Hey everyone, I'm new to posting here, but I've been using Tom's as a fantastic place for information for half a year now.
I'm working to become a software engineer and recently got into building PC's and working with electronics. I built my own gaming desktop and because of that my girlfriend recruited me to build a PC for her stepmom. Her stepmom is going to college and will also be using it for home-related work like bills, documents, storing media, watching movies/videos, surfing the web, and listening to music. I'm sure that any cheap, retail rig would be great for all of that. She insists on buying this, though, if she buys a pre-built one (because its on sale): http://preview.tinyurl.com/pkb6fgs
The sale ends around the 30th, so it would be much appreciated if I could get feedback before then (that would be November 30th, 2015).
I personally think that's a pretty good sale for that PC, but its absurdly overpowered for what she needs (Feel free to disagree and tell me why). So, I was thinking about building her a PC that's around half the cost, gets her what she needs (and a little more), and makes her FEEL like she's getting an impressive deal. Then, with the 400 some dollars she saves, she can get a nice mouse/keyboard combo, better monitors, or something.
Here's what she asked of me/what I feel about request:
-16 gb RAM/ (Probably won't need more 4, I'll put in 8 to be safe)
-2 tb hdd/ (Probably won't need more than 1tb)
-dual monitors/ (Most graphics support that)
-wifi + hardwire/ (Easy)
-running youtube/ (Anything post 2006 will)
-running multiple tabs for online schooling/ (Again, hard to find something that won't)
-running movies+music/ (Standard)
-max budget $1000/ (You don't need to throw that much away)
Here's the build I have in mind: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/mn9PCJ
I will most likely be using Newegg to actually order the pieces, which comes to a subtotal of about $397 on their site.
I figure this is MORE than enough for her and for a good price, too. I can provide her with any extra internal cables she needs and will be putting it all together for her.
So, I would like other's opinions on the matter. Everyone here really seems to know what they're talking about and any discussion about this would be quite helpful. What do you think of the build? Suggestions to make it better? Suggestions for better compatibility? Better hardware pieces for the same price as pieces I already have on there?
My only experience is building gaming and software design PCs, so I always worry about over doing the capabilities of a machine.
I'm working to become a software engineer and recently got into building PC's and working with electronics. I built my own gaming desktop and because of that my girlfriend recruited me to build a PC for her stepmom. Her stepmom is going to college and will also be using it for home-related work like bills, documents, storing media, watching movies/videos, surfing the web, and listening to music. I'm sure that any cheap, retail rig would be great for all of that. She insists on buying this, though, if she buys a pre-built one (because its on sale): http://preview.tinyurl.com/pkb6fgs
The sale ends around the 30th, so it would be much appreciated if I could get feedback before then (that would be November 30th, 2015).
I personally think that's a pretty good sale for that PC, but its absurdly overpowered for what she needs (Feel free to disagree and tell me why). So, I was thinking about building her a PC that's around half the cost, gets her what she needs (and a little more), and makes her FEEL like she's getting an impressive deal. Then, with the 400 some dollars she saves, she can get a nice mouse/keyboard combo, better monitors, or something.
Here's what she asked of me/what I feel about request:
-16 gb RAM/ (Probably won't need more 4, I'll put in 8 to be safe)
-2 tb hdd/ (Probably won't need more than 1tb)
-dual monitors/ (Most graphics support that)
-wifi + hardwire/ (Easy)
-running youtube/ (Anything post 2006 will)
-running multiple tabs for online schooling/ (Again, hard to find something that won't)
-running movies+music/ (Standard)
-max budget $1000/ (You don't need to throw that much away)
Here's the build I have in mind: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/mn9PCJ
I will most likely be using Newegg to actually order the pieces, which comes to a subtotal of about $397 on their site.
I figure this is MORE than enough for her and for a good price, too. I can provide her with any extra internal cables she needs and will be putting it all together for her.
So, I would like other's opinions on the matter. Everyone here really seems to know what they're talking about and any discussion about this would be quite helpful. What do you think of the build? Suggestions to make it better? Suggestions for better compatibility? Better hardware pieces for the same price as pieces I already have on there?
My only experience is building gaming and software design PCs, so I always worry about over doing the capabilities of a machine.