Basic PC for Parents sub-$450 w/monitor

[louchuck]

I've searched the forum and saw some older threads discussing this type of build but they are from last year so I'm thinking there has been a change in recommendations. Basically, my brother and I want to get my parents a new computer for Christmas. I was looking around at some pre-builts but then I saw that you can upgrade from any version of Windows to Windows 8 for $40 (or less) so I figure the general rule that pre-builts are cheaper if you need a new OS isn't really true.

My parents really only use it for surfing the web and watching YouTube videos. If they had Chrome and Microsoft Office they would be completely happy. No gaming, no resource intensive programs.

My budget is around $450 all in (taxes+shipping+etc.) but that also includes a new monitor so I'm hoping to get by on $300-$320 for the components.

I will be buying from Canada probably use pcpartpicker.com to help with price comparison.

Will try to reuse old Antec case and 350w PSU, mouse/keyboard, and speakers. Will require a DVD drive but not necessary to be a writer (just needed for loading any programs that may be on a DVD).

Question: the case is an ATX form factor and I know some of the cheaper parts are microATX will that matter?

My parents will not be overclocking.

Hoping to build this in the next two weeks (ready for Christmas)

Hopefully the computer will be able to play 1080p without lagging.

Thanks for checking out my post looking forward to your advice!

[moocow]

Any NCIX i3 combo and a Nvidia 620GT card should fit your budget. You could try without the Nvidia card first and see if the onboard HD2xxx will play the video. Alternatively, you can go with a FM2 build which is pretty cheap and it already comes with a better onboard video compare to the Intel i3's HD2xxxx. mATX is smaller than ATX so it should fit. How old is that PSU? 350w is kind of on the low side but if you stick with onboard video and only 1 HDD, it should be enough.

ASRock FM2A75M-DGS - $80 before MIR and tax
AMD A4-5300 APU Dual Core Processor Socket FM2 - $50 before tax
Kingston KHX1600C9D3B1K2/8GX 8GB Kit - $40 before tax

Plenty of money left over for OEM OS, 500GB HDD, and DVD drive.

[louchuck]

Thanks for the quick reply!

Is this deal on TigerDirect right up my alley?
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Biostar AMD A780L3C Motherboard Bundle - Biostar AMD Motherboard, AMD Athlon II X3 450 CPU, 2x Kingston HyperX Red 4GB RAM, Coolmax 400W PSU w/80mm Fan, Ultra X-Blaster Mid-Tower V2 Case


$144 after MIR