Grandfather needs Desktop. What should he get?

[FFactory0x]

My grandfather's computer is getting old and looks like it is on its last legs.

I would really like to get him a newer one for his 85th in 2 weeks.

He already has a monitor so he only needs a tower. If it comes with a monitor and falls under the budget, so be it.

He does a lot of general stuff like...

- EMAIL
- Web Surfing
- Office
- he takes tons of pictures so he loves working with photo's

Basically it doesnt have to be a beast, but should last a few years.

Any ideas?

 

[Ghouler]

Perhaps this?
It's got intel dual core with 1MB L2 cache, comes with 1GB of RAM and relatively big and relatively fast hard drive. Also important: NOT with Vista (learning curve, performance on budget machine etc) See how that stacks up against his current PC?
Sure you can buy some cheap mobo and build the system yourself, but for a $400 rig - is it worth it to take risk of running into performance bottlenecks which are always more likely to occur with cheap stuff?


EDIT:
85 and photoshopping pics, huh, I wish I was in such good shape when I am 85. Say hello to your granddad, he must be a cool dude

 

[Blain]

Send gramps to configure a $399 (or cheaper) Dell

 

[frostedflakes]

Maybe keep an eye on the Hot Deals forum, geeks.com usually has some good sales on full systems.

EDIT: This seems like a pretty decent system for $250+ship. They have old P4 systems in the $150 range, some including XP.

http://www.geeks.com/details.a...2-R&cat=SYS&cpc=SYSbsc

 

[Blain]

1. Go To Dell
2. Configure your gramps an Inspiron 530
3. Bump the CPU up to am E2200 for $60 more. The 530 comes with 2GB DDR2 default.
4. Go to check out
5. Download OpenOffice 3.0 for his office apps.

 

[JDMnAR1]

Dell Outlet

Sample system (Insp 530 w/E2200, 2GB RAM, 250GB HD, etc. - $229)

 

[Roguestar]

Got a monitor? Building for someone on a low budget with no special needs?

Dell Outlet is your one and only need.

 

[RebateMonger]

After transferring his data to the new hard drive, consider putting the old drive in an external USB housing and using it as a backup system so he doesn't lose all his pictures when his hard drive fails. Or just get a new one on sale.

Or, if there's less than 5 GB of data, there's Microsoft's free Live SkyDrive.