Father's day build for grandpa

jmt391 · Jun 21, 2009

My grandpa has a few years old PC and it's time for a father's day upgrade. I spoke to him today about his needs/wants, and this is what i got:
-email + internet surfing
-quiet
-high contrast keyboard (the one he has now is grey w/ black lettering and he says he has trouble seeing the letters)

My requirements:
- must last 3-4 years
- monitor is necessary (the one he has is from an IBM PC from 95 - it's got to go. I just can't let him strain his eyes like that)
- I would also like to get him a new printer, they're cheap nowadays - his is from around the same era as the monitor.
- mouse must have optical (his is a ball)

so heres the build:
CPU: E7400 - $119.99
MOBO: AsRock G31M-S - $43.99
RAM: OCZ DDR2 800 2x1gb - $24.99
HDD: WD Caviar SE 160gb - $39.99
MONITOR + SPEAKERS:Hanns*G 19" 1440x900 - $119.99
CASE: Cooler Master Cinturion 541 - $44.99
KEYBOARD+MOUSE: Logitech Basic combo - $12.99
OPTICAL DRIVE: Samsung DVD Burner - $24.99
PRINTER: Canon Pixma MP470 - $39.99
OS: 64-bit Vista Home Premium - $99.99

Total comes out to $571.90

So how did I do? By the way, the speaker + monitor combo is only being used because he doesn't need speakers for anything more than AOL telling him he has mail.

Albaholic · Jun 21, 2009

Looks good. But also looks like you're missing a PSU

ou_phidelt · Jun 21, 2009

I would agree. it looks like it will serve the needed functions well. For a PSU the OCZ Stealth 500w at $45AR is a good deal. You could also consider this Antec case/PSU combo. Solid PSU and a quite case.

jmt391 · Jun 21, 2009

Oh man we'll forget this ever happened - I feel stupid.

The case looks great but is 380W enough? I know it's not all about wattage and then again everything's pretty much onboard

Albaholic · Jun 22, 2009

One thing you might consider is going SFF or maybe mini itx solution. If all your grandpa is going to do is surf the web and check email, it will be more than adequate (and save power and space). Nothing wrong with your build though.

jmt391 · Jun 22, 2009

How about this PSU? 80+ certified, it's OCZ, it's cheap, it's quiet, it's got a little room for upgrading just in case.

I am still thinking about that antec PSU/case combo though, because the cooler master case comes with 0 fans. I picked it because I built my sister's PC using the cinturion 5 and I loved working with it and this is just the mini version. I would like at least an exhaust fan if anything.

Albaholic - I don't want to do any type of crazy SFF simply beacuse I would like to keep the door open for upgrades in the future. I know there's a 99% chance there won't be any, but it will help me sleep at night :screwy:

Albaholic · Jun 23, 2009

I couldn't find any credible reviews on that OCZ unit. You may want to go for a corsair unit, as they're pretty much tried and true and will definitely stick with you as you upgrade that rig. This one is pretty decently priced after rebate. It's up to you whether you want to spend a little more and go modular.

ghettogeddy · Jun 23, 2009

i would switch out 64 bit for 32 bit so he dosent have prob running programs unless hes actually pretty good at that

jmt391 · Jun 23, 2009

ghettogeddy said:
i would switch out 64 bit for 32 bit so he dosent have prob running programs unless hes actually pretty good at that

Actually, that's a good point considering AOL does not have 64 bit support. If he wasn't so stubborn I could teach him to use firefox to check his mail and AIM to chat. But he already learned AOL, and he likes using that (he also uses the financing on it). Good call dude.

By the way, I've updated a few things in the build, I'll post the updated build here:
CPU: E7400 - $119.99
MOBO: AsRock G31M-S - $43.99
RAM: PNY DDR2 800 2x1gb - $24.99 - Same price, timings, and speed as the OCZ, but with free shipping.
HDD: WD Caviar SE 160gb - $39.99
MONITOR + SPEAKERS:ASUS 19" 1440x900 - $119.99 - Same features as the Hanns*G, but free shipping. Got comparatively great reviews.
CASE: Antec MicroATX Mini-Tower with Earthwatts 380W PSU - $99.99 - went with this combo because case is better (it has fans, no upside down MOBO crap) and the PSU had reviews saying it powers C2Q systems with multiple HDDs and everything - sorry for doubting you ou_phidelt

KEYBOARD+MOUSE: Logitech Basic combo - $12.99
OPTICAL DRIVE: Samsung DVD Burner - $24.99
PRINTER: Canon Pixma MP470 - $39.99
OS: 32-bit Vista Home Premium - $99.99 - AOL does not have 64 bit support, and that is what he will be running (crap, I know, but he learned how to use it already and he's stuck in his ways)

EDIT: Unfortunately, the samsung optical drive just went out of stock, so I will have to wait to order it. I may order everything else anyway, just so when the drive gets here, I can pop it in and bring it over to my grandpa's house. Before I do that, are there any objections?

A15G · Jun 24, 2009

jmt391 said:
How about this PSU? 80+ certified, it's OCZ, it's cheap, it's quiet, it's got a little room for upgrading just in case.

I am still thinking about that antec PSU/case combo though, because the cooler master case comes with 0 fans. I picked it because I built my sister's PC using the cinturion 5 and I loved working with it and this is just the mini version. I would like at least an exhaust fan if anything.

Albaholic - I don't want to do any type of crazy SFF simply beacuse I would like to keep the door open for upgrades in the future. I know there's a 99% chance there won't be any, but it will help me sleep at night

This was a good find, it was on sale on the 21st $39.99 free shipping, and now they are back to normal price and sold out =]

A15G · Jun 24, 2009

jmt391 said:
Actually, that's a good point considering AOL does not have 64 bit support. If he wasn't so stubborn I could teach him to use firefox to check his mail and AIM to chat. But he already learned AOL, and he likes using that (he also uses the financing on it). Good call dude.

By the way, I've updated a few things in the build, I'll post the updated build here:
CPU: E7400 - $119.99
MOBO: AsRock G31M-S - $43.99
RAM: PNY DDR2 800 2x1gb - $24.99 - Same price, timings, and speed as the OCZ, but with free shipping.
HDD: WD Caviar SE 160gb - $39.99
MONITOR + SPEAKERS:ASUS 19" 1440x900 - $119.99 - Same features as the Hanns*G, but free shipping. Got comparatively great reviews.
CASE: Antec MicroATX Mini-Tower with Earthwatts 380W PSU - $99.99 - went with this combo because case is better (it has fans, no upside down MOBO crap) and the PSU had reviews saying it powers C2Q systems with multiple HDDs and everything - sorry for doubting you ou_phidelt
KEYBOARD+MOUSE: Logitech Basic combo - $12.99
OPTICAL DRIVE: Samsung DVD Burner - $24.99
PRINTER: Canon Pixma MP470 - $39.99
OS: 32-bit Vista Home Premium - $99.99 - AOL does not have 64 bit support, and that is what he will be running (crap, I know, but he learned how to use it already and he's stuck in his ways)

EDIT: Unfortunately, the samsung optical drive just went out of stock, so I will have to wait to order it. I may order everything else anyway, just so when the drive gets here, I can pop it in and bring it over to my grandpa's house. Before I do that, are there any objections?

I say you take the rig your building and keep it, and give your rig in sig to your grandpa..... naw jk haah. Looks clean man, a $500-600 dollar build+extras. thats not bad.

jmdixon85 · Jun 24, 2009

I don't see the point of getting the E7400 CPU. A E1400 celeron would do the same job if internet/email etc are the only things your grandpa does on his computer. You could maybe even undervolt the cely and passively cool it. The E1400 is $49.99 at the egg.

EDIT: I would go with the E1400 and get another 2Gig RAM. Even when doing simple things Vista can eat RAM. Open up multiple tabs in IE and load a website into each tab and you will see what I mean.

Father's day build for grandpa

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