Browsing pc for mum, old game capability.

snowdog · 11 May 2014 at 19:31

Hello,

I want to build a pc for at mums to play the odd game ( 1280x1024, so no biggie) and so she can browse faster than on her laptop, I already have loads of parts, looking at the 2nd hand prices and I see sets like :

E8400 + 4gb ram + p45 board for 60 euros

I already have a case, some spare hdd's, dvd drives, a GTX460 for it, etc...

I thought about spending 150 euros total, of which:

60 euros cpu+board+ram ( E8400 + 4gb ram + p45 board, 3.8-4ghz should be easily doable)
60 euros 128 gb M500 SSD new
30 PSU ( Corsair 350w or similar, think I need about 25-30 amps on the 12V lines)...

Would 150 get me anything better ? I could add a tenner and go for a q6600, but problem is those will only go to 3.2-3.4 ish ghz. realistically. Plus risk of needing a better psu... Not sure it makes any sense for my mum who does bugger all but browse news websites, facebook and mail, and also not needed for games except perhaps gta4...

I'm out of touch since ivy bridge on the intel side, and no clue about AMD, I see stuff like AMD A6 or A8, but they seem to perform worse or same as core2duo/c2q while costing more ? Any advantages from newer gen AMD stuff ( except ofc. sata600) ?

tres_kun · 11 May 2014 at 20:48

Second hand pc is ok for your mom
the e 8400 will do the job
a Q6660 will be faster but use 30W more power so not a lot
About price do not display links towards other websites you will lose your account
About the AMD A6 and A8 they have a decent integrated GPU that can actually play some games but if you will get one get the newer generation
Do a bit of reading on this one you'll find it interesting
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-377-AM&groupid=701&catid=1967&subcat=1946

pastymuncher · 11 May 2014 at 20:58

For her uses you can't really go wrong with a Pentium G3220 and H81 board. The Asrock H81 HDS is a good little board and i built a pc for my sister in law using one and a 3220 for very similar uses. Board and cpu cost just under £70 brand new and delivered. I built a pc for the wife using a G3420 and Gigabyte B85 board, also for similar uses. Both use the Pentium's built in Intel HD graphics and they are pleased with their pc's. The new Pentiums are very good cpu's for the price and are perfect for budget builds and HTPC builds. They run cool and use very little power too.

snowdog · 12 May 2014 at 13:40

Are they worth spending more over since 2nd hand stuff will get me RAM too though ?
Is a G3220 any faster than an E8400 @ say 4ghz ? Also no RAM ? GPU is not needed, I have a spare GTX460 lying about, which is much faster than integrated stuff isn't it ?

The G3220 seems like a very decent cpu though, is it worth spending more on though is the question...

e 8400 will do the job
a Q6660 will be faster

But will it ? For browsing ? A c2q tops around 3.4 ghz without expensive cooling, an 8 series c2d will easily go 3.8-4ghz without any fancy coolers.

pastymuncher · 12 May 2014 at 19:05

My wifes pc was upgraded from a E7400 and the G3420 is much faster. In gaming the G3220 is not that far behind a stock 4670. It will be better than a E8400 and probably better in most things than a Q6600 apart from maybe heavily multithreaded tasks. For her uses there would be no need to overclock any of the cpu's you mentioned. The Haswell Pentiums are also only 53w so use very little power. You can pick up 4Gb of ram in the MM for £15-20 and 8Gb for around £35-40. Yes the GTX460 would be faster but i really doubt that it would be needed.