i asked this already once but my Mom changed her mind last time and stayed with her iMac. This time around there are no excuses, she needs that new one.
Now about my thoughts about the Build, it is for surfing, E-Mails and most important saving and looking at her Photos. Typical Mom stuff.
Last time i got one of these AMD APU recommended is it still the way to go? Is waiting for the new 4000 line up worth it?
Whats a good wattage for the powersuply to futureproof it?
Apart from the CPU and Mainboard i would still use the old recomdation i got:
Part
Price (€)
Note
Ryzen 2200G
103
CPU and GPU for little money
ASRock AB350M-HDV
63
Cheap mainboard with display outs
Kingston Fury 4GB 2666
45
RAM, maybe go for 8?
WD Blue 250GB 2.5"
57
Having an SSD is important
CoolerMaster MasterBox E300L
35
bequiet PurePower 10CM 400W
64
LG GH24NSB0
16
Better have one. Can´t be sure with parents.
For the Monitor i wanted to give her some Options
Like a Ultrawide and two normal ones, one more on the cheap side and one thats just nice.
I am sure i forgot something to say so i will edit in all missing Informations
My opinion on these systems is that investing in a decent monitor, keyboard and mouse are essential - the user needs to like what they are looking at and interacting with. The next things to prioritize is 8GB of RAM and an SSD and a quad core CPU to keep Windows and web content snappy when there’s more than a few websites and applications open.
The actual CPU model is almost irrelevant at this point, any current Core i3 or Ryzen would work, but if budget is really tight a second hand i5 or i7 from Haswell or up would be ok (There are a couple of instruction-sets introduced in Haswell worth having) although I’d try for a DDR4 system.
While this system works, it is… Really not ideal, and will be begging for upgrades quite often.
So, if you are really starved for cash, I would recommend something like this instead. Prices are approximate and may be different in your country, but I am basing it on what I can see in my country. Prices are VAT included, shipping excluded.
Part
Model
Price
Comments
CPU
AMD Athlon 3000G
€50
Pretty much same as the 2200G but for less money
RAM
Kingston HyperX Fury Black DDR4 2x4GB @ 2666MHz
€45
Keep your eyes open for deals. You want at least 2 RAM sticks.
Motherboard
Gigabyte B450 Aorus Elite
€110
This board allows you to upgrade to a discrete GPU and a 3600 down the line as well as a 4600 if you don’t mind tinkering a little, I wouldn’t run anything hotter than a 3700X in there though.
Storage
Kingston A2000 M.2 250GB
€45
SSDs are great, but when you can get an NVMe for cheaper, even better
Case
CoolerMaster MasterBox E500L
€45
By adding 10 euro, you get much more case for the money.
PSU
Cooler Master MWE 600 White
€60
Go to 600W now, even though I’d get a SFX-L PSU instead - since the next logical upgrade will be to go small
Fans
2x Arctic P12 PST PWM 120mm
€20
Front fans are required even if you go with the E300L case
DVD-ROM
Lite-On eBAU108
€30
No argument from me regarding DVD drives, but perhaps consider an external USB DVD drive for future options?
Total
€405
In total my suggestion comes in at €405, which is slightly more expensive than yours (€383) but offers a ton of upgrade options later, and if you want to downsize the case you do not have to care about 5.25" slots. With fans, there is pretty much no difference in our builds.
If upgradeability is not a high priority, the €170 Asrock A300 Mini combined with 2x4 GB of DDR4 SO-DIMM memory is an even better purchase - same NVME and CPU which means a really small PC for your mom, and you save maybe €50 in total.
Thanks for the quick replays, the list of parts was just copy pasted from the old thread. So its more about the direction i was planning.
I would do the 8GB of RAM, maybe even 16?
I liked the AMD CPU with APU, the one i listed is 2 years old. is there a newer one?
And yes BGL i think you are right about the peripheral are very important but getting a keyboard and mouse that fits for my mother isnt to hard. Any suggestion for the Monitor?
My budget isnt to tight. I just dont want to overspend
Thinking about how my wife uses computers and comments on the various kit in my office (but couldn’t care about the technical details);
Instant love with a mechanical keyboard that has Cherry MX Reds, likewise a cheap wireless mouse was adopted as it was comfortable and less annoying than a wired one.
An IPS monitor with bright, vibrant colours - terrible input lag & latency that annoys me is not noticed.
More than 8GB is a good thing, who wants to close applications or browser tabs unless they have to?
Save yourself the hassle, and her from a big ugly case and get a nuc.
My mother have been using a broadwell nuc for office work for five years now, she’s very happy with it.
@anon46267848 I don’t know why but i dont “trust” those NUCs as the only PC, having them as a small second PC sure but not as the only one. Is upgrading even possible on those?
@BGL not sure if she would like a mechanical Keyboard. At home she has the Apple butterfly one and at work the cheap membrem from Cherry. but i am going to show her some option in a store to try them out. For the Monitor i even thought about a Ultrawide. like you said input lag & latency isnt a issue here. Any suggestions?
I can’t recommend any specific monitors, all mine are now 5-6 years old at least. I think just about any current model with an IPS panel would be better.
I wouldn’t be snobbish about NUC’s, a few people at work use them, no complaints and work really well with low latency drives and 16GB from what I have seen.
The greatest advantage with NUC and similar small form factors; you can mount them to the back of your monitor (or TV if HTPC) through a VESA mount. Combine with a few other things like a monitor with USB ports, a 10" HDMI cable and a power cord splitter, and you can achieve a really minimal, clean look with a single power cord (mouse, keyboard and network are all reliably wireless these days).
Personally I’m in love with the Asrock Deskmini X300, which allows you to install a Ryzen 4600G with a Noctua LH-L9i and up to 64 GB of RAM, as well as four harddrives (two NVMe, two 2.5" SATA).
Best of all is the cost, listing with the A300 for now but the X300 should be out soon:
Part
Model
Cost
Comment
Motherboard
Asrock DeskMini A300
€170
Mobo+Case+PSU in one, awesome price
CPU
AMD Athlon 300G
€50
Cheapest available APU right now
Cooler
Noctua NH-L9i
€50
Best SFF cooler right now
Memory
2x4 SO-DIMM DDR4 3200 MHz
€55
Laptop memory, so not quite as cheap
Storage
Kingston A2000 M.2 250GB
€45
NVMe drives FTW
Case
Asrock DeskMini A300
–
PSU
Asrock DeskMini A300
–
€370 isn’t too shabby for something that small, though I’d probably pay up for a 4750G, 32 GB of storage and a 1TB storage device, just to make sure the build stays relevant for at least five years.
That kinda build would cost around €800 though, so only do it if you have the means.
I would agree with the previous posters that a NUC or another micro PC / USFF PC would be best. Mom-type users simply don’t care about the latest CPU / performance. A modern looking monitor with thin bezels and bright colors will be hugely important. Great looking and feeling keyboard and mouse are also important. Superb cable management is key as well, and I dont mean inside the PC case! I mean around the desk area.
@wertigon The Asrock DeskMini looks realy good. can the motherboard be upgraded down the line? And about the mounting the NUC on VESA, i dont realy get how. all my monitors use the vesa mound for the stand.
32GB of RAM is way to much for my Mom 16 should be plenty.
The motherboard cannot be upgraded, unfortunately. That’s the thing with NUCs and NUC-a-likes - they are reliable, but apart from RAM, drives and this-gen CPUs, you do not have many upgrade paths. For many mom PCs, though, that PC can be built and easily forgotten for five years. Either start with a 3000G and work your way up there, or invest in something like the 4350G or 4650G directly once it’s out for builders.
There are computer monitors that do not use the VESA mount for the stand, and you can even get them for a decent price these days. Running a BenQ G2250 myself, not exactly the best of screens but decent and runs great. Just not WHOA-AMAZINGLYAWESOME
Presumably most people on this forum would be okay with a PC the size of a shoebox with a nice processor and a clear upgrade path. But most people on this forum are also at least interested in tech and are okay with the size trade off they get for upgradeability. The average user on the street I doubt would care about that.
I’ve built a couple PCs for my parents and the one they’ve appreciated the most is the smallest one, and they still think it’s a great computer 6 years later. They like that it’s small and they can stick it pretty much anywhere, and they appreciate that it doesn’t look like a big metal box sitting under their desk.
Anyways, I would also ask what your mother wants. Does she care about upgradeability? What about size? Does she care about the appearance? Because if it’s going to be 5 years before an upgrade I doubt there will be new processors coming out for it. If she wants something she can tuck away out of sight then anything larger than ITX is too big. Likewise she may not like the look of most computer cases.
Yes size and looks are very important. My plan was to get a somewhat small case that i can mount under her desk.
The next upgrade is surely more then 5 years out so i only would get a Case and powersuply with upgrades in mind.
I am going to look into Monitors that can mount NUCs with VESA. And then give her different options.
Another vote for a NUC from me, if the price is right. I realize this isn’t as fun as building a PC though.
I don’t know that upgradeability is really much of a concern for this type of mom-PC. By the time she needs an upgrade, chances are the only thing from a custom built PC that would be useful is the case, fans, and maybe the PSU anyways.
I say that with the expectation of a NUC meeting her needs for 5+ years. Which seems reasonable. I used an i5 (4670k) for ~5 years on my main gaming PC without real reason to upgrade other than boredom.
xiaome has a new really cheap ultrawide(curved)(if she wants ultrawide) but if she views any charts (plotlines) DO NOT GET A CURVED MONITOR! Your perseption will be altered and you will not be able to view charts correctly because of the curve. I’d say “not to get whiplash to get 27” or smaller". for 27" 1440p is a good resolution to not have any scaling problems and be able to view it comfortably without much window management. Pivot and height adjustment is preferable to get a comfortable seating position. AOC 27" Q27G2U, Dell 27" P2720D IPS and MSI Optix MAG272QP or BenQ 24" BL2420PT 2K IPS are good options that all have height and pivot adjustment.
Users who do not have computer-centric lives tend to value portability above all else.
Use the computer in the garden while relaxing in the sun, in the kitchen while cooking, in the bedroom while watching a movie or catching up with their favourite tv drama, the ability to take it with them when they travel etc etc.
Compactness is also another consideration, not only while in use, but also so it can be stored out of sight when not in use.
I’ve no idea how tech-literate your Mum is, but if she’s anything like mine, doing anything with a mobile phones beyond calling or texting is hopelessly beyond her.
However she’ll happily use a laptop webcam to video call friends, something that’d need additional peripherals (and setup) for a desktop machine.
@djcat thanks for the Monitor recommandtion. going to look into them
@TehJumpingJawa My mother would never move her PC for her the PC is work and work means a Desk. And paying for portability that she doesnt use dont sound right.
