General pc

[trendkill666]

Hey all, my mom wants me to put together a pc for her. I've only ever built gaming pc's so I need some advice . will be used for Internet surfing and running insurance programs. the only must have is dual monitor.

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.
internet surfing, insurance programs, and some photo editing
2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread
600 or so
3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
usa
4. IF you're buying parts OUTSIDE the US, please post a link to the vendor you'll be buying from.
We can't be expected to scour the internet on your behalf, chasing down deals in your specific country... Again, help us, help YOU.

5. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc.

none
6. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
none
7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
no overclock
8. What resolution, not monitor size, will you be using?
1080
9. WHEN do you plan to build it?
Note that it is usually not cost or time effective to choose your build more than a month before you actually plan to be using it.
now till christmas
10. Do you need to purchase any software to go with the system, such as Windows or Blu Ray playback software?
windows

 

[VirtualLarry]

Have you considered a NUC? Or a Brix? The Kaby Lake-based Brix units are just coming out.

Kaby Lake, if you haven't heard, is basically the same as Skylake, but has better media-decoding / encoding features. (HEVC Main10, and VP9, used by YouTube). Also, should support 4K@60 over HDMI ouput.

A cheaper KBL i3-based Brix unit would probably be just fine for her. That is, if she doesn't need an optical drive.

Plus, a NUC or Brix, is "cute". She'll probably like it more than a big ol' desktop PC.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/10745/gigabyte-updates-brix-sff-pcs-with-intels-kaby-lake-cpus

 

[trendkill666]

Sorry I should have added, she will probably need an optical drive. she's old school and has a bunch of dvdrw with pictures on it. also I forgot to mention that I have a microcenter close to me.

 

[VirtualLarry]

In that case, if she needs an optical drive, then probably best to stick with a micro-ATX desktop or slimline form-factor.

Edit: What about a laptop?
http://www.microcenter.com/product/470155/250_G5_156_Laptop_Computer_-_Black
It has a DVD drive, a relative rarity among budget laptops these days.

Edit: Oh, dual-monitor. Don't know if that laptop will do that.

Edit: Get her one of these PowerSpec desktop PCs, and call it a day.
http://www.microcenter.com/product/464730/B660_Desktop_Computer
DVI-D, VGA, and HDMI outputs, and you should be able to use any two of them at least.
Comes with DVD-RW drive.
Competent Skylake quad-core CPU, 16GB DDR4, and a 2TB HDD.
If you want to be a really good son, add a 240/256/275GB SSD, and clone the OEM OS to it, then use the 2TB for storage.

 

[Billb2]

I've done four Dell Optiplex 755 computers off of eBay.
Upgrade CPU to a Q9400.
Upgrade Video to a cheap card that will do dual monitors.
All were less than $150 total with mouse, keyboard and dual monitors.

Dell sold a bezillion of them and used they are are now very inexpensive and make great "appliances".

 

[Burpo]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/291591988601?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

 

[Torn Mind]

Two IPS monitors run about $120-$150, give or take. Refurbs can come in at less. That leaves you with about 300-400 dollars of budget for the box.

SSD is of the utmost importance. CPU should be no less than a Pentium 3.0GHz, preferably i3 or i5 if possible. 16 GB of RAM. GPU is unnecessary. Consider the type of connections to the monitor and which cables you want to get.

The Windows license will boil you over budget if monitors are included in the budget as well. Refurb prebuilts+SSD clone with Clonezilla might be the way to go here.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Sorry, didn't realize that the monitors needed to come out of the $600 budget, that makes it extremely tight for what you want to do, if you need a legit Windows license too. That's like refurb Sandy / Ivy i3 territory, and forget the 16GB of RAM and SSD.

Edit: I don't think that I would go refurb on the monitors, unless you're really strapped.

 

[Torn Mind]

I've done four Dell Optiplex 755 computers off of eBay.
Upgrade CPU to a Q9400.
Upgrade Video to a cheap card that will do dual monitors.
All were less than $150 total with mouse, keyboard and dual monitors.

Dell sold a bezillion of them and used they are are now very inexpensive and make great "appliances".

Only thing is that these systems are in close proximity to the capacitor disaster for Dell.

------------------------
@OP
Are ebay listings allowed? You can consider a Dell Precision T1600.
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odk...E3-1245.TRS0&_nkw=T1600+Xeon+E3-1245&_sacat=0

 

[Billb2]

I've had no such issues with any of those I've built.
I assume that if the caps lasted this long then they're good forever.

As an aside, Goodwill and Salvation Army are great sources for older computers and parts.
Goodwill even sells online.

 

[Burpo]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/291591988601?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

Those are brand new, full warranty.. Just add a 4 Gig stick and hard drive..