Hello. I'm building a computer for my mother after her Mac mini died. It's only my second build so I'd appreciate any advice. Thanks in advance!
System Usage: 50-tab internet browsing, 1080p streaming, the odd casual game (like iterations of Bejeweled), Bluetooth Apple mouse/keyboard, emails, office documents. Don't know if I should mention that she'll occasionally do something outside the predictable range of activities (e.g. she tried editing photos but probably won't try again since it didn't work out well). (*Edit in case this was ambiguous: "1080p streaming" is just watching not content creation.)
Budget: Not fixed, but as low as possible whilst retaining reasonable build quality. For reference, my current attempt is about £350. A replacement Mac mini would be £679 so it should at least be significantly less than that.
OS: I actually want to try and see if Linux will work for her. Otherwise Windows 10. I assume this doesn't actually affect the parts chosen though.
Monitor: Already have one. 1080p. HDMI.
Parts Preferences / Additional Comments:
- Case must have dust filters all over and shouldn't be too big. A MicroATX case or smaller.
- She is used to Apple's smooth Bluetooth mouse/keyboard usage and hopes to not have connection issues. From what I understand, it's better to get a motherboard that has Bluetooth integrated? I've not been too impressed by USB Bluetooth.
- I read that Intel integrated graphics isn't what it used to be, and should be able to handle everything mentioned above. Please do tell me if I actually need a GPU. (I'm leaving space for a GPU regardless, just in case she decides to do something random that requires it.)
- Noticed some H110 motherboards require BIOS updates with a Skylake processor to post. So I'll be sticking to B250/H270/Z270 to be safe.
- Will be using the SSD salvaged from Mac mini. If anything goes wrong with it, I will replace it with a M.2 SSD, so I aim to keep the M.2 slot open.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: Intel - Pentium G4560 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor (£73.48 @ BT Shop)
Motherboard: Gigabyte - GA-B250N-Phoenix WIFI Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard (£87.48 @ Aria PC)
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory (£70.74 @ Aria PC)
Storage: Toshiba 256GB 2.5" SSD THNSNC256GBSJ (salvaged from Mac mini)
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£37.20 @ Aria PC)
Case: Fractal Design - Core 1100 MicroATX Mini Tower Case (£29.97 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: Corsair - CXM (2015) 450W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (£46.98 @ Box Limited)
Optical Drive: LG - GH24NSD1 DVD/CD Writer (£13.89 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £359.74
If I stick with this case, I'll also pick up a 120mm dust filter for the side panel and some SATA cables.
Thanks a lot!
System Usage: 50-tab internet browsing, 1080p streaming, the odd casual game (like iterations of Bejeweled), Bluetooth Apple mouse/keyboard, emails, office documents. Don't know if I should mention that she'll occasionally do something outside the predictable range of activities (e.g. she tried editing photos but probably won't try again since it didn't work out well). (*Edit in case this was ambiguous: "1080p streaming" is just watching not content creation.)
Budget: Not fixed, but as low as possible whilst retaining reasonable build quality. For reference, my current attempt is about £350. A replacement Mac mini would be £679 so it should at least be significantly less than that.
OS: I actually want to try and see if Linux will work for her. Otherwise Windows 10. I assume this doesn't actually affect the parts chosen though.
Monitor: Already have one. 1080p. HDMI.
Parts Preferences / Additional Comments:
- Case must have dust filters all over and shouldn't be too big. A MicroATX case or smaller.
- She is used to Apple's smooth Bluetooth mouse/keyboard usage and hopes to not have connection issues. From what I understand, it's better to get a motherboard that has Bluetooth integrated? I've not been too impressed by USB Bluetooth.
- I read that Intel integrated graphics isn't what it used to be, and should be able to handle everything mentioned above. Please do tell me if I actually need a GPU. (I'm leaving space for a GPU regardless, just in case she decides to do something random that requires it.)
- Noticed some H110 motherboards require BIOS updates with a Skylake processor to post. So I'll be sticking to B250/H270/Z270 to be safe.
- Will be using the SSD salvaged from Mac mini. If anything goes wrong with it, I will replace it with a M.2 SSD, so I aim to keep the M.2 slot open.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: Intel - Pentium G4560 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor (£73.48 @ BT Shop)
Motherboard: Gigabyte - GA-B250N-Phoenix WIFI Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard (£87.48 @ Aria PC)
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory (£70.74 @ Aria PC)
Storage: Toshiba 256GB 2.5" SSD THNSNC256GBSJ (salvaged from Mac mini)
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£37.20 @ Aria PC)
Case: Fractal Design - Core 1100 MicroATX Mini Tower Case (£29.97 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: Corsair - CXM (2015) 450W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (£46.98 @ Box Limited)
Optical Drive: LG - GH24NSD1 DVD/CD Writer (£13.89 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £359.74
If I stick with this case, I'll also pick up a 120mm dust filter for the side panel and some SATA cables.
Thanks a lot!
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram