Building a PC for Grandparents

[tvdang7]

dang only that and it costs over a grand? im sure you can shave some dollars off like E4300 instead of E4400 and cheaper but prob better psu.
then again they sent you 1300 so owell not bad. give me their xfire's LOL

[largon]

Why waste money on C2D?

A64 3200+ $20
ASUS M2A-VM, 690G $40
1GB PC6400 $30
Quality Fortron PSU $50
etc.

Send back >>50% of the reserved money.

[geto]

A dell machine would be more than enough for any grandparents. 500 dollars you get everything you need, software, monitor, etc. It'll last several years.

E-mail and surfing the web doesn't take much and OS software usually takes a big chunk of money. Or do what largon suggested.

I don't see where the disrespect is.

[Miwo]

I think you are focusing way too much on hardware. Chances are you aren't going to run this overclocked because there is simply no need. For web-browsing, email, and even watching movies, a E4300 with PC5300 is more than enough....especially since the HD2400Pro will help tremendously with hardware decoding of video conent. Here are some of my thoughts...

- Switch out CPU for E4300, memory for 2x1GB PC5300. Even if overclocking, PC5300 will allow 333FSB 1:1, which is fine for a mild OC that just about any Conroe will do on stock volts.

- Monitor: 20" Widescreen is going to be an eyestrain because its the smallest size monitor with 1680x1050 resolution. 22" Widescreens are larger and keep the same resolution and don't cost much more.

- Vista vs XP? XP May be an easier learning experience from Win9x

- Quietness: Try to make the PC as Silent as possible. Drop the 2 WDs for a Samsung Spinpoint drive, use quiet case fans like Yate Loons @ 5v , and try undervolting the processor and running Passive only.

- Make USB inputs easily accessible through a USB Hub or inputs from the Monitor if the model has them

- Get good sounding speakers like Swans http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16836136102
Not much is better in PC Audio and these will be a real treat compared to the low end junk Logitech/Creative make. Will probably push you over your budget though

-Use deal sites like FatWallet/SlickDeals and search for any deals on parts you will be using. If you don't mind used stuff, Ebay & FS/FT forums will get you even better deals

Good luck!

[RAW-Raptor22]

Should I just use the Conroe in my own system and Give them my PD820? Pros/Cons?

[Mav451]

- Monitor: 20" Widescreen is going to be an eyestrain because its the smallest size monitor with 1680x1050 resolution. 22" Widescreens are larger and keep the same resolution and don't cost much more.

This is probably the most important comment in this thread. Old people don't care if it's 16x12, or 10x7 - it just better not be too small! My dad is a testament to that. He was running a 20" LCD @ 1024 x 768 b/c text was too small at the native resolution. I'm sure your grandparents would appreciate the bigger screen (with less DPI) more than anything else (RAM/CPU/etc.)

[RAW-Raptor22]

So I might just give them my PD820 and my 1GB of MD9 Kingstons?

[Bail_w]

So I might just give them my PD820 and my 1GB of MD9 Kingstons?

ya thats fine.

[Movieman]

They are both 74 Years old. My Grandpa doesn't use the PC much, but my grandma is into sending tons of E-Mail attachments with pictures and video, rather sad but broadband is $60 a month in their area so they ae stuck on phone company dial-up. And movieman: I really appreciate the respect that you gave them, and see eye-to-eye with me. I originally posted this on another forum, and they responded kind of jerkily, like "buy a Sempy for 'em," its like what the hell man. Since I live in CA, and my grandparents live in Idaho I dont get to see them much so this is just one way I can feel kinda still connected to them. I really appreciate your input, and I'm glad I have made a great new friend on the forum.

Cheers,

~C. DeKnikker

Best compliment I got all year! Thank you.
Maybe it's me being sensitive. I lost my grandmother at age 96 app 8 weeks ago.Maybe it's just me being older with an appreciation of that generation of people.
There's been some good suggestions in this thread.
When I posted I missed that there was a monitor and keyboard in this build.
Keyboard all you need is a simple MS keyboard..$15-20..
The monitor, I'd go with a locally available(to them) 19" CRT
Colors are "warmer" and better for old eyes.
Remember that 1024x768 is the max an older person will generally use.
Can you use that PD-820?
Yes, plenty of stones for their machine.
I was thinking the Conroe 6600 at stock speed for stones and elec usage.
Much less than that PD I think.
I don't beleive in passive cooling.
Good fans well placed and always a mid speed 80mm minimum on the hard drives. Extends their lives 3 fold from my experience.
My best to you on this.

[RAW-Raptor22]

Best compliment I got all year! Thank you.
Maybe it's me being sensitive. I lost my grandmother at age 96 app 8 weeks ago.Maybe it's just me being older with an appreciation of that generation of people.
There's been some good suggestions in this thread.
When I posted I missed that there was a monitor and keyboard in this build.
Keyboard all you need is a simple MS keyboard..$15-20..
The monitor, I'd go with a locally available(to them) 19" CRT
Colors are "warmer" and better for old eyes.
Remember that 1024x768 is the max an older person will generally use.
Can you use that PD-820?
Yes, plenty of stones for their machine.
I was thinking the Conroe 6600 at stock speed for stones and elec usage.
Much less than that PD I think.
I don't beleive in passive cooling.
Good fans well placed and always a mid speed 80mm minimum on the hard drives. Extends their lives 3 fold from my experience.
My best to you on this.

Thanks man, well appreciated the input on this end.
I'm on the PD now, but a Conroe would be awesome, but I aught to wait until the 22nd to order, I don't know. Would the Conroe fold any better?

[Movieman]

Thanks man, well appreciated the input on this end.
I'm on the PD now, but a Conroe would be awesome, but I aught until the 22nd to order, I don't know. Would the Conroe fold any better?

Much better..
Ought to see what 4 of them on one board can do!

[Ashraf]

I thought it was for Movieman, but I figured I had to read the title of this thread twice.

[RAW-Raptor22]

So should I put the conroe in my own system, or should I keep my PD?

[Ashraf]

Yes, you should put the E4400 in the system.

[Movieman]

I thought it was for Movieman, but I figured I had to read the title of this thread twice.

I build my own you little PITA!
And his grandparents aren't old enough to be my parents!

Now get back to your artwork or it's the BIG B button for you!

[SNiiPE_DoGG]

you know that most things barely work on vista 64 right?. if something does work it will be glitchy in most cases and most drivers will be afk. sure, it has gotten better but not to the point where it is good for the non-enthusiast.

IMO get them a dell with REAL tech support if they arent gaming, building a rig for them really isnt worth all the tech support YOU will have to provide

[RAW-Raptor22]

you know that most things barely work on vista 64 right?. if something does work it will be glitchy in most cases and most drivers will be afk. sure, it has gotten better but not to the point where it is good for the non-enthusiast.

IMO get them a dell with REAL tech support if they arent gaming, building a rig for them really isnt worth all the tech support YOU will have to provide

I don't mind talking to my grandparents. F*ck they are my grandparents for peets sake. And yes I might reconsider the x64 vista, but I won't be ordering until next week, so I'll let everything percolate for a while.

[Hutch]

BTW get a single SATA drive that's under 250GB. If they are on dial up there is absolutely no possible way they will fill up even 1/4 of a 250GB drive. Even if they have broadband they still won't even come close to half capacity in 5+ years.

If you want to give them a real good treat, get them a 20.1" or bigger regular sized LCD (NOT WIDESCREEN!) Don't get them a $220 CPU, get them a $99 E4300 or even the C2D celeron equivilant (Pentium 2160 or w/e it's called, just woke up sorry.)

Don't get them a pre-made piece of crap, if you use quality components they won't have a problem with their computer. Dell uses nothing but the crappiest components (esp. PSU's and boards.) Their PSUs slogan should be "Guaranteed to fail within 3 years or your money back!"

[RAW-Raptor22]

I'm thinking of getting the $220 CPU for me, and using the PD820, thoughts?

[514y3r]

If all their using it for is Email and Internet, you can do w/o a graphics card and get a MB with intergrated graphics.

[RAW-Raptor22]

If all their using it for is Email and Internet, you can do w/o a graphics card and get a MB with intergrated graphics.

Not one that will last a while...

[orion23]

Man, get them a Dell PC instead!

It will cost you anywhere between $400 and $800 including the monitor.

$400 for a very basic setup, and $800 for a very good system including a 22" LCD.

And you won't have to offer your technical support!

[RAW-Raptor22]

Refer to post #43

[mrcape]

Your grandmother's going to be strafe jumping around and taking out strogs.

[mezcal]

I'll second (or third or whatever) the suggestion on the monitor. For me, and I'm not yet 50, the minimum monitor size for comfortable viewing at 1680x1050 is 22". 24" would be better yet.
I had a 20" at that res for about a week before returning it. I think they'd find it very frustrating.

I would also avoid the 64-bit os. Sure, you'll set it up before delivery but no telling what gran might want to install on it when your not there. Just an extra and unnecessary layer of complexity imho.

I'd stick with raid 1 also unless you're going to set up some sort of automated backup solution for them. They'll not be pleased if they loose all the pics of the grandkids (that's you) and whatnot!

Otherwise, looks awsome!
They'll be impressed with it and you as well.

EDIT: Oh yeah, box cooler is more than adequate. I'm using the stocker on my sig rig with no issues at all.
Cut whatever costs you have to in order to get a more usable monitor I say.