Basic PC build

[Sisky]

Hey guys

Hey I'm looking to build a PC for my mother as her old one has finally caked it. I have very little experience with low end PC parts so am quite clueless.

She basically only uses it for the internet, emails and maybe word processing so nothing flash at all is needed. From her old one the only thing I could probably recycle is the CD/DVD drive.

Could someone please suggest a sample build. Price doesn't really matter here but no point in being wasteful.

Cheers

[fixx]

Get a $300 15" laptop. Don't bother building anything on your own because price of Windows license and monitor will push the price far above premades.

Or you could do the same I did when I was in exactly same situation three months ago. I bought used office HP desktop from local online auction site for 120€ and simply threw in the boot drive from her old computer. It wasn't even old junk but i3-2100 hat was phased out immediately when warranty expired.

[Sisky]

Sorry I wasn't very clear in OP. Windows licence and all peripherals can be excluded from the build list.

[Deleted]

This should be more than enough for the price:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4160 3.6GHz Dual-Core Processor ($108.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B85M-DS3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($41.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($42.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Corsair Force LS 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1100 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($38.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Antec EarthWatts Green 380W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($37.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $325.88
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-15 04:47 EDT-0400

[fixx]

This should be more than enough for the price:

Still way more than this. Building a desktop for light net surfing is far beyond economical nowadays.

[Deleted]

Well i dunno but i find 2gb being inefficient for anything atm as well as the 32gb ssd. You got o/s and a few chrome tabs and suddenly you starting to max out. Also his mother will probably want to keep this for like 5years, another reason not to go min extremes.

[fixx]

Well i dunno but i find 2gb being inefficient for anything atm as well as the 32gb ssd. You got o/s and a few chrome tabs and suddenly you starting to max out. Also his mother will probably want to keep this for like 5years, another reason not to go min extremes.

Remember, it's for net surfing. Windows 8 works totally fine with 2GB RAM, especially if you don't use Chrome but some browser that is sane with memory usage.

[Kagthul]

Honestly, a ChomeOS machine would do just fine. The LG Chromebase is a very affordable and powerful All-in-One. We have three we use for tournament signups and logistics, they worl great, and they have an HDMI in, somthey can be used as a monitor for a second device as well (or as a small TV).

[fixx]

Honestly, a ChomeOS machine would do just fine.

Wouldn't get a ChromeOS device for parents' web surfing because it wont work properly with DRM'ed streaming video services. Even those that are free. Not being able to run Silverlight is a dealbreaker.

[Deleted]

buy a £60 tablet

[TheValkyrie]

2GB of RAM will definitely be inefficient. You'll find one day that she complains the computer is running slow only to find she has a million tabs open and random background programs. It's better to be safe than sorry, and it's not like it costs a fortune.

[Kagthul]

Wouldn't get a ChromeOS device for parents' web surfing because it wont work properly with DRM'ed streaming video services. Even those that are free. Not being able to run Silverlight is a dealbreaker.

Funny, there's a native app for Netflix, Hulu runs fine, and i have no problem accessing HBO, TNT, or any other streaming service i can get because of my cable. Ill try Amazon's streaming thing when i go visit my grandfather tonight, have him log in with his credentials.

They all work fine on my Chromebook.

I fail to see how the inability to run a platform that is dying and hasn't been updated in almost 3 years is somehow a dealbreaker.

[Lathais]

Wouldn't get a ChromeOS device for parents' web surfing because it wont work properly with DRM'ed streaming video services. Even those that are free. Not being able to run Silverlight is a dealbreaker.

Wait, what streaming service doesn't work on Chromebook? I am not aware of one.

[Kagthul]

Just to add to that, had my grandpa sign in to my Chromebook with his Amazon Prime credentials and we streamed episodes of TV to his HDTV (through the HDMI out) no problem.

So, yeah, not sure what major streaming service ChromeOS has issues with.

[fixx]

Just to add to that, had my grandpa sign in to my Chromebook with his Amazon Prime credentials and we streamed episodes of TV to his HDTV (through the HDMI out) no problem.

So, yeah, not sure what major streaming service ChromeOS has issues with.

Not talking about major streamers like Netflix or Amazon with their own plugins. Talking about local TV channels here in EU that use heavy DRM with Flash and/or Silverlight for country exclusive localization (you can thank Hollywood for that shit). Depending on country (which was never mentioned by OP) ChromeOS is not an option.

[Kagthul]

Not talking about major streamers like Netflix or Amazon with their own plugins. Talking about local TV channels here in EU that use heavy DRM with Flash and/or Silverlight for country exclusive localization (you can thank Hollywood for that shit). Depending on country (which was never mentioned by OP) ChromeOS is not an option.

So... a complete edge case that has quite literally nothing to do with what the OP was talking about.

Grandma isn't streaming her local stations. If she's watching them at all, she's watching them on live TV.

[fixx]

Grandma isn't streaming her local stations. If she's watching them at all, she's watching them on live TV.

My grandma is using her Windows PC to watch TV from streams because some of her favourite programs air way too late in the night. She doesn't know what to do when the computer says "you need to update this or that" and calls me to ask if it's ok, but opening the TV channel's website from browser's favourites is easy enough once everything is set up. And we still don't know the country OP lives in.

[theWocky]

I'd change the processor for Intel Pentium G3258 Haswell Dual-Core 3.2GHz

I'd agree with you there. Really nice processor that. Good Value.