Help with budget PC for mom

[MGAD]

So I'm looking for some input from builders more experienced than myself. 

 

Short version: I want to build my mom a new pc for cheap as a christmas present but don't want to break the bank. 

 

Long version: My mom has a pc that's God knows how old (best guess, 10 years old). It's really starting to show its age and is starting to struggle with even simple web browsing and flash games when she has a bunch of tabs open at once. She thinks she needs to spend $1000 on a new computer because that's what she's always done...I'd much rather build her something that more than meets her needs for the next few years for more like $300-$400 . All she really uses her computer for is web browsing, browser games, and using microsoft office. The problem I have is I've built some decent gaming pcs but I've never put together a budget pc and don't know what would be the best bet for someone with her limited computing needs. I figure I won't bother with a graphics card, integrated graphics should manage all the intense youtubing she does. An Intel G4400 or i3 6100 seem like reasonable options to me, but I'd really like a second opinion and some advice. 

 

Thanks a ton!

[RGProductions]

1 minute ago, MGAD said:

 

I managed to build a g4400 rig for $150. Link in my sig

[rn8686]

If its just basic word processing and web browsing, an Intel compute stick will be fine. 

[masterkickass7]

9 minutes ago, MGAD said:

So I'm looking for some input from builders more experienced than myself. 

 

Short version: I want to build my mom a new pc for cheap as a christmas present but don't want to break the bank. 

 

Long version: My mom has a pc that's God knows how old (best guess, 10 years old). It's really starting to show its age and is starting to struggle with even simple web browsing and flash games when she has a bunch of tabs open at once. She thinks she needs to spend $1000 on a new computer because that's what she's always done...I'd much rather build her something that more than meets her needs for the next few years for more like $300-$400 . All she really uses her computer for is web browsing, browser games, and using microsoft office. The problem I have is I've built some decent gaming pcs but I've never put together a budget pc and don't know what would be the best bet for someone with her limited computing needs. I figure I won't bother with a graphics card, integrated graphics should manage all the intense youtubing she does. An Intel G4400 or i3 6100 seem like reasonable options to me, but I'd really like a second opinion and some advice. 

 

Thanks a ton!

swap out ssd for 1tb is also good https://pcpartpicker.com/user/masterkickass7/saved/#view=Jp9Jxr

[Herman Mcpootis]

small pc:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G4400 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($56.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Motherboard: ASRock H110M-ITX/ac Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($67.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Memory: Team Elite Plus 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($34.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: SK hynix SL308 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($64.99 @ SuperBiiz) very fast, your mom likely won't complain about speed with this around.
Case: Cooler Master Elite 110 Mini ITX Tower Case  ($29.99 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic 300W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($33.98 @ Newegg) 
Total: $288.93
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-10-15 00:57 EDT-0400

 

if she's fine with a smaller pc:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G4400 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($56.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Motherboard: ASRock H110M-HDS Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($32.94 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Team Elite Plus 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($34.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: SK hynix SL308 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($64.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($24.99 @ NCIX US) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic 300W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($33.98 @ Newegg) 
Total: $248.88
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-10-15 00:59 EDT-0400

[bgibbz]

35 minutes ago, MGAD said:

So I'm looking for some input from builders more experienced than myself. 

 

Short version: I want to build my mom a new pc for cheap as a christmas present but don't want to break the bank. 

 

Long version: My mom has a pc that's God knows how old (best guess, 10 years old). It's really starting to show its age and is starting to struggle with even simple web browsing and flash games when she has a bunch of tabs open at once. She thinks she needs to spend $1000 on a new computer because that's what she's always done...I'd much rather build her something that more than meets her needs for the next few years for more like $300-$400 . All she really uses her computer for is web browsing, browser games, and using microsoft office. The problem I have is I've built some decent gaming pcs but I've never put together a budget pc and don't know what would be the best bet for someone with her limited computing needs. I figure I won't bother with a graphics card, integrated graphics should manage all the intense youtubing she does. An Intel G4400 or i3 6100 seem like reasonable options to me, but I'd really like a second opinion and some advice. 

 

Thanks a ton!

I managed to get an overkill office PC for 400$. 

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/list/vNZ89W

 

i got it to cost that much by taking advantage of sales and deals 

[chatter_box]

I would personally get a Skylake Pentium, paired with a budget ITX motherboard in an ITX case. Since she isn't doing much on her PC, just have one 240gb ssd, as it will dramatically boost the performance and speed of the OS. I woudn't buy windows for her needs. At my office, were all running linux Ubuntu with 120gb ssds because its great for basic productivity and webrowsing.

[Matias_Chambers]

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/3mmH3F
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/3mmH3F/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-6400 2.7GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($174.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Motherboard: Asus H110M-K Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($54.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Memory: Avexir Budget Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($35.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Crucial MX300 275GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($69.95 @ SuperBiiz) 
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($24.99 @ NCIX US) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic 350W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($31.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Total: $392.90
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-10-15 10:49 EDT-0400

[Prömetheus]

Maybe this? 500gb ssd and 1tb hard disk

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G4400 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($56.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Motherboard: ASRock H110M-HDS Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($32.94 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Avexir Budget Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($35.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Sandisk SSD PLUS 480GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($110.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($49.49 @ OutletPC) 
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($24.99 @ NCIX US) 
Power Supply: EVGA 400W ATX Power Supply  ($27.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Total: $339.38
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-10-15 11:14 EDT-0400

[Jovidah]

Some things that come to mind:

 

-Focus on the less tangible aspects.

Think lack of noise. Good fans, or even a fanless design / case (Streacom cases anyone?). Look at fanless PSUs. Although this is of course all dependent on budget.

 

-Aesthethics. Consider the case size and looks. Most non-techies like a nice clean silent no-maintenance dust-free case a lot more than a big open design with bling bling leds and extreme cooling performance. When you go low budget, a lot of the really cheap cases look and feel like cheap plastic. Try to think a bit more like Apple... 

 

-I would definitly put in an SSD; someone who doesn't use it very much is likely to boot it up from scratch a lot more than all us enthusiasts who just have it on 24/7.

If they have no big data storage, like photos, you could consider an all SSD design.