I am looking to build a simple PC for my dad. He will be mainly surfing the web and using Microsoft office. For the price I'm looking for around $300-$400 US. He will be using the computer until it dies so keep that in mind.
Update
I will be using his old monitor keyboard mouse and optical drive for this build.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3wOh3
Basic and cheap as they come.
Intel Option
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3wP26
http://pcpartpicker.com/user/Grassyloki/saved/4skQ
i like everything except the case... if you can spare $30 its the best cheep case ive ever used
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/apevia-case-xdreamer4bl
Does this include a monitor and keyboard? or will he be connecting it an existing TV with an existing wireless keyboard/mouse?
Here are a few build ideas:
The has everything option: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3wQ9X
This uses 92 watts
This is a little over budget, but it has all the conveniences. It has wifi built in so he can put it anywhere in the house, it has an SSD so there is no waiting for boot up or turning off. It has 4gb of ram so it wont slow down when watching a movie and doing office while browsing. It is a mini-itx form factor so it is small enough to go on the desk or in the TV cabnet. I also chose low voltage ram and the processor is also a lower power one at 54 watts max. This will last your dad a long time and save a few bucks a year on power, further adding to the value.
The Ultra Low Power: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3wStm
The whole thing only uses 63 watts. This is also cheaper than the first build. It will last a while, but I would go with the first option. It is also already low power but it also has built in wifi and is a much faster processor. This motherboard can also use an AC power adapter from a laptop if you have an old one around that fits. Making the computer lighter and more portable.
"Normal" parts: power to value ratio: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3wSOc
This uses about 123 watts, its bigger, has the best graphical performance, but the i3 in the first build is faster on the CPU side. This is also a very good value.
I'd try to fit in an SSD... he'll appreciate the speed... other then that, anything will do what he needs it to
http://pcpartpicker.com/user/MorbidTech/saved/4rvR
Basic, great computer. Under 400. If you add Windows 8, an extra 99 bucks. Or just use Ubuntu 14.04. It has Libre Office built in and you can get Chrome or Opera.
I'd probably look into AM1.
athlon 5350 and mobo combo on newegg ($89) + http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3xnnl
$340 shipped to your door WINDOWS INCLUDED, faster than almost everything else here, and will only draw 30w of power under load from wall. Which I can prove. also best price to performance ratio.
plus you can use the ms office starter 2010 which is freeware from ms because it has 1 ad blockable with more freeware doesnt have powerpoint and only works on windows 7 I would know because I use it bi-weekly for school
http://www.downloadcrew.com/article/26083-microsoft_office_starter
http://www.kluug.net/office-starter-ad-remover.php
$340 FOR QUAD CORE APU W/ SSD ULTRA LOW POWER WIN 7 AND MS OFFICE!
BUY THIS OR i WILL BE ANGRY
Thanks for the help I can see some parts (corsair power supply recurring) ill have to ask him is he will prefer ssd speed or mechanical storage space.
its only a $20 difference. Just go ssd for 150% more performance in many situations
But a very big capacity difference.
If all he is doing is web browsing and office, then there is no reason NOT to get an ssd.
A hdd will set you back $50. you can get a 120gb ssd for ~$65 and there is even a 240gb ssd for $90.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3xrWL - here are basically the choices you are looking at.. you can get a slower or smaller capacity HDD's but let's look at the benefits.
1) speed - Saves you time starting and powering off the computer, programs and internet save and load temp files faster. Everything is basically faster which might be minutes a day and hours a year worth of time.
2) Never have to worry about defragmenting the drive
3) Drive doesn't slow down over time (due to data location on the platters)
Now there are 2 benefits to a HDD, it is a more reliable long term storage, and they are cheaper per GB. These are mostly negligible, but I would consider getting a HDD, even an external as a data backup if he has important purchase information, pictures and etc. Getting a large HDD is also good for movies and other media if he plans on saving a lot of media to his drive.
If your dad isn't very tech savvy, then he will probably say he doesnt care about speed, but his frustration level will also be much higher if he has to wait for the machine or if it slows down after a couple years of use due to disk fragmentation.
I ended up going with prince Vulcan's build.(except the sdd) Its been running for some time now and fits its role well. Only problems is the case dose not have 2.5 mounts. picked up a cheep mount when ordering some other parts on amazon so its OK.
As long as it all works out. Gratz on the new system.