Dad PC advice

[testbreakdown]

Hi all,

I'm planning to build a new PC for my Dad and wondered if buying a solid state hard drive is a good idea. Or would the money be better spent on something else, maybe a faster processor? It'll be largely used for office, email and internet type stuff. Any advice really appreciated :-)

Andy.

[Blaineoliver]

Whats your budget, and is it only for office? If so i would reccomend:

All from scan:
Samsung F1 320GB single platter.
Phenom II x2 550
Amd mobo any of the 7xx range with onboard gfx.
any DVD drive
2x2GB pc 6400 ram
antec 300 case for a nice look, any decent case as its your preference for looks.
Silverpower 400w psu, good company.
You can stick with stock cooler, or an aftermarket if you want it quieter.

If anyone else can better this please do, only a quick tot up.
I would say SSD's are not worth it, if your considering safety and reliability, maybe run a second drive exactly the same size, doing shadow copies?

[Blackmage]

An SSD wouldn't be far from necessary to tell you the truth. The cost of one is too high to be used in an office PC. What's your budget?

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Hi all,

I'm planning to build a new PC for my Dad and wondered if buying a solid state hard drive is a good idea. Or would the money be better spent on something else, maybe a faster processor? It'll be largely used for office, email and internet type stuff. Any advice really appreciated :-)

Andy.

SSD in an office PC!!!! It is a tad OTT TBH and a normal hard disk will do the job fine.

This is what I would go for:

AMD Athlon II X2 245 ~ £49

http://www.scan.co.uk/TodayOnly/Index.aspx

Asus M3N78-VM Nvidia 8200 motherboard ~ £45

http://www.scan.co.uk/TodayOnly/Index.aspx

OR

Asus M3A76-CM 760G motherboard ~ £45

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Asus-...Board-VGA-HDCP

The 8200 based motherboard has more useful connections on the backplate IMHO.

4gb PC2-8500 DDR2 RAM ~ £34

http://www.scan.co.uk/TodayOnly/Index.aspx

500 GB Western Digital WD5000AAKS ~ £38

http://www.scan.co.uk/TodayOnly/Index.aspx

Coolermaster Elite 340 MicroATX Case with Coolermaster 460W PSU ~ £50

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Coole...60W-PSU-Fitted

Sony Lightscribe DVD writer ~ £17

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Sony-...ightscribe-OEM

The total comes to around £274 including postage. You will also need to add one or two 120mm fans for cooling. This PC should be more than powerful enough for office work and internet.

The Today Only offers during the weekend only last until 12 noon on Monday. If you have 20+ posts on Hexus you get free next day postage for orders over £20 excluding VAT on Scan.

[testbreakdown]

Thanks for the recommendations!

Are SSD's not reliable yet then? I don't mind spending a bit more to get one if it's actually going to make a difference. Thinking around £500-£600 budget overall.

[Blackmage]

Thanks for the recommendations!

Are SSD's not reliable yet then? I don't mind spending a bit more to get one if it's actually going to make a difference. Thinking around £500-£600 budget overall.

It's not that their unreliable, it just they're so expensive. Does it have to include monitor?

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Thanks for the recommendations!

Are SSD's not reliable yet then? I don't mind spending a bit more to get one if it's actually going to make a difference. Thinking around £500-£600 budget overall.

For high end work and high end gaming SSDs do make a difference but not for the purposes of the PC you assembling - it would be a colossal waste of money!

The spec I have suggested will do the job under Vista or Windows 7 fine and you will need to add another £50 to £100 to the budget for an OS.

If you do not mind running Windows 7 RC1 for a few months then you can get Windows 7 Home Premium for only £50 on pre-order:

http://www.ebuyer.com/special/1645?ref=dotd&hp_deal=10

I would put the rest of the money towards a nice 22" screen such as the following:

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/22-De...680x1050-10001

It has an E-IPS panel meaning deeper blacks and good viewing angles unlike the cheaper TN type panels.

Also get a decent keyboard and mouse too.

[testbreakdown]

Yep, that budget was for monitor and software if possible.

OK, reckon I'll drop the SSD then thanks.

Is it worth getting a lower-spec motherboard plus a cheap graphics card, rather than on-board graphics do you think? That monitor looks really nice :-)

[WhiteGiant]

Cheap as chips, I recently gave my dad his first proper computer (my old Athlon 3200/2gb/80gb IDE) - he'd been attempting to use an Win ME machine his missus bought from PC world 7 years ago (against my advice), wouldn't even recognise a USB device despite having 4 ports on the front!

He's learnt how to use Gmail & Google. Poor sod thinks that Google is the 'internet'. At 65, if I can learn how to navigate the equivalent of the internet I'll be happy. Go dad!

He thinks it is the best thing since sliced bread. Using my very old 7800gs, it can render any page lightning fast, and he can multi-task without an issue.

[testbreakdown]

Excellent, I'm hoping for a similar story :-) Hats off to all the Dads out there who like to give it a go.

[Blackmage]

Yep, that budget was for monitor and software if possible.

OK, reckon I'll drop the SSD then thanks.

Is it worth getting a lower-spec motherboard plus a cheap graphics card, rather than on-board graphics do you think? That monitor looks really nice :-)

AMD Onboard solutions are very good, can do most things their basic standalone cards can.

[jim]

If you do not mind running Windows 7 RC1 for a few months then you can get Windows 7 Home Premium for only £50 on pre-order:

http://www.ebuyer.com/special/1645?ref=dotd&hp_deal=10

Or £45 from Dixons: http://www.dixons.co.uk/martprd/prod...nt=hp-top-win7

[Will404]

Cheap as chips, I recently gave my dad his first proper computer (my old Athlon 3200/2gb/80gb IDE) - he'd been attempting to use an Win ME machine his missus bought from PC world 7 years ago (against my advice), wouldn't even recognise a USB device despite having 4 ports on the front!

He's learnt how to use Gmail & Google. Poor sod thinks that Google is the 'internet'. At 65, if I can learn how to navigate the equivalent of the internet I'll be happy. Go dad!

He thinks it is the best thing since sliced bread. Using my very old 7800gs, it can render any page lightning fast, and he can multi-task without an issue.

Lol, your dad sounds much like mine. The other day he called me down because the internet was broken on my brother's user - the home page was not google, and he did not know how to use it.

[testbreakdown]

AMD Onboard solutions are very good, can do most things their basic standalone cards can.

Fair enough, I just thought the difference in price wouldn't be that much. That ASUS board recommended by CAT-THE-FIFTH looks like very good value though.

[Thorsson]

At 65, if I can learn how to navigate the equivalent of the internet I'll be happy. Go dad!

I resemble that remark. I'm a Dad, and not that far from 65. And you know what, there were computers being used in business even before I went to Uni (OK they were the size of a planet and looked after by men in white coats, but...) to do a degree in Maths & Computer Science.

OK so some older people might have had their heads in the sand over the last 20 years, or are scared of technology, but there are also 80 year olds doing all sorts of things with their computers. Reaching 60 doesn't make you brain dead - some people were like that all along.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Fair enough, I just thought the difference in price wouldn't be that much. That ASUS board recommended by CAT-THE-FIFTH looks like very good value though.

For the price I would go for the Asus M3N78-VM which has the Nvidia 8200 series chipset over the Asus M3A76-CM which has the AMD 760G chipset. The 8200 has better video acceleration features over the 760G.

Asus M3N78-VM

http://usa.asus.com/products.aspx?l1...68&modelmenu=1



Asus M3A76-CM

http://usa.asus.com/products.aspx?l1...65&modelmenu=1