New PC for grandmother

carlazai

carlazai

carlazai

Soldato
Joined
16 Feb 2007
Posts
2,617
Building a new PC for my Nan. She likes to email, watch iplayer, write letters and make cards. Not bad for 81!

Few questions:

Are these processors (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-343-IN) fine for having a few firefox windows and word documents open at the same time?

Is integrated gfx enough or would a simple gfx card be better for the long term?

What PSU would you suggest? Cheap but reliable!

What is the difference between the 3 iyama 24" monitors? Is one much better than the others? (She liked my monitor and the ability to have large letters without gimping the window).
 
Any PC made in the past 5 years would be fine for web browsing and Word. Base spec I would consider just for modernity and future-proofing would be a cheap Core 2 Duo and 2GB of RAM. You could pick up a second hand Core 2 Duo system for £200 or so.

Certainly no need for a dedicated graphics card either.
 
Is she going to be overclocking?:p Supposedly those chips are awesome overclockers (at least, according to the review on bittech).

It should be more than enough for the stuff you listed, as would intergrated graphics.

Building a pc for somebody over 80.... I'd try and spend as much money on the monitor, mouse and keyboard, so everything is comfortable and easy to use.
 
Freelanc3r said:
Take a look at the OcUK Business and Home bundles:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist.php?groupid=43&catid=1840&sortby=priceAsc

Perfect for that kind of usage, and I'm sure at 81 she doesn't need lightning speeds :)

Integrated gfx would be efficient, and any PSU would be fine, those bundles won't require much power at all.
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I wouldn't choose a single core anymore even for basic use, with even YT videos going up to 1080p res now and lots of flash and animations on websites my mums p4 is starting to struggle when she wants to open google maps, YT and skype at the same time.

But then I might just be picky and have different standards.

For the 15-20quid price difference it's not worth it when you know she's gonna keep it for ages.

I also wouldn't pick a new 775 bundle either, not worth the price.

Athlon II x3 is just 20quid more than the single core or 10more than dual and with AM3 board and 2GB of nice DDR3 will provide smooth experience for many years to come.

Last thing I'd want is my family getting stressed over firefox freezing just coz they had 5-10windows open at same time and skype in the background.

If the difference was between 100 and 200-300 then fine, but here we're talking about 2-3hrs work extra for something that you'll keep for years.

Some things are not worth skimping every penny on.

Just my 2p ; )

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the diff in monitors is connections ( some have hdmi etc, others don't ) and I think one of them is different panel as well.

Nothing that would make difference for this kind of usage.
 
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Snograt said:
Damn - misread the title again, thought you were offering a swap.
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Me too! Completely swerved! My nan can sit at home.. for now!

Also, on a practical note, I'd go onboard, 2gig DDR2, core 2 duo, nice keyboard/mouse/screen. Plenty for iplayer plus even movies etc. Get a new DDR2 board though.
 
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