Building my parents a new computer (CPU suggestions needed!!)

[Matthew Nasser]

Hey everyone! I am here today looking for some advice on the component picking for building my parents a new computer. They pretty much use it for E-Mail, social medial, internet browsing, and some word processing. Very light users, mostly just internet stuff they do.

So the biggest thing that I don't know is what processor will be good for this. I don't want to cheap them out or anything too, because they will probably want to get years and years of use out of it. I'm thinking AMD to keep it cheaper and more band for the buck. That brings me to my next problem, to get a graphics card or not. Obviously they are not pushing graphics at all, but I just don't know if it is necessary or not. If you think it is, please suggest a processor and graphics card combo that would be good for them. They'y only be running a 1080p monitor.

Once I know these 2 things, I should be able to put together the rest of the parts my self based on my preferences, but if you would like to put together a whole build for me too, that would be awesome! Very cheap budget, I'd say about $350 (plus/minus $50 is fine too) for the whole build! This build does not need any mouse, keyboard, and monitor, already have those.

Anything helps! Thank you for your time! If you need any more information, please just ask!

 

[mcnumpty23]

no they wont need a graphics card--the integrated graphics in modern cpus will be plenty for what they do

 

[random stalker]

1, no need for a graphic card - integrated is enough.
2, light work favors single-thread, so a 2 core pentium or 2+2 core i3 should be enough. heck, even a atom is enough though it may be a pita if browsing heavily scripted pages (like fb)
also, to stop them from complaining, that the pc is noisy as fuck, a streacom case (to cool the cpu passively), ssd, and a passively cooled psu is a must 😀
or, how about a gigabyte brix as a decent barebone system?

 

[DonkeyOatie]

For very light use with unknown minor needs, an APU seems like the right solution.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD A8-7600 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($88.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock FM2A88M PRO3+ Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($46.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($32.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.45 @ OutletPC)
Case: Azza SIRIUS ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec Basiq 350W ATX Power Supply ($20.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($13.98 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($87.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $370.31
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-05-10 13:40 EDT-0400

Could cut it back a little more, but there are some areas I just don't like to cut back too far. This is a start though.

Better computing, worse graphics.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($103.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B85M-HD3 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($54.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.45 @ OutletPC)
Case: Azza SIRIUS ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec Basiq 350W ATX Power Supply ($20.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($13.98 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($87.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $390.36
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-05-10 13:44 EDT-0400

Closer to your budget with a little lower compute and graphics power.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($64.88 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B85M-HD3 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($54.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.45 @ OutletPC)
Case: Azza SIRIUS ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec Basiq 350W ATX Power Supply ($20.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($13.98 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($87.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $351.25
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-05-10 13:45 EDT-0400

 

[random stalker]

a little note on the side: dunno if it really needs the $80 windows...
a linux distro such as ubuntu or lubuntu f.e. gets the job perfectly done, and a person who just browses the net and writes some mails and a document from time to time won't feel the difference 😀

 

[DonkeyOatie]

That's true if the OP can handle the support and training.

 

[Maxor1]

I strongly suggest an amd AM1 unit for them.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/bFt4kL

I'd add a 3 year warranty from Microcenter on the cooler-master power supply and case combo. Its pretty much no questions asked replacement and will only add $5 the power supply is honestly over kill for the system so should be fine anyway but nice to have.

The sound system is just there as a nice touch having good sound is nice. Also added a motherboard with hdmi so they can use it as a media center if they want. The apu onboard graphics are fine for whatver they want to do +DVD and Blue Ray at 1080.

Total with an OS is going to be around $250.

http://www.reddit.com/r/microsoftsoftwareswap/comments/2xjnsa/h_windows_7_8_81_servers_office_visio_project/ OS link

 

[USAFRet]

Another path to consider for that use:
Any $300-$350 box from BestBuy or Walmart. Which includes the OS.

 

[random stalker]

or a small toy like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856164010
or this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.2310580

 

[g-unit1111]

or a small toy like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856164010
or this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.2310580

Yeah I agree with this - a mini barebones PC would probably be all they need, if you attempt to build a PC you would probably wind up spending way more than the intended $350 - $400 budget when you factor in the OS, monitor, keyboard and mouse.

 

[DonkeyOatie]

Or even an older refurbished unit.

 

[USAFRet]

I built my wife's PC for almost that exact same use case.
I built it because:
1. I was buying parts for 2 other PC's at the same time
2. Reuse of old parts (HDD, monitors)
3. I already had an OS for it
4. I can be the on-site tech support

Pentium G840(?), 4GB RAM, 250GB drive.
If I hadn't had 1-4 above, it would have been just a random box from BestBuy. No performance difference.

Building your own is not always the best choice. Sometimes you just want it simple.

 

[random stalker]

exactly! also it's good to look for reference/showcase samples. you get great price and often many useful features one usually doesn't have access to, especially for the price (i'm talking about faster drives, larger ram, mobile nvidia gpus, intel -r series cpus). if there was a con, game tournament or a showcase nearby, ask around and you may get lucky...