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Background: My parents computer is over three years old and its exceedingly painful to use when they boot up each morning it takes 5+ minutes, apps that launch in 2 seconds on my PC take a minute on theirs, etc. And its my fault. My dads computer died and he needed a new one immediately and, being foolish, I listened to him when he said he wanted the cheapest model available I believe it's an HP and was $400 at the time. Combine that with Windows Vista and it was a nightmare from the start. So while I know people say that for low-end systems you can just go with a pre-built from a brand name, I would like to put it together for them and help them make their money go further. I have built two PCs in the last 18 months with parts advice from the people at [H]ardforum, and I enjoy it, which is another reason to put it together.
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
This is a basic PC for my parents for web browsing, email and Word and Outlook. They rarely have more than 3 apps going at once.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$300-400 for everything I need, not including tax and shipping. If I can get a good/adequate system for less, thatd be great because theyre using a 6-year old monitor that should be upgraded also. I want a fairly solid system that doesnt feel like every part was skimped on and that a low price was the only thing that mattered.
3) Where do you live?
Northern NJ. I live near a Microcenter.
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget?
CPU, motherboard, HDD, RAM, case, power supply. Since theyre only $20, Ill throw in a new DVD burner. I think 2GB RAM should be enough. For the hard drive, 500 GB is the max and 333 GB is fine. The onboard video is sufficient, I think. Ill probably get some Arctic Silver for $5; while not necessary, for the amount of money I feel a good coolant is worth it.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing?
They can use the mouse and keyboard from their old computer. They said their current monitor (which I gave them) is fine, but they also told me to get them the cheapest possible PC last time, and its only 19 and 6 years old and I think they should move to a 24 monitor.
6) Will you be overclocking?
Never
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
19 now, maybe upgrade to something bigger.
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
ASAP, but at the same time there's no rush.
9) What features do you need in a motherboard?
None.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license?
No. I am going to buy a Windows 7 Home Premium from Newegg for $100. I guess 64-bit processors are the default now, but 32-bit is fine too.
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
This is a basic PC for my parents for web browsing, email and Word and Outlook. They rarely have more than 3 apps going at once.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$300-400 for everything I need, not including tax and shipping. If I can get a good/adequate system for less, thatd be great because theyre using a 6-year old monitor that should be upgraded also. I want a fairly solid system that doesnt feel like every part was skimped on and that a low price was the only thing that mattered.
3) Where do you live?
Northern NJ. I live near a Microcenter.
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget?
CPU, motherboard, HDD, RAM, case, power supply. Since theyre only $20, Ill throw in a new DVD burner. I think 2GB RAM should be enough. For the hard drive, 500 GB is the max and 333 GB is fine. The onboard video is sufficient, I think. Ill probably get some Arctic Silver for $5; while not necessary, for the amount of money I feel a good coolant is worth it.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing?
They can use the mouse and keyboard from their old computer. They said their current monitor (which I gave them) is fine, but they also told me to get them the cheapest possible PC last time, and its only 19 and 6 years old and I think they should move to a 24 monitor.
6) Will you be overclocking?
Never
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
19 now, maybe upgrade to something bigger.
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
ASAP, but at the same time there's no rush.
9) What features do you need in a motherboard?
None.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license?
No. I am going to buy a Windows 7 Home Premium from Newegg for $100. I guess 64-bit processors are the default now, but 32-bit is fine too.
