new build for senior neighbors

[cravejosh]

Hello everyone,

I'm looking to build a new computer for my neighbors. The currently have a 7 year old HP machine and honestly its so slow and frustrating for me to work on. They constantly ask me over to fix small things like uninstalling a program they have no clue how they installed or fixing there browsers homepage that got changed. I honestly don't mind helping them out but it is just so slow to work on. They had a chance to play around on my new gaming rig and were amazed at how fast it could boot up and how fast website load ect... They want to upgrade but I have only built gaming machines so I'm kinda clueless. Thanks for the help!


Approximate Purchase Date: e.g.: Soon

Budget Range: about 500-600

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Facebook games and game sites (mostly free games.. Majong, Jewl games, Poker...), Surfing the Web

Are you buying a monitor: No

Parts to Upgrade: Everything

Do you need to buy OS: Yes (windows 8)

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Doesn't matter

Location: Chicopee, MA USA

Parts Preferences: Intel

Overclocking: No

SLI or Crossfire: No

Additional Comments: My neighbors are in there late 60's. They mostly play of free game websites. They do facebook and general web surfing. They want to buy another HP but I'm pretty sure we can get a way better build and cheaper if we put something together.

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: They have a 7 year old HP..

 

[ubercake]

You could pick them up a $300-$350 i3 B960 laptop that will do everything they need. Are you near a microcenter (there's one in the Boston area)?
http://www.microcenter.com/product/400299/NE56R34u_Laptop_Computer_-_Black#

That configuration will do what these people need it to and has an HDMI out (in case the eye sight is not so good they can run it to the tellie or a larger monitor). I bought one for my family to trash and it's still going strong almost a year later.

 

[ubercake]

I'm sure the seniors playing browser-based games and marketplace games won't need anything beyond the video capabilities offered up by the B960.

 

[mcnumpty23]

and if you put windows 8 on it

it might be an idea to make it boot to the desktop

and put the start menu back for them

though for what they need you may be just as well buying them a pre-built tower unit

 

[cravejosh]

They are looking more for a desktop solution. Is there something comparable to the b960 in a desktop format. I can not get to the Boston micro center. They realy like HP, Does HP make a good pre-built tower

 

[smorizio]

Crave if they want good pre built then look at dell biz line of desktops. There a little more money but there built better then dell retail. Have them walk into best buys and have them look at the new units. The new units are cheaply made. The older hp units were better built. If you do build them a pc your going to be person they call if there an issue. If a part fails your going to have to replace it and do the rma. With a pre built they an get home service. If I was building a pc to last. Use a n200 case with a good 500w power supply and a g2120 CPU and a 7770 gpu. The onboard gpu would be fine for light games but I would spend 100 on a gpu.
Install 8g of ram a 19. Cd rom and 500-1 tb hard drive on a h77 mini atx mb.cheaper case would be 20-40 bitfenex cases. Myself I would use haswell replacement for the g chip in June. The newer haswell have better onboard video.