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Grandma Build

I

imported_flounder

Member
I'm putting a computer together for my grandma using my spare parts. She will be using this computer to
1) Play solitaire
2) Read internet news
3) Email relatives
I was going to get XP Home Basic for $90 but then I saw that Vista was $85. The price difference does not concern me but I was wondering what would be easier for an elderly lady to use for these very basic tasks.

For Vista compatibility issues, I do not see any that would come up due to the limited nature of her use. On that note though, I will have to set up a basic wireless network but I do not believe any complications will arise.

The core specs will be
Athlon 64 3000+ S754
Asus NF3 Mobo
1gig value ram
ATI 9800 Pro
120gig HD

Yes, I know that is massive overkill for solitaire lol. Thanks for the input!
 
The cheapest one available...

Vista Basic overall XP but named differently.

Unless you want your grandma to learn linux, then that's a different story 😉.
 
ive had nothing but problems with vista ultimate on the laptop i just got.
an excellent summary is that msn live messenger crashes immediately.
yes its pretty (i like the GUI over XP) but thats the only thing i like.
its sad when mac can put 3 guys on a white screen, one who looks like
a secret service agent and completely nail the vista experience.
 
I personally think 1 gig of ram is a little low for vista. 1 gig hit the sweetspot in xp, but in vista you need like 2 gig to run it smoothly
 
From what I understand, Vista's memory usage is tied to ReadyLaunch (or whatever they call it) and scales to the individuals usage. Since a grand total of 2 programs will be used (Firefox and Solitaire), I am sure that it will always keep both in the ram after a few weeks of breaking in.
 
I'm using 1GB with vista ultimate right now and I haven't had any problems. I would say go with Vista Basic, Vista has made things much harder to break things and it is much better for a novice.
 
The core specs will be
Athlon 64 3000+ S754
Asus NF3 Mobo
1gig value ram
ATI 9800 Pro
120gig HD

Vista Home Basic will run fine on this computer!

I loaded and ran Home Basic on an old Dell 4100 for about 3 weeks and it ran Ok
Dell Dimension 4100: P3 1GHz, 512MB PC133 ram, GeForce 2 agp video card, Sound Blaster Live and 80GB PATA hard drive.
 
Originally posted by: ScrapSilicon
Originally posted by: Zap
My take is... choose which OS you feel is easier for you to phone support. 😉
Click to expand...

:thumbsup:
Click to expand...

Haha, I figured I'd point out the obvious. You build someone a computer (especially family member) and you have to support them forever.
 
Originally posted by: Xellos2099
I personally think 1 gig of ram is a little low for vista. 1 gig hit the sweetspot in xp, but in vista you need like 2 gig to run it smoothly
Click to expand...

Not true at all. In my rig (with 1 GB) Vista Ultimate runs faster than XP.

Gaming is a different story, and I'd agree that new games require 2GB under Vista to run without stuttering, but I doubt his grandma will be gaming anyway.

And since it's Vista Basic doesn't support Aero, I'm assuming it will run even better. And superfetch will make nice use of that Gig of RAM, with would otherwise be wasted under XP if she's just going to check her email and browse the web.

Go with Vista Home Basic. Grandma will be surprised at how snappy it is 😀

 
Originally posted by: flounder
I'm putting a computer together for my grandma using my spare parts. She will be using this computer to
1) Play solitaire
2) Read internet news
3) Email relatives
I was going to get XP Home Basic for $90 but then I saw that Vista was $85. The price difference does not concern me but I was wondering what would be easier for an elderly lady to use for these very basic tasks.

For Vista compatibility issues, I do not see any that would come up due to the limited nature of her use. On that note though, I will have to set up a basic wireless network but I do not believe any complications will arise.

The core specs will be
Athlon 64 3000+ S754
Asus NF3 Mobo
1gig value ram
ATI 9800 Pro
120gig HD

Yes, I know that is massive overkill for solitaire lol. Thanks for the input!
Click to expand...

Proven operating system for old lady is Xp.
 
Either OS would do fine. Like mentioned above, 1GB for Vista Basic is more than enough for basic use, and even better when used with XP.
 
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