$500 office pc including os

Looking to build an office pc for my parents who are in their 50s. They do basic things such as online shopping, solitare and checking stocks. Need some ideas as I have little experience in this area.

I think this will last them for a few years, and they can ad another 4GB stick of ram in the future if needed.

The only thing is, you will have to use Linux (which can be even more user freindly than windows or OS X, just look at Elementary OS, Linux mint, or Joli OS for something really user freindly) or aquire windows somehow.

 

This http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1rJgP

He does have the option of cracking windows. I'm sure the builds linked above are okay.

Depending on the trading software they use, linux may be okay.

how much storage is needed? are movies and other media stored on it?

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1rKxa

processor has integrated graphics which is fine for the intended use

the kingston SSD combined with the 1TB WD Blue drive makes the system boot fast and a snappy experience in windows combined with a lot of storage for media.

4GB of 1600MHz is fine

The motherboard has a 6Gb/s port for the SSD, 3 3Gb/s ports for the 1TB drive and OD, and a USB 3.0 header for the case which has a USB3.0 port in the front.

The fractal design case is elegant (no lights and brash stuff) and great quality, suited for the intended office use.

The PSU is capable of powering a much more powerful system so if you want to drop in a GPU later if you wanna game and it is also 80+ bronze.

This includes Windows 7 home premium which is fine but if you can put up with windows 8 it is a bit cheaper and faster. You can just install 'start is back',  ignore the metro interface, and use it like you would Win 7.

The total price for this system is $430 which is great as it has all the 'bells and whistles' of an office/home system.

Hope this helps, i think it is a super home/office build for the money.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1rMV6

Made it simple.

 

it is not a gaming PC, an aftermarket cpu cooler and 8GB of memory is not needed

My build offers a lot more

usb 3.0 in the front (my motherboard has a usb 3.0 header and a case with usb 3.0 in the front)

SSD

A more efficient psu (yours is 80+ mine is 80+ bronze)

 

The one that comes in the package is not worth it's weight. I actually own the A8 - 6600k and the heat sink is next to be replaced. 60c temps on 75% load. The ram is because APUs don't have graphics memory. They use the system memory. 512 mbs are forced allocated. 2-3 gb for windows leaves 512 mbs for apps. All things considered it's still 50 under the limit.

I think you missed the line saying "made it simple". And since you went out of the way to comment on mine then.

Any igpu uses system ram.  Allocating 512 mbs minimum to the system ram. Windows using up another 2-3 gbs leaves 512 mbs for everything else. No headroom headaches at 8 gbs. Also 1 stick of 4, dual channel memory much?

No custom installation paths everytime something wants to default to C.

Also 50 dollars under budget with the option having it cheaper without the extra fans. But who wants reliablity in a cheap build? 

This is what I would build, note there is a psu included with the case, not exactly an efficient one but is the PC going to be constantly used?

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1u7K5

With $89 remaining you could easily get a copy of Windows 8  64bit System Builder edition

http://www.amazon.com/Windows-System-Builder-OEM-64-Bit/dp/B0094NY3R0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1377001937&sr=8-1&keywords=windows+7

Or you could save abit money and get Linux. Sorry that this isnt the best build.

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1ucNC

Boom. OS included.