PC for Grandfather

Sdot

New Member
My grandfather needs a computer. He is 82 years old and the most intensive thing he uses is internet explorer to check his banking account online. Oh the only other 2 things he uses is skype (to talk to me) and youtube to watch Matlock and Walker Texas Ranger.

Staples was trying to sell him a computer for 400 dollars but I felt like I should come ask you guys first if it would be cheaper and more efficient for me just to build A simple machine. Something good enough and cheap, but not too cheap.
 

johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
Have to remember anything new from the store will have windows 8 on it and may be somewhat difficult for older people to get used to. You may want to just find a bare bones kit and build it for him with windows 7.
 

Sdot

New Member
You are right, he won't know how to deal with windows 8/8.1

I am going to go to newegg and check out the barebones kits now.
Do you have a suggestion John?
 
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johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
Look at tiger direct as well. I would suggest an fm2 build. Cheap and integrated video. You would still need to purchase windows 7 though.
 

Jiniix

Well-Known Member
I would go with AM1 for this build.
AMD Athlon 5350 2.05GHz: $56
ASUS AM1M-A: $42
Kingston Fury/Corsair Vengeance 4GB 1600MHz: $39
Fractal Design Core 1000: $40
Corsair VS350: ~$25
SSD/SSHD 120GB/1TB
 

Sdot

New Member
I would suggest spend slightly more to get A8 quad core which don't need to upgrade for a while.

Not really worried about upgrades, just need a machine for him to use a web browser.

I would go with AM1 for this build.
AMD Athlon 5350 2.05GHz: $56
ASUS AM1M-A: $42
Kingston Fury/Corsair Vengeance 4GB 1600MHz: $39
Fractal Design Core 1000: $40
Corsair VS350: ~$25
SSD/SSHD 120GB/1TB

This does look good minus the SSD/HDD he doesn't need space.

A good case I can recommend is the Fractal Design Core 1000.
It's around $35, comes with a front fan and has good airflow (it's quiet).
Corsair CX430M: $40

He can barely hear even with his hearing aids in so it doesn't really matter that its quiet lol. I do like this case though, nothing too fancy.


This looks decent and cheap, maybe this option is cheaper/better since I won't have to buy a 100 dollar operating system.
 

Havoc

New Member
It is not slow, I have one of these and you can up the ram to 8 gigs.. It is a Dual core.. I have Windows 7 on it and it runs real fast....It just come's down to how much Money you want to spend..
 

acelenny

Member
Alternatively, you could just go on something like ebay and pick up an old xp computer. Perhaps not the best solution but definitely a very simple one.
 

beers

Moderator
Staff member
The AM1 build sounds pretty good although a straight SSD should suit if you don't mind the slight premium on cost.

It is not slow, I have one of these and you can up the ram to 8 gigs.. It is a Dual core.. I have Windows 7 on it and it runs real fast....It just come's down to how much Money you want to spend..

Pentium D is already like 8 years old..
 

Sdot

New Member
The AM1 build sounds pretty good although a straight SSD should suit if you don't mind the slight premium on cost.



Pentium D is already like 8 years old..

I don't think the ssd will be worth the cost, my grandpop just boots up checks his online banking, watches and episode of matlock/walker texas ranger on youtube, calls me on skype and then goes to sleep. An ssd sounds ridiculous to put in a build for him lol.

edit: I am leaning toward an AM1 or AM2 build right now thanks to you guy's suggestions.
 

beers

Moderator
Staff member
Keep in mind that AM2 is more of a legacy socket similar to Pentium D. Were you referring to FM2?
 

Sdot

New Member
If you happen to live near a Microcenter they have a pretty good deal on CPU+Motherboard combos.

There's one for an A6 6400K and motherboard for a combined price of $65 (you might even be able to get another $10 back from MIR):
http://www.microcenter.com/site/products/amd_bundles.aspx

I do live driving distance to a microcenter. Plan on driving there to get my CPU for my rig in the future. Whether it be the haswell refresh or the new ones next year. I forget what they are called. Idk why, but they usually have incredible deals on intels CPUs
 
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