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K10 said:
My income restricted grandparents have asked me, their sole PC expert, to help them build a new desktop PC with 8-10 yr lifespan.
Click to expand...

If they're income restricted, they can do a heck of a lot better spreading their $900 out over the next 8-10 years vs. spending it in a lump now. Nothing you can build today will be the status quo in 10 years because you cannot yet buy things that will be common in 10 years. Doubly so because the intended uses you list are among the ones that will evolve the most over the next 10 years. Even if they just spent $300 every 3 years over the next 9 they'd come out far ahead of anything you can build right now. I'd strongly encourage you to rethink the usable lifespan of this machine or to redefine the goals it's supposed to accomplish, especially for the people in question who will probably still want to play the equivalent of Minecraft with and video chat with their grandkids long after Minecraft is dead and Skype has progressed into a completely different level of service.
 
Let's see... grandparents... restricted income... basic PC tasks....

... You should stick with a prebuilt system. If you spend any "extra" money on anything, it should probably be an iron-clad warranty that prevents you from being their customer support. Here's one such example:

(From TechBargains) Dell Small Business has the high quality Dell Optiplex 3010 Intel Core i5-3470 Quad-Core Ivy Bridge Desktop Computer for a low $539.00 Free Shipping after Coupon Code: "88KSR26X$74PFT" (Exp Soon). Tax in most.

Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz Quad-Core Ivy Bridge; 4GB RAM; 500GB HDD; DVD burner; Windows 7 Professional; 3yr warranty; keyboard/mouse
Click to expand...

Otherwise, I agree with CEpeep and suggest that you don't spend a lot of money on this build. In that case, again, consider a prebuilt system:

(From TechBargains) Newegg has the Gateway DX4870-UR348 Intel Core i3-2130 Dual-Core Sandy Bridge Desktop Computer for a low $289.99 Free Shipping after 10% Coupon Code: "VME10BTS" (Exp 8/26, must checkout with V.me by Visa). Tax in CA, NJ, TN. This is one of the best prices we've seen for an i3 Desktop.

Intel Core i3-2130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Sandy Bridge; 4GB RAM; 500GB HDD; DVD burner; Windows 8; 1yr warranty; keyboard/mouse
Click to expand...

If you really need a wireless card, you can find one for pretty cheap:

$15 - ENCORE ENEWI-2XN42 PCI-E x1 802.11n wireless adapter

And a decent webcam (which no prebuilt system provides) doesn't have to cost an arm or a leg:

$26 - Microsoft LifeCam HD-3000 USB webcam
 
The problem with pre built in my experience is they don't last nearly as long as a custom system you build, even if it's not top of the line. PSU & Fans being the most common to die first.

I'd try to spend 450$ for a Mini-ITX for them, save the rest of the $$ to replace the system in 4-5 years.

You should easily be able to do that maybe even less.

I only go the Dell route for business and people I can't / don't want to support. (Or for laptops) The next day on site warranty is a life saver for a lot of people.
 
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You have a Win 7 license; that's a huge factor for building them a new system.

4GB of RAM, a basic case (like the NZXT Source 210 Elite) and a mobo with USB 3.0 capabilities plus a Corsair CX430 PSU will be OK for them...

For the CPU, either a Celeron or a Pentium... Or a AMD APU...

I don't really know if you need a graphics card for Minecraft; a good SSD is optional. 500GB for a hard drive will be fine also.

Overall you will be well under 900$, depending on your choice for the SSD and GPU.
 
ToddW2 said:
The problem with pre built in my experience is they don't last nearly as long as a custom system you build, even if it's not top of the line. PSU & Fans being the most common to die first.

I only go the Dell route for business and people I can't / don't want to support. (Or for laptops) The next day on site warranty is a life saver for a lot of people.
Click to expand...

The problem with a DIY build comes when the OP is unable or unwilling to serve as his grandparents' customer support. That problem magnifies to a certain degree the smaller (or more compact in the case of AIOs) the computer is.

If the grandparents were the DIY types, I'd have no problem recommending that type of system. Save for the OS costs, you can build a pretty good system for around $900 (or $800 after the cost of a copy of Windows).

royce321 said:
an all in one would be another option like this one

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883103829
Click to expand...

Warranty concerns notwithstanding, that's actually a good idea. (Nothing against your choice, but I don't believe that the OP would be satisfied with a one-year warranty. More on that in a moment....)

K10 said:
My income restricted grandparents have asked me, their sole PC expert, to help them build a new desktop PC with 8-10 yr lifespan.
Click to expand...

That eight- to ten-year lifespan requires a lot of work on your part. Most systems, when properly and periodically maintained (e.g. clean/dust the insides, periodic antivirus/antimalware scans, an occasional Windows reinstall, or a rare upgrade/parts replacement) can last well over five years.

But you can't expect it to last long if you just stick it in the (proverbial) corner and leave it alone all that time.
 
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Do they have an existing MS Office license?

Actually, the 8-10 year lifespan is a non-starter because the CMOS battery will typically only last 5 years. This, of course, is easy to replace, but it will have to be done.
 
Your musts make a prebuilt system a pretty bad choice at this time. Most of the cheaper ones (or those on sale) have neither an SSD or a Blu-ray drive; the few that do exceed your budget.

Instead, I recommend the following build:

$217 - Intel Core i3-3240 and Gigabyte GA-H77N-WIFI combo
$50 - Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB DDR3 1600 DIMM
$315 - Samsung 840 Series 500GB SSD
$74 - Asus BW-12B1ST/BLK/G/AS Blu-ray burner (retail package)
$50 - Corsair CX500 500W PSU
$50 - Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced mini ITX desktop case
=====
$756 - Subtotal (not including shipping, taxes, or rebates)

I decided to go with mini ITX to give your grandparents the smallest computer possible (and you some room to work with, should you ever need to do so).

The Intel HD 2500 IGP embedded within the i3-3240 is more than enough for movies and Minecraft at 1920x1080.

I chose the Gigabyte GA-H77N-WIFI more for its wireless capabilities than its combo deal with the i3-3240. The "onboard wireless" is actually a mini PCI-E adapter, so you could upgrade it in the future, if necessary.

Instead of two separate SSDs, I found a good 500GB SSD on sale. (By the way, why do you need two?)

I went with a retail Blu-ray drive to ensure that you have the software you need to view Blu-ray movies.

Regarding the cable modem, I'm using the following with no problems:

$70 - ARRIS/Motorola SB6121 DOCSIS 3.0 cable modem (NewEgg may have a better deal)
 
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
Check out this prebuilt system from Velocity Micro


Case Edge™ Mini Black Chassis
Motherboard Intel® QS77 chipset Motherboard with DDR3
Processor Intel® Core™ i3-3217U Dual 1.80GHz Processor
CPU Cooling Integrated custom CPU cooling solution
Notebook Memory 8gb DDR3 SODIMM (2 x 4gb)
Video Card Integrated Intel® HD4000 Graphics
Audio Integrated Audio via HDMI Only
Hard Drive 1 120gb MLC mSATA Solid State Drive
Optical Drive 1 VMBluray Drive Slim External Bluray Reader
Network Adapter Integrated 10/100/1000 + Bluetooth
Network Adapter 2 or WiFi Adapter Intel® Centrino Wireless N 6235
Operating System Genuine Microsoft® Windows® 7 Home Premium 64-bit w/ SP1
Keyboard Genuine Microsoft® Keyboard - Black
Mouse Genuine Microsoft® Optical Mouse - Black
Assembly Careful custom integration and testing, final assembly by hand in Richmond, Virginia,
Quality Assurance Individual custom testing for complete system stability, signed by the system builder and QA inspector
Documentation Velocity Micro manual, driver disks, and accessory pack
Warranty** 1 Yr Standard Parts & Labor Ltd Warranty, Lifetime Regular Business Hour Support, 1 Yr Depot Repair
Upgrade Plan Lifetime Upgrade Plan allows you to return your system for maintenance, upgrades, and tuning

All for $699!
 
Correct

Here is a link to the base system for $599
http://www.velocitymicro.com/wizard.php?iid=239

But I see now I made an error, the $699 build does not have the Bluray drive.

With the Bluray it comes to $814

or with Bluray but only 60 GB SSD is $754

Sorry for the false hope.

You cannot save changes on the site, they email you a .pdf with the custom specs. Here are all 3


What I changed was:
http://www54.zippyshare.com/v/34920596/file.html
going from 4 GB to 8 GB
increased the SSD from 60 GB to 120 GB (increasing to 240 GB is +$175)
$699

http://www49.zippyshare.com/v/77581206/file.html
4 GB to 8 GB
added Bluray drive
$754

http://www2.zippyshare.com/v/11596822/file.html
4 GB to 8 GB
increased the SSD from 60 GB to 120 GB (increasing to 240 GB is +$175)
added Bluray drive
$814
 
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