~$1000 non gaming PC which will be viable for a long time

anotheregostar

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May 2, 2013
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Hi everyone!
I am building my mom a new computer as her current computer is just not meeting her needs anymore. She wants a PC that will basically do everything, but I don't really think she needs too much - Just a computer that will meet all of her current needs and have room for her to get into more intensive things in the future should she want to. She essentially only uses her computer right now for email, internet, word processing and running some programs like family tree maker. She wants to be able to do some low level editing of video, ideally have a computer where she can use a midi controller to transcribe music for her, as well as play around with photoshop and similar programs.

I've made a list of some parts that would probably be overkill for her, but I am not an expert on this, so I thought it would be great to ask you all. Are there parts that are better for a similar price, or does anyone have some suggestions on what they would change?

Approximate Purchase Date: Whenever - Just want to get some other opinions before I make the decision.

Budget Range: ~$1000 Before Rebates; After Shipping

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Internet, email, word processing, watching videos, burning DVDs, transcribing music, editing video and photoshop.

Are you buying a monitor: Not right away, but probably eventually.

Parts to Upgrade: Going to be new everything other than her monitor, mouse and keyboard.

Do you need to buy OS: Yes

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: I'm good with any website, as long as the ship to Canada and are reasonable and reliable.

Location: Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

Parts Preferences: Don't have a real preference. As the computer is not for me, priority would be for ease of use I suppose. Mom's not terribly computer literate.

Overclocking: No

SLI or Crossfire: No

Your Monitor Resolution: I think I'd like her to have the option to go up to 1900 x 1200 when she upgrades her monitor in the future.

Additional Comments: I guess that quiet and reliable it probably better than slightly more powerful and noisy at a given price point. Like I said, she won't be using the upper room in the build for a long time, if ever so having something that works well for what she want it to do right now is best. Ideally just want to get a computer that runs quick and wont get slogged up running basic applications or transferring the files and the like.

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading:
Computer is too slow to run multiple programs effectively, and isn't up to the task of newer applications and other interests that my mom wants her computer to handle.

Here is the parts that I figure would do the job, but would love to hear other options:

CPU Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Combo or $220.98
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80637i53570k

Motherboard ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 $134.99
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asrock-motherboard-z77extreme4

Memory G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Combo or $64.99
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gskill-memory-f312800cl8d8gbxm

Storage Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM $159.99
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/western-digital-internal-hard-drive-wdbaaz0020hncnrsn

Video Card Diamond Radeon HD 7750 1GB $119.99
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/diamond-video-card-7750pe51g

Case NZXT Tempest 210 ATX Mid Tower $44.99
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/nzxt-case-catp21001

Power Supply Antec 650W ATX12V $77.99 (I know I don't need this much power, so another option/suggestion here would be particularly helpful.)
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/antec-power-supply-ea650green

Optical Drive Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer $19.96 (She does do a lot of backing up images onto dvd, so if this drive isn't up to a lot of work than other options would be great)
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-optical-drive-drw24b1stblkbas

Operating System Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) $89.95
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/microsoft-os-gfc02050

Thanks everyone!!
Brian
 


Unless your mom intends to overclock, you can save quite a bit by using a non-k processor and an H77-series motherboard. For example, these: CPU: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0087EVHTE/?tag=pcpapi-20, mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157302&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=