Budget build for parents - is it overkill?

[seanns]

Hey guys, my parents 5-year old Pentium4 Windows XP computer is nearing it's last days so I need to build them a new computer. No gaming will be done on the computer, but I would like it to last them 4-5 years (they'll use Windows 7 throughout I'm sure, I can install more RAM at a later date if need be). Based on how my parents will use this computer (usage info below), is the build overkill? Right now I'm a bit above budget also. Most importantly I want this computer to last them many years...Thanks!


Approximate Purchase Date: Soon, July 2011

Budget Range: Below $800 if possible (Canadian dollars...basically on par with USA dollars right now)

System Usage from Most to Least Important: surfing web, email, Microsoft office, movie watching (maybe in HD)

Parts Not Required: Mouse, keyboard

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.ca, ncix.com

Country of Origin: Canada

Parts Preferences: No preference in particular...I'm more concerned with price & quality than having a particular brand

Overclocking: No

SLI or Crossfire: No

Monitor Resolution: 1440x900 ? (monitor has to be in the 19"-22" range)



ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM - $19.99
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel , SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - $49.99
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119068

Western Digital Caviar Black WD5002AALX 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive - $69.99
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136795

Hanns-G HW-191APB Black 19" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor - $89.99
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824254023

Antec EarthWatts Green EA-430D Green 430W Continuous power - $59.99
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371034

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM - $109.99
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986

BIOSTAR A770E3 AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard - $49.99
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138179

SAPPHIRE 100323L Radeon HD 6570 1GB DDR3 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card - $72.99
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102934

G.SKILL Value Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Desktop Memory Model - $63.99
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231422

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ955FBGMBOX - $114.99
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808

Total w/tax = $884

Any and all feedback is much appreciated!

 

[gkay09]

^ It is a powerful build no doubt, but IMO this would suffice -
Phenom II X2 555 3.2GHz + Biostar 88-G board - No need for a discrete graphics card as the onboard video can easily handle even 1080p playback and a very fast dual-core would still suffice for the tasks that you have listed
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.660261

CASE + PSU - See if you can get this case as the shippin @ newegg is pretty high
Antec NSK 4482B Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 380W Power Supply
- Comes with EA 380 which can handle even HD 6750 so for onboard this would easily suffice
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129072

RAM
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231422

HDD - This does look pretty good for the price
Hitachi Deskstar 7K3000 HDS723015BLA642 (0F12114) 1.5TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145520

Monitor - Same ->A very good choice for their needs,...

DVD - Same

Total - ~$584 | ~$643 including shipping,... You can do a price match with ncix.com and can get cheaper with shipping...

A suggestion - You can include a small SSD for just the OS, it will make a pretty good difference with system performance as it would boot up very fast and the apps will be snappier,...
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233122

 

[browsingtheworld]

Get a dell deal or something for the very low end. You can't beat their prices for the very low end.

http://slickdeals.net/

Don't bother building it yourself.... Heck you can get a i3 notebook with HDMI for $400 nowadays with OS installed.

 

[jerreddredd]

I'm going to agree with gkay09's suggestions based on your stated needs for your parents. unless you plan on gaming on their rig, then he is spot on. the Antec Case and PSU is he recommended it very solid. I've used many of them and never have a failure.

 

[funzo]

Its a pretty solid build and should easily last them 4-5 years.

But let's be honest, there's a good to quite good chance they'll be wanting to play Crysis 10 (probably in 4k, am i right?) in a couple years. If you really want to future proof:

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133347

or maybe 2 of these in xfire:

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814195102

Just saying