"everyday/family" computer

[lglol]

Hi!
A friend of mine is looking for a new computer for his kids/himself and I'm honestly not sure what to do. Would it be better to just pick up a pre-built one from futureshop/bestbuy or build one?
The things they will use it for are just "everyday things" like: facebook, youtube, school work, watching movies or something and just any other browsing.
He wants something that's "good" and will last quite some time

Budget - up to $900
Resolution - 1680 x 1050 I guess, He may connect it to his television whilst watching movies or something
Games / Settings Desired - No games, but that could change down the road
Any other intensive software or special things you do (Frequent video encoding, 3D modeling, etc)- No
Country - Canada
Parts that can be reused - 0
Do you need an OS? Yes
Do you need peripherals (e.g. monitor, mouse, keyboard, speakers, etc)? No
if the parts could be found on ncix that would be great

Thanks!

[yurano]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($216.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Motherboard: Asus B85M-G Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($82.99 @ NCIX)
Memory: Patriot Intel Extreme Master, Limited Ed 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($55.25 @ Amazon Canada)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($64.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Case: BitFenix Merc Beta (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($47.99 @ NCIX)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($97.99 @ NCIX)
Total: $629.18
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-24 00:41 EDT-0400)

An i3-3220 + B75 build will be ~$100 cheaper.

[Thetruth1400]

There are plenty of computers out there you could buy that will work for family computers, especially ones with such minimum requirements.

Building will usually be cheaper, but if time or skill doesn't permit, there are plenty of affordable, pre built options out there.

[lolcats121]

how about this? I included a video card because you said there may be gaming in the future

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($239.99 @ NCIX)
Motherboard: Asus B85M-G Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($80.42 @ DirectCanada)
Memory: Patriot Intel Extreme Master, Limited Ed 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($55.25 @ Amazon Canada)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Green 1TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ NCIX)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card ($192.00 @ Vuugo)
Case: Antec Eleven Hundred ATX Full Tower Case ($94.99 @ Canada Computers)
Power Supply: Logisys 480W ATX12V Power Supply ($19.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Optical Drive: LG CH12LS28 Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($54.99 @ NCIX)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($97.99 @ NCIX)
Total: $895.61
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-24 01:02 EDT-0400)

[chazus]

how about this? I included a video card because you said there may be gaming in the future

PCPartPicker part list

Unfortunately, there are a lot of bad choices here. This would be considered a 'back to the drawing board' system. Would not recommend.

---------- Post added 2013-06-23 at 10:23 PM ----------

If gaming is not being done now, I would just wait on buying until it is, to get whatever is best/current. No point in getting one now, when the same thing could be had cheaper, or better, later. $900 isn't needed to be hit for a general family use system.

[lolcats121]

Unfortunately, there are a lot of bad choices here. This would be considered a 'back to the drawing board' system. Would not recommend

at least I tried? ill just leave it to people who are smart.

[Deleted]

honestly, if you're just going to use it for general internet browsing, like Facebook, Youtube and Google, or watching a movie, I wouldn't really go for a custom made model. true, it might be cheaper and you have more control, but in the end, if you're not going to game on the machine, any old machine you buy in the store will be adequate. I'd pay more attention to the make and model than the components. some computers are far worse than others.

[Skarsguard]

If your going for a family computer without much gaming I don't really see a need for a 200 dollar CPU. http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=762...anufacture=AMD something like that is about all you need that or a lower end ivy bridge I5 or and I3.

Also like Temperance said is true I mean I would probably just get something prebuilt if they don't know what they are doing and can take it back with a warranty but if they wanted to build one that is fine.