I am looking for a desktop for my parents.

[jr4]

Their computer must be 8 or more years old now and is starting to struggle with basic stuff. I'm guessing its somewhere around 1Ghz with maybe 1 gig of RAM (we added some extra a couple years back). Anyways, they use the computer for looking at pictures, watching netflix/youtube, streaming pandora and emails. Not the most resource intensive stuff so I figure they don't need anything top of the line. I don't live near them so I want to order one online and have it shipped to them.

Building is not an option.

Budget is flexible and I'm not too sure what an appropriate amount is these days but lets says around $400.

Appreciate any advice/direction you can give.

I was looking at this one: http://www.amazon.com/Acer-AX1470-UR11P-Desktop/dp/B00713HNLI/ref=sr_1_3?m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1344187128&sr=1-3


Thanks

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+-+Essentio+Desktop+-+6GB+Memory+-+1TB+Hard+Drive/5555539.p?id=1218658989712&skuId=5555539

 

[geofelt]

Any modern dual core cpu with integrated graphics should do the job.
The one you linked should do fine.

That said, I would look for one with a ssd It would not add much to the cost, but everthing you do is much quicker with a ssd.
Some of the prebuilts from Lenovo, dell, etc allow you to customize. They tend to charge more than they should for a ssd though.
Perhaps you could contact a local pc shop who would build you one exactly as you want for a modest fee.

 

[jr4]

Any modern dual core cpu with integrated graphics should do the job.
The one you linked should do fine.

That said, I would look for one with a ssd It would not add much to the cost, but everthing you do is much quicker with a ssd.
Some of the prebuilts from Lenovo, dell, etc allow you to customize. They tend to charge more than they should for a ssd though.
Perhaps you could contact a local pc shop who would build you one exactly as you want for a modest fee.

Hadn't even heard of SSD, good to know, thanks.

 

[voiidwulf]

The computer you linked looks pretty perfect for their uses. It'll handle anything other than graphically intensive stuff such as Photoshop, gaming or video editing with ease. I don't think they need a SSD to be honest. The computer will feel ridiculously fast and snappy compared to their old one anyway.

 

[tsnor]

(1) Decide if you want desktop or laptop. there are advantages to a laptop. You can get a good laptop for $350 from bestbuy, etc.

(2) The A4 based system you linked would be fine for EMAIL, flash video, etc.

(3) Decide if you want to wait until Oct 26 or later when WIN8 is available and get a touch screen system based on win8. Getting a WIN7 system now and upgrading means two rounds of learning for your parents.

(4) If you get an win7 system now, get the $15 win8 in case you decide later you want it. For the system you linked there is a "Looking for Windows 8? Buy a Windows 7 PC now and get Windows 8 Pro for $14.99 when it's released. Learn more here. " link you can click.

(5) MONITOR. You can get a great large LCD monitor cheaply. Or you can attach the PC to any modern flat panel TV using an HDMI cable. Any 8 year old PC has a CRT or tiny LCD monitor. Upgrade that too.

 

[tsnor]

Oh, forgot. For my mom a TRACKBALL turned out to be much better than a mouse. She was able to position the mouse pointer then click without the mouse pointer moving as she clicked. A good Logitech trackball is pretty cheap.

 

[jr4]

The computer you linked looks pretty perfect for their uses. It'll handle anything other than graphically intensive stuff such as Photoshop, gaming or video editing with ease. I don't think they need a SSD to be honest. The computer will feel ridiculously fast and snappy compared to their old one anyway.

Thanks, they dont do any of that stuff.

 

[jr4]

(1) Decide if you want desktop or laptop. there are advantages to a laptop. You can get a good laptop for $350 from bestbuy, etc.

(2) The A4 based system you linked would be fine for EMAIL, flash video, etc.

(3) Decide if you want to wait until Oct 26 or later when WIN8 is available and get a touch screen system based on win8. Getting a WIN7 system now and upgrading means two rounds of learning for your parents.

(4) If you get an win7 system now, get the $15 win8 in case you decide later you want it. For the system you linked there is a "Looking for Windows 8? Buy a Windows 7 PC now and get Windows 8 Pro for $14.99 when it's released. Learn more here. " link you can click.

(5) MONITOR. You can get a great large LCD monitor cheaply. Or you can attach the PC to any modern flat panel TV using an HDMI cable. Any 8 year old PC has a CRT or tiny LCD monitor. Upgrade that too.

Thanks for those points. Definitely want a desktop. I upgraded their monitor about 2 years ago to a nice flat panel, should still be fine. I saw the link on Amazon for the $15 upgrade to Windows 8. I thought about it and figured it probably wouldn't make a difference for them. They've been happily using XP I think for quite some time. Whats the biggest difference with Windows 8 supposed to be?

 

[voiidwulf]

Its optimized for touch screens. Unless your going to get a fancy touch screen monitor, its probably not a big deal.

Good luck,

 

[tsnor]

Thanks for those points. Definitely want a desktop. I upgraded their monitor about 2 years ago to a nice flat panel, should still be fine. I saw the link on Amazon for the $15 upgrade to Windows 8. I thought about it and figured it probably wouldn't make a difference for them. They've been happily using XP I think for quite some time. Whats the biggest difference with Windows 8 supposed to be?

If Microsoft drops support for win7 in the (5+year?) life of your PC and you care about security fixes then having a cheap copy of Win8 will be good. However waiting for that to happen and buying win8 then is also a good plan, it'll just cost more.

Aside: I liked vista. win7 is almost he same as vista but it has a number of minor but really nice improvements. For example, the better resource monitor, better defrag display, better ssd support with TRIM, better version of media center, etc. At some point win8 is going to be better than win7 for things like email and media playback. Currently i see nothing in Win8 that makes me want to upgrade to it from win7.

 

[jr4]

I'd say were good on Windows 8 for now. Definitely no touch screen in the near future.

 

[jr4]

I also just noticed that this machine is going for the same price, any reason I should choose it over the original?

http://www.amazon.com/Acer-AX1920-UR10P-Desktop-Black/dp/B007W1157C/ref=dp_ob_title_ce

 

[david germain]

Damm i did not read the date!