$500 Mom Computer

[Jakevalerio]

Hey gents,

I am building a computer for my mum,

I have an OS (windows 8), and monitor so those are not needed.

So the budget is ~$500 I want a computer that is fast at booting and able to open programs quick. Her old computer is 10 years old and has 150gb on it, shes only filled half of it so thinking about SSD's. However I don't want to complicate things with having two storage devices because she is computer illiterate for lack of better words.

I would hate to fill up the SSD and have to purchase her another storage drive and go through always saving to the secondary drive which she would have no idea how to do.

This rig would have to be able to use MS Office, watch youtube videos in FullHD, and LIGHT gaming like Sims 2 & 3.

SO this is by no means a gaming rig.

let me know any ideas thanks!!

 

[AMD Radeon]

are u in US/canada?

 

[AMD Radeon]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-3220 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor ($114.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock H77M Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($52.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Samsung 830 Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($39.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $472.94
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-17 22:46 EDT-0400)

 

[Proximon]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD A8-3870K 3.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($88.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock A75M Micro ATX FM1 Motherboard ($74.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($52.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial M4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($115.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Rosewill Line-M MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec EarthWatts Green 380W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($49.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB DVD/CD Writer ($15.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $453.91
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-17 22:51 EDT-0400)

 

[Jakevalerio]

Should I go AMD or Intel that is the question.

 

[Proximon]

AMD Radeon has given you a build with a stronger processor and a bit less gaming power. It's a nice build for the price, but does still lack an optical drive... small detail.

My build will be a bit stronger in games but have a bit less processing power. I don't think you need the CPU power for Office, as I have seen it run fine on a lesser APU.

Still, just a matter of priorities.

 

[bodeen2012]

for your budget i would go amd
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Krjg
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Krjg/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Krjg/benchmarks/

CPU: AMD A10-5800K 3.8GHz Quad-Core Processor ($119.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: ASRock FM2A75 Pro4-M Micro ATX FM2 Motherboard ($73.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($137.63 @ Amazon)
Case: MSI TC- (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($19.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 300W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($43.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($15.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $476.54
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-17 23:06 EDT-0400)

 

[Jakevalerio]

[PCPartPicker part list](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Krl3) / [Price breakdown by merchant](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Krl3/by_merchant/) / [Benchmarks](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Krl3/benchmarks/)

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [AMD Athlon II X4 640 3.0GHz Quad-Core Processor](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/amd-cpu-adx640wfgmbox) | $69.99 @ Amazon
**Motherboard** | [ASRock 970 Extreme3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asrock-motherboard-970extreme3) | $84.99 @ Amazon
**Memory** | [Corsair XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-memory-cmx8gx3m2b1600c9) | $52.99 @ NCIX US
**Storage** | [Samsung 840 Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/samsung-internal-hard-drive-mz7td250bw) | $169.99 @ NCIX US
**Wireless Network Adapter** | [Rosewill RNX-N250PCe 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/rosewill-wireless-network-card-rnxn250pce) | $17.99 @ Amazon
**Power Supply** | [Rosewill Capstone 450W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/rosewill-power-supply-capstone450) | $59.99 @ Amazon
**Optical Drive** | [Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-optical-drive-drw24b1stblkbas) | $19.96 @ Amazon
| | **Total**
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available. | $475.90
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-17 23:12 EDT-0400 |

What do you guys think about this?

 

[bodeen2012]

[PCPartPicker part list](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Krl3) / [Price breakdown by merchant](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Krl3/by_merchant/) / [Benchmarks](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Krl3/benchmarks/)

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [AMD Athlon II X4 640 3.0GHz Quad-Core Processor](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/amd-cpu-adx640wfgmbox) | $69.99 @ Amazon
**Motherboard** | [ASRock 970 Extreme3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asrock-motherboard-970extreme3) | $84.99 @ Amazon
**Memory** | [Corsair XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-memory-cmx8gx3m2b1600c9) | $52.99 @ NCIX US
**Storage** | [Samsung 840 Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/samsung-internal-hard-drive-mz7td250bw) | $169.99 @ NCIX US
**Wireless Network Adapter** | [Rosewill RNX-N250PCe 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/rosewill-wireless-network-card-rnxn250pce) | $17.99 @ Amazon
**Power Supply** | [Rosewill Capstone 450W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/rosewill-power-supply-capstone450) | $59.99 @ Amazon
**Optical Drive** | [Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-optical-drive-drw24b1stblkbas) | $19.96 @ Amazon
| | **Total**
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available. | $475.90
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-17 23:12 EDT-0400 |

What do you guys think about this?

has no onboard video. you would need a video card to be able to connect to a monitor . also no case

 

[Proximon]

You need a wireless adapter too?

The build as listed does not include a GPU.

 

[djangoringo]

I would suggest this : http://pcpartpicker.com/p/KrAB

Get the case in ncix us, the dvd drive in newegg.

 

[Proximon]

That's probably the best of them all right there

 

[avacadobread]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD A8-3870K 3.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($88.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock A75M Micro ATX FM1 Motherboard ($74.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($52.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial M4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($115.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Rosewill Line-M MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec EarthWatts Green 380W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($49.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB DVD/CD Writer ($15.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $453.91
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-17 22:51 EDT-0400)

This looks like a winner to me, except I would choose the 256GB Samsung 830. The AMD CPU has advantage here because of price and the builds lack of super performance. The extra cores will help with most things that "computer illiterate" moms tend to do. Like too many things open at once.

Also should note that perhaps the best thing for this build is a good antivirus, a free one at that. AVAST and Common Sense work well.


It's a mom thing to get consistent crap on their computer.