Need computer comparison help

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sorry for the link fail.

Specs for the second link

Operating system Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bitedit

Processor AMD Athlon(TM) X4 640 quad-core processor [3.0GHz, 2MB L2, up to 4000MHz bus]edit

Memory FREE UPGRADE! 4GB DDR3-1333MHz SDRAM [2 DIMMs] from 3GBedit

Hard drive FREE UPGRADE! 750GB 7200 rpm SATA 3Gb/s hard drive from 500GBedit

Graphics card512MB DDR3 AMD Radeon HD 6450 [DVI, HDMI. VGA adapter]edit

Primary optical drive LightScribe 16X max. DVD+/-R/RW SuperMulti driveedit

Networking Integrated Ethernet port, No wireless LANedit

Sound CardIntegrated soundedit
 
go with the lenovo.

and most people don't consider building it themselves that's why brinks asked, and you can get a much better system than those for under their prices if you built it yourself.
 
You have selected two good machines. Of the two, I would go with the HP. It has a slighlty slow CPU and less memory, but faster intergrated graphics.

However, to make a good selection or offer alternatives, we need to know if your mother uses any applications beyond the simple tasks like surfing, emails, MS Office, and watching video. You could actually get a less expensive computer that would do all of those well, are there any applications that might warrant special features?

Building your own is an option which I can heartily recommend too, but dont expect to save very much - if at all - on the innitial build in this price range. For low end systems, store bought usually cost less than build your own. However with build you own, you have the pleasure and satisfaction of building it, the increased knowledge and confidence that makes troubleshooting and upgrading easier, and can avoid the bloatware found on purchases systems. You can also avoid having an under-powered PSU that severly limits later upgrades, especially of the video card. And while you might not save much on the first build, you could save substantially the second time around when you just upgrade mobo, memory, and CPU rather than purchasing a new system. On the downside of building, it will take a fair amount of time to select, order, inspect, build, and test the system. And if your mother has problems, she won't have a manufacturer to call for help in troubleshooting - but will call you.
 
Across the board you can build a faster and less expensive PC by building it yourself. The only time I would buy a prebuilt is if you were looking to get a bundle with a printer and monitor included. That's where you can save a bit of money over building it yourself, for instance you can build a computer with the same specs as the lenovo for $450 and I bet most of the components are better quality.

Integrated graphics are pretty much a throw away category when looking at a lower end setup purely because 'faster' integrated graphics is such a oxymoron that for the same price the extra 2gb of ram will be used far more often than the upgrade in graphics.
 
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