Build dad a pc

[Tilda]

Hi all,

My dad's PC is about 8 years old and could use an update.
I put an SSD in it last christmas, but its not 100% compatible with the MOBO so doesn't run much better.
I've now convinced him he needs a refresh.
Can someone who is more with the tech news than me offer suggestions for a new;

2-3TB+ HDD
Mobo
CPU
Ram
(?PSU)

- he has a GFX card which isn't too bad, and he hardly games.

My plan is to upgrade him straight from XP to Windows 8.1 at the same time.
So i'll get him to back up everything to a new sata HDD from all his old drives (he just chuffing loves keeping 200gb drives in his PC), then format SSD, stick everything together and install Win8.

What could possibly go wrong?!

 

[Edmond]

My plan is to upgrade him straight from XP to Windows 8.1 at the same time........What could possibly go wrong?!

His head will explode for a start

 

[TdC]

hmm I'd go i3 or i5, 8gigs tops. maybe a sleeze round the UK hardware vendors to see if they're selling bundles of CPU-MOBO-RAM?

I'd opt for very standard frequencies and power savings over bleeding edge speed, so one of the haswells together with an 8gb kit from a decent vendor (I have Corsair in mine). I'd choose 8GB over 4 as I think W8 will like that with the apps it runs and bells and whistles. set it up so the SSD is boot + swap, put everything else on the big disk (I have WD red models in my NAS, they're 2TB each and are rated for low heat, low power use (not that consumer disks use a lot of power anyway but hey ho)) and link his user profile to it if that can be done under 'doze. Same idea for the mobo: go for stability and USB / SATA ports over anything fancy. I like ASUS mainstream models for that but I once had a Gigabyte which was easilly the best mobo I ever had.

depending on what PSU he has and the age of it, you may want to consider getting a new one on general principles; also pin compatibility with newer mobos and amount of disks you want to power may be a consideration. I once got the tomshardware best in class PSU at 600W a few years ago and had it ever since.

 

[Moriath]

Win 8. Doh!

 

[caLLous]

I would seriously put him in win7. You can probably pick it up for next to nothing and it will be a much easier transition from XP.

 

[Scouse]

Nah. Windows 8 with Classic Shell Start Menu works great.

Put the OS on his SSD and all his files on the new HDD.

4Gb will be fine - but 8Gb costs about £60 quid so it's no biggie.

As for mobo/CPU - do as teedles said - find a mobo/cpu/ram bundle. How much you thinking of spending anyway?

 

[Tilda]

Righto so spent an hour or two surfing around and copied bits from here, can someone just confirm that this looks alright.
Biggest worry is mobo/cpu compatibility, should be okay but I am in no way up to speed on things.

Mobo: ASUS Z87-K (cheaper than the pro, not sure why the k is worse for a non-uber user pc) http://www.ebuyer.com/507966-asus-z...-sub-8-channel-hd-audio-atx-motherboard-z87-k
CPU: Intel i5 3.4ghz http://www.ebuyer.com/product/467647
Ram: Just what crucial said to get, one of these http://www.crucial.com/uk/store/mpartspecs.aspx?mtbpoid=4815F163A5CA7304

Is anybody able to suggest an economic (as in not power draining), possibly quiet fan PSU for this lot? His current one may be alright, but it may not be too!

Any other advice or suggestions very welcome.
Scouse, thank you, was planning on doing exactly as you suggest. 8GB ram, will get him to boot in winxp on his SSD, then download win upgrade thingie and buy Win8 from that, then sort it all out from there.
I really struggled to find a bundle, Ebuyer used do to them I'm sure, but I couldn't find any and didn't really want to use OCUK so just kinda made something up in the right ballpark.

Would really appreciate someone casting an eye over it and telling me it will actually play nicely together.

 

[Moriath]

On board gfx and sound ?

If no gfx card get something 600w or more with good efficiency. Won't really matter.. Can't really see why you paying for recent mobo or CPU if all it's gonna be used for is a web browser. Might as well get a third gen i5 proc than the four you looking at save lots of money won't show much difference in word excel or Firefox.

Guess your gonna use the old case

 

[Tilda]

Using old case, old gfx card and sound card so no worries there.
Essentially I guess its future proofing, he does run photoshop and video stuff occasionally. Probably 70-80% of the time is just emails and internet with the odd game.
Its for a general performance boost, I thought get a decent one (he's paying!) and then I dont have to try and convince him to upgrade again in a few years.

 

[Moriath]

For that you really don't need forth gen stuff third would be good enough. Depends how much of his money you want to spend. I mean even stuff two years old would accomplish that with ease

 

[MYstIC G]

Depending on budget I'd say go with a Scan deal of the day. Sub 500 notes for everything that just needs bolting together tbh.

 

[Job]

new install of XP on my SSD, holy crap that's fast, from cold boot to surfing on Chrome, 16 seconds.
Actually took a bit longer for the wifi to connect, but standby is instant on.

 

[Moriath]

So what did you build your dad and don't say you skunked a shit load on a surfing box