New build or iMac for my dad?

Reaper 392 said:
looking at my favourite benchmark website for older tech, your not going to get a major boost in CPU performance if you stick with your current CPU:

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_list.php

your CPU = 1025
best available CPU for your mobo (£62) = 1652
i3 2100 (£90)= 3817


last two questions are:
can you overclock your CPU's on the bios you have or not?
what make and model is the PSU?
Click to expand...

It was slightly overclocked to begin with but frankly the gains are probably so slighty it's not worth the hassle.

PSU is a Silverstone ST30NF.
 
if your really strapped for cash, then you could go for something like this:
YOUR BASKET
1 x OCZ Vertex 2E 120GB 2.5" SATA-II Solid State Hard Drive (OCZSSD2-2VTXE120G) £134.99
1 x Intel Pentium Dual-Core E6600 "LGA775 Core 2" 3.06GHz (1066FSB) - Retail £50.39
Total : £194.98 (includes shipping : £8.00).

perhaps with an aftermarket cooler if overclocking is enabled on your motherboard

but if youve got a resonable amount of money to spend, then something like this will give you a much bigger boost in performance:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Crucial RealSSD M4 128GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive £164.99
1 x Intel Core i3-2100 3.10GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £91.99
1 x MSI H67MA-E35 Intel H67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Micro-ATX Motherboard - (Sandybridge) **B3 REVISION** £59.99
1 x Corsair Value 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C9 1333MHz Low Voltage Dual-Channel Kit £23.98
Total : £352.34 (includes shipping : £9.50).
 
Well I've got about £3500 to play with but I don't necessarily want whatever is the cheapest or most expensive, I want what is going to be the best value for money and give my dad the most pleasurable and hassle free experience.
 
£3.5k just for a web browsing pc :eek:

I would get Repear's second spec and add a U2311H, and maybe a new modular psu and a nice fractal design matx case (arc mini/define mini) :D
 
Jony27 said:
£3.5k just for a web browsing pc :eek:

I would get Repear's second spec and add a U2311H, and maybe a new modular psu and a nice fractal design matx case (arc mini/define mini) :D
Click to expand...

The budget is not £3500, but I have £3500 I could spend. But there's no point spending £3500 if it wouldnt benefit my dad over something that costs £250!
 
oh I see.....

yeah, I would still go for Repear's second spec(post 83) and add the monitor and maybe the psu and case.
 
mrochester said:
Well I've got about £3500 to play with but I don't necessarily want whatever is the cheapest or most expensive, I want what is going to be the best value for money and give my dad the most pleasurable and hassle free experience.
Click to expand...

thats way too much for a browsing PC. for that money you could get a rig capable of maxing out crysis in 3D over 3 screens.
*edit*
ah, i see your not planning on spending all of the £3500 on it, phew
*/edit*

since you have a lot of money to spare i'll recommend something nicer (but not overkill):

YOUR BASKET
1 x Crucial RealSSD M4 128GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive £164.99
1 x Intel Core i3-2100 3.10GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £91.99
1 x Gigabyte Z68AP-D3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £89.99
1 x Cooler Master Silencio RC-550 Silent Tower Case - Black £69.98
1 x Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD103SJ) £39.98
1 x Kingston HyperX Blu 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9AD3B1K2/4G) £25.99
Total : £497.03 (includes shipping : £11.75).

should be really quiet, especially if you use your fanless PSU
 
Will there be anything of value stored on the PC?

How significant would the loss of all data be if the SSD crashed?

If the data being stored is important or irreplaceable, what is you backup strategy?
 
Socrates470BC said:
Will there be anything of value stored on the PC?

How significant would the loss of all data be if the SSD crashed?

If the data being stored is important or irreplaceable, what is you backup strategy?
Click to expand...

Yep all my dads photos. Backup currently consists of a nightly backup to a second internal hard drive with a weekly (or thereabouts) backup to an external USB hard drive.
 
In your first post, you mentioned cable mess.

Would a wireless keyboard and mouse be helpful?

Also, do you plan to drop existing internal hard drives into new system and continue using the same external backup hardware? If these drives are more than 4 or 5 years old, do you think they may need replacing?

Curious. What backup software do you use?
 
If the Pc is just for web browsing and playing with photos, would a Phenom II quad not be a cheaper/ more sensible route to go down ?? ( I havent really been keeping up to date so sorry if this is a stupid comment :rolleyes: )


Regardless definately dont go for the mac, trying to teach my Grandad how to use his mac was hell.
 
Socrates470BC said:
In your first post, you mentioned cable mess.

Would a wireless keyboard and mouse be helpful?

Also, do you plan to drop existing internal hard drives into new system and continue using the same external backup hardware? If these drives are more than 4 or 5 years old, do you think they may need replacing?

Curious. What backup software do you use?
Click to expand...

Yep the drives will be moved across. I use Casper.

Greavesy If the Pc is just for web browsing and playing with photos, would a Phenom II quad not be a cheaper/ more sensible route to go down ?? ( I havent really been keeping up to date so sorry if this is a stupid comment )


Regardless definately dont go for the mac, trying to teach my Grandad how to use his mac was hell.
28th Jul 2011 18:09
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I've been wondering about this too. Let's say I set a £100 limit on the processor, with the prospect of getting a £50 5770, which I be better off with a core i3 or Phenom II?
 
i3 2100 for sure.

also, who was suggesting storing data on an SSD? thats not what they're for, they are meant for programs to be installed on them, while using the mechanical HDD to store data files
 
Reaper 392 said:
i3 2100 for sure.

also, who was suggesting storing data on an SSD? thats not what they're for, they are meant for programs to be installed on them, while using the mechanical HDD to store data files
Click to expand...

A 64GB SSD would be more than adequate for all my dad's data storage needs (his Windows installation including all personal files is about 40GB) so they might as well all be stored on the SSD.
 
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