"Jack Bruss" <jbruss@wi.rr.com> wrote in message
news:woj7h.18664$fh.3281@tornado.rdc-kc.rr.com...
>I want to build a new computer for my father in law. He now has a 7 or 8
>year old Best Buy something or other. The monitor, speakers, and keyboard
>are ok, so we just need to get him a new system and optical mouse. My son
>and I have built several systems in the past, but the last was about 2
>years ago, and I haven't kept up with the chip or mb types or terminology.
>
> So, I would appreciate some advice on the components to buy. I would most
> likely buy at Newegg, as I have always been treated well there. We are
> just looking for a basic system to do email, view photos, simple games,
> etc. We don't need any special extra power. He has a dial up connection
> only, so we'll need a modem, although I guess we can use the 56k modem he
> has, unless newer ones have some advantage.
>
> Thanks for any thoughts,
>
> Jack
>
The modem he has should do fine and most MBs have onboard sound that is
actually quite good these days and should work fine with his current
speakers. As far as processors and MBs go, the Intel Core 2 Duos are very
good and inexpensive ($225 or so for the lower end but still very good
performance) and the I965 chipset boards would be fine. DDR2 will be
necessary, a gig would probably suit his needs. 2gigs would be better if he
is ever going to use Windows Vista. On-board video is not bad for what he is
doing, so you can save a few bucks there if you get a board with it.
Gigabyte and Asus are my favorite boards at this time. You can look around
at Newegg and find the board that will suit your needs. Some of the major
changes since you built your last system is the change to S775, for Intel
(the best perfomance/price ratio right now) and the prevalance of SATA HDs.
One large drive should be fine. I usually use Western Digital, but most
makes are fairly good today. Storage is pretty cheap now with 250gb drives
going for a bit over $100 or so. A couple of 120gb drives might be good for
him leaving a drive for backups of his photos etc. As far as the mouse, I
use a Logitech MX Lazer wireless with a recharger/transmitter that is very
reliable and functional. I don't have to keep batteries around anymore. Good
luck with the build. Feel free to email if I can help any.......

Ed