Elderly Person's PC build

[JCX50]

Hello all,

I was thinking of building my great grandmother a budget pc with all the mod-cons so she can skype me, browse the internet and use Microsoft office etc.

She wants one under £500 and I thought this might be a good spec for her to learn on. I have a feeling she won't be upgrading any time soon.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £79.99
1 x Benq G950A 18.5" Widescreen LCD Monitor - Black £79.99
1 x Epson Stylus Office BX305F All In One Inkjet Printer - Colour £49.98
1 x Asus P8H61-MX USB 3.0 Intel H61 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard - OEM ** £37.99
1 x Hitachi GST Travelstar Z5K320 2.5" 320GB 5400RPM 8MB Cache SATA-II - OEM (0A78603) HDD £34.99
1 x Swift 650W V2 Silent Power Supply £28.99
1 x Xigmatek Asgard II Midi Tower Case - Black/Silver £26.99
1 x Intel Celeron G440 1.60GHz Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £25.99
1 x PNY GeForce GT 210 512MB GDDR3 PCI-Express Graphics Card - OEM £14.99
1 x Samsung SH-118AB/BEBE SATA 18x DVD-ROM (Black) - OEM £14.99
1 x Logitech C110 1.3 Megapixel USB Webcam £11.99
1 x TeamGroup Elite 2GB (1x2GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C9 1333MHz Single Channel Module (TED32GM1333C901) £9.95
1 x OcUK Value 2.0 2 W RMS USB powered Speaker Set £7.99
1 x OcUK USB Optical Mouse - Black £4.99
1 x OcUK USB Keyboard - Black £4.99
1 x Antec Advance 100% Natural Wipes - 20 Pack
£3.98
1 x Speedlink Mousepad Basic - Black £2.99
Total : £465.90 (includes shipping : £20.10).




Thanks

JCX50

 

[Randomface74]

I'd put 4GB RAM in, bit of future proofing.
Cheapest PSU should be enough.
Maybe upgrade screen to something 1680x1050?
Maybe get the cheapest logitech keyboard instead - I've got one of those ghetto ones and they're not good.

 

[BluSky]

Looks fine but is the gt210 really necessary? The motherboard has built in graphics which I imagine will be plenty for the machines intended use

 

[JCX50]

I'd put 4GB RAM in, bit of future proofing.
Cheapest PSU should be enough.
Maybe upgrade screen to something 1680x1050?
Maybe get the cheapest logitech keyboard instead - I've got one of those ghetto ones and they're not good.

I have a feeling she won't be upgrading any time soon.

 

[JCX50]

Looks fine but is the gt210 really necessary? The motherboard has built in graphics which I imagine will be plenty for the machines intended use

She likes playing happy wheels on occasion, I have a feeling she might need it.

 

[R-evans]

I'd get an after market cooler, just in case she wants to overclock.

 

[JCX50]

I'd get an after market cooler, just in case she wants to overclock.

+1 What clock speed can she get it up to? 4.6Ghz?

 

[MORE SPEED]

Agree with removing the GT210, anything can run Happy Wheels

 

[Akagi]

Consider the fact that this 2.4GHz dual core celeron is only £3 more than the 1.6GHz solo core one in your proposed spec. http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-401-IN&groupid=701&catid=6&subcat=2037

In fact, to be honest. the whole spec is awful.

Here, something I threw together quickly.

YOUR BASKET
1 x BenQ GL2250 21.5" Widescreen LED Monitor - Black £100
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £79.99
1 x Epson Stylus Office BX305F All In One Inkjet Printer - Colour £49.98
1 x Toshiba (7K1000.D) 500GB SATA 6GB/s 32MB Cache - OEM (DT01ACA050) HDD £47.99
1 x Antec VP350P 350W '80 Plus' Continuous Power Supply £32.99
1 x Intel Celeron G530 2.40GHz Socket LGA 1155 Processor - Retail £28.99
1 x **B Grade** Gigabyte H61M-S2PV Intel H61 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £26
1 x Xigmatek Helios XTK231 Mini Tower Case - Black £24.98
1 x Logitech C270 HD 720p 3 Megapixel Webcam (960-000803) £23.99
1 x Corsair Value 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C9 1333MHz Low Voltage Dual-Channel Kit £23.98
1 x LG GH24NS95 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £19.99
1 x Logitech MK120 Desktop Set (920-002552) £15.98
1 x Logitech S-120 2.0 Speaker System - OEM (980-000011) £9.59
Total : £507.37 (includes shipping : £19.10).



2.4GHz dual core instead of 1.6GHz solo core
4GB dual channel DDR3 instead of 2GB single channel
A PSU that wont blow up instead of one that will
An 'HD' webcam so you will be able to make out her face on skype
Some logitech speakers for £2 more, must be worth it surely.
A far better logitech keyboard and mouse bundle
22" 1080P screen instead 18.5" screen
DVD writer instead of DVD read only
500GB 7200RPM instead of 320GB 5400RPM
Smaller form factor case to save space and look neater

You should really install Windows 8 instead of Windows 7 as well. If windows 8 is the way the world is moving, and it is designed to be more simple to use, it seems silly to install windows 7 as it would probably be more complicated and confusing for an elderly person.

 

[spoffle]

I reckon a larger monitor should be a priority. If you drop the gt210 you'd free up enough to get a 24" screen

 

[JCX50]

Consider the fact that this 2.4GHz dual core celeron is only £3 more than the 1.6GHz solo core one in your proposed spec. http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-401-IN&groupid=701&catid=6&subcat=2037

In fact, to be honest. the whole spec is awful.

Here, something I threw together quickly.

YOUR BASKET
1 x BenQ GL2250 21.5" Widescreen LED Monitor - Black £100
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £79.99
1 x Epson Stylus Office BX305F All In One Inkjet Printer - Colour £49.98
1 x Toshiba (7K1000.D) 500GB SATA 6GB/s 32MB Cache - OEM (DT01ACA050) HDD £47.99
1 x Antec VP350P 350W '80 Plus' Continuous Power Supply £32.99
1 x Intel Celeron G530 2.40GHz Socket LGA 1155 Processor - Retail £28.99
1 x **B Grade** Gigabyte H61M-S2PV Intel H61 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £26
1 x Xigmatek Helios XTK231 Mini Tower Case - Black £24.98
1 x Logitech C270 HD 720p 3 Megapixel Webcam (960-000803) £23.99
1 x Corsair Value 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C9 1333MHz Low Voltage Dual-Channel Kit £23.98
1 x LG GH24NS95 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £19.99
1 x Logitech MK120 Desktop Set (920-002552) £15.98
1 x Logitech S-120 2.0 Speaker System - OEM (980-000011) £9.59
Total : £507.37 (includes shipping : £19.10).



2.4GHz dual core instead of 1.6GHz solo core
4GB dual channel DDR3 instead of 2GB single channel
A PSU that wont blow up instead of one that will
An 'HD' webcam so you will be able to make out her face on skype
Some logitech speakers for £2 more, must be worth it surely.
A far better logitech keyboard and mouse bundle
22" 1080P screen instead 18.5" screen
DVD writer instead of DVD read only
500GB 7200RPM instead of 320GB 5400RPM
Smaller form factor case to save space and look neater

You should really install Windows 8 instead of Windows 7 as well. If windows 8 is the way the world is moving, and it is designed to be more simple to use, it seems silly to install windows 7 as it would probably be more complicated and confusing for an elderly person.

You forgot to include the wipes..... she dribbles...
Yeah will go for Win8

 

[Idleman]

YOUR BASKET
1 x **B Grade** Samsung S22A200B 22" Widescreen LED Monitor - Glossy Black £89.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £79.99
1 x Epson Stylus Office BX305F All In One Inkjet Printer - Colour £49.98
1 x Intel Pentium G620 2.60GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £44.99
1 x Asus P8H61-MX USB 3.0 Intel H61 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard - OEM ** £37.99
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 430W V2 '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020046-UK) £36.98
1 x **B Grade** Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (HD-252-SE) £33.5
1 x TeamGroup Elite 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TED34096M1600HC11DC) £22.99
1 x OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
1 x Logitech MK120 Desktop Set (920-002552) £15.98
1 x **B Grade** OcUK Imp MicroATX Tower Cas (CA-063-OP) £15
1 x Microsoft LifeCam VX-2000 Webcam for Business £14.99
1 x **B Grade** Creative A60 2.0 Speaker System (51MF1635AA001) £14.99
1 x Speedlink Mousepad Basic - Black £2.99
Total : £495.06 (includes shipping : £14.75).

 

[JCX50]

YOUR BASKET
1 x **B Grade** Samsung S22A200B 22" Widescreen LED Monitor - Glossy Black £89.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £79.99
1 x Epson Stylus Office BX305F All In One Inkjet Printer - Colour £49.98
1 x Intel Pentium G620 2.60GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £44.99
1 x Asus P8H61-MX USB 3.0 Intel H61 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard - OEM ** £37.99
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 430W V2 '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020046-UK) £36.98
1 x **B Grade** Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (HD-252-SE) £33.5
1 x TeamGroup Elite 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TED34096M1600HC11DC) £22.99
1 x OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
1 x Logitech MK120 Desktop Set (920-002552) £15.98
1 x **B Grade** OcUK Imp MicroATX Tower Cas (CA-063-OP) £15
1 x Microsoft LifeCam VX-2000 Webcam for Business £14.99
1 x **B Grade** Creative A60 2.0 Speaker System (51MF1635AA001) £14.99
1 x Speedlink Mousepad Basic - Black £2.99
Total : £495.06 (includes shipping : £14.75).

WIPES MAN, WIPES

 

[tigerstyle]

A laptop? Bish bash bosh one shot kill there.

 

[The Running Man]

A laptop? Bish bash bosh one shot kill there.

Cheap laptop for the win.

 

[pandem0nium]

I'd go AMD FM2 for the better integrated graphics and no need for the discrete card.

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI A55M-E33 AMD A55 Chipset (Socket FM2) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £40.99
1 x AMD A4-5300 3.40GHz (Socket FM2) APU Trinity Dual Core Processor (AD5300OKHJBOX) £35.99
Total : £86.88 (includes shipping : £8.25).

 

[scrlk]

Get her an iPad. Problem solved, easy to use, no need to faff around with Windows etc.

 

[TheVoice]

Cheap laptop for the win.

Agreed. Or a cheap Dell desktop, with the voucher codes that are always floating about (plus Quidco) you usually can't even build a full PC with OS so cheaply.

 

[Matd80]

Based on personal experience get her an ssd. Both my grans now have ssds after complaining of how slow their pcs were. One has an old laptop n one has an old dell desktop. One would press the power button then go make a cup of tea then by the time she was ready the pc would have just booted up. She won't need 320gb of slow hdd storage in a million years.
Just the OS on a 32/64gb ssd will be fine.
Ssd, big ish monitor and onboard graphics are my suggestions.

 

[Audigex]

The SSD isn't a bad idea - snappiness when loading is more important than outright performance for an older person: they don't understand the concept of clicking something then waiting, so end up opening 5 copies of a program.

Similarly a laptop is smaller and cramped - an old person isn't going to want to use a touchpad, it's counter-intuitive. A mouse is still a bit abstract, but a mouse and full size keyboard is much better.

I'd still go for 4GB of RAM - 2GB with Windows 7 or 8 can feel sluggish once you have two or three things open (tabs, documents etc). They really do feel significantly better with 4GB. The CPU isn't as important, but I'd definitely spend the £3 extra on the 2.4GHz dual over the 1.6 single. Dual cores are again just a little snappier/more responsive than a single core, the extra core is worthwhile just to dodge a few hangs.

An 18" monitor should do the job - much bigger can be hard work for someone who doesn't know where icons are. The only advantage of 22" is that if her eyesight is bad you can zoom in a bit more.

Drop the graphics card - integrated graphics are more than adequate for any normal use and simple games nowadays.