Less than $200 build for my old man?

[BruhLovin]

I do have a case and spare PSU lying around (VS650) but I have no idea on the jack shit of a budget build.
He'll mostly be watching Youtube videos.

 

[kawininjazx]

Buy him a chromebox.

 

[hamster66]

This should do it:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/khfhD3

Add an OS (it might be very well Linux, eg. Mint or Ubuntu) and your dad can enjoy his yt videos

 

[DustinV]

He said he already has a case^

 

[JQB45]

No way I would rely on only a 120GB SSD, get a 1TB 7200 RPM Hard Drive instead. You add the SSD later if you absolutely want and can afford it.

 

[Archaic59]

No way I would rely on only a 120GB SSD, get a 1TB 7200 RPM Hard Drive instead. You add the SSD later if you absolutely want and can afford it.

I disagree. Use the SSD now with OS installed on it and add a hard drive later on.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3460 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($67.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($67.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($27.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sandisk Z400s 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($36.99 @ NCIX US)
Other: Ubuntu 16.04 ($0.00)
Total: $200.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-05-10 08:47 EDT-0400

 

[Chayan4400]

What I recommend is buying used, especially for older folk who care very little for the age or look of their PCs as long as they work. Look for old workstations like HP's Z series and Dell's Precision line:

HP Z400 - $165 - Xeon W3565, 4GB DDR3 RAM, 1TB HDD, Windows 7 Pro, Some GPU. Add a cheap SSD and this old horse will gallop as fast as PCs far above it's price. You can add some RAM later on if need be.

Dell Precision T3500 - $195 - Xeon W3550, 10GB DDR3, 1TB HDD, Quadro 2000 GPU. Add Ubuntu and you're all set. An SSD is optional, but will give you a speed boost.

Copy the link address, as Tom's editor does not like when multiple ebay links are posted.

 

[bicycle_repair_man]

Buy him a chromebox.

I agree, a Chromebook would be ideal.

OP, if you're planning to build a Windows PC then the Windows license alone is almost half your budget. Your Dad wants a cheap, simple computer and a Chromebook is exactly that.

Alternatively, get an Android tablet.

 

[BruhLovin]

No way I would rely on only a 120GB SSD, get a 1TB 7200 RPM Hard Drive instead. You add the SSD later if you absolutely want and can afford it.

I disagree. Use the SSD now with OS installed on it and add a hard drive later on.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3460 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($67.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($67.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($27.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sandisk Z400s 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($36.99 @ NCIX US)
Other: Ubuntu 16.04 ($0.00)
Total: $200.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-05-10 08:47 EDT-0400

Thanks for the insight on this and I think this suits my dad's needs so far and yeah and SSD would do him right. He's gonna need that as he does light Word work from time to time.

 

[Barty1884]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($65.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Biostar B85MG Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($37.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Elite 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($21.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: A-Data Premier SP550 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($35.57 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Toshiba 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($42.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $204.52
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-05-10 10:37 EDT-0400

 

[BruhLovin]

What I recommend is buying used, especially for older folk who care very little for the age or look of their PCs as long as they work. Look for old workstations like HP's Z series and Dell's Precision line:

HP Z400 - $165 - Xeon W3565, 4GB DDR3 RAM, 1TB HDD, Windows 7 Pro, Some GPU. Add a cheap SSD and this old horse will gallop as fast as PCs far above it's price. You can add some RAM later on if need be.

Dell Precision T3500 - $195 - Xeon W3550, 10GB DDR3, 1TB HDD, Quadro 2000 GPU. Add Ubuntu and you're all set. An SSD is optional, but will give you a speed boost.

Copy the link address, as Tom's editor does not like when multiple ebay links are posted.

Thanks I'll keep a check on this! I may just sell the other parts for scrap if I would go over this route.

 

[BruhLovin]

Buy him a chromebox.

I agree, a Chromebook would be ideal.

OP, if you're planning to build a Windows PC then the Windows license alone is almost half your budget. Your Dad wants a cheap, simple computer and a Chromebook is exactly that.

Alternatively, get an Android tablet.

Thought I would get a Key I think this would be a good solution. More reliable but it'd be a shame to get those spare parts go to waste. It's a surprise for him so whichever works.

 

[BruhLovin]

Buy him a chromebox.

I agree, a Chromebook would be ideal.

OP, if you're planning to build a Windows PC then the Windows license alone is almost half your budget. Your Dad wants a cheap, simple computer and a Chromebook is exactly that.

Alternatively, get an Android tablet.

Thought I would get a Key I think this would be a good solution. More reliable but it'd be a shame to get those spare parts go to waste. It's a surprise for him so whichever works.