Need some input on a Gift PC build for my parents

[phaxmohdem]

My parents have been rocking my old hand-me-down Compaq Pentium II 400 MHz Deskpro for years upon years now, and while they may not care too much.. I want to get them into the 21st century and build them a rig for Christmas that will serve them for years to come.

I've got almost everything picked out... I'm just hung up on the video card. Here's the situation.

My parents are definitely not power users. They use the computer for
- Internet/Email
- Office tasks/
- Genealogy
- Flash Games

As old and slow as that Deskpro is, it still performs these tasks adequately (Flash is starting to get beyond its means though). However My parents also have two of my siblings still living with them, one of which I'm sure would do a little PC gaming if he could. (Again, no hard-core gaming, mainly RTS's and racing games)

Basically I want to build a low-budget, future-resistant computer that will allow them to take up new hobbies such as photo and video editing if they wish in the future.

------------------------------------------------------------
/End boring crap, here is what I have picked out so far.

##STUFF I AM BUYING ON NEWEGG##

- Case: [ CoolerMaster Cavalier 3 -- http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16811119074 ]

- Motherboard: [ GigaByte GA-M61P-S3 -- http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813128034 ]

- CPU: -- [ AMD Athlon64 X2 5200+ 65W -- http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819103767 ]

- RAM: -- [ GSkill 2GB DDR2 800 Kit -- http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820231098 ]


##STUFF I ALREADY HAVE##

-Power Supply: ThermalTake TP2 430W

-Optical Drives: 2x - NEC ND-3550A DVD-RW's

-Hard Drive: Seagate 7200.10 250GB


That is what I'm thinking at this point... All that stuff on Newegg comes @ $305. However I still need a video card. My first thought was an eVGA 8600GT, Then I found a Radeon HD 2600Pro for $89 which looks tempting. Also I have a 7600GS 256MB Card sitting around here.. but I honestly don't know how well it performs. I've never used it.

I'm open to video card suggestions (or any other part for that matter, I havent bought them yet). I'm looking to get off the hook fairly cheap. $109 for the eVGA 8600GT is about my max since my parents don't need a super bad-ass card.

 

[DSF]

I have a 7600GS (the AGP version) and it's plenty for what your family wants to do. No reason to spend more for a card right now, in my opinion. You can always upgrade later.

 

[Brutus04]

Good on ya!
The MB you have chosen appears to have on-board video. If you are not going to use it then I'd suggest another MB, maybe an Intel IP35 based board for longevity. You can also pick up an Intel C2D 2180 for 90.00. Don't forget a decent monitor.

 

[phaxmohdem]

I weighed the Intel options, but I feel that the price/performance ratio is just about perfect with the chip and board I selected for AMD.

As for longevity, I think AM2 should be a pretty solid platform for some time. It sounds as if the future chips on the roadmap will all be backwards compatible for some time to come. Plus I have a feeling that by the time this rig ever gets upgraded We'll all be rockin' 128 Core PetaFLOP supercomputers anyway

 

[Roguestar]

http://outlet.dell.com

For the low end, given that you get display, OS and warranty, it's hard to beat.

 

[phaxmohdem]

Well, being their son, I am their warranty plus I've already got legit copies of Windows and Office laying around... and they already have their own 17" LCD Monitor.

On another note, I went ahead and ordered the parts listed above. (I changed toe motherboard to another Gigabyte SLI model that didn't have Built in graphics, and had more SATA pots among other features.

I guess the question that remains is... Will a 7600GGS be enough for them?

 

[Ruptga]

Originally posted by: phaxmohdem
Well, being their son, I am their warranty plus I've already got legit copies of Windows and Office laying around... and they already have their own 17" LCD Monitor.

On another note, I went ahead and ordered the parts listed above. (I changed toe motherboard to another Gigabyte SLI model that didn't have Built in graphics, and had more SATA pots among other features.

I guess the question that remains is... Will a 7600GGS be enough for them?

Why wouldn't it be? Just stick it in since you already have it, you can always upgrade in the future if they find it lacking. Heck, I'm running GMA 950 and I can still do CnC Generals ZH well, and that was released in '04 (If I remember right)

 

[DSF]

Originally posted by: phaxmohdem
Well, being their son, I am their warranty plus I've already got legit copies of Windows and Office laying around... and they already have their own 17" LCD Monitor.

On another note, I went ahead and ordered the parts listed above. (I changed toe motherboard to another Gigabyte SLI model that didn't have Built in graphics, and had more SATA pots among other features.

I guess the question that remains is... Will a 7600GGS be enough for them?

Originally posted by: DSF
I have a 7600GS (the AGP version) and it's plenty for what your family wants to do. No reason to spend more for a card right now, in my opinion. You can always upgrade later.

 

[gorobei]

yes, the 7600GS should be fine.