New machine for dad

HumberView

HumberView

HumberView

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Joined
21 May 2011
Posts
35
Hi

Just started speccing up a new machine from your good selves for my dad (in his 80s). Currently has a 2005 Celeron & uses an old version of Office & needs to stick to it so will have to stick to XP despite the timebomb going off next year. I have tried Office 2000 on a W7 machine & it worked, but it's not officially supported so don't want to take the risk with W7. Didn't want bargain basement so mid-range CPU + an SSD for response.

BitFenix Merc Alpha Gaming Case - Black
Intel Core i3-4330 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail
Gigabyte H81M-S2PV Intel H81 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard
Corsair Value 4GB (1x4GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C9 1333MHz Single Channel Kit (CMV4GX3M1A1333C9)
NO GRAPHICS CARD UPGRADE
Toshiba SSD HG5D Series THNSNH 7mm 60GB Solid State Hard Drive - (THNSNH060GCST)
OcUK 20x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM
Networking Not Selected
Gigabyte K7100 Stylish Keyboard
Gigabyte M5100 800 DPI Mouse - Silver
System Build Fan - Noiseblocker BlackSilent Pro Fan PLPS - 120mm PWM [EXNO-001]
Monitor Not Selected
Speakers Not Selected

Thoughts/discussions. Ty.

Dave
 
You might want a bigger SSD mine was hitting 60GB with just Windows and Office.

+ for £20 more you can get 8GB of ram just a bit more future proof

Windows 7 is very simular to XP in my mind.

What about a PSU?
 
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I have a Corsair in my machine so I know a good PSU ;). No graphics so no need for a hi wattage. What would you recommend from the Home H20 configuration therefore? The "BeQuiet Pure Power L8 400W "80 Plus Bronze"" actually brings the price down by a £1 or so from default.
 
Hi

Pre-built. We have our own XP licence.

I was wondering on the best combi of i3/i5 & motherboars option. Which would be the best match? What are the features of the motherboards? Reliability is most important.
 
The Merc cases aren't great with only the single fan, they lack USB3 and I don't see the point of paying for another fan when that can just pay for a better case in the first place.

YOUR BASKET
1 x AMD A8-5600K Black Edition 3.60GHz (Socket FM2) APU Trinity Quad Core Processor (AD560KWOHJBOX) £71.99
1 x MSI A75IA-E53 AMD A75 Chipset (Socket FM2) DDR3 Mini ITX Motherboard £69.95
1 x Toshiba SSD HDTS212EZSTA 9.5mm 128GB Solid State Hard Drive - Retail £65.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan ORANGE 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLAD38G2400HC11CDC01) £55.99
1 x Cooler Master Elite 130 RC-130-KKN1 Mini ITX Case - Black £45.95
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 430w Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020058-UK) £37.99
1 x Pioneer 24x Internal DVR-221LBK DVD Rewriter - OEM £17.99
1 x Gigabyte KM6150 Keyboard and Mouse Set £9.98
Total : £375.83 (includes shipping : FREE).



Mini-itx so small form factor. Mobo includes wifi and bluetooth plus overclocking options. Fast RAM helps the IGP and that can be used to accelerate some software applications, with it on offer might as well.

All the best with it bud, we look forward to seeing what you settle on.
 
HumberView said:
Definitely doesn't need Bluetooth or USB3. 8GB is useless as we will be using 32-bt Windows XP for above-stated reasons.
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It's going the way of the dodo and no more support will be given as you hinted at. There is a trial for windows 8 you can use free for 3 months. Set the metro tiles to his most commonly used apps and he might even prefer it. 8.1 allows you to boot straight to the desktop rather than metro if he'd prefer.

I wouldn't really want to run an SSD on XP, TRIM support is part of Windows 7 & 8. I can understand why he doesn't want to change from office 2000, the changes to it over the years winds me up too making it confusing. Maybe he could try Openoffice.org which is free?

I appreciate that my spec might be OTT but it was trying to give him the most for his money, not that you stated a budget ;) The A8K makes for a very good all round home PC and it can even do some light gaming should he have grand kids visiting or whatever. I've done Office builds with the A6K and 4GB of 1600Mhz RAM and that was still pretty decent for the money.

Case choice is down to you but I'd prefer something like THIS which already has two fans and the USB3 port. Ideally you want to be using dual channel RAM and 1600Mhz is pretty much the standard now.

All the best with it fella
 
Grandkids don't visit. & no I have a hell of a job with Office '7 at work - end up still trying to persevere with the shortcuts I've been using for years.

Hmm good point re XP + SSD - will have to be a quick spindle therefore. Shame. LibreOffice: any sort of change is an absolute no-no. Is dual-channel the way to go with an i3 or i5? Not really considering AMD options at the min. Appreciate your point regards value for money when it comes to AMD though.
 
 
Hmmmmm that's more like it. Maybe even just the 60GB drive. Like the sound of that case as well. Any particular benefits of that 128 model as opposed to the HG5D?
 
HumberView said:
Hmmmmm that's more like it. Maybe even just the 60GB drive. Like the sound of that case as well. Any particular benefits of that 128 model as opposed to the HG5D?
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For £7 more, the 128GB gives you twice the space and faster write speed. but it only comes with a 2 year warranty. But, it is still a very good ssd, especially for the price.
 
Idleman said:
For £7 more, the 128GB gives you twice the space and faster write speed. but it only comes with a 2 year warranty. But, it is still a very good ssd, especially for the price.
Click to expand...

I agree whilst it's on offer it's bonkers not to pay the slight extra for the extra speed and capacity. Nice spec by the way bud :)
 
honosuseri said:
I agree whilst it's on offer it's bonkers not to pay the slight extra for the extra speed and capacity. Nice spec by the way bud :)
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Cheers buddy, we try are best.;)

@ OP, I would look at getting a cheap copy of Win 7 Ultimate and running Office 200 in XP compatibility mode.
 
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