Low Budget Build for Elderly Lady

A

Aaron11

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Oct 19, 2009
Messages
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1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
fWeb browsing, email, pictures, video chat. nothing to demanding.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$500 after tax and shipping
3) Where do you live?
Fresno, CA so most online retailers tax.
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
Everything except monitor. keyboard and mouse, speakers
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Everything mentioned above.
6) Will you be overclocking?
No, I see no reason to.
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
I think it's a 19in Sony @ 1280x1024
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
The next few weeks.
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
It doesn't really matter, whatever we can get should be fine for what she needs.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? 32bit or 64bit?
I was thinking of buying Windows 7 Home Premium 32-bit OEM

Here's a build I came up with right now.
I used this DIY PC kit from Newegg for $283.44. It includes Athlon II X2 240 OEM. Gskill 2GB DDR2 800. Asus GT220. Asus M4A785-M mobo, Artic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro, and a Seagate 7200.12 750GB HD.
I also added this MicroATX Mini Tower (it needs to be smaller than a mid tower because she puts it on top of her desk).
This COOLER MASTER Elite 460 watt PSU.
And of course Windows 7 Home Premium x86

Subtotal: $448.41
Shipping: $10
Tax: $36.99
Final Price: $495.40

Thanks in advance for your guys' help.
 
As someone who has built a computer for elderly people, go with a pre-built unless you really want to become the tech support...
 
Shadowssong said:
As someone who has built a computer for elderly people, go with a pre-built unless you really want to become the tech support...
Click to expand...
Thanks for this response. But this lady I'm going to build for seems to know enough about computers. She had another computer that basically died that I tried to resurrect from the dead but was rendered unsuccessful (it was probably close to ten years old anyway). Does any one have opinions on the build?
 
I second the recommendation for a pre-built system. You could find a deal online that would make it cheaper than building a new computer yourself. For example:

defaultluser said:
The Dell Zino HD is what you want:

$249 gets you this single processor Athlon 1.6 GHz version:

http://www.dell.com/us/en/home/desktops/inspiron-zino-hd/pd.aspx?refid=inspiron-zino-hd&cs=19&s=dhs

It has HDMI-out, and the HD3200 will playback HD video flawlessly. And you can upgrade to a dual core for just $314 total. Much more powerful than an Atom Ion system, but about the same price.
Click to expand...

That said, here's an alternative build:

$110 - Antec NSK1380 microATX desktop case
$132 - AMD Athlon II X2 540 and Gigabyte GA-MA785GMT-UD2H combo deal (free shipping on processor)
$57 - Kingston 2x1GB DDR3 1333 dual channel kit (free shipping)
$55 - Seagate 7200.12 500GB SATA HDD (free shipping)
$25 - Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS SATA DVD burner (free shipping)
$105 - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 32-bit OEM DVD (free shipping)
=====
$484 - Subtotal (not including shipping, taxes, or rebates)

You could also try purchasing some of your components from Amazon, which doesn't charge CA residents any sales tax.
 
Last edited:
tiraides said:
I second the recommendation for a pre-built system. You could find a deal online that would make it cheaper than building a new computer yourself. For example:



That said, here's an alternative build:

$110 - Antec NSK1380 microATX desktop case
$132 - AMD Athlon II X2 540 and Gigabyte GA-MA785GMT-UD2H combo deal (free shipping on processor)
$57 - Kingston 2x1GB DDR3 1333 dual channel kit (free shipping)
$55 - Seagate 7200.12 500GB SATA HDD (free shipping)
$25 - Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS SATA DVD burner (free shipping)
$105 - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 32-bit OEM DVD (free shipping)
=====
$484 - Subtotal (not including shipping, taxes, or rebates)

You could also try purchasing some of your components from Amazon, which doesn't charge CA residents any sales tax.
Click to expand...
Thanks, I like your build, but I see no reason to spend $110 (plus $25 shipping) on a case. I'd rather just use the one I was going to put in the original the build that's only $30 with free shipping. Because she doesn't even need a discrete graphics this would be a great build and definitely more future proof than the one I built.
 
Funny thing is that M4A785-M already has onboard HD4200, making the GT220 largely redundant. Prebuilt is probably the best way to go in all honesty for lower end systems, and a large part of it is because Windows is so expensive for end users compared to what OEMs are probably getting it for in bulk.
 
Aaron11 said:
Thanks, I like your build, but I see no reason to spend $110 (plus $25 shipping) on a case. I'd rather just use the one I was going to put in the original the build that's only $30 with free shipping. Because she doesn't even need a discrete graphics this would be a great build and definitely more future proof than the one I built.
Click to expand...
I have an issue with the Cooler Master PSU that you've chosen earlier. While I don't believe that it's incapable of handling the power requirements of your system, it's a relatively poor quality PSU. Though the NSK1380 is more expensive than the case/PSU combo you picked out in your OP, it maintains a smaller physical profile and has a better quality PSU. You could also buy it from Buy.com (or through Amazon), which sells it with free ground shipping.

That said, I understand your concerns about the higher cost of the Antec NSK1380. However, I recommend a better quality PSU, like the Antec EA380 or the Corsair CX400.
 
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I'm going to risk getting flamed, but what about a refurb Mac Mini?
 
tiraides said:
I have an issue with the Cooler Master PSU that you've chosen earlier. While I don't believe that it's incapable of handling the power requirements of your system, it's a relatively poor quality PSU. Though the NSK1380 is more expensive than the case/PSU combo you picked out in your OP, it maintains a smaller physical profile and has a better quality PSU. You could also buy it from Buy.com (or through Amazon), which sells it with free ground shipping.

That said, I understand your concerns about the higher cost of the Antec NSK1380. However, I recommend a better quality PSU, like the Antec EA380 or the Corsair CX400.
Click to expand...
How about this Antec EA430D for only $50?
 
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I have a 939 system that would work fine for her, it's quiet. Case is a bit of an eyesore but nothing a trip to Microcenter won't solve
 
Trombe said:
......Prebuilt is probably the best way to go in all honesty for lower end systems, and a large part of it is because Windows is so expensive for end users compared to what OEMs are probably getting it for in bulk.
Click to expand...
...this. IMHO for e-mail / web browsing / light office apps, a little Dell with a W7 license is most times the best way to go.

Cheers - B.B.S.
 
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