Replace my dad's Pentium 4 for Xmas

[lcp84047]

Hi folks:
I'm going to build a new PC for my dad for Xmas to replace his ancient Pentium 4 running XP and CRT. I've upgraded the storage and RAM on that P4 as much as I can, and it won't even play HD videos without skipping. He has basic needs, but he keeps computers forever, so I want it to last a long time without being obsolete.

I plan to put OS (planning to go Win7 so the learning curve isn't as high) and programs on one drive, and data on the other, and use existing external drives as backup. Based on price, I don't see much point in putting in drives smaller than 1Tb. Also, will probably put 8Gb of RAM in for same reason and so I won't have to upgrade later. I'm inclined to go microATX case to keep it compact, since he will not need to add a bunch of stuff. A lot of my planned build (below) is overkill, but for not much more money than a downgrade and will hopefully give the thing a longer life.
Thanks for your comments.
Mike

Approximate Purchase Date: e.g.: next couple of days

Budget Range: $650 including the monitor and OS (no keyboard or mouse)

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Quicken, photos, home movies (HD), email, surfing, basic word processing

Are you buying a monitor: Yes

Parts to Upgrade: complete build except keyboard and mouse

Do you need to buy OS: Yes

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg Amazon

Location: SLC, UT

Parts Preferences: going with AMD processor to keep it less expensive, other stuff want good name brands

Overclocking: No

SLI or Crossfire: No

Your Monitor Resolution: want to get 1920x1080 for full HD playback

Additional Comments: basic PC for my dad, but one that will last a long time - he keeps them forever

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: New build to replace my dad's ancient Pentium 4 that won't even play HD video smoothly.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD A8-3870K 3.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI A55M-P33 Micro ATX FM1 Motherboard ($44.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1066 Memory ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Rosewill FBM-02 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec Basiq 430W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($42.56 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Lite-On IHAS324-98 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: ViewSonic VX2250wm-LED 21.5" Monitor ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($91.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $634.47
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-12-06 17:31 EST-0500)

 

[azathoth]

Hmm, that seems like a very solid build.
The only recommendation I have is perhaps having a SSD instead of a 1TB drive solely for the OS and programs.

 

[socialfox]

Does your father have a lot of documents and saves a lot of files on the computer? 2tb is quite a lot... let us know if 1tb is enough.

 

[djangoringo]

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/rfuO
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/rfuO/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/rfuO/benchmarks/

CPU: AMD A10-5800K 3.8GHz Quad-Core Processor ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock FM2A75 Pro4-M Micro ATX FM2 Motherboard ($81.97 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Tactical Tracer 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Rosewill FBM-02 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec 450W ATX12V Power Supply ($31.64 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Lite-On IHAS324-98 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: ViewSonic VX2250wm-LED 21.5" Monitor ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $648.53
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)


Just changed the amd cpu for the A10 and a good FM2 board, better psu, and 2TB.
The os you can get cheaper on outlet pc and it's a trusted vendor.

 

[lcp84047]

My parents take a lot of photos and videos (vacations, grandkids, etc). I want plenty of room to grow for that stuff.

I know 1Tb is way overkill for the OS and programs, but I just don't see the point in a smaller drive. As for SSD, for the same money, I could at best get 128Gb. My dad doesn't need fast bootup times, etc. If I have two of the same drives, they could potentially be demoted to backup drives by sticking them in enclosures when I build his next computer. I just figure they will be more useful in the future than a small SSD.

I want to keep the OS/Programs separate so if I need to do a clean install/upgrade, I don't have to worry about data.

 

[djangoringo]

If you want another one cheaper :

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/rfyh
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/rfyh/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/rfyh/benchmarks/

CPU: AMD A8-5600K 3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor ($99.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock FM2A75M-DGS Micro ATX FM2 Motherboard ($60.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Tactical Tracer 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Rosewill FBM-02 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec 450W ATX12V Power Supply ($31.64 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Lite-On IHAS324-98 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: ViewSonic VX2250wm-LED 21.5" Monitor ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($91.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $609.55
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)


Still better overall and cheaper, with new amd cpu and fm2 board.

 

[lcp84047]

Thanks for the replies. I appreciate djangoringo's suggestions of going with the FM2 MB and the better PSU. I had to make a couple minor tweaks to the RAM because it was out of stock at Newegg, and I went with two 1 Tb drives for reasons I already mentioned. I ordered the parts and hopefully they will all get her quickly. Here's what I ended up with. I"ll post again after I finish the build to let you know how it goes.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD A8-5600K 3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor ($99.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock FM2A75M-DGS Micro ATX FM2 Motherboard ($60.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Rosewill FBM-02 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec 450W ATX12V Power Supply ($31.64 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: ViewSonic VX2250wm-LED 21.5" Monitor ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($91.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $672.54
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-12-11 12:24 EST-0500)

 

[lcp84047]

Best answer selected by lcp84047.