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PC Build for Harbourdad

Discussion in 'Techno-Magic' started by Harbourboy, Dec 8, 2006.

  1. Harbourboy

    Harbourboy Take thy form from off my door! Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    OK. So I am rapt with my new PC. But now I see that my Dad's PC is pretty crappy. It takes about 30 minutes to start up and does everything even more slowly than my old PC. It's about 4 years old and I already tried reinstalling his whole operating system but it's still a nightmare so I am going to suggest he bites the bullet and gets a new one.

    So what sort of build would you suggest for someone who:
    - uses broadband
    - takes and stores photos of his grandson
    - plays a few really basic games (like Mini Golf)
    - likes to watch DVDs on his PC (even though it is in the same room as his TV and DVD player)
    - uses the usual Office products
    - is retired so does not have a load of cash to spare

    Thanks in advance for your expert assistance.
     
    Harbourboy, Dec 8, 2006
    #1

  2. Brallrock Gems: 23/31
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    Sounds like an entry level PC from Dell or anywhere else should do fine. I was looking for a PC for my wife and I was able to configure a decent system at Dell for about $360 USD (it would be a bit more for one with a monitor).
     
    Brallrock, Dec 8, 2006
    #2
  3. Harbourboy

    Harbourboy Take thy form from off my door! Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    I think he could probably do with a new monitor as he currently has an old CRT that takes up loads of room on his desk.
     
    Harbourboy, Dec 8, 2006
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  4. Brallrock Gems: 23/31
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    You still should be able to get a descent system for about $500 from Dell. My father in law has an E-machine, and it does fine for him. A lot of people don't need as much of a system as they have.
     
    Brallrock, Dec 8, 2006
    #4
  5. Taza

    Taza Weird Modmaker Veteran

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    Pretty much any new system these days has enough power to do those things. Heck, a Pentium 3 would have enough power.

    One point though - two 160gb disks in a RAID 1 setup is a bit expensive, but the additional reliability should save a lot of tears and swears if it breaks. I don't really expect old people to make their backups.

    Some Celeron or AMD processor, 512mb-1gb of ram, 2x 160gb hard drives, maybe a 6600GT. You can go with less power, if you can find it at a reasonable price compared.
     
    Taza, Dec 8, 2006
    #5
  6. Harbourboy

    Harbourboy Take thy form from off my door! Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    Are there any particular processors to avoid?
     
    Harbourboy, Dec 9, 2006
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  7. Wordplay Gems: 29/31
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    The above mentioned Celerons. They are cheap, but also bad in performance. With just a wee bit more you can get a decend Athlon 64. E.g: AMD64 3200+ should be around 100 bucks or less. 50 bucks of mobo (MSI has good products) and the rest should be pretty standard stuff too. The vid.card could be GeForce 6800 XT, which costs about 135 bucks.
     
    Wordplay, Dec 10, 2006
    #7
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