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Looking for a computer for my grandma

jake1010
By jake1010
in New Builds and Planning
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my grandma knows almost nothing about tech and i need to find the easiest operating system to use for her. I don't care if it is Windows, Mac, or Linux.

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ChromeOS

Quote me to see my reply!

SPECS:

CPU: Ryzen 7 3700X Motherboard: MSI B450-A Pro Max RAM: 32GB I forget GPU: MSI Vega 56 Storage: 256GB NVMe boot, 512GB Samsung 850 Pro, 1TB WD Blue SSD, 1TB WD Blue HDD PSU: Inwin P85 850w Case: Fractal Design Define C Cooling: Stock for CPU, be quiet! case fans, Morpheus Vega w/ be quiet! Pure Wings 2 for GPU Monitor: 3x Thinkvision P24Q on a Steelcase Eyesite triple monitor stand Mouse: Logitech MX Master 3 Keyboard: Focus FK-9000 (heavily modded) Mousepad: Aliexpress cat special Headphones:  Sennheiser HD598SE and Sony Linkbuds

 

🏳️‍🌈

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2 minutes ago, jake1010 said:

my grandma knows almost nothing about tech and i need to find the easiest operating system to use for her. I don't care if it is Windows, Mac, or Linux.

Get her a Chromebook for cheap, all she needs really.  

"Do what makes the experience better" - in regards to PCs and Life itself.

 

Onyx : AMD Ryzen 7 7800x3d / MSI 6900xt Gaming X Trio / Gigabyte B650 AORUS Pro AX / G. Skill Flare X5 6000CL36 32GB / Samsung 980 1TB x3 / Super Flower Leadex V Platinum Pro 850 / EK-AIO 360 Basic / Fractal Design North XL (black mesh) / AOC AGON 35" 3440x1440 100Hz / Mackie CR5BT / Corsair Virtuoso SE / Cherry MX Board 3.0 / Logitech G502

 

7800X3D - PBO -30 all cores, 4.90GHz all core, 5.05GHz single core, 18286 C23 multi, 1779 C23 single

 

Emma : i9 9900K @5.1Ghz - Gigabyte AORUS 1080Ti - Gigabyte AORUS Z370 Gaming 5 - G. Skill Ripjaws V 32GB 3200CL16 - 750 EVO 512GB + 2x 860 EVO 1TB (RAID0) - EVGA SuperNova 650 P2 - Thermaltake Water 3.0 Ultimate 360mm - Fractal Design Define R6 - TP-Link AC1900 PCIe Wifi

 

Raven: AMD Ryzen 5 5600x3d - ASRock B550M Pro4 - G. Skill Ripjaws V 16GB 3200Mhz - XFX Radeon RX6650XT - Samsung 980 1TB + Crucial MX500 1TB - TP-Link AC600 USB Wifi - Gigabyte GP-P450B PSU -  Cooler Master MasterBox Q300L -  Samsung 27" 1080p

 

Plex : AMD Ryzen 5 5600 - Gigabyte B550M AORUS Elite AX - G. Skill Ripjaws V 16GB 2400Mhz - MSI 1050Ti 4GB - Crucial P3 Plus 500GB + WD Red NAS 4TBx2 - TP-Link AC1200 PCIe Wifi - EVGA SuperNova 650 P2 - ASUS Prime AP201 - Spectre 24" 1080p

 

Steam Deck 512GB OLED

 

OnePlus: 

OnePlus 11 5G - 16GB RAM, 256GB NAND, Eternal Green

OnePlus Buds Pro 2 - Eternal Green

 

Other Tech:

- 2021 Volvo S60 Recharge T8 Polestar Engineered - 415hp/495tq 2.0L 4cyl. turbocharged, supercharged and electrified.

- Lenovo 720S Touch 15.6" - i7 7700HQ, 16GB RAM 2400MHz, 512GB NVMe SSD, 1050Ti, 4K touchscreen

- MSI GF62 15.6" - i7 7700HQ, 16GB RAM 2400 MHz, 256GB NVMe SSD + 1TB 7200rpm HDD, 1050Ti

- Ubiquiti Amplifi HD mesh wifi

 

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3 minutes ago, Moonzy said:

what is she looking to do?

maybe a tablet would fit her better? for social media and phone calls

she is going to do photo storage, web browsing, and light office work (aka word, notepad, etc) also she already has a ipad

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1 minute ago, jake1010 said:

light office work (aka word, notepad, etc)

does any of her work require a certain OS to run?

-sigh- feeling like I'm being too negative lately

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also she wants to be able to store a moderate amount of photos and video

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Just now, jake1010 said:

also she wants to be able to store a moderate amount of photos and video

To add to the tips given above, for storage maybe look for something external. Might be easier in the long run. ;) (less dependent on the Pc/notebook)

When i ask for more specs, don't expect me to know the answer!
I'm just helping YOU to help YOURSELF!
(The more info you give the easier it is for others to help you out!)

Not willing to capitulate to the ignorance of the masses!

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you can download it

12 hours ago, Moonzy said:

not sure how MS office works in chromeOS, since i never used one

 

@kelvinhall05, @Electronics Wizardy or @Dedayog may know

 

 

what about linux

 

12 hours ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

What does she need todo?

 

Id probably get a ipad or chromebook.

 

12 hours ago, Dedayog said:

Get her a Chromebook for cheap, all she needs really.  

 

12 hours ago, kelvinhall05 said:

ChromeOS

what about linux

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Just now, jake1010 said:

 

 

what about linux

No, while it's a nice OS, it's not quite ready for mainstream.  One driver update issue and you're helping troubleshoot.   I've dealt with parents and grand parents for years, simple and easy the better.

 

Don't complicate things.  

"Do what makes the experience better" - in regards to PCs and Life itself.

 

Onyx : AMD Ryzen 7 7800x3d / MSI 6900xt Gaming X Trio / Gigabyte B650 AORUS Pro AX / G. Skill Flare X5 6000CL36 32GB / Samsung 980 1TB x3 / Super Flower Leadex V Platinum Pro 850 / EK-AIO 360 Basic / Fractal Design North XL (black mesh) / AOC AGON 35" 3440x1440 100Hz / Mackie CR5BT / Corsair Virtuoso SE / Cherry MX Board 3.0 / Logitech G502

 

7800X3D - PBO -30 all cores, 4.90GHz all core, 5.05GHz single core, 18286 C23 multi, 1779 C23 single

 

Emma : i9 9900K @5.1Ghz - Gigabyte AORUS 1080Ti - Gigabyte AORUS Z370 Gaming 5 - G. Skill Ripjaws V 32GB 3200CL16 - 750 EVO 512GB + 2x 860 EVO 1TB (RAID0) - EVGA SuperNova 650 P2 - Thermaltake Water 3.0 Ultimate 360mm - Fractal Design Define R6 - TP-Link AC1900 PCIe Wifi

 

Raven: AMD Ryzen 5 5600x3d - ASRock B550M Pro4 - G. Skill Ripjaws V 16GB 3200Mhz - XFX Radeon RX6650XT - Samsung 980 1TB + Crucial MX500 1TB - TP-Link AC600 USB Wifi - Gigabyte GP-P450B PSU -  Cooler Master MasterBox Q300L -  Samsung 27" 1080p

 

Plex : AMD Ryzen 5 5600 - Gigabyte B550M AORUS Elite AX - G. Skill Ripjaws V 16GB 2400Mhz - MSI 1050Ti 4GB - Crucial P3 Plus 500GB + WD Red NAS 4TBx2 - TP-Link AC1200 PCIe Wifi - EVGA SuperNova 650 P2 - ASUS Prime AP201 - Spectre 24" 1080p

 

Steam Deck 512GB OLED

 

OnePlus: 

OnePlus 11 5G - 16GB RAM, 256GB NAND, Eternal Green

OnePlus Buds Pro 2 - Eternal Green

 

Other Tech:

- 2021 Volvo S60 Recharge T8 Polestar Engineered - 415hp/495tq 2.0L 4cyl. turbocharged, supercharged and electrified.

- Lenovo 720S Touch 15.6" - i7 7700HQ, 16GB RAM 2400MHz, 512GB NVMe SSD, 1050Ti, 4K touchscreen

- MSI GF62 15.6" - i7 7700HQ, 16GB RAM 2400 MHz, 256GB NVMe SSD + 1TB 7200rpm HDD, 1050Ti

- Ubiquiti Amplifi HD mesh wifi

 

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1 minute ago, jake1010 said:

 

 

what about linux

 

1 minute ago, jake1010 said:

 

 

what about linux

what does your grandma need to do?

 

Most linux distros have a steeper learing curve, and more to break than ipads or chrome os. So I wouldn't bother with linux if you don't need to here.

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Does she need the full set of features that offline MS Office offers compared to online MS Office, Gsuite, etc? I highly doubt it.

 

 

Chromebook.

Quote me to see my reply!

SPECS:

CPU: Ryzen 7 3700X Motherboard: MSI B450-A Pro Max RAM: 32GB I forget GPU: MSI Vega 56 Storage: 256GB NVMe boot, 512GB Samsung 850 Pro, 1TB WD Blue SSD, 1TB WD Blue HDD PSU: Inwin P85 850w Case: Fractal Design Define C Cooling: Stock for CPU, be quiet! case fans, Morpheus Vega w/ be quiet! Pure Wings 2 for GPU Monitor: 3x Thinkvision P24Q on a Steelcase Eyesite triple monitor stand Mouse: Logitech MX Master 3 Keyboard: Focus FK-9000 (heavily modded) Mousepad: Aliexpress cat special Headphones:  Sennheiser HD598SE and Sony Linkbuds

 

🏳️‍🌈

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Regular preinstalled (cheap-ish) windows notebook+ external drive for the files.
And a computer course so she's not helpless using it. ;)
But if she was able to figure out an iPad that last might not even be needed. :D

 

When i ask for more specs, don't expect me to know the answer!
I'm just helping YOU to help YOURSELF!
(The more info you give the easier it is for others to help you out!)

Not willing to capitulate to the ignorance of the masses!

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12 hours ago, jake1010 said:

also she wants to be able to store a moderate amount of photos and video

External HDD is best to get for these. Those are really cheap considering that any cheaper/lighter laptop has limited SSD storage.

^^^^ That's my post ^^^^
<-- This is me --- That's your scrollbar -->
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  • 2 weeks later...
Posted
On 9/29/2020 at 11:24 AM, Dedayog said:

No, while it's a nice OS, it's not quite ready for mainstream.  One driver update issue and you're helping troubleshoot.   I've dealt with parents and grand parents for years, simple and easy the better.

Totally agree on this. 

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  • 3 weeks later...
Posted

Another idea is how about getting a functional computer from a computer recycling center in your region. You can typically can find business class computers Dells, HP and Lenovos in great condition, for a super low price, and only 5-6 years old, maybe even newer. It might even have be equipped with an SSD. Have a look, doesn't hurt.

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