I'm planning to build my parents a new PC to replace their old Windows XP machine (AMD Athlon XP 3000+, ASUS K8N motherboard, 2GB RAM, 1TB Western Digital HDD, Radeon X800 GTO, Corsair HX520 PSU). I haven't built a PC in over five years so I wanted to check I'm not missing anything/making any bad choices.
My parents will probably want to keep this computer for as long as possible, so I want it to be future proof, but they only use it for web browsing, occasional video streaming and their photos (Google Picasa), so it doesn't need an amazing graphics card etc.
Here's what I was planning:
What do people think/anything at all I've missed? (I think the motherboard comes with a couple of SATA cables and I'll get a few screws). I'm planning to use the integrated HD4600 for now as I can always add discrete graphics in future if necessary - I'm assuming this motherboard/CPU combination will work for that? Things like front & back USB 3.0 are good for keeping it future proof.
I considered reusing the current HDD but that's getting a bit old too so probably best to replace. Thanks for any advice.
My parents will probably want to keep this computer for as long as possible, so I want it to be future proof, but they only use it for web browsing, occasional video streaming and their photos (Google Picasa), so it doesn't need an amazing graphics card etc.
Here's what I was planning:
- Intel Core i5 4440 - £130 (Haswell)
- ASUS B85M-G motherboard - £50
- 1TB Seagate Hybrid SSD/HDD - £60 (good for boot times but a big enough SSD would be too expensive)
- Gigabyte GZ-MA03 micro-ATX case - £30 (current one is a bit knackered)
- Either 2x4GB DDR3 RAM - £55 or 2x16GB DDR3 RAM - £100 (I'll just get whichever 1600MHz kit is cheapest by someone like Kingston). I'm thinking my parents won't need 16GB at the moment, but it'll save upgrading/any dual channel compatibility issues later. You always end up upgrading RAM sooner or later...
- Corsair CX500 PSU - £40 I'm considering re-using the current Corsair HX520 though, what are the thoughts on that? It was a good PSU when I bought it, but it is probably over five years old now.
- A cheap SATA DVD-RW drive (the current PC has PATA) - £10
What do people think/anything at all I've missed? (I think the motherboard comes with a couple of SATA cables and I'll get a few screws). I'm planning to use the integrated HD4600 for now as I can always add discrete graphics in future if necessary - I'm assuming this motherboard/CPU combination will work for that? Things like front & back USB 3.0 are good for keeping it future proof.
I considered reusing the current HDD but that's getting a bit old too so probably best to replace. Thanks for any advice.