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Computer for my parents, your opinions

M

MageXX9

Senior member
This computer has to be rock solid stable.

Here's what I have so far. They already have a really nice LCD, keyboard, mouse, and speakers.

LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model LH-20A1L-06 - Retail - $45.99

COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel, SECC ATX Mid Tower - $49.99

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - 69.99

GIGABYTE GV-NX85T256H GeForce 8500GT 256MB GDDR2 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - Retail - $98.99

FSP Group (Fortron Source) AX400-PN, RoHS, 12cm FAN, version 2.2, 2 SATA, 20+ 4 pin, PCI Express, 400W Power Supply - Retail - $43.99

G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit
-$40.00 Instant
$124.99
$84.99

GIGABYTE GA-965P-S3 LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
-$10.00 Instant
$114.99
$104.99

Intel Core 2 Duo E6320 Conroe 1.86GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6320 - Retail - $167.00

Microsoft Windows Vista 64-Bit Home Premium for System Builders Single Pack DVD - OEM - $119.99

Subtotal: $785.92
Shipping: $32.52
Grand Total: $818.44

Just make sure I haven't missed anything, and make sure all the parts will work together. If I've missed anything, let me know. My big concerns are the memory, power supply, and case.

THANKS!

***Edit***
Changed for 8500GT, and Windows Vista.
Will the power supply be adequate, and will I be able to install Office 2003 on this 64 bit OS?
 
Why do you want a graphics card like that for your parents? Just wondering. If i gave my parents my 6800gt it'd be WAY more than they needed, and thats worse than a 7900gs, isnt it?

heh
 
Originally posted by: Heen05
Why do you want a graphics card like that for your parents? Just wondering. If i gave my parents my 6800gt it'd be WAY more than they needed, and thats worse than a 7900gs, isnt it?

heh
Click to expand...



Hrmmm....good point. I guess I just priced a system out as if it were for me. It had a decent rebate, think I should go with something not so fast, maybe a 7600GS?
 
Originally posted by: elcamino74ss
Stick with XP. I tried Vista with my 7900gs and had nothing but lots of video driver crashes
Click to expand...
I think those are fixed 🙂 MageXX9, consider Vista for the security aspect in particular. It's far more attack-resistant than WinXP is. Especially if you set it up right. The bad guys out there are going full-tilt at identity theft, and antivirus blah blah is not enough anymore.

Just my word to the wise... 😉
 
Originally posted by: Heen05
Why do you want a graphics card like that for your parents? Just wondering. If i gave my parents my 6800gt it'd be WAY more than they needed, and thats worse than a 7900gs, isnt it?

heh
Click to expand...

I agree. Both the Video Card and the CPU are overkill for a computer that will be used for web browsing, email and word processing.

Get a 8500GT which can do hardware H.264 acceleration and that way the machine can double as a HTPC. Plus it's passively cooled.

 
Originally posted by: mechBgon
Originally posted by: elcamino74ss
Stick with XP. I tried Vista with my 7900gs and had nothing but lots of video driver crashes
Click to expand...
I think those are fixed 🙂 MageXX9, consider Vista for the security aspect in particular. It's far more attack-resistant than WinXP is. Especially if you set it up right. The bad guys out there are going full-tilt at identity theft, and antivirus blah blah is not enough anymore.

Just my word to the wise... 😉
Click to expand...

As far as that goes, would Linux be suitable for your parents? If they don't do much with their computer, Linux would be very secure, and about $109 cheaper than XP Media Center.
 
Originally posted by: lxskllr
Originally posted by: mechBgon
Originally posted by: elcamino74ss
Stick with XP. I tried Vista with my 7900gs and had nothing but lots of video driver crashes
Click to expand...
I think those are fixed 🙂 MageXX9, consider Vista for the security aspect in particular. It's far more attack-resistant than WinXP is. Especially if you set it up right. The bad guys out there are going full-tilt at identity theft, and antivirus blah blah is not enough anymore.

Just my word to the wise... 😉
Click to expand...

As far as that goes, would Linux be suitable for your parents? If they don't do much with their computer, Linux would be very secure, and about $109 cheaper than XP Media Center.
Click to expand...

Haha, no dice there. My mother will be the primary user on this computer, and she's used to XP, so that's what I'm pretty sure I'm going to install.

 
I would recommend vista, the extra security and better mce features are most likely worth the adjustment period and since you are setting it up they shouldn't run into many problems. If the mce functionality isint that important then you could stick with xp but unless they have some programs which are not compatible I would seriously consider vista. As for stability I have been running vista for almost 3 months and I have yet to have it crash (and unless I am installing something software/hardware I haven't rebooted in that period). I would say that the stability is on par with xp as long as the hardware has proper drivers and you arent using strange software.
 
Lol, looks like overkill. What do your parents plan to do with the PC? A while back I set my grandpa up on an AthlonXP system w/integrated video and 256MB RAM. It's nothing special, but more than enough for internet and stuff. If that's all they plan to use it for you could just grab them a single-core, integrated video, and 512MB. If you perceive them needing more power in the future a dual-core 3600+ and 1GB DDR2-667 should be more than enough and can be found very cheap.
 
Originally posted by: MageXX9
Originally posted by: Heen05
Why do you want a graphics card like that for your parents? Just wondering. If i gave my parents my 6800gt it'd be WAY more than they needed, and thats worse than a 7900gs, isnt it?

heh
Click to expand...



Hrmmm....good point. I guess I just priced a system out as if it were for me. It had a decent rebate, think I should go with something not so fast, maybe a 7600GS?
Click to expand...

/dell
 
I just built a pc for my parents and I installed a 6600gt in it because it's all they need to do spreadsheets, read email and surf the net. No gaming going on so no need for anything more powerful.
 
Originally posted by: Noema
Originally posted by: Heen05
Why do you want a graphics card like that for your parents? Just wondering. If i gave my parents my 6800gt it'd be WAY more than they needed, and thats worse than a 7900gs, isnt it?

heh
Click to expand...

I agree. Both the Video Card and the CPU are overkill for a computer that will be used for web browsing, email and word processing.

Get a 8500GT which can do hardware H.264 acceleration and that way the machine can double as a HTPC. Plus it's passively cooled.
Click to expand...

:thumbsup:

The 8500 is the perfect card for this purpose

And I agree with the Vista recommendations
 
The Vista issues with the 7900gs still exist. I was running Vista just about a week or two ago and still having the issue. Combined with that and terrible mic/input support with my xfi I went back to XP.
 
Originally posted by: elcamino74ss
The Vista issues with the 7900gs still exist. I was running Vista just about a week or two ago and still having the issue. Combined with that and terrible mic/input support with my xfi I went back to XP.
Click to expand...
Hmm, I don't have a 7900GS but I'm pretty sure you've got an isolated problem there, or we'd probably have seen a trend by now. I installed Vista with the stock video drivers and happily played through HL2: EP1 on my 6600 vanilla. Other than it being a slow card, it was fine, and I didn't bother updating the drivers for several months. Did you install aftermarket drivers or just use the Vista WHQL ones?
 
Originally posted by: Puffnstuff
I just built a pc for my parents and I installed a 6600gt in it because it's all they need to do spreadsheets, read email and surf the net. No gaming going on so no need for anything more powerful.
Click to expand...

Actually it's far more than they need to do any of that, multiple times the performance and more heat, power usage, noise. If you happened to have it already though, it is a convenient part to use.

Modern integrated video is now overkill for the tasks you describe. Really.
 
I changed to a 8500GT (one with passive cooling btw), and Windows Vista 64 bit. Will I be able to install Office 2003 on 64 bit OS?
 
I think I'd buy them something pre-built and let the OEM handle tech support. I just don't like having multiple calls asking the same question I just answered yesterday.
 
Originally posted by: cmdrdredd
I think I'd buy them something pre-built and let the OEM handle tech support. I just don't like having multiple calls asking the same question I just answered yesterday.
Click to expand...

I have no problem answering calls from my Mom. Plus I *HATE* all that sh!t they install on your machine by default. If I want the Google Toolbar, and Google Desktop, I'll install it my d@mn self.

 
Originally posted by: MageXX9
Originally posted by: cmdrdredd
I think I'd buy them something pre-built and let the OEM handle tech support. I just don't like having multiple calls asking the same question I just answered yesterday.
Click to expand...

I have no problem answering calls from my Mom. Plus I *HATE* all that sh!t they install on your machine by default. If I want the Google Toolbar, and Google Desktop, I'll install it my d@mn self.
Click to expand...

I hate building PCs for family because they figure since they are family I have unlimited time to answer every question 100000000000 times a month. They have like no memory of anything I explain even when they write it down. So, I gave up entirely.

I just have no patience with them. Something in my head just doesn't like dealing with that. Probably because they expect everything free lol.
 
Originally posted by: MageXX9
Originally posted by: mechBgon
Originally posted by: MageXX9
Will I be able to install Office 2003 on 64 bit OS?
Click to expand...
Yes.
Click to expand...

I'm wondering if I should just install the 32 bit version to save myself some headaches, or do you think I'll be fine?
Click to expand...

I would stick with x32 unless they have a specific need to run 4gb of ram or more.
 
I would suggest going with another brand of memory from a vender with better quality control ... I tried that exact G.Skill PC6400 in the system I built for my Dad a few weeks ago & got three bad sets in a row (two had memtest86 errors out of the box & the 3rd wouldn't do 800mhz at all) I finally ended up spending a little more for some PC6400 Kingston Value-RAM which worked flawlessly the first time.


Kingston ValueRAM 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 @ $114 + $5 shipping


If you don't want to go with value-RAM for some reason I'd suggest this 2gb kit instead ... it costs a bit less then the Kingston now & should perform somwhat better


mushkin 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 @ $108 + $5 shipping

 
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