Grandparents buying a home PC

[Thresh25]

My grandparents want an easy to use at home pc. They will not be doing any gaming, coding, programming, etc. so they won't need something top of the line. Probably mostly just web browsing, e-mailing, maybe somee shopping online, and some Microsoft word usage.

Newegg.com - ThinkCentre A55(870502U) Pentium dual-core E2140(1.60GHz) 1GB DDR2 160GB Intel GMA 3000 Windows XP Professional - Desktop PCs

Do you guys think this would be pretty sufficient and decently fast? It's a dual core processor, but onl 1.6ghz so I'm not sure if that would be very fast. I'm not very familiar with intel, bit of an AMD fanboy.

I know the hard drive is fast, but an onboard GPU I'm not sure on. I've always had top of the line graphics cards, but seeing as they won't really need that for anything, will that onboard GPU be good for what they need?

Thanks guys

 

[m6qrp]

That comp is ok. Not the best but it should be enough for the normal stuff. The Intel GMA 3100 is not that bad really, equivalent to a GeForce 3 or 4 i think. But i would recommend this:

Newegg.com - COMPAQ Presario SR5518F(FJ379AA) Pentium dual-core E2180(2.00GHz) 2GB DDR2 250GB Intel GMA 3100 Windows Vista Home Premium - Desktop PCs

It has a 2Ghz proc (Intel Dual Core), 2Gb of ram, 250GB HDD, Intel GMA 3100, a DVD burner and it comes with vista home premium. 399.98 + shipping.

 

[Redmo0n]

Yeh both are good, could give AMD some business if you want but m6qrp's pre built is enough for what they would be doing.

 

[Hussein19891]

A Pentium D 3.00ghz with a Geoforce 2MX can handle web surfing.

 

[Ventriac]

With stuff like that, i recommend going to wal-mart and just buying a dell, lol...
Walmart.com: Dell I531s-104W Inspiron Desktop PC with 17" LCD Monitor & Windows XP: Computers

that way if something doesn't work than they can take it back.

I don't know about you, but my grandparents are so computer retarded I can't handle watching them try to do something on the computer.

 

[NightSurge]

That wal-mart listing is a single core slow processor. The best way to get what you need for the lowest price is either build it yourself, or find a trustworthy system builder that won't rob you for a basic computer. If they need the full package, monitor, keyboard, and mouse included, I could easily build something around the $500 range that would include a 17" or 19" monitor and absolutely outperform that Wal-Mart Dell PC in every single way.

 

[Thresh25]

Hmm thanks for the input guys. The most they'd want to spend I'd assume would be about 500 dollars. If you like to do that kind of stuff and you're willing to, than you can tell me part for part what to get or whatever.

 

[Puddle Jumper]

If your willing to build it yourself this system comes to $410.

Newegg.com - LITE-ON Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 20X DVD±R DVD Burner - CD / DVD Burners

Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Elite 330 RC-330-KKN1-GP Black SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases

Newegg.com - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3160815AS 160GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - Internal Hard Drives

Newegg.com - Foxconn A7GM-S AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - AMD Motherboards

Newegg.com - Antec earthwatts EA380 380W ATX12V v2.0 Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, CUL, FCC, TUV, CE, CB, C-tick, CCC - Power Supplies

Newegg.com - OCZ ATI CrossFire 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory

Newegg.com - AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ Brisbane 2.3GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops

Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic SP1 32-bit English 1pk for System Builders DSP OEI DVD - Operating Systems

Newegg.com - Rosewill RCX-Z80-AL 80mm Sleeve CPU Cooler - CPU Fans & Heatsinks

If they need a monitor, Keyboard and mouse it will add $172 to the price. You can always get a 17 inch monitor to save money.

Newegg.com - Hanns·G HB-191DPB Black 19" 5ms DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 2400:1(DCR) Built in Speakers - LCD Monitors

Newegg.com - Logitech 967738-0403 Black 104 Normal Keys USB Standard Deluxe 250 Keyboard - Keyboards

Newegg.com - Logitech SBF-90 Black 3 Buttons 1 x Wheel PS/2 Wired Optical Mouse - Mouse

 

[NightSurge]

I would say the 780G is a bit overkill for the lack of graphics needs they have. Change that to a $50 mobo, get XP Home and save $30 with those changes. Also, with such a basic system, get a case with a power supply included to save even more money. The 400-450W PSU included with many cases would be plenty. Really, the only way you are going to beat some of those deals is if you bought it pre-built from a system builder. For example, to match the parts of what PuddleJumper listed, and use a 4600+ CPU with heatsink, I could make all of that, including monitor keyboard and mouse, for under $500. It's a hit and miss situation, though, because sometimes depending on the state there are sales taxes, and sometimes shipping charges on can get high if you live far away. If you really want something simple and easy, I would recommend you go with that Compaq PC someone listed.