Basic machine for the rents' office use

[brammers]

Hi all,

The 2003 spec machine I gave my parents a while ago seems to have decided to give up the ghost and it's time to get them something more modern.

They do a little bit of graphics work, but generally it's internet + office use. They're just after the tower. Here's a Scan shopping cart:



Where can I chop this down? I think I can get them a copy of Win 7 Home and Student for £30 which is a good start. I know that 400W for a machine like this is overkill, but I'm not sure of the quality of any of the cheaper ones - any reccomendations?

Would rather have external gfx than onboard - but any suggestions on that mobo? Red doesn't scream budget to me. And finally, it's a Seagate rather than a Samsung because I've had great warranty experience with them in the past.

Appreciate any help!

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I would consider the following the parts:

AMD Athlon II X3 435 ~ £62

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/AMD-A...MHz-95W-Retail

MSI 785GM-E51 ~ £55

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/MSI-7...Board-Graphics

2GB 1333MHZ ~ £54

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/2GB-%...-9-9-9-24-150V

Samsung F1 500GB ~ £36

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/500-G...ache-89-ms-NCQ

[Ulti]

Going for the DFI JR 790GX-M2RS on Scan's Today Only for £50 may also be an option as you can couple it with DDR2 memory at a lower cost without noticeable difference for surfing the net.

Also might wanna look at the Acer Revo series as they're not that bad from what I've heard and are certainly cheap and consume very little power.

[Flewis]

I used this psu in my parents media PC without any issues. Silverstone are a reputable brand and make some fairly solid psu's. Probably not as good as the corsair but you won't need much power in that sort of system.

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/350W-...ATA-80plus-Eff

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I was looking at the DFI motherboard too but I would make sure what BIOS version it has beforehand though.

[brammers]

Those parts are all more expensive Cat - I'm trying to make this cheaper. Have also already stated my preference for Seagate in what's not a performance machine.

Thanks for that suggestion Uti - will have a think.

Anywhere else I can cut corners in my build?

[Ulti]

You could also look at the Akasa 350W. It's out of stock at the moment but when it is in stock it tends to come up on Scan's Today only too for £19.99.

http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviews.php?reviewid=627

Here's a review of it, it doesn't have active PFC though and doesn't have 80+ efficiency either but if your parents aren't gonna be using the pc all that much then it might not be of concern for you.

EDIT: If you go for the motherboard listed by CAT, you can cut out the graphics card altogether as there's little difference between the two.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Those parts are all more expensive Cat - I'm trying to make this cheaper. Have also already stated my preference for Seagate in what's not a performance machine.

Thanks for that suggestion Uti - will have a think.

Anywhere else I can cut corners in my build?

The motherboard has integrated graphics and hence you don't need a separate graphics card. The Athlon II X3 is a better long term purchase than an Athlon II X2 too especially if you intend not to upgrade the computer for many years.

Also running the RAM in single channel leads to a performance drop.

Ebuyer is also cheaper for many parts than Scan. Scan tends to charge high prices for their DDR3 RAM.

For example you get the following parts from Ebuyer:

AMD Athlon II X3 425 ~ £54

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/176042

The same processor is over £60 on Scan.

2GB DDR3 ~ £48

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/132911

This is a dual channel kit and the cheapest dual channel 1333MHZ kit on Scan is £54.

OCZ 400W Stealth XStream PSU ~ £30

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/152505

This is made by CWT and is a bargain for the price!!

[Lourdes]

I would just get a cheap Dell, you can more machine for your cash that way and it's a nicer package from one manufacturer.