Should i get my parents a computer and if so.. what one?

[JokerFire]

So my parents computer is very very slow.This is the specs and such http://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c01859861 

When finding the model number the thing almost didnt respond when i clicked in file explorer. There is Norton 360 also installed that has a red X on 24/7 saying we are at risk and no matter what you do it doesn't go away. I even tried uninstalling the thing and i left it on overnight, after 14 hours of waiting and it still saying uninstalling i gave up.

The most they use it for is checking emails and playing light games.. (the most needing game being plants vs zombies the original)

Is this being slow being the fault that its old or is there something wrong in the hard drive aka should i buy a new one or just wipe the hard drive and try again?

If a new one is needed which one do you  guys think i should get? (like i said light games so im hoping for a less than $300 computer)

[minibois]

My CPU is just a hair bit better than what is in your parents' machine  (I have the Athlon X2 255) and it's really not terrible and my experience is not as bad as the experience on your parents' machine. Maybe a fresh install of Windows will help you out a lot, or maybe an install on an SSD even.

 

Otherwise for 300 USD you can probably throw together some Haswell Pentium 4-8GB system.

I'll make a pcpartpicker list for you in a sec.

[komar]

if this is only a type writter and and web browser  - NO they dont need better PC

it needs new windows 7 and 100% format of the HHD and it will be like brand new after some dust cleaning

[vorticalbox]

yeah get rid of Norton as a first point, your best option would be to just wipe the thing with a fresh copy of windows but you could totally get a lower end pc for around 300.

[Megah3rtz]

USD? 

[minibois]

What @valdyrgramr recommend is good system, this is decent too:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G4400 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($57.89 @ OutletPC) 
Motherboard: ASRock B150M Pro4V Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($51.98 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($39.95 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Crucial MX300 275GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($78.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case  ($44.99 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: EVGA 450W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($37.99 @ NCIX US) 
Total: $311.79
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-11-18 16:50 EST-0500

I took a different sort of approach, with having only an SSD and no HDD (since it's easy to add one later and many people really dont use over 275GB of data). I also didn't include an optical drive and went for a Pentium, which is just fine, but obviously less powerful than an i3 6100.

[Megah3rtz]

updated with DVD drive. 

 

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($104.99 @ Newegg) 
Motherboard: ASRock H110M-HDS Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($38.98 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($39.95 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($48.89 @ OutletPC) 
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($24.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($46.99 @ OutletPC) 
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSC0 DVD/CD Writer  ($14.89 @ OutletPC) 
Total: $319.68
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-11-18 16:56 EST-0500

 

[Megah3rtz]

5 minutes ago, valdyrgramr said:

That's rather old, but not terrible for the task.  Norton is notorious for false red flags, so ignore Norton.

 

Personally, you should just build them something like the following if needed not buy something new...

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($104.99 @ Newegg) 
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($27.97 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: ASRock H110M-DGS Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($50.98 @ Newegg) 
Memory: ADATA XPG Z1 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2800 Memory  ($42.50 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Hitachi Ultrastar 7K3000 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($49.50 @ Amazon) 
Case: Deepcool TESSERACT WH ATX Mid Tower Case  ($29.99 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 520W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($54.99 @ B&H) 
Optical Drive: LG WH14NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer  ($46.89 @ OutletPC) 
Total: $407.81
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-11-18 16:44 EST-0500

 

Install Malwarebytes, suggest pro for blocking attacks from sites.  Then put on something on like Kaspersky or Bitdefender.  Personally, I'd suggest Kaspersky due to better detection and less driver conflictions. 

 

Honestly, though their FB machine is pretty much fine for what they need.  If they really want a longer lasting build then probably the above would be better, but it's just Norton being Norton that's the issue here.  So, install what I said in place of it.

why does it need a cooler? stock does fine 

[TheBestUserName]

I'd just erase the hard drive and fresh install windows. If it still sucks after installing Windows and necessary drivers, I'd get a smallish SSD for it and reinstall Windows again.  Decent 250GB SSDs are pretty affordable.  Use the 500GB one it came with as a backup drive. 

[Megah3rtz]

Just now, valdyrgramr said:

Wasn't sure if Skylake came with them at this point.   The other one I just forgot to remove it cuz I know Haswell has them.

all the non-K versions come with one, (i5 6600 i7 6700 included) 

[Sauron]

You can probably breathe some new life into it by slapping in an ssd and reinstalling windows from scratch. If you still think you need a new one, come back and we'll make you a parts list to assemble it yourself and avoid the garbage you'd find at a retail store (you can reuse the ssd if you purchase it).

[m0k]

www.dellrefurbished.com

dual core systems starting at $200
quad core i5 systems starting at like $250

[Megah3rtz]

if you don't want to buy a new PC, reinstall windows and get some anti virus on the PC, make sure you backup any family photos etc. 

[kirashi]

2 hours ago, mok said:

www.dellrefurbished.com

dual core systems starting at $200
quad core i5 systems starting at like $250

Can confirm, have had AMAZING success buying from DellRefurbished.ca in the past.

My Optiplex 780 USFF is still going strong after almost a year, and cost me a whopping $112 CAD for an E7500 with 4GB RAM.

Most recently I snagged 2 Optiplex 9010 AiO's for $998 CAD, taxes & shipping included: i7-3770s CPUs, 8GB RAM, in a 23" all in one screen.

[m0k]

1 hour ago, kirashi said:

Can confirm, have had AMAZING success buying from DellRefurbished.ca in the past.

My Optiplex 780 USFF is still going strong after almost a year, and cost me a whopping $112 CAD for an E7500 with 4GB RAM.

Most recently I snagged 2 Optiplex 9010 AiO's for $998 CAD, taxes & shipping included: i7-3770s CPUs, 8GB RAM, in a 23" all in one screen.

yup 100%
ive bought and/or recommended to others at least 10 systems from them. built like tanks with tonnes of room for upgrades later ,and a full copy of 64bit win7