

 

[bendixG15]

And who is going to maintain this computer ??

When it goes belly up,
do we call Dell
or
do we call you ..... ???

In my experience, when I build a computer for somebody, they expect me to maintain it..

when I tell them to buy a Dell (or whatever) they call Dell (or whatever) for maintenance.

But then if its close relatives or friends, I am stuck fixing it anyways.

 

[blackangst1]

Originally posted by: Zap

Originally posted by: Plutoburn
It would disgust me greatly if I have to end up buying them a dell, that's the absolutely last resort.

Though everyone's intentions are good with the Dell recommendations, I'll try another route.

CPU - cheap AMD X2 $66 example
Mobo - AMD 690G chipset $70 example
RAM - 1GB DDR2 667 $30 example
HDD - 160GB $40 example
optical drive - $28 example
keyboard - basic one without extra multimedia buttons $15
mouse - optical 2 button with wheel $15
monitor - 22" widescreen $200 give or take depending on hot deals
case - Antec NSK3840 $75 example
shipping $20
operating system - Ubuntu $FREE

Total under $600

My reasoning... Simple mouse/keyboard because all those extra buttons can be confusing. Case is nice looking without extra bling, and makes for a quiet system. Also the included PSU is made by Seasonic and is 80+ certified and of good quality. Monitor is great for those with older eyes, having a larger dot pitch than 20" and 24" monitors. Ubuntu is pretty easy to use and perfect for typical internet usage. AMD chips are inexpensive and price/performance competitive with Intel chips. You aren't going to be overclocking, so this AMD chip at 2.1GHz is definately competitive with the same price Intel chip, which is the E2140 at 1.6GHz with only 1MB cache. AMD 690G chipset has best onboard video, with DVI output and capable of driving twin displays (690V only single display) and even light gaming if it comes to that... at very low cost.

So, this under $600 system will be reasonably fast, high quality, quiet and with a good feature set.

Thats great.

And software, licenses, etc? Well over $1000. or, spend 399 and get everything.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: tcsenter

How would you build a typical computer for the 50 something?

By letting HP, Compaq, or Dell do it for me
...
For about the same price, you can get a comparably configured Dell or HP that comes with mouse, keyboard, speakers, OS, and applications.

Right, but some just like to build their own.

Originally posted by: tcsenter
Foxconn 945G7MC-KS2HV LGA775 Intel 945GC mATX - $51.33 shipped AR

Intel Dual-Core E2160 1.8GHz 1MB L2 Retail - $86.00 shipped

Hitachi 160GB SATA-300 7200rpm 8MB - $51.00 shipped

MSI GeForce 7300LE 128MB 64-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 - $35.84 shipped

APEX TX-388 Black Steel MicroATX Mid Tower Computer Case - $48.50 shipped

COOLMAX M-500 ATX12V 500W PSU - $30 shipped AR

I must take issue with the above choices of components, starting with the case/PSU. The Antec case I choose has better airflow. It also comes with an EarthWatts 380W which is likely a better power supply than a low end Coolmax.

Why use a separate video card for some 50+ year old who will probably be just browsing the web?

The shipped price of the Maxtor drive is less than the Hitachi. I don't think the faster SATA will result in a noticeable performance increase.

The CPU/mobo combo is pretty close in price and performance. While the CPU may be a hair faster, it is hampered by the older motherboard chipset. Also, while it probably doesn't matter, the performance of the onboard video is much superior on the AMD platform. Another item which doesn't matter in this case is that the AMD motherboard is much more overclockable than your particular choice of Intel chipset board.

 

[tcsenter]

Originally posted by: Zap
Right, but some just like to build their own.

Then let them start their own thread. The OP is inquiring about a computer for someone else, not himself.

I must take issue with the above choices of components, starting with the case/PSU. The Antec case I choose has better airflow. It also comes with an EarthWatts 380W which is likely a better power supply than a low end Coolmax.

Its actually not a low-end CoolMax, its a mid-end model, but I changed some components including the CPU, case, and PSU to more affordable alternatives. A low-end C2D-based system is not likely going to have any cooling issues no matter the case.

Why use a separate video card for some 50+ year old who will probably be just browsing the web?

Because its only $36 and the benefits will be realized system-wide, not just better 3D performance. I recently upgraded a system from integrated Radeon Xpress 200M graphics to a GF6200 128MB PCI Express card. The benefit was system-wide; faster boot times, application launch, switching focus or windows, lower CPU utilization, significant reduction in lagging during multitasking, in addition to better 3D performance. This is consistent with dozens of other systems I've seen. There is almost no other single upgrade that will result in a noticeable 'boost' acrossed virtually every usage scenario for under $40, other than adding more RAM to systems with seriously inadequate RAM (i.e. <512MB).

The shipped price of the Maxtor drive is less than the Hitachi. I don't think the faster SATA will result in a noticeable performance increase.

Probably not, but its a Maxtor. If the OP doesn't mind Maxtor, he should buy it.

The CPU/mobo combo is pretty close in price and performance. While the CPU may be a hair faster, it is hampered by the older motherboard chipset.

But not nearly as hampered as increased CPU utilization due to integrated graphics. The Foxconn 945G board supports all 800MHz and 1066MHz FSB Intel C2D-based processors except Quad Core, so significant CPU upgrades will not be a problem (e.g. E6300 ~ E6700). There is nothing wrong with the Intel 945G chipset. Its performance across-the-board is within a mid-single digit percentage of P965, which is within a mid-single digit percentage of P35.

 

[BladeVenom]

Expires TONIGHT! Dell Small Business - Dell Vostro 200 Desktop with 1.6Ghz Intel Dual-Core E2140, 1GB DDR2, 160GB HD, 16x DVD+/-RW Dual Layer Burner for $479 with FREE shipping plus 19" LCD Monitor

Just go to one of the deal sites. I found that one at gotapex.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: tcsenter

Originally posted by: Zap
Right, but some just like to build their own.

Then let them start their own thread. The OP is inquiring about a computer for someone else, not himself.

Let me rephrase. Some like to build systems for themselves and others.

As for your other replies, points taken.

 

[KoolDrew]

Originally posted by: nick1985

Originally posted by: Blain
Dell or maybe a Dell. But if they can't live with those, get a Dell.

QFT

 

[jfall]

Another vote for Dell. Hard to beat the warranty/service/price in the low-mid range pc market

 

[Zepper]

Zap and OP,
. The PSU in the NSK3840 isn't the EA-380 it's the SU-380 which is not 80+ cert. - it does do over 80% eff. over a wide range of loads (see SPCR.com review of the HT version), just not quite wide enough for cert. Well, maybe it is as I see they have the 80+ symbol next to it. I though they saved the EarthWatts for bundles like the Sonata III. I use an SU-380 myself, have sold a good handful of them (I have one left, click link below) and know they are very good and quiet enough for all but severe Noize Nutz and could be considered overkill power-wise for an M&P system...

I like building my own too as well as for friends and family. You know exactly what's in there - parts and technical trade-offs are chosen by you, not some bean counter at DeGat-HP, you don't get a crippled BIOS, etc. Whichever you decide, enjoy.

.bh.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: Zepper
Zap and OP,
. The PSU in the NSK3840 isn't the EA-380 it's the SU-380

Whoops, I meant the NSK3480. The link was to the 3480.

 

[Kadarin]

I gave my parents my old iMac G4. It still works great for what they use it for, and it requires practically zero technical support from me.

 

[imported_i2k]

Dell.