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CPU for Grandma

R

rdukeman

Member
Budget = 300-500$

Uses: Email, Skype, and Solitaire (lol).

I am planning to use the same hard drive as long as it runs ok with the new set up. I am looking to get a new:

CPU
MB
Case
Ram
PSU

That's about it! I just am looking for something reliable. I am not sure what is out now, and I was looking for some input.

Thanks.
 
Hit up the Dell outlet. You can get a refurb Athlon X2 5000+ w/ 20" monitor for $450. If you watch it for a couple of days (check in the morning), you can see some good deals go by. As a bonus, all Dell outlet systems come with a 1 year warranty.
 
dell
building custom enthusiast/gaming pcs is the only place you'll save money without cutting on quality these days.
its not worth the effort or trouble, get the dell, be done with it. don't get too cheap, comp n00bs are never patient and get frustrated by slow computer reaction..you know..they click that button over and over because the disc is thrashing or whatnot. don't use an old harddrive ..slow
 
jackschmittusa said:
Newegg has an AMD tri-core/mb (built-in vid) combo for $95 after a small rebate. 2gb ram about $40. Deals on cases and psus abound.
Click to expand...

Sounds great in theory but when you start adding up all the other parts and include $100 for an OS, you'll end up around $400 or very close to it.

Well, guess what.. you can get a system WITH a monitor from Dell for around $400:
______________

Dell Vostro 220 Slim Tower Intel Core 2 Duo E7500 Desktop Computer w/ 18.5" LCD Monitor $399.00 + $35.00 Shipping
Dell E1910H 18.5" LCD; Intel Core 2 Duo E7500 @ 2.93GHz; 2GB RAM; 160GB HDD; DVD-ROM; gigabit ethernet; Windows 7 Home Premium; 1yr warranty
_______________

Dell Vostro 220 Mini Tower Intel Core 2 Duo E7500 Desktop Computer w/ 18.5" LCD Monitor $429.00 + $35.00 Shipping
Dell E1910H 18.5" LCD; Intel Core 2 Duo E7500 @ 2.93GHz; 2GB RAM; 250GB HDD; DVD burner; gigabit ethernet; Windows 7 Home Premium; 1yr warranty
_______________

Dell Vostro 220 Slim Tower Intel Core 2 Duo E7500 Desktop Computer w/ 21.5" 1920x1080 LCD Monitor $439.00 + $35.00 Shipping
Dell E2210H 21.5" 1920x1080 LCD; Intel Core 2 Duo E7500 @ 2.93GHz; 2GB RAM; 320GB HDD; DVD-ROM; gigabit ethernet; Windows 7 Home Premium; 1yr warranty
_______________

( I cut and pasted those from techbargains)
 
rdukeman said:
Budget = 300-500$
That's about it! I just am looking for something reliable. I am not sure what is out now, and I was looking for some input.
Click to expand...

This is the key right here. Keep in mind that if you build it yourself, YOU are the tech support. If the motherboard has bad capacitors or the PSU blows up a year from now, YOU will need to identify the problem and RMA / replace the bad component(s). Depending on the vendor, that could mean tracking down all of the original boxes, accessories, etc. Not to mention, you'll then have to tell your grandmother to wait a week or two (or worse) while the parts ship back to the manufacturer, get tested, and a replacement is finally shipped back to you.

On the other hand, if you buy a Dell, you have one phone number to call. Yes, you'll have to deal with their mediocre (at best) tech support, but their replacement policy is usually pretty good, as long as you're still under warranty. Then it doesn't matter if the PSU dies and takes three other things with it - you have one vendor to deal with.
 
It would be hard to beat an OEM machine from Dell or HP for $300. Do you have an OS or do you need to include that in the price?

Case/PSU $30

Mobo/CPU/Video (Atom 330+ION) $160

Memory (2GB DDR2 800) $39

Optical (DVD/CD Burner) $23

HD (160GB SATA2 7200RPM) $39

$291

That's with no OS or peripherals and doesn't include shipping. It will do everything she wants though.
 
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atom is slow. nothing more annoying to old people than clicking and nothing happening..they click..and click..and click..
u know its true
 
Another vote for prebuilt (refurbished dell). I am Building one for my grandma, but she wants special features like a TV tuner with video recording, a (very!) compact and storable case, and something that looks really pretty, and a huge 1080p screen, headphones, speakers, the list goes on and on. By the time I find a prebuilt with everything she wants it would cost her $1200 without tax... If your grandma doesn't need (or more like want in my case) any special features, don't bother custom building it.

P.S. Final price for that is including monitor is ~ $800 with an i3 and 2GB ram. She was going to get a 24" TV for like $600, so I said just pay a little extra and get a lot more out of it.
 
I some what agree with the consensus, why should we relegate grandma to cripple ware?

If we buy on the new market, does it make much difference if we buy a supercheap cripple chip for $40.00 or something in the much faster $60.00 range? I am bullish on something like an intel e5200.

The used market may be a different story, you can buy refurbished dells all day long for $125.00 with an XP pro OS.
 
Slugbait said:
Yeah, this will make her email, Skype and Solitaire fly like the wind...

/end sarcasm
Click to expand...

Agreed, seriously? A Core 2 Quad? This woman could use a Windows XP pro SP3 machine with 1GB of RAM and an old Athlon XP 2600+ at 1.9GHz and not be any the wiser. it would FLY for her. PM me if you really want, I have a complete machine with those specs i'll sell to you for $50 + shipping. It has a legit copy of windows on it too.

Core 2 Quad... with 4GB of RAM... for skype, solitaire and e mail? Wow.. really? Holy crap! Only real justification to this is the fact that stuff these days IS so cheap, and that it will last her FOREVER barring any failures. But JUST looking at the OP's given list of requirements, its complete overkill.

This is the guy that buys the huge riding lawn mower for his 1/2 acre lawn methinks....

Unbelievable....

Just get the cheapest solid machine available from a Refurb site like others have suggested. Dual core will be fine, 2Gb of ram will be fine. No reason to try and get any super performance machine.
 
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Paperlantern said:
Agreed, seriously? A Core 2 Quad? This woman could use a Windows XP pro SP3 machine with 1GB of RAM and an old Athlon XP 2600+ at 1.9GHz and not be any the wiser. it would FLY for her. PM me if you really want, I have a complete machine with those specs i'll sell to you for $50 + shipping. It has a legit copy of windows on it too.

Core 2 Quad... with 4GB of RAM... for skype, solitaire and e mail? Wow.. really? Holy crap! Only real justification to this is the fact that stuff these days IS so cheap, and that it will last her FOREVER barring any failures. But JUST looking at the OP's given list of requirements, its complete overkill.

This is the guy that buys the huge riding lawn mower for his 1/2 acre lawn methinks....

Unbelievable....

Just get the cheapest solid machine available from a Refurb site like others have suggested. Dual core will be fine, 2Gb of ram will be fine. No reason to try and get any super performance machine.
Click to expand...

you have nostalgic memories of xp i see.
xp on such a slow machine was nothing close to dreamy, it was not good at all, add in antivirus and todays flash ridden webpages and that thing will run like sh*t. esp with someone that isn't knowledgable enough to keep their system clean and well maintained. never mind xp's broken ass gui dpi settings.

ram, is so cheap it doesn't matter, you don't save money there. if gran doesn't ever shut the thing down or doesn't know the difference between shut down and standby it will do fine, even better since caching will improve performance.

anyone suggesting xp for an older person now is out of their mind.
 
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