New Build, for my dad

[chayos00]

Hey guys, my friend from work pointed me to this forum for some help building my dad a replacement PC. His old PC died, a number of caps on his MB were leaking out and it finally died. I found that back in January and just this week it now dead. So I was looking to build my dad a replacement PC and was hoping you guys could help me trim down to his budget of $1200.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
This will be a general everyday web surfing, email reading replacement PC for my dad. Want to also watch and probably record some TV. Games will NOT be played. I hope to make this PC last for at least 5 years (as that is my dad's average PC lifespan)
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$1200, price is just for parts only.
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
USA, I live in Tucson, AZ, but once I build this I will ship it to my dad in San Diego, CA.
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
Case, PSU, RAM, CPU, motherboard, power supply, video card (if needed), HD, memory card reader, TV Tuner, two monitors, extra case fans, heatsink if needed, DVD burner, think that's it. If I'm forgetting something please input that.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model. N/A
6) Will you be overclocking?
Most likely not, if I do it will just be the most I can get out of the lowest voltage possible.
7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
Looking for new monitors, I was eying 1920x1080
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Building in the next 2 weeks. Guess I misread this the first time.
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? UEFI? etc.
USB 3.0, SATA 6Gb/s, probably an full size ATX for a possible CPU heatsink, 4 slots for RAM (would prefer to run 16GB)
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Yes, Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit

Here is what I have put together so far, I am a tad over budget, but not really sure where to decrease to maximize what I can get for my dad's replacement PC. I also would prefer to buy everything from Newegg.com, unless there are smoking deals from another big name company that has good customer service.

Case: COOLER MASTER Elite 430 $49.99 (MIR $10) I'd prefer to keep this case, unless you know of a much better one.
CPU: Intel Core i5-3550 Ivy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core $209.99
MB: ASUS P8Z68-V LX LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX $124.99 (MIR$15)
RAM: CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) $97.99
Video Card: EVGA SuperClocked 01G-P3-1463-KR GeForce GTX 560 (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 $169.99 (MIR$10) I'm sure I could go cheaper, but I'd like to stick to a mainstream brand name that I can trust.
PSU: CORSAIR Builder Series CX600 V2 600W $69.99 (MIR$20) I love corsair psu's, it's what I used in my PC.
HD: Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s $119.99 I also would rather stick to a WD brand drive.
DVD Drive: ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner $17.99
Card Reader: Koutech IO-RCM630 Multi-in-1 USB 3.0 SuperSpeed Front Panel Internal Card Reader $30.99
Monitors: QTY- 2: Asus ML228H 21.5" Full HD LED BackLight LED Monitor Slim Design $159.99 each ($319.98 both) (MIR$10)
TV Tuner: Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-2250 Media Center Kit Dual TV Tuner w/ IR Remote $109.99
Extra Case Fans: COOLER MASTER R4-S2S-124K-GP 120mm Case Fan 4 in 1 pack $13.99

Total: $1335.87

 

[Dangman]

Yeah that setup is entirely overkill for his needs even if you're planning on a five year lifespan. Not to mention that there are some questionable choices for a lot of those parts (case, CPU, mobo, RAM, PSU, GPU, PSU).

Now please re-read question 8 and answer correctly.

Also, why not a prebuilt? For the kind of usage you're describing, most prebuilt PCs should do the job. Right now there's a fairly good deal for a prebuilt Dell:
http://www.gotapex.com/content/6119...rner-Wireless-N-for-383-99-with-FREE-Shipping!

In addition, is your dad recording OTA content or content from a cable service?

 

[E4g1e]

Hey guys, my friend from work pointed me to this forum for some help building my dad a replacement PC. His old PC died, a number of caps on his MB were leaking out and it finally died. I found that back in January and just this week it now dead. So I was looking to build my dad a replacement PC and was hoping you guys could help me trim down to his budget of $1200.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
This will be a general everyday web surfing, email reading replacement PC for my dad. Want to also watch and probably record some TV. Games will NOT be played. I hope to make this PC last for at least 5 years (as that is my dad's average PC lifespan)
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$1200, price is just for parts only.
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
USA, I live in Tucson, AZ, but once I build this I will ship it to my dad in San Diego, CA.
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
Case, PSU, RAM, CPU, motherboard, power supply, video card (if needed), HD, memory card reader, TV Tuner, two monitors, extra case fans, heatsink if needed, DVD burner, think that's it. If I'm forgetting something please input that.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model. N/A
6) Will you be overclocking?
Most likely not, if I do it will just be the most I can get out of the lowest voltage possible.
7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
Looking for new monitors, I was eying 1920x1080
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Building
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? UEFI? etc.
USB 3.0, SATA 6Gb/s, probably an full size ATX for a possible CPU heatsink, 4 slots for RAM (would prefer to run 16GB)
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Yes, Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit

Here is what I have put together so far, I am a tad over budget, but not really sure where to decrease to maximize what I can get for my dad's replacement PC. I also would prefer to buy everything from Newegg.com, unless there are smoking deals from another big name company that has good customer service.

Case: COOLER MASTER Elite 430 $49.99 (MIR $10) I'd prefer to keep this case, unless you know of a much better one.
CPU: Intel Core i5-3550 Ivy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core $209.99
MB: ASUS P8Z68-V LX LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX $124.99 (MIR$15)
RAM: CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) $97.99
Video Card: EVGA SuperClocked 01G-P3-1463-KR GeForce GTX 560 (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 $169.99 (MIR$10) I'm sure I could go cheaper, but I'd like to stick to a mainstream brand name that I can trust.
PSU: CORSAIR Builder Series CX600 V2 600W $69.99 (MIR$20) I love corsair psu's, it's what I used in my PC.
HD: Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s $119.99 I also would rather stick to a WD brand drive.
DVD Drive: ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner $17.99
Card Reader: Koutech IO-RCM630 Multi-in-1 USB 3.0 SuperSpeed Front Panel Internal Card Reader $30.99
Monitors: QTY- 2: Asus ML228H 21.5" Full HD LED BackLight LED Monitor Slim Design $159.99 each ($319.98 both) (MIR$10)
TV Tuner: Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-2250 Media Center Kit Dual TV Tuner w/ IR Remote $109.99
Extra Case Fans: COOLER MASTER R4-S2S-124K-GP 120mm Case Fan 4 in 1 pack $13.99

Total: $1335.87

I agree with Danny: Most of the parts in that build are either way overkill or poor values. For example, if your dad is not gaming, he does not need a discrete GPU at all - and even if he needs one, the GTX 560 non-Ti is priced in "no-man's land" that is, the price, even at discount, is a bit too high for its performance. Second, a quad-core CPU is a total waste of money for what he's going to be using that PC for: Today's Web browsing apps do not utilize any advantage whatsoever of anything more than a single-core, single-threaded CPU. And even modern TV tuner apps do not utilize more than a dual-core CPU.

Third is your choice of that Corsair CX 600 v2 PSU: Although it is rated at 600W, its +12V rail actually has only as much capacity as several good-quality 500W to 520W PSUs.

Fourth is the case: It is pricey for what it is. I have the Elite 430, and it comes with only one front intake fan and no other fans at that $53 shipped price. It definitely requires additional fans just to perform well - and then, the cost of the additional fans make that case as expensive as or more than many other brands of case of similar roominess and cooling capability. Plus, I do not include rebates as part of the purchase price at all: The rebates are never guaranteed to arrive. The Elite 430 requires a side intake fan and a rear exhaust fan (in addition to the stock front intake fan) just to make it decent - and since good 120mm fans cost $10 to $15, this will make the total cost of the Elite 430 case $73 to $83 shipped - too pricey for what it is.

Fifth is the total amount of RAM: A PC that's only doing Web surfing and DVR recording does not need anywhere near 16GB of RAM. In fact, 8GB is more than adequate for that PC even five years from now.

 

[dolorousdave]

Honestly, my dad would be embarrassed to have a PC case with blue LED fans and a side window. I totally agree that a pre-built is the way to go here. Less chance of a huge CPU cooler coming loose during shipment as well. Everything is pretty locked down in the new Dell models.

 

[chayos00]

Yeah that setup is entirely overkill for his needs even if you're planning on a five year lifespan. Not to mention that there are some questionable choices for a lot of those parts (case, CPU, mobo, RAM, PSU, GPU, PSU).
Okay, what is questionable about the choices? If you find them questionable, what are your suggestions?

Now please re-read question 8 and answer correctly.
Fixed

Also, why not a prebuilt? For the kind of usage you're describing, most prebuilt PCs should do the job. Right now there's a fairly good deal for a prebuilt Dell:
http://www.gotapex.com/content/6119...rner-Wireless-N-for-383-99-with-FREE-Shipping!
I am not a fan of pre-built systems, I always find them very limiting. I would rather have control of the MB so that I can tune his system to run at it's lowest power consumption.

In addition, is your dad recording OTA content or content from a cable service?
Yes I think he is currently connected with Time Warner Cable, he's located in San Marcos, CA.

Thanks!

 

[chayos00]

I agree with Danny: Most of the parts in that build are either way overkill or poor values. For example, if your dad is not gaming, he does not need a discrete GPU at all - and even if he needs one, the GTX 560 non-Ti is priced in "no-man's land" that is, the price, even at discount, is a bit too high for its performance. Second, a quad-core CPU is a total waste of money for what he's going to be using that PC for: Today's Web browsing apps do not utilize any advantage whatsoever of anything more than a single-core, single-threaded CPU. And even modern TV tuner apps do not utilize more than a dual-core CPU.
For the GPU, my understanding is with the dual monitor setup running two 1920x1080 resolution, I can't get away with onboard video, I would need the dedicated GPU card. I have found this card "ZOTAC ZT-40607-10L GeForce GT 430 (Fermi) 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card"$69.99 (MIR$30)

Third is your choice of that Corsair CX 600 v2 PSU: Although it is rated at 600W, its +12V rail actually has only as much capacity as several good-quality 500W to 520W PSUs.
Do you have any suggestions as to a different quality PSU that I can get for a similar pricing?

Fourth is the case: It is pricey for what it is. I have the Elite 430, and it comes with only one front intake fan and no other fans at that $53 shipped price. It definitely requires additional fans just to perform well - and then, the cost of the additional fans make that case as expensive as or more than many other brands of case of similar roominess and cooling capability. Plus, I do not include rebates as part of the purchase price at all: The rebates are never guaranteed to arrive. The Elite 430 requires a side intake fan and a rear exhaust fan (in addition to the stock front intake fan) just to make it decent - and since good 120mm fans cost $10 to $15, this will make the total cost of the Elite 430 case $73 to $83 shipped - too pricey for what it is.
True this case does only have the one fan, which is why I added Extra Case Fans: COOLER MASTER R4-S2S-124K-GP 120mm Case Fan 4 in 1 pack $13.99 to my list of parts, a 4 pack of fans for $13. If there is another case that comes with this, I am all ears for suggestions and would appreciate it too!
Fifth is the total amount of RAM: A PC that's only doing Web surfing and DVR recording does not need anywhere near 16GB of RAM. In fact, 8GB is more than adequate for that PC even five years from now.
Granted yes 16GB or ram is over kill, as I am currently running 6GB, but with the cost of RAM, it's not a bad upgrade for PC1600 DDR3.

Thanks!

 

[E4g1e]

Okay, what is questionable about the choices? If you find them questionable, what are your suggestions?

As I stated, the CPU and GPU are way, way, way overkill for what your dad is going to use that PC for. In addition, the GTX 560 is overpriced for its performance, especially since the faster HD 6870 can be had for about the same price. And in any event, for that kind of use your dad's PC does not even need a discrete GPU at all whatsoever - and will not need one for decades to come, especially since these kinds of apps will never come anywhere close to utilizing even one-fourth of the CPU and GPU for decades to come.

And as I stated, the PSU is not as good as some other PSUs at the same price point: Corsair's CX600 v2 only has about as much power on the +12V rail as a 520W PSU.

And the case is a bit too flashy for your dad. I cannot recommend anything with blue LED fans or side windows for that type of PC build.

So in other words, your proposed build would be a complete waste of money for that kind of use.

 

[chayos00]

All I appreciate the feedback, as I see how my dad and his wife run their PC, and currently complain of how SLOW it is. They tend to run a seperate profile for each one and they never log off their profiles when they switch users, so this adds to their "slowness" I've tried to talk them into logging off, but they never do. So, I would like to build in as much umph to their PC as I can, which is also where the quad core PC comes in to play. I also choose the processor I did as it has a 77W TDP where as alot of the "older" non 22nm build CPU's have either a 95W or higher TDP. I was trying to get a setup where I can consume as little power as I can and put off as little heat as possible.

For the video card, I found the following card. This will trim $100 off at checkout and has a $30 MIR vs $10 MIR of the other card (as long as it processes) "ZOTAC ZT-40607-10L GeForce GT 430 (Fermi) 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card"$69.99 (MIR$30)

 

[E4g1e]

All I appreciate the feedback, as I see how my dad and his wife run their PC, and currently complain of how SLOW it is. They tend to run a seperate profile for each one and they never log off their profiles when they switch users, so this adds to their "slowness" I've tried to talk them into logging off, but they never do. So, I would like to build in as much umph to their PC as I can, which is also where the quad core PC comes in to play. I also choose the processor I did as it has a 77W TDP where as alot of the "older" non 22nm build CPU's have either a 95W or higher TDP. I was trying to get a setup where I can consume as little power as I can and put off as little heat as possible.

For the video card, I found the following card. This will trim $100 off at checkout and has a $30 MIR vs $10 MIR of the other card (as long as it processes) "ZOTAC ZT-40607-10L GeForce GT 430 (Fermi) 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card"$69.99 (MIR$30)

Are your parents going to run two monitors? If they're only going to be using a single monitor for that PC, they do not need a discrete GPU at all.

Also, what CPU did your dad's now-dead PC run? If it's anything older than a Core 2 Duo, then yes, none of the apps that your parents are going to use need anything more than a cheap dual-core CPU. But if it's a modern dual-core system, then I understand your rationale. However, you should teach your parents about having good antivirus and antimalware software, and they should run frequent updates and scans. If they fail to log off, and then complain of slowness, then it's more likely not a CPU problem at all - but a malware problem.

 

[chayos00]

As I stated, the CPU and GPU are way, way, way overkill for what your dad is going to use that PC for. In addition, the GTX 560 is overpriced for its performance, especially since the faster HD 6870 can be had for about the same price. And in any event, for that kind of use your dad's PC does not even need a discrete GPU at all whatsoever - and will not need one for decades to come, especially since these kinds of apps will never come anywhere close to utilizing even one-fourth of the CPU and GPU for decades to come.As far as a discrete GPU, how would I connect two monitors up without a discrete GPU? Also what about the other GPU I suggested? Zotac Geforce GT 430 for $69? It has two DVI outputs for a dual monitor setup.

And as I stated, the PSU is not as good as some other PSUs at the same price point: Corsair's CX600 v2 only has about as much power on the +12V rail as a 520W PSU.
Besides corsair, I'm unfamiliar with good brands of PSU's, do you know some other brands to look at?

And the case is a bit too flashy for your dad. I cannot recommend anything with blue LED fans or side windows for that type of PC build.
I understand about the LED fan, I only looked for a brief few moments for a case as their are a gazillion out there. Also my dad's only 50, so it's not like he's going to care too much about the fan light.

So in other words, your proposed build would be a complete waste of money for that kind of use.

Thanks

 

[E4g1e]

IMHO, the GT 430 is still a waste of money. It is barely worth even $50 with no rebate. And I do not include rebates in the total cost unless I actually have the rebate check and/or a prepaid debit card in my hands. And that's not to mention that rebate requests can be declined by the fulfillment company even if you follow all of the instructions correctly.

And even if you were to get your original choice of the GTX 560 and i5-3550, you do not need a 600W PSU to begin with. You could have done equally well with something like an Antec NEO ECO 520C for your original build list.

 

[chayos00]

Are your parents going to run two monitors? If they're only going to be using a single monitor for that PC, they do not need a discrete GPU at all.

Also, what CPU did your dad's now-dead PC run? If it's anything older than a Core 2 Duo, then yes, none of the apps that your parents are going to use need anything more than a cheap dual-core CPU. But if it's a modern dual-core system, then I understand your rationale. However, you should teach your parents about having good antivirus and antimalware software, and they should run frequent updates and scans. If they fail to log off, and then complain of slowness, then it's more likely not a CPU problem at all - but a malware problem.

I actually maintained his old PC while using logmein.com (great free remote desktop program) So his antivirus and windows is up to date. Over the last few months his current even slower slowness has been attributed to a full hard drive. (80GB with <2GB free) I had cleared out some space and got them to 10GB free (greatly improved). Did this back in January, we got them a new external HD as their old one also died.

I have my dad trained and doing the log off, but his wife doesn't listen when it comes to that (difficult woman).

Also over time they have had friends "fix" their PC by installing crappy programs to help them out, but I've always had to go back behind them and remove as best as I can all the junk programs that they would load on the PC. I really wanted to wipe their PC clean, but never had the time when I would go visit him over the weekend.

I am not 100% sure what their old PC was, it was an intel setup single core I think... it was brand new when I bought my AMD 64 3200+ CPU back around 2003, crap his PC's older than I thought it was... 8-9 years old....

 

[Dangman]

Okay, what is questionable about the choices? If you find them questionable, what are your suggestions?

GPU wise, ZERO reason for you to get that video card. The onboard video is all that you need for that setup. The HD 4000 included with that CPU is a very capable onboard GPU solution, often outperforming the $35 HD 5450/6450 and on par with the $50 HD 6570. So since you're going with Ivy Bridge and your father isn't gaming, no reason to grab a dedicated GPU unless he's planning on using more than 3 monitors as Ivy Bridge can now support three monitors out of the box. The GPU is built into the CPU. Most Z77 motherboards have multiple display outputs (HDMI, DVI, VGA). So connect the monitors to the motherboard's display outputs and you're set. So that's pretty much all you need.

The motherboard you chose may not support the CPU you chose out of the box. You can get a compatible and newer mobo for $10 less:
$120 - MSI Z77A-G43 Intel Z77 ATX Motherboard

Get two of this RAM to save $18. No you won't notice a difference between DDR3 1333 and DDR3 1600:
$40 - G.Skill Value Series F3-10666CL9D-8GBNT 2 x 4GB DDR3 1333 RAM

Case wise, this case is a better choice since it has significantly better cable management and comes with an extra 140mm fan. If you don't get a dedicated GPU, the included two fans are all that you need cooling wise for the case. :
$50 - NZXT Source 210 Elite Black ATX Case

PSU wise, you can get a significantly higher quality PSU with the same amount of +12V amperage for less:
$64 - Antec NEO ECO 520C 520W PSU

Yes I think he is currently connected with Time Warner Cable, he's located in San Marcos, CA.

If you want to actually record content from TWC, I think you have to use a cable card tuner, not a tuner hooked up to the cable box/DVR. Hit up the HTPC subforum for more info. This link should also help:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/242644/record_cable_tv_on_your_pc_easily.html

 

[zandor]

I'd go for small, quiet and unobtrusive on this one. Mini ITX builds tend to run up the bill, so I'm thinking mATX. That should be fine since this machine isn't going to get stuffed full of video cards.

I'd do something like this: (prices include shipping)

$209 Intel Core i5-3550
$103 GIGABYTE GA-H77M-D3H LGA 1155 - H77 should be good enough since all Z77 really adds is OC, SLI, and X-Fire. http://www.techspot.com/guides/519-intel-z77-panther-point-chipset/page2.html
$45 2x4GB 1.35V Crucial DDR3-1333 CAS 9 - Boring normal low voltage memory. It even comes on a green PCB.
$120 WD Caviar Black
$28 LITE-ON 24X DVD Writer Click on things until you see a Nero Disk.
$31 Card Reader I'm not sure what you need but I'd get a different one that connects to internal USB headers instead of using cables that run out the back of the computer.
$110 TV Tuner
$70 SeaSonic M12II 520 Bronze 520W[/url] Cheapest modular PSU I wasn't afraid of.
$110 Fractal Design Define Mini Looks nice, has built in sound insulation, and 2x120mm intakes and a 120mm exhaust should be quite adequate for this build.
$9 NZXT FN-120RB 120mm case fan. 2nd front fan for positive air pressure. These match the Fractal design stock fans pretty well.
$360 2x ViewSonic VX2336S-LED 23" 1920x1080 IPS @$180 ea. I'd look around for some reviews on these before buying, but at least they have IPS panels.
No video card, just use the HD4000 in the CPU.

Total: $1196 (including shipping, unless I messed up somewhere)

I had a summer job in grad school that involved flying all over the US checking out cable TV signals. You can do some recording using a tuner hooked straight up to the cable line. It'll be able to get any analog channels and any HD channels that are available OTA. I've never encountered a cable system that encrypted the OTA HD channels. IIRC doing so is against FCC regs. Usually you'll get a few other HD channels as well, but mostly they're things like the Home Shopping Network. You can also run an analog cable from the cable box to the computer. That'll let you record anything, though it'll be in "standard" definition.

 

[ekuest]

not sure why youre saying itx runs up the bill zandor. got my 2 itx boards for my gaming rig and htpc for like $85 and $110 each or something. same cpu/gpu/ram/etc compatibility as any other board, and cases are often very cheap too. matx is probably fine for him since itx does get cooling issues and can be hard to work on, but i wouldnt rule out itx on price.

 

[Suprfire]

I actually maintained his old PC while using logmein.com (great free remote desktop program) So his antivirus and windows is up to date. Over the last few months his current even slower slowness has been attributed to a full hard drive. (80GB with <2GB free) I had cleared out some space and got them to 10GB free (greatly improved). Did this back in January, we got them a new external HD as their old one also died.

You should try out Splashtop or Teamviewer for remote desktop, i like them better than LogMeIn's Remote.

You should also drop a SSD in your Dads new build, he will shit a brick (excuse my french ) at the "speed".

 

[zandor]

not sure why youre saying itx runs up the bill zandor. got my 2 itx boards for my gaming rig and htpc for like $85 and $110 each or something. same cpu/gpu/ram/etc compatibility as any other board, and cases are often very cheap too. matx is probably fine for him since itx does get cooling issues and can be hard to work on, but i wouldnt rule out itx on price.

It's more about making a machine small than the ITX form factor. On that note, ITX may well work out ok for the OP as long as his parents are ok with an external card reader. The card readers I've messed with didn't fit quite right in a pedestal case. Fortunately a Chenbro S107 server case is strong enough that you can "gently" use a hammer to install things like card readers. Heavy gauge steel FTW. Card reader + ITX case probably equals mod project. The reason I think of ITX as being expensive is that cramming a machine into a small package tends to involve modding and laptop drives, or at least that's been my experience. If you use all standard PC drives and an ATX PSU an ITX build is only slightly smaller than an mATX build. The ITX parts themselves aren't bad, it's the other random bits you end up needing to actually make the machine small that run up the tab.

 

[chayos00]

Thanks everyone for their suggestions, I have finally decided upon a final build. I kept wondering how exactly I was going to get the PC to him after I built it. So what I finally decided to do was to get him a Dell XPS 8500, then order him a 27" monitor (couldn't really fit a dual monitor setup on his desk after I have him dimensions), as well as get him a TV tuner.

Dell XPS 8500 (No options on their $749 model, he wanted the $1099 model, but i explained to him this was plenty for him)
I5-3450 @ 3.1Ghz
Win 7 Home Premium
8GB DDR3 @ 1600MHz
1TB Sata 6Gb/s HD
AMD Radeon HD 7570 1GB GDDR5
DVD Burner
(I find this interesting, no choice to choose it or not) Wirelessell Wireless 1703 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth v4.0+LE
460W PSU

Tuner Card: Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-2250 Dual TV Tuner I have my dad calling his local cable company to ensure it's formats are compatible. He has an old ATI tv tuner that still works, so I'm guessing he should be good.

Monitor: Asus VK278Q Black 27" 1920x1080 2ms Full HD HDMI LED BackLight LCD Monitor w/Webcam & Speakers (He choose this one)

So grand total, not including shipping.

$749 - PC
$429.98 - Monitor & TV tuner
Totals: $1,178.98

 

[zandor]

Sounds like a good move. It's kind of hard to beat a prebuilt from a solid brand for "general purpose" use once you factor in remote support and shipping the system to the end user.

That Tuner should be ok. It won't be able to get any of the encrypted digital channels since you need a cable card for those, but it will tune analog "expanded basic" and whatever HD channels are available OTA. That would be perfectly appropriate for my parents, as they have basic cable and the only HD channels they get are the free ones. That board would get all the channels they can get on their TV. Cable cards only come into play if you have the $50+/mo expanded "basic" + HD package.

 

[chayos00]

Sounds like a good move. It's kind of hard to beat a prebuilt from a solid brand for "general purpose" use once you factor in remote support and shipping the system to the end user.

That Tuner should be ok. It won't be able to get any of the encrypted digital channels since you need a cable card for those, but it will tune analog "expanded basic" and whatever HD channels are available OTA. That would be perfectly appropriate for my parents, as they have basic cable and the only HD channels they get are the free ones. That board would get all the channels they can get on their TV. Cable cards only come into play if you have the $50+/mo expanded "basic" + HD package.

Yeah my dad mentioned driving over for the weekend to pick it up, but that would be 800 miles round trip for that.... a waste in my book. So price wise dell had me beat by about $50 bucks plus free shipping.

Also my dad has yet to get rid of a tube tv, so all they have is the standard channels, no cable box to worry about.