Budget PC for Browsing etc.

mno101

HI all, I am looking to upgrade an old dell PC (has windows XP) for my parents.

1. What is your budget? €300 - €400
2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? Browsing, Email, MS Office (a few docs and spreadsheet..nothing heavy)..photo viewing
3. Do you need a copy of Windows? Yes
4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? Not Really, It's all 6 years old.
5. Do you need a monitor? No
6. Do you need any peripherals? No, I already have a keyboard and mouse
7. Are you willing to try overclocking? no
8. How can you pay? Credit Card
9. When are you purchasing? next 3 weeks
10. If you need help building it, where are you based? no help needed.
Here is what I have come up with based on similar threads...appreciates any comments
ZALMAN T4 Mini M-ATX/M-ITX Tower Computer Case £25.00
GIGABYTE Ga-H110M-S2H DDR3 Motherboard £59.64
Intel Pentium Dual-Core G4400 3.3 GHz Processor CPU £51.99
Kingston 8 GB DDR3 RAM £44.98
Crucial MX300 275 GB SATA 2.5 SSD with 9.5 mm Adapter - Grey/Blue £77.99
Corsair CX430 £39.99
Windows 10 Pro Activation Key for 32 / 64 Bit £25.00
Total - £324.59

minitrue

On that description I'd probably go cheaper and simpler and just use one of the itx boards with a passively cooled onboard cpu. You get complete silence then!

I did it with https://www.computeruniverse.net/products/90553922/asrock-q1900b-itx.asp a few years ago (costs about the same as your cpu) and you can go up from there generation by generation up to the latest https://www.computeruniverse.net/products/90674451/asrock-j4205-itx-j4205.asp which costs about the same as your board and cpu (hdmi 2.0 would be it's most interesting new feature which doesn't really interest you).

Throw it in a case like say https://www.computeruniverse.net/products/90632481/inter-tech-itx-601.asp and you looking at maybe €120-€170 for board, cpu, case and psu.

There are also some cheap nuc like barebones starting for not much more.

Otherwise I'd flip your build to a DDR4 motherboard and ram (and I like dual channel ram) and it should be sane enough overkill with a nice basic build you could upgrade down the road

mno101

Hello again, I have rmade some slight changes base don post about the new Pentium processors available form intel
ZALMAN T4 Mini M-ATX/M-ITX Tower Computer Case £25.00
Gigabyte H110M-S2H Motherboard (Socket 1151, H110 Express, DDR4, S-ATA 600, Micro ATX) £53.13
Intel Pentium Dual Core G4560 3.5 GHz CPU - Black £69.95
HyperX FURY 8 GB DDR4 2400 MHz Memory Kit (2 x 4 GB) - Black (Skylake Ready) £53.99
Crucial MX300 275 GB SATA 2.5 Inch Internal Solid State Drive with 9.5 mm Adapter - Grey/Blue £76.90
WD Blue 1TB Desktop Hard Disk Drive - 7200 RPM SATA 6 Gb/s 64MB Cache 3.5 Inch
Corsair CX430 £39.99
Windows 10 Pro Activation Key for 32 / 64 Bit £25.00
Total £343.96

but am getting the following message on pcpartpicker.
"Some Intel H110 chipset motherboards may need a BIOS update prior to using Kaby Lake-S CPUs."
presume this would be a straightforward BIOS update ?...or would a different motherboard be the best option

Xenoronin

As far as I am aware, while the CPU supports 2400MHz RAM, you won't get the benefit on a H110 board as the limit is 2133MHz. Someone do correct me if I am wrong.
The reason that warning is happening is that you have a skylake board, with a KabyLake CPU (1 generation ahead). Without a skylake CPU you may not be able to update the BIOS, though you will have to research the board's documentation to see if it is possible to flash a bios (install the new bios) without a CPU installed.

It's probably just easier to go with the new generation of motherboards.
Also, it is a bit cheaper to purchase this all on Mindfactory.de (except the case, which will bloat shipping, buy that on amazon.co.uk).

mno101

thanks Xenoronin..
.have included B250M board ....little more expensive ...but am going to do a comparison on Mindfactory

ZALMAN T4 Mini M-ATX/M-ITX Tower Computer Case £25.00
ASUS PRIME B250M-A Motherboard - Black (Socket 1151/B250/DDR4/S-ATA 600/Micro ATX) £73.86
Intel Pentium Dual Core G4560 3.5 GHz CPU - Black £69.95
HyperX FURY 8 GB DDR4 2400 MHz Memory Kit (2 x 4 GB) - Black (Skylake Ready) £53.99
Crucial MX300 275 GB SATA 2.5 Inch Internal Solid State Drive with 9.5 mm Adapter - Grey/Blue £76.90
Corsair CX430 £39.99
Windows 10 Pro Activation Key for 32 / 64 Bit £25.00
Total £364.69 €429.55

TerrorFirmer

You could save €50 by just going for a H110M and G4400. The G4560 is a lot faster admittedly on paper, but we are talking about 150mph vs 100mph when it comes to casual browsing, office, and similar tasks.

I'm typing this now from a Q6600 machine from 2007 with 4GB of ram and just a 120GB SSD added, and it's used daily for those tasks and it's fine, and even the G4400 is light years ahead of that.

Of course Xenoronin is correct about the ram but for tasks like these, 2133mhz vs 2400mhz is not going to be any deciding factor now or in 10 years.

I don't know the circumstances but is the storage HDD or an SSD so large needed? This PC just has a 120GB SSD and it's never more than about 50% full (my parents just use it for web, email, some movies, documents, etc).

Also Win10 works indefinitely without activation so the key isn't really needed (you just get a tiny watermark in the corner of the screen which is barely even noticeable, and nothing else), and technically that key is not a legal key, wherever you are getting it from.

K.O.Kiki

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G4560 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor (€66.40 @ Mindfactory)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B250M-D2V Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (€74.56 @ Mindfactory)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport LT 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory (€64.01 @ Mindfactory)
Storage: Sandisk SSD PLUS 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (€77.93 @ Mindfactory)
Power Supply: XFX XT 400W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (€45.96 @ Mindfactory)
Total: €328.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-01-26 16:35 CET+0100

(actually closer to €318)
Pair with a microATX mid-tower / mini-tower case from AmazonUK and you're good to go.