Computer Upgrade Advice for the Monster-in-Law =p

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All,

My monster-in-law has been hounding me to build her a new rig. The last one I built her is probably 6-8 years old.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
She does loads of social media (facebook), email, MS Office, basic video transcoding (for putting video on her portable devices). My kiddos and myself also like to the have the option of gaming while we are there (so a decent GPU would be a plus)

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$1000 including tax and shipping. I could go over a little bit if needed.

3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
Fort Worth, TX (I can drive to Microcenter - Dallas if needed)

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
CPU (boxed with stock cooler), Mobo, PSU, RAM, GPU, SSD (256 GB), Data HDD (2 TB)

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Lian Li mini tower case, CD/DVD burner, monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers

6) Will you be overclocking?
No, never

7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
1440x900


8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Now

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? UEFI? etc.
Sata 6Gb and USB 3.0 would be nice for futureproofing

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Yes, I have a new Windows 7 64 bit license for the machine.


Thanks in advance for the assistance guys.
 
Here's your Micro Center shopping list....

$90 - AMD A8 6600K Black Edition quad-core processor
$30 - Asus A88XM-A micro ATX motherboard (instant $40 discount when purchased along with processor)
$78 - Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB DDR3 1600 RAM
$170 - Gigabyte Radeon R9 270 Overclocked 2GB video card
$110 - Crucial MX100 256GB SSD
$80 - WD Desktop Mainstream 2TB HDD (in-store price, based on online catalog)
$55 - EVGA 600B 600 watt power supply
=====
$613 - Total before tax
+$51 - Sales tax

$664 - Total at Dallas Micro Center

Your mother-in-law doesn't need much in terms of CPU power, so I decided to go with one of the AMD bundle deals instead of Intel. The A8 6600 has more than enough power for all of your MIL's primary tasks.

I chose the Crucial MX100 SSD and the Gigabyte R9 270 to give you a good gaming solution without spending a lot of money. The R9 270 is more than enough for a 1440x900 resolution.

You're not going to find the price of the WD Desktop hard drive online. (Oh, it's also a retail package.) I found the price through Micro Center's online catalog, so it may or may not be accurate once you go into the store.

If you want a modular power supply, ask Micro Center if they price-match with Amazon or NewEgg. If they do, you can go there and grab the Corsair CX500M for about $60.
 
Thanks a bunch for the response. Any chance you could provide an Intel build as well. I've had a bad experience with AMD processors in the past and have opted for Intel ever since.
 
Outside of the bundle deals, you don't really get a good value with the Intel components. The best Micro Center processor/motherboard combinations I could find are:

$50 - Intel Pentium G3250 dual-core processor
$75 - Gigabyte GA-B85M-D3H micro ATX motherboard

The above combination is comparable to the AMD combo in price, but the AMD combo is more appealing (quad-core versus dual-core; the Asus A88XM-A has more features than the Gigabyte B85M-D3H).

$200 - Intel Core i5-4690K quad-core processor
$40 - ASRock H97M Pro micro ATX motherboard (instant $40 discount when purchased alongside i5-4690K)

The above combo is more powerful than the AMD combo but it costs twice as much. I don't believe that you should spend that much money for your MIL.

If you really want an Intel-based system, you may have to go online for the motherboard and the processor.
 
I've got absolutely no issue with buying all the components online (In fact I'd prefer that over the long drive). In my history, I've purchased way more from the egg than I have for microcenter.

Thanks again for all your help.
 
ONe more question, I've never used a micro-ATX motherboard. Will this form factor fit ok in an 8 year old Lian Li tower case?
 
Which eight-year-old Lian Li case do you have? (The board should fit as most ATX cases have mounts for both ATX and micro ATX boards.)

Since you don't want to drive to Micro Center and you hate AMD, let's go for a different build:

$180 - Intel Core i5-4440 quad-core processor
$88 - Gigabyte GA-H97M-D3H micro ATX motherboard
$74 - Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB DDR3 1600 RAM
$170 - Gigabyte R9 270 2GB video card
$113 - Crucial MX100 256GB SSD
$5 - Mushkin 2.5-to-3.5 SSD adapter bracket
$84 - Seagate Baracuda 2TB HDD
$60 - XFX TS 550W PSU
====
$774 - Total before shipping and taxes

I recommend buying a new DVD burner as well, given the age (and potential compatibility problems) of your older drive. Fortunately, you can grab one for less than $20.
 
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The case is still usable provided you're willing to live with its drawbacks.

You can't connect the top USB 2.0 ports into the USB 3.0 header, but the board does have a USB 2.0 header. There is no FireWire header, so you're out of luck there.

Given the age and the quality of the case fan, you may want to replace it. Don't spend a lot of money on the replacement as you can find something along the lines of the NZXT fan for under $10.
 
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This is all great information tiraides. I really appreciate the time you spent responding to my questions. This isn't the first time you've helped me over the years. I will probably purchase the parts you recommended soon. I will have to research whether the case fans can be replaced so easily.
 
FYI, ordered everything you suggested except the fans the the DVD drive. If I notice issues with them when I am building/configuring the box, I will pick up replacements.

Thanks again for all your help!
 
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