Computer build for grandmother

[John_212]

Hi Everyone,

I am doing a PC build for my Grandmother. I usually do gaming builds, so I am at a bit of a loss for what to recommend for her. She doesn't do gaming or video editing. She mainly uses MS Office, Acrobat Pro, Skype, and does Web Surfing.

She doesn't have a real budget, but I would like to hit the sweet spot of reliability, appropriate performance for what she does, and future proofing. I will be installing Windows 10 and Office 365 as part of the build. She will need an optical drive, too.

A nice 28" flat screen monitor would be a great add to her system.

Thanks for the help!!

 

[Ironsounds]

Hello... an i3 would do the JOB and has 1080P display, 8gb ram.

 

[Barty1884]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor ($112.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H110M-ITX/ac Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard ($69.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Team Elite Plus 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($32.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($88.00 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($45.89 @ OutletPC)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 110 Mini ITX Tower Case ($38.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec 450W ATX Power Supply ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($87.95 @ OutletPC)
Total: $506.77
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-17 12:43 EDT-0400

Sounds like an i3 would do just fine + 8GB RAM.

I've gone with a "small" build, Elite 110 + mITX board, which includes Wifi, although you could save a couple of bucks with a slightly larger case, and a board with on onboard Wifi (or even going mATX)

Looking at $500 including an SSD, which you could remove if needbe of course.

I'd normally recommend a SeaSonic S12II 430W ($50 or so) for such low power consumption, but the Antec VP $30) will do just fine as there would be little to no load on the PSU.

As for a monitor, I'm not too experienced there, so I'll avoid commenting/recommending.

 

[Onefurrybanana]

Made a quick build
[PCPartPicker part list](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/8Ysmyc) / [Price breakdown by merchant](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/8Ysmyc/by_merchant/)

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80662i36100) | $112.99 @ SuperBiiz
**Motherboard** | [Gigabyte GA-H110M-A Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-motherboard-gah110ma) | $51.89 @ OutletPC
**Memory** | [Kingston FURY 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR4-2666 Memory](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/kingston-memory-hx426c15fb4) | $23.29 @ Newegg
**Storage** | [Western Digital RE3 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/western-digital-internal-hard-drive-wd5002abys) | $35.98 @ Amazon
**Case** | [Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-case-200r) | $44.99 @ Newegg
**Power Supply** | [EVGA SuperNOVA GS 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-220gs0550v1) | $69.99 @ NCIX US
| *Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts* |
| Total (before mail-in rebates) | $369.13
| Mail-in rebates | -$30.00
| **Total** | **$339.13**
| Generated by [PCPartPicker](http://pcpartpicker.com) 2016-03-17 12:48 EDT-0400 |

 

[Barty1884]

^^ Onefurrybanana covered off the cheaper mATX option that I mentioned.
That build is totally fine, although likely overspending on the PSU considering what it'll be used for.
4GB is probably a little low, considering memory resources will be split with the iGPU - 8GB would be perfect
500Gb may or may not be too low for your grandmother, especially considering a 1TB drive is $10 more...

 

[Onefurrybanana]

^^ Onefurrybanana covered off the cheaper mATX option that I mentioned.
That build is totally fine, although likely overspending on the PSU considering what it'll be used for.
4GB is probably a little low, considering memory resources will be split with the iGPU - 8GB would be perfect
500Gb may or may not be too low for your grandmother, especially considering a 1TB drive is $10 more...

Just through it together in minutes and cound't find a smaller yet decent psu lol

 

[Corwin65]

Not one to really push APU's, but wouldn't an APU be perfect for this type of build?

 

[Barty1884]

Just through it together in minutes and cound't find a smaller yet decent psu lol

Oh absolutely. My preferred "decent" yet affordable is the SeaSonic S12II 430W at $50, but this rig doesn't even need that.

Hence, the Antec VP 450W at $30. That's about at low as I'd go price-wise & still be comfortable recommending (for this rig only, not in general).

Not one to really push APU's, but wouldn't an APU be perfect for this type of build?

Assuming you mean an AMD APU? They'd be fine. Would likely perform pretty similarly to the i3 (although the i3 has the edge 99% of the time) in most cases, but tend to use more power, generate more heat, and do not provide an upgrade path.

 

[Onefurrybanana]

Not one to really push APU's, but wouldn't an APU be perfect for this type of build?

Yeah thats why the 2 builds listed used them a gpu would be a waste of money and power for web browsing

 

[John_212]

thanks guys!! Very helpful!!

 

[why_wolf]

You could try and keep it small and get an Intel NUC (an i3 is all she should need) mount it to the back of the monitor with the VESA mount and just get a simple external USB DVD drive. Basically create your own pseudo all-in-one.

 

[Corwin65]

You could try and keep it small and get an Intel NUC (an i3 is all she should need) mount it to the back of the monitor with the VESA mount and just get a simple external USB DVD drive. Basically create your own pseudo all-in-one.

Nice idea. Might just have to steal it for a build I have scheduled.