$300 PC for Grandma

[twvandewarker]

Hello, I'm looking to build a computer and I'd like to check here first to make sure that all of my parts are compatible and if anyone has any other suggestions. The computer is for my grandma and will be used primarily for Facebook games and web browsing. My budget is around $250-300, not including an OS or monitor. I'll install an OEM version of Windows 7 and I'm expecting that to be about $100. I'd like to keep it pretty simple to use, and I'm not worried about high performance at all; anything will be a huge upgrade from the Windows 98 she's using now... I'll probably use Newegg for almost everything, unless I can find cheaper elsewhere. Thank you in advance for any advice!

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

Rosewill RFA-120-K 120mm Case Fan
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835200048

LOGISYS Computer PS480E12 480W ATX12V Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817170018

ASRock H61M-DGS LGA 1155 Intel H61 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157315

Intel Celeron G530 Sandy Bridge 2.4GHz LGA 1155 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics BX80623G530
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116409

Team Elite 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Desktop Memory Model TED34096M1333C9DC
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820313102

Western Digital Caviar Blue WD3200AAKX 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136770

SONY Black 18X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA DVD-ROM Drive Model DDU1681S-0B - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118031

 

[COLGeek]

This will be a solid build from Granny as long as she isn't a gamer! Good job.

 

[TheBigTroll]

or this
http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=60491&vpn=NEO-ECO450C&manufacture=Antec&promoid=1088

 

[TheBigTroll]

id get this psu instead just to be safe
http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=63238&vpn=P1450SX2B9&manufacture=XFX

theres this one but its not on sale for 29.99 after MIR
http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=63238&vpn=P1450SX2B9&manufacture=XFX

 

[guerrero]

Celeron G530 $50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116409

Asrock H61M DGS (I have this) $45
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157315

G.Skill 4GB $20
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231253

Corsair 430w PSU (maybe too much power for this machine ) $47
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139026

NZXT Case $50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146083

60GB SSD $50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227811

Total is under $270 So you can get a different SSD maybe

$240 after reabtes

 

[dingo07]

Have you read this...?
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/nettop-performance-review,3211.html

 

[quilciri]

If you really want to build one yourself, go for it. Otherwise, might I suggest a laptop instead?

Asus book w/A6-3420M, 4gb RAM, 320 gb HDD - $350
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834230457

The 3420m is a slightly stronger CPU than the 530, as well as being quad core. The GPU portion is much stronger than the HD 2000 (or even 3000) on the intel board.

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_lookup.php?cpu=AMD+A6-3420M+APU

I realize you grandmother may not be a hardcore gamer, but the laptop will play 1080p video effortlessly.

Ntm, this'll also save you the cost of an OS, monitor, etc; it uses less power; takes up less space, blah blah blah.

Cheers!

 

[deadlockedworld]

You should really just buy her an ipad. She will understand and enjoy it more.

Seriously.

 

[TheBigTroll]

lol. now we supporting apple? the most illegal thing on this site :O

 

[dingo07]

You should really just buy her an ipad. She will understand and enjoy it more.

Seriously.

I don't suggest that, unless grandma has great eyesight and can read small print.

 

[TheBigTroll]

Retina display should fix that

 

[dingo07]

Retina display should fix that

No it doesn't! 10 point text is 10 point text, the only thing the retina display helps with is the resolution (clarity) of that 10 point text. You would still have to zoom the page to be able to read it, and there's no point in that when it would take 4-5 swipes to read a sentence. IF the vision isn't good

 

[obsama1]

"The computer is for my grandma and will be used primarily for Facebook games and web browsing."

IDK about you, but web browsing on a tablet isn't joyous. The iPad will also run all those Facebook games with the installed Adobe Flash. [/sarcasm]

A tablet can never replace a PC. It just complements it. But I digress.

How about an A4 for this build? She won't be playing games, but the GPU acceleration is nice to have.

 

[spat55]

Excellent build, if i were you though I would change the PSU to a better brand like corsair or xfx, never heard of that brand before, like the others have said what about a laptop? You can buy them for less than a desktop these days.

 

[twvandewarker]

These are all great suggestions; thank you all for the input. I've thought about a laptop or even a store pc, but this would be my first real build from scratch, although I've taken apart and upgraded several computers, so I'd like to build it myself for the experience. And as far as the iPad goes, iPads are great, I'm typing this on mine right now, but I don't think one would fit the target audience..... I definitely will change the PSU now, that was my biggest concern before posting this. Thank you everyone!

 

[deadlockedworld]

I know my tablet idea isnt something thats loved by all of us builders ... but please recognize that by building your grandma a PC you are 100% on the hook for anything that goes wrong with it. You will have to install every piece of software, fix any problem, and will be blamed for any virus etc that she gets. This doesn't win points in the long run.

I don't know how often you visit her, but for this class of user I usually dont recommend a homebuilt. There is too much that can go wrong. (The nettop idea above was a good one too). A less open operating system (less risk) like android or iOS is the much less labor intensive way to let her look at grandkid pictures on facebook and email people. 99% of facebook games are also apps.

Edit: just saw your above post! Sounds good. Good luck have fun!