PC for parents. $400-$500?

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Maybe so Sapper, but I'd actually like to pay more around $500. My parents bought a fast PC in it's time, but it's 8 years old now. I want their new PC to last another 3-5 years. I really want them to have the PC they deserve, and it needs to be as future compatible as possible for my $500 price range. I could go above $500 but I need to stay as low as possible...

I'm not gonna move from the Hard Drive I picked unless you can show me a better 700GB+ HDD that's the around same price or cheaper (with better specs).

As for the gfx card, I want to buy one with a hdtv port.
Is Radeon all that good? I've only had experience with Nvidia. Also, I realize the 8600 I picked only has 256mg ddr3.
Would 512mb be much more noticeable?
 
Maybe so Sapper, but I'd actually like to pay more around $500. My parents bought a fast PC in it's time, but it's 8 years old now. I want their new PC to last another 3-5 years. I really want them to have the PC they deserve, and it needs to be as future compatible as possible for my $500 price range. I could go above $500 but I need to stay as low as possible...

I'm not gonna move from the Hard Drive I picked unless you can show me a better 700GB+ HDD that's the around same price or cheaper (with better specs).

As for the gfx card, I want to buy one with a hdtv port.
Is Radeon all that good? I've only had experience with Nvidia. Also, I realize the 8600 I picked only has 256mg ddr3.
Would 512mb be much more noticeable?

It would be noticeable in new gen games, but if it's for your parents, then I doubt it. If you wanna spend more, keep the same I recommended before, but change the CPU to this:

Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Duo E7300 Wolfdale 2.66GHz 3MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Dual-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops

Better graphics card with HDTV Out:

Newegg.com - SAPPHIRE 100252L Radeon HD 4550 512MB 64-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Low Profile Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

Hard Drive:
Newegg.com - Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3750330AS 750GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - Internal Hard Drives

Should bring you around 500.
 
The quad won't be utilised and will be slower then a E7300 in the standard desktop environment and programs

Really? If that's true then I guess it would be better to go with the e7300. I want their PC to be as fast as possible for under $700 (600-700 is what they said they'd actually like to pay).

Edit: What about the e8400? 3.0ghz is a good bit faster. Also, the L2 cache is much larger, but will that be noticeable in a non-gaming PC? I would think so, seeing as it would be able to execute programs faster...
 
yeah the E8400 is a goodun and the E8500 use to be available for $10 more which may be worth it if your not overclocking it.

Yeah, my parents won't need overclocking so I doubt I will.

Also, this 9600gt is only $10 more than that Radeon and the specs are all a bit higher. I know some of you disagreed and said it'd be overkill, but I'd rather have a bit too much power in the future than too little. Know what I mean?
'Specially considering my parents are heading towards graphic design and web building.
Would the PSU still be able to handle this card?
 
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