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Grandma's "NEW Build" Requesting comments..

B

Bjwrpsman

Weaksauce
Joined
Dec 23, 2006
Messages
110
This computer is for a dear old lady who 77 years old.. Her mission is like to surf the web, check and send email's and some time down load cooking recipes.... That's it.. no gaming and no photoshop...

She has an old/slow computer now.. and I mean SLOW...

PLUS she is on a very tight tight budget....

Any help would be greatly appreciated..

Thanks



1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Mainly web/email.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$200.00 total..


3) Where do you live?
Ortonville, MI


4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
I will need everything....


5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Her system is so old, I'm afraid to use any of it...


6) Will you be overclocking?
lol.. NO she has no idea what that is..

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
She has a 19" Acer, model X193W..


8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Yesterday..

9) What features do you need in a motherboard?
RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
NO raid.. She needs some speed, 1 gb ram and 80 GB Harddrive no firewire, crossfire or sli....


10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license?
Yes, XP OEM
 
I'm no expert on super low budget builds, but I think RookieCAF may be correct in that a prebuilt may work out best for you at that price point.
 
RookieCAF said:
Why build? Just grab something like this? With bing cashback it should be less than 2 bills

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883114074
Click to expand...

I think he might be right. Putting together a really low end build on Newegg ends up at about $250 including shipping. At least with an eMachine you can get a DVD writer and I guess some tech support for the whole system.

Here's the build I came up with anyway. I'm sure there might be some ways to cut costs if anyone can find them let me know.

Case: APEX PC-389-C Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail - $23.99
HDD: Western Digital Caviar Blue WD800AAJS 80GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM - $34.99
MoBo: ECS IC780M-A AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail - $43.99 After Rebate
CPU: AMD Sempron 140 Sargas 2.7GHz Socket AM3 45W Single-Core Processor Model SDX140HBGQBOX - Retail - $37.99
DVD Drive: SONY Black SATA DVD-ROM Drive Model DDU1681S-0B - OEM - $18.99
PSU: Rosewill RV350 350W ATX 1.3 Power Supply - Retail - $24.99
RAM: PQI POWER Series 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Desktop Memory Model MAD42GUOE - Retail - $24.99

Shipping to your area comes out to $27.97. Making the grand total $237.90.
 
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Gotta go pre-built for super cheap systems. Volume discounts always kill the DIY crowd. :D
 
I recommend buying from Newegg using Bing cashback. You'll get %10 cashback at Newegg.com.

Processor + Mobo Combo : AMD Athlon II X2 240 Regor 2.8GHz + GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H (Integrated Graphics). $124.98. Free shipping.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.240746

Memory: OCZ2N800SR4GK. 4GB 800mhz DDR2 Ram. $47.99. Free shipping.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227269

Case & PSU: Enermax Pandora 185 case with 400W PSU. $51.99

Optical Drive: Pioneer sata DVD reader/burner. $29.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827129045

Hard disk drive: HITACHI Deskstar P7K500. 250GB Sata HD. $44.99. Free Shipping.

Total: $299 + Shipping.

It's probably easier to get the emachine. This is the cheapest I could find going part by part all from one store. You might have better luck if you shop around. Look for free shipping or if there is a micro center or compusa near you, go see if they have any deals on prebuilt computer systems.
 
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That emachine is horribly slow. Seriously it uses a netbook CPU with 1 GB of RAM. The builds proposed are much faster. Reuse the case, replace the PSU and you should be able to do something.
 
You can also check sites like gotapex.com and slickdeals.net for specials on other prebuilt systems.
 
Jospeh said:
That emachine is horribly slow. Seriously it uses a netbook CPU with 1 GB of RAM. The builds proposed are much faster. Reuse the case, replace the PSU and you should be able to do something.
Click to expand...

Well if he is able to get the eMachine for cheap, maybe in a couple months he can buy a RAM upgrade for her that would help.

And BTW, Netbooks are designed for web/email so wouldn't a netbook CPU work just fine for her needs?
 
Jospeh said:
That emachine is horribly slow. Seriously it uses a netbook CPU with 1 GB of RAM. The builds proposed are much faster. Reuse the case, replace the PSU and you should be able to do something.
Click to expand...

Web/Email and Recipes. I think it would work. Just sayin ;)
 
how about a Pentium 4 used machine from Craigslist? local(free pickup), cheap, hopefully will last, enough power...
 
paperwastage said:
how about a Pentium 4 used machine from Craigslist? local(free pickup), cheap, hopefully will last, enough power...
Click to expand...

Bad idea. There's no guarantee that it would last very long, and the OP would be on the hook to fix any problems that came up.

With that fixed price, it would probably be best to look at on outlet retailer (like Dell Outlet) or a bargain-hunting site to find a good deal on a prebuilt system.
 
How would she feel about WebTV?

Don't beat me up too bad you guys! :D

I used to have one...or two...:D
 
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TehJams said:
I think he might be right. Putting together a really low end build on Newegg ends up at about $250 including shipping. At least with an eMachine you can get a DVD writer and I guess some tech support for the whole system.

Here's the build I came up with anyway. I'm sure there might be some ways to cut costs if anyone can find them let me know.

Case: APEX PC-389-C Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail - $23.99
HDD: Western Digital Caviar Blue WD800AAJS 80GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM - $34.99
MoBo: ECS IC780M-A AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail - $43.99 After Rebate
CPU: AMD Sempron 140 Sargas 2.7GHz Socket AM3 45W Single-Core Processor Model SDX140HBGQBOX - Retail - $37.99
DVD Drive: SONY Black SATA DVD-ROM Drive Model DDU1681S-0B - OEM - $18.99
PSU: Rosewill RV350 350W ATX 1.3 Power Supply - Retail - $24.99
RAM: PQI POWER Series 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Desktop Memory Model MAD42GUOE - Retail - $24.99

Shipping to your area comes out to $27.97. Making the grand total $237.90.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the feed back, but I don't see any video on the mother board..
 
TehJams said:
Well if he is able to get the eMachine for cheap, maybe in a couple months he can buy a RAM upgrade for her that would help.

And BTW, Netbooks are designed for web/email so wouldn't a netbook CPU work just fine for her needs?
Click to expand...

Thanks for the feed back...

I dont think she can see a laptop screen very good...
 
The other advantage to buying a prebuilt system from like dell or someone is if she has any problems she can have them repair it and you don't have to go and debug it to see what part is failing.
 
You don't need to make a new thread just to ask another question:

Bjwrpsman said:
Has anyone ever bought anything from the below web site??

http://www.cedarpc.com/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?search=action&category=DES0

Thanks
For the feedback.
Click to expand...

While I haven't used the site myself, it's a bad idea for two reasons. One, they're old parts -- there's a good chance that they would fail sooner rather than later. Two, that store is just that, a store; you can't return anything after 14 days of purchase, and I don't see any warranty from that store that covers computer repairs.

A decent computer seems to run about $300... are you willing/able to pitch in some money yourself?
 
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TehJams said:
.....And BTW, Netbooks are designed for web/email so wouldn't a netbook CPU work just fine for her needs?
Click to expand...
Someone already mentioned the screen, but the keyboard is also often smaller than usual on these machines. Get your grandma a nice, full sized keyboard with decent key action. Easy to recommend this Keytronic as its what I use here. Solid as can be, full sized, great touch.
 
The For Sale forum is loaded with socket 939/AM2, or old 775 systems or part-outs that would easily power the activities listed. They just won't game well.

I would get a nice case and PSU even if you have to chip in. It would be better for resale or giving to another relative. I don't trust cheap hollow PSUs and a case is a case, I could use our old e-Machines if I really wanted to.

I know, my dad is into computers for resale but in an IDE world. I saw he got some G.Skill DDR2 533, a 2 gig stick, and was surprised.
 
I'd like to Thank Everyone for there comments and feedback on this... I have decided to build one for her at a cost of $205.65 shipped...

Could I ask for some comment on the below items..

Case: APEX PC-389-C Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811154095

Mobo: MSI 785GTM-E45 AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Mother
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130237

Cpu: AMD Athlon II X2 240 Regor 2.8GHz 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket AM3 65W Dual-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103688

Ram: Crucial 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual C
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148163

I have a PSU, Sata HD and CD rom drive.....

Thanks
Bob
 
looks good just make sure you're not putting together the new system with a 3 or 4 year old PSU and then end up with a nice toasty stack of dead computer parts.

You can get some real nice quality powersupplies that would be more than enough for that rig for around $40 it would be a shame to lose the system over not spending that extra $40.00
 
ya, dont use PSU included with cases, they often stink, spend money on an Antec earthwatts or something, i think you can get those for cheap for the sub 600w ones.
 
The rule is one thread per topic. You were warned in the last thread, now this makes THREE threads on this subject.

I merged your first and last threads on this topic. They are both combined here.

I want Grandma to have a nice computer too, but if you start another separate thread on the topic, I'm going to call her and tell her you've been a bad boy.....:p

Don't do it again, mkay....??
 
BlindedByScience said:
Someone already mentioned the screen, but the keyboard is also often smaller than usual on these machines. Get your grandma a nice, full sized keyboard with decent key action. Easy to recommend this Keytronic as its what I use here. Solid as can be, full sized, great touch.
Click to expand...

I completely agree. I wasn't suggesting a netbook, (I hate typing on those things also) I was just saying that a netbook CPU would probably be fine for her (since that first suggested eMachine had a netbook CPU in it).
 
Since no power supply is listed and that genuinely concerns me for dear old Grandma.

I came up with the follow.

$39.99 - COOLER MASTER ELITE 335 RC-335-KKN1-GP Black SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
$49.99 - CORSAIR CMPSU-400CX 400W ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS Certified Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Retail
$28.99 - WINTEC AMPX 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model 3AXT6400C5-2048K - Retail
$107.98 - Intel e5200 2.5Ghz + BIOSTAR G31E-M7 LGA 775 Intel G31 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

Shipped Total $233.93
 
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