Help critique PC build for Mom [solved]

[Hazerd]

The Corsair 420w link goes the a Corsair 600w PSU.

[Ziggy]

The Corsair 420w link goes the a Corsair 600w PSU.

There's a drop down menu on the right side to select the 420w model (and also a 500 or 700w model).




I was going back and forth with 4 or 8GB of RAM. Realistically, 4GB would probably be just fine for some years, if not the life of the PC. However, a 2x4GB kit is only about $20-30 more than a 2x2GB kit. For that small increase in price, I'd rather just put in the 8GB and know I'll never have to worry about it. On my desktop right now, I have all my normal background programs running (IM and email clients, anti-virus/malware, BIOS/fan monitor, virtual drive, etc) plus Firefox with 7 tabs and Task Manager is showing about 3.3GB of RAM usage. Granted, if I close Firefox it'll drop a GB. But still, that's too close to 4GB for me. I know my Mom constantly leaves multiple browser windows open, and sometimes in addition to other apps (like WMP, and now Movie Maker). Yes, I think 8GB is justified.

[Cronozilla]

See, here's the thing, the top end FX chips are the same price as the low end i5s ... Like the FX 8350. And the only aspect where Intel has the advantage is single threaded programs, but it's long past due for that to change. Almost all hardware now benefits from multi-threading. And if you want one chip to last ten years, you should build to how things will be, not how they are. Even now, performance difference is somewhat negligible, and the AMD chips are the ones that could perform better.

It's just something to keep in mind.

[Ziggy]

Bah. I've never been so hung up on which CPU to get. There's too many choices on the market, IMO. Each with their own pros and cons.

[Hazerd]

Bah. I've never been so hung up on which CPU to get. There's too many choices on the market, IMO. Each with their own pros and cons.

I wouldnt think to much into it, its a simple computer for simple tasks, hell your not even the one using it, i wouldnt try to "future proof" it, its not worth the trouble.

I would of never put a SSD in my grandpa's computer, hell i dont even have a SSD!

If you want, give me a price range and ill throw a computer together for ya.

[Ziggy]

I wouldnt think to much into it, its a simple computer for simple tasks, hell your not even the one using it, i wouldnt try to "future proof" it, its not worth the trouble.

Well it is for Mom, so I don't wanna throw just any old thing together. And after all, when she has a computer problem, she doesn't call Geek Squad or whatever... she calls me.

I would of never put a SSD in my grandpa's computer, hell i dont even have a SSD!

They seem more useful to me in a laptop, because of the obvious problem with mechanical HDDs and laptops, but I love having one in my desktop. I'm not gonna lie and say I saw a huge increase in speed overall, because I don't. Things don't load much faster, a cold start is a little faster but no big deal, and all my large file transfers are still to mechanical drives since only the OS and apps are on the SDD. However, coming out of sleep and hibernation is MUCH faster on the SDD. That alone, to me, made it worth it. Now I don't mind having my desktop auto sleep where as before I never wanted it to because it would take too long (for me) to wake.

If you want, give me a price range and ill throw a computer together for ya.

Thanks, but it's not really necessary. It all comes down to the CPU. After that, both the Intel and AMD socket mobos have more or less the same features so it's just a matter of brand loyalty, it's gonna be the same amount and speed RAM, the same PSU, the same everything else.

That being said... Out of the four that I've picked, which CPU would you go with? The AMD APU, FX, i3 or i5? I'm guessing the i3, since that's what you went with for grandpa's build.

[Hazerd]

I said the A10 originally, but it doesnt matter, your mom wont notice the difference.

[Ziggy]

I said the A10 originally, but it doesnt matter, your mom wont notice the difference.

No, I suppose not. Hell, she doesn't even know what a CPU is. I guess this is more for me.

[Hazerd]

I said the A10 originally, but it doesnt matter, your mom wont notice the difference.

No, I suppose not. Hell, she doesn't even know what a CPU is. I guess this is more for me.

If this was a $2000 benchmarking tower of power i would make all the decisions very carefully, but yeah, dont stress yourself out.

Looks like your using alot of re-used parts anyways, whats your price range at anyways?

[Ziggy]

There's no hard budget, but I initially told my Mom I could do it for something like $300-400. And really, the i5 build I'm proposing is about $400, so I'm right on mark. Of course, the OS will push it to $500.