Help with PC build for my parents :)

[notty22]

Most states have tax, if your buying brick and mortar at Microcenter. If your including rebates, you might as well be realistic and figure that in. IMO, on a potential '400 dollar' build you can't start talking about 110.00 dollar cases.
I'm also a fan of Dell's entry level PC's for this type use. Providing tech support for your 'budget minded' parts choices can get old fast. Dell's combination of parts /drivers/ just plain work. Also make sure for your parents, that your using a activated copy of Windows 7. You don't want a windows update to flag their computer. I'm not inferring anything by that comment. But some people take shortcuts, transferring their windows license, usage rights.

 

[DominionSeraph]

Inspiron 580

Processor: Intel Core i3 550 (3.2GHz, 4M Cache, 2C/4T)
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium
Inspiron Desktop 580 MiniTower
750 GB SATA II Hard Drive (7200RPM)
6 GB DDR3 ECC SDRAM 1333MHz (3 DIMMs)
16X DVD +/- RW Optical Drive

Massive overkill.
If you want to spend extra money get them a SSD. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-528-_-Product

Inspiron 560 with a Pentium Dual-Core E5700 and Vertex 2 I'd be jealous of. Inspiron 580 with i3 and spindle... nope. And the former is cheaper.

 

[mvbighead]

The horribleness of McAfee is no argument that everyone needs a 980X.

You want bad? Try Neverwinter Nights 2 v1.0. I would bet that that on max settings would be unplayable on a dual W5680 with tri-GTX 580's. That doesn't mean that if OP's criteria was, "Playing older games (2006-)" that I'd be inclined to spec him such a system.



Which just brought movies up to the resolutions that computers have been at for 15 years.
You're on crack if you think we're going to 4000+p anytime soon. There's a thing called "sufficiency." It tends to slow progress down.

The P4 has had ridiculous legs for a reason, and it's not because it's a particularly good processor. We simply hit a plateau where that level of processing was good enough. And it's stayed largely good enough because programmers are still programming with that huge market in mind.
A P4/1GB in the Sandy Bridge/4GB days is not like a 386/1MB in the PII/128MB days. And a 3GHz Pentium Dual-Core/4GB rig will put them WELL above the P4 level.



Because the money would be better put towards the upgrade that they'll need 10 years from now for SATA 1000Gb/s to run the 30th generation SSD's and USB 9.0 to run their peripherals rather than buying into a more expensive dead socket now just to purchase processing power they'll never use.

They output to a monitor... you gonna spec them a GTX 590 for that?

All they need is a Dell. Spending 50% more for a gaming processor is an unneeded expense.

You say they need a Dell. My point is, for the amount spent on the Dell, a better system could be assembled. This is a given point because the purchaser already has the OS.

You're calling an 1155 a dead socket? It's the most current socket out right now.

The money they are spending here would be the same amount spent on a Dell. The difference is, the system is more customizable repairable/etc in the future.

As for my point about McAfee, it is less to do with them being crappy in the software world and more to do with applications taking advantage of the power that is out there today. Problem is, if you're running dated hardware, you don't have the power that some systems will simply assume that you have. Hence the point of dial up vs. broadband. If you think you can satisfactorily surf the web on dial up these days... well, you're in for a crappy experience.

The point about PCs isn't a direct correlation either, it is simply an indication that as technology improves, the software typically tends to grow larger. A 7gb DVD is now a 35gb bluray. That 1GB installation of Windows XP is now a 15GB installation of Windows 7. That size of data generally becomes sluggish on older hardware because the bus speeds, bandwidths, etc. that tie into the hardware aren't optimal because... well, they're dated.

As for the video card, well, now you're just jumping to something totally ridiculous. Not everyone games, not everyone needs graphics processing power. EVERYONE processes data. Be it email, Word, PDF, or otherwise. The faster your processor is (and the faster the other components making up the system), the better the end user experience is.

The only other thing to add is that the I5 2500k and similar processors are quite remarkable at this time point. They are some of the best processors around, and the price is actually pretty feasible for most systems. We're not recommending the i7 Extreme head stomper that costs $1000 for the CPU alone, we're talking about a $200 processor that is pretty much the best processor one can buy right now (not the best mind you, but pretty dang close). You throw $300-400 of hardware around it, and you have a powerful system for anything you throw at it. And for $600, it sure beats the piss out of anything Dell has at that price point.

 

[jterrell]

I am with the Del Outlet group here.

I generally abhor buying pre-built but it is not worth the constant tech support you will need to provide to build anything custom for most people over the age of 40/50. (i am just under 40!)

Go with a very basic Dell box that has very few customizations and it will easy to maintain long term and more than do its job as a surfer pc.

My parents have a Dell laptop and pc. I ordered them both for them along with support so they only call me about things about once per month now! LOL. Parents can and will ask you questions that would make you cry if you were actually working in tech support.

Visiting at Holidays becomes "check out my pc" time if you are the tech support!

 

[mvbighead]

Because the money would be better put towards the upgrade that they'll need 10 years from now for SATA 1000Gb/s to run the 30th generation SSD's and USB 9.0 to run their peripherals rather than buying into a more expensive dead socket now just to purchase processing power they'll never use.

As to this point... well, if everyone took that logic when buying anything, no one would ever have nice stuff.

Why buy a nice 2011 Mercedes Benz now when I can buy a kick ass one in 2017. And why buy that kick ass one in 2017 when I can buy and super kick ass one in 2024?

As a purchaser, you have to decide what price points merit consideration. For the casual user, going from an i5-2500k to i7 990x is a pretty simple choice, you don't do it because you are not going to see value in the $850 extra you spend on the 990x.

However, going from an older generation dual core (e6500 at $80) to an i3 generation dual core at 125 would be similar to the disparity in this site:

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/66?vs=118

There is a sizable improvement from the older generation processor to the newer generation. So why buy old, when for a few nickels more, you can have something that'll give you a little extra pep?

The simple answer is you don't, unless you are only able to afford the cheapest of the cheap. At the OP's price point, spending a little extra and building it himself, he could get a much better system.

 

[mvbighead]

I am with the Del Outlet group here.

I generally abhor buying pre-built but it is not worth the constant tech support you will need to provide to build anything custom for most people over the age of 40/50. (i am just under 40!)

Go with a very basic Dell box that has very few customizations and it will easy to maintain long term and more than do its job as a surfer pc.

My parents have a Dell laptop and pc. I ordered them both for them along with support so they only call me about things about once per month now! LOL. Parents can and will ask you questions that would make you cry if you were actually working in tech support.

Visiting at Holidays becomes "check out my pc" time if you are the tech support!

Like I said before, bought my mom a dell... I still have the standard questions, and there is no doubt I will continue to get them. While I understand there is less assumed responsibility with a prebuilt box, you still support it. Heck, you said so yourself. The reduction in visits and calls likely has more to do with it being a nice new box than to do with it being prebuilt. My two cents.

 

[jterrell]

You say they need a Dell. My point is, for the amount spent on the Dell, a better system could be assembled. This is a given point because the purchaser already has the OS.

You're calling an 1155 a dead socket? It's the most current socket out right now.

The money they are spending here would be the same amount spent on a Dell. The difference is, the system is more customizable repairable/etc in the future.

As for my point about McAfee, it is less to do with them being crappy in the software world and more to do with applications taking advantage of the power that is out there today. Problem is, if you're running dated hardware, you don't have the power that some systems will simply assume that you have. Hence the point of dial up vs. broadband. If you think you can satisfactorily surf the web on dial up these days... well, you're in for a crappy experience.

The point about PCs isn't a direct correlation either, it is simply an indication that as technology improves, the software typically tends to grow larger. A 7gb DVD is now a 35gb bluray. That 1GB installation of Windows XP is now a 15GB installation of Windows 7. That size of data generally becomes sluggish on older hardware because the bus speeds, bandwidths, etc. that tie into the hardware aren't optimal because... well, they're dated.

As for the video card, well, now you're just jumping to something totally ridiculous. Not everyone games, not everyone needs graphics processing power. EVERYONE processes data. Be it email, Word, PDF, or otherwise. The faster your processor is (and the faster the other components making up the system), the better the end user experience is.

The only other thing to add is that the I5 2500k and similar processors are quite remarkable at this time point. They are some of the best processors around, and the price is actually pretty feasible for most systems. We're not recommending the i7 Extreme head stomper that costs $1000 for the CPU alone, we're talking about a $200 processor that is pretty much the best processor one can buy right now (not the best mind you, but pretty dang close). You throw $300-400 of hardware around it, and you have a powerful system for anything you throw at it. And for $600, it sure beats the piss out of anything Dell has at that price point.

No one is questioning that you can build a better performing pc via the roll your own route.

There are people saying it is insane to build out a custom rig based upon future upgradability for your parents. I know as I have done just that in the past. It is silly, a huge time waster and the performance is generally pointless.

Word Processors do not need i2500ks to run at max responsiveness. In fact most "parents" web surfer pcs could run on a tablet pc's slow processor.

Most parents could care less if they are cutting edge or got the best possible performance. They want to see the family pictures on facebook and email people. They might pay bills online or do some light shopping. The most advanced may watch some web shows or videos. They may play very light games like solitary or free cell. But generally they could care less about running CPU intensive programs.

And you pay for the functionality they didn't even want with YOUR time.

10 hours of my time is worth a lot more than a hundred bucks. 10 hours per month for 2 years??? not even close....

 

[jterrell]

Like I said before, bought my mom a dell... I still have the standard questions, and there is no doubt I will continue to get them. While I understand there is less assumed responsibility with a prebuilt box, you still support it. Heck, you said so yourself. The reduction in visits and calls likely has more to do with it being a nice new box than to do with it being prebuilt. My two cents.

My call load has been reduced tenfold and the answers I need to supply by more than that.
I can simply steer them to a Dell website, tell them the very simply answer or ask her to call in to Tech support. You do not have that option when you are the sole support.

I do not want to have to drive over and fix firmware problems or update all the drivers or worst of all repair a system that has a virus. Those are all things I have done in the past that I no longer have to touch.

15 years ago I didn't care as fixing systems was both a hobby and a job. I could literally just brig their box to work and play with it there. but I have moved on in my career and no longer want to handle basic tech support for anyone much less my parents who are completely basic in their understanding.

 

[DominionSeraph]

You're calling an 1155 a dead socket? It's the most current socket out right now.

It'll still be long dead by the time the requirements for "email" surpasses its level of performance. Intel only keeps their sockets around for a year or two.

The money they are spending here would be the same amount spent on a Dell. The difference is, the system is more customizable repairable/etc in the future.

Customize with what... the aforementioned GTX 590?
It's a parental computer. You unbox it, plug it in, give them a limited user account and install AV, and then forget about it for the next decade.

And a $320 Dell is not the same amount as a $500 SB quad.

 

[Zap]

If you swap the HDD out for a cheap SSD in my original build, its about the same price too. And there you get a quad-core and 8gb ram.

You forgot a PSU. The Core i3 has HyperThreading for $50 less than the true quad core, plus save $20 on the RAM without having to do rebates. Also, can go with your cheaper motherboard too - Micro Center has H61 starting at $55.

Most states have tax

Dells get taxed in the same states.

My parents have a Dell laptop and pc. I ordered them both for them along with support so they only call me about things about once per month now! LOL. Parents can and will ask you questions that would make you cry if you were actually working in tech support.

Visiting at Holidays becomes "check out my pc" time if you are the tech support!

I had gotten my mom and my aunt their own Dells. They still called me. I figured if they were going to call me anyways, may as well built it myself.

My call load has been reduced tenfold and the answers I need to supply by more than that.
I can simply steer them to a Dell website, tell them the very simply answer or ask her to call in to Tech support. You do not have that option when you are the sole support.

I do not want to have to drive over and fix firmware problems or update all the drivers or worst of all repair a system that has a virus. Those are all things I have done in the past that I no longer have to touch.

Want to know what fixed my problems tenfold? Giving my mom an SSD. I am 100% serious. The instant responsiveness of the system ended the bulk of her calls to me. The only call I've had so far (since last September) was when Firefox popped up an update request (answer was "click OK").

Word Processors do not need i2500ks to run at max responsiveness. In fact most "parents" web surfer pcs could run on a tablet pc's slow processor.

Most parents could care less if they are cutting edge or got the best possible performance.

They couldn't care less about the technical reasons. However, they're probably more likely to complain about anything being slow.

 

[mvbighead]

It'll still be long dead by the time the requirements for "email" surpasses its level of performance. Intel only keeps their sockets around for a year or two.



Customize with what... the aforementioned GTX 590?
It's a parental computer. You unbox it, plug it in, give them a limited user account and install AV, and then forget about it for the next decade.

And a $320 Dell is not the same amount as a $500 SB quad.

You forget the repairable part. Dell and other OEMs are notorius for having their parts suited specifically for their builds. Board dies... call Dell and see if you can buy one for less than 100 bucks... chances are, you won't. Powersupply... maybe they'll stick to the standards if you buy a standard sized tower, but if not, call dell and expect to pay upwards of $70 for a powersupply of lower quality than one you could get off newegg for $30.

$320 Dell? I thought a moment ago they were looking around 450 to 500.

I am by no means insisting that the OP MUST buy an i5 2500k. I am simply insisting that he would be a buffoon to buy a E6500 or whatever CPU when the current generation of processors isn't out of the realm of possibility. You keep suggesting buying a CPU that was released in 08, when the i3 is easily in the OP's ball park.

I guess all I can sum this up to is that I actually care about the people I am recommending equipment to. I make recommendations on the best performance for the dollar. Not just the overall cheapest thing out there simply because it is good enough for email and word processing. You have absolutely no idea what the end user is going to get into in the future, so you just as well plan ahead and do so modestly (not a GTX 590 like you seem to think I suggested somewhere along the line).

Case in point, my mother-in-law (RIP) was looking going to get a laptop for Christmas from her hubby. He knew diddly about computers, so he asked me to find one. After looking around, I had found several deals. One, an e6500 something or other for 400. Another an i3 something or other for 600. I knew she'd use it a lot as she didn't get around all that well, and I knew the extra 200 was in their ball park. I suggested the i3 and he said, uhhh, yep, sounds good to me. Here's my card. They didn't need a screamer, but their current systems they had had for upwards of 5 years. Why skimp when the price difference is so negligible?

And why buy something that may run into a limitation or cause some performance issues down the road when you can just do it right and buy a good one from the beginning?

 

[aphelion02]

You forgot a PSU. The Core i3 has HyperThreading for $50 less than the true quad core, plus save $20 on the RAM without having to do rebates. Also, can go with your cheaper motherboard too - Micro Center has H61 starting at $55.

My bad. However, seeing as the Corsair CX430 is only $17 on newegg now, that doesn't matter too much.

I agree with your overall point though, its better to skimp on the processor and mobo to get a SSD. I only went the 8gb route because its cheaper / gb, and those m-ATX mobos only have 2 ram dimms.

 

[Davidh373]

You guys are sure putting up a fight for the dell... at the same cost... with crappier hardware... I know people don't need a 980x, but I can certainly see the difference in speed between my Grandma's freshly built Athlon II X4 and my i5 760 in terms of "snap". I recall also a huge argument against me building one for her. Now I'm glad I didn't buy the shitty Pentium Dual Core Dell, because that would be even less "snappy". There are already times when she gets confused while she's waiting for things to load.

The horribleness of McAfee is no argument that everyone needs a 980X.

Obviously this is over-exaggeration, but I'm going to address it anyway. The i7 980X is $1000... the i5 2400 is $180... The price difference would be the issue there, not performance overkill. No family NEEDS to buy a $1000 processor, but I'd say $500 is a legitimate budget for media consumption. I doubt they will miss the useless extra monitor and the extra copy of the OS.

You guys are arguing over what? $20... come on. It's $20....

 

[aphelion02]

Obviously this is over-exaggeration, but I'm going to address it anyway. The i7 980X is $1000... the i5 2400 is $180... The price difference would be the issue there, not performance overkill. No family NEEDS to buy a $1000 processor, but I'd say $500 is a legitimate budget for media consumption. I doubt they will miss the useless extra monitor and the extra copy of the OS.

Exactly. By the logic in this thread, its better to overpay for hardware that meets your bare requirements than to get overkill at a bargain. And as for the points in support of Dell tech support, do you realize how bad they are? It takes almost an hour of phone options and being on hold just to get a real person on the line, not to mention the times they randomly hang up on you.

 

[VirtualLarry]

As much as a Dell is alluring, due to the free tech support, I vote to go with a custom build. Dells suck, when they fail. In the long run, it may cost MORE to go with the Dell, when it ages sufficiently that you will need to shop for parts to fix it.

With the custom-built system, all of the parts are standard, and more likely that a replacement is available in the future, at a reasonable (market driven) price.

If you have a MC nearby, check out the Core i3-2100 and H61 mobo combo deal for $120, while supplies last. Add 8GB of DDR3 for $80 (possibly as low as $60), and a nice 1TB HD for $45-60, and a DVD burner (could spring for blu-ray burner), and a nice looking case, and you can have yourself a winner, that will last a long time because of the upgradability.

Add an SSD if you want it to be "snappy". That alone is reason not to get the Dell.

PS. Sometimes, parents care more about the size/shape/design/color of the case, than what is inside of it. Consider that factor too, and please your parents by getting them a custom case that they like.

 

[Davidh373]

Exactly. By the logic in this thread, its better to overpay for hardware that meets your bare requirements than to get overkill at a bargain. And as for the points in support of Dell tech support, do you realize how bad they are? It takes almost an hour of phone options and being on hold just to get a real person on the line, not to mention the times they randomly hang up on you.

One thing you can't expect from people... is for them to be logical...

 

[boondocks]

You guys are funny!
a) His parents are alive, that's a plus
b) He came here hoping to see a ridiculous debate, maybe?
c) He should build a machine so every time it foobars, guess who get's called?

Dell sounds good.

 

[0roo0roo]

spend most of it on a big monitor.
big screen= better for old eyes

 

[Davidh373]

c) He should build a machine so every time it foobars, guess who get's called?

Yeah...

"Hey, welcome to dell tech support, please hold for 45 min. while the representative gouges out another man's bunhole to get him on the line to gouge your's since it seems your computer is more than a year old. Listen to this crappy modern music you're always complaining about your kids playing too loud."

Be realistic guys. I have recommended HP computers, Dell computers, and an Acer laptop to my parents, and what is easier... calling me and having it take 10 minutes to fix, or calling Dell's support line who CHARGES MONEY!!! and have it take an hour and a half of having some foreign guy mumbling broken English into their worn out ears...?

C'mon, They ALWAYS call me anyway... 'nuff said about the support... they don't do crap.

 

[mfenn]

Dell sounds good.

I'm with this guy. To paraphrase James Carville: It's the warranty, stupid.

OP, I'd say to get a Vostro 230s w/ 3 year NBD onsite warranty from Dell Outlet for $400. If anything breaks within the next three years, there will be a tech on your parents' doorstep with a part in hand the next day. Also, Vostros don't come with much (any?) crapware and get routed to the business support group.

 

[DominionSeraph]

You guys are sure putting up a fight for the dell... at the same cost... with crappier hardware... I know people don't need a 980x, but I can certainly see the difference in speed between my Grandma's freshly built Athlon II X4 and my i5 760 in terms of "snap". I recall also a huge argument against me building one for her. Now I'm glad I didn't buy the shitty Pentium Dual Core Dell, because that would be even less "snappy".

No it wouldn't.
You do realize that the Pentium Dual-Core is FASTER than an Athlon II clock for clock, no? You do realize that unless she's doing something like video encoding that she's not using four cores, right?

Oh look at this -- a 2006 Inspiron E521 with a WD800JB hard drive. How AWFUL! How could anyone ever be burdened with this low level of performance?

And a Pentium Dual-Core with a SSD would probably blow your computer away in terms of "snap" if you're stuck on a spindle. And that can be had for ~$410.
SB quad with no SSD for $500 isn't even close.

 

[DominionSeraph]

OP, I'd say to get a Vostro 230s w/ 3 year NBD onsite warranty from Dell Outlet for $400. If anything breaks within the next three years, there will be a tech on your parents' doorstep with a part in hand the next day. Also, Vostros don't come with much (any?) crapware and get routed to the business support group.

:thumbsup:

 

[mvbighead]

No it wouldn't.
You do realize that the Pentium Dual-Core is FASTER than an Athlon II clock for clock, no? You do realize that unless she's doing something like video encoding that she's not using four cores, right?

Huh, that's funny. I pull up task mgr and look at each of the cores in (2 physical cores hyperthreaded for 4 virtual threads) and each one is doing something. It's also funny that when a process completely consumes the processor, on a dual core the CPU usage is listed at 50%, and on a quad core it is listed at 25%. Happens to do this because most applications are only capable of maxing out one core. Nice thing is that Windows will have another three threads/cores to work with while the other is maxed out. If you stick with a dual, if a processor for whatever reason maxes out the CPU, you are left with half of the processing power as it waits for that task to finish. If somehow something does a similar thing on a different core... you just as well close something or walk away to let things finish. Point being, multitasking of any sort is improved by having more threads/cores available to the user. (By the way, my laptop is happily humming along despite McAfee running its weekly scan which is maxing out one thread.)

And before you make some bogus assumption, I am not suggesting that the user must go out an buy a octo-core or some other such crap, but if quads are more reasonable in price these days, I see no reason to not recommend them.

You don't have to be a "power user" to get use out of all 4 cores. And while very few people "need" four cores, they are definitely nice to have.

Oh look at this -- a 2006 Inspiron E521 with a WD800JB hard drive. How AWFUL! How could anyone ever be burdened with this low level of performance?

And a Pentium Dual-Core with a SSD would probably blow your computer away in terms of "snap" if you're stuck on a spindle. And that can be had for ~$410.
SB quad with no SSD for $500 isn't even close.

Not sure what you're trying to prove here. An SSD could be added to either system. And, chances are, the recovery media needed to install the OS onto the Dell may or may not come as a DVD-ROM, but rather an image embedded on the disk. Good luck loading that onto your SSD.

 

[mvbighead]

Yeah...

"Hey, welcome to dell tech support, please hold for 45 min. while the representative gouges out another man's bunhole to get him on the line to gouge your's since it seems your computer is more than a year old. Listen to this crappy modern music you're always complaining about your kids playing too loud."

Be realistic guys. I have recommended HP computers, Dell computers, and an Acer laptop to my parents, and what is easier... calling me and having it take 10 minutes to fix, or calling Dell's support line who CHARGES MONEY!!! and have it take an hour and a half of having some foreign guy mumbling broken English into their worn out ears...?

C'mon, They ALWAYS call me anyway... 'nuff said about the support... they don't do crap.

:thumbsup:

The idea of me telling my mother to call tech support... yeah, that's laughable.

Mom: "Hey, my email isn't working..."
Me: "So why are you calling me, call Dell."
Mom: "Did I say something?"
Me: "I don't feel like helping you anymore... that's why I had you buy a Dell."

The above conversation would never happen because the end user is my mother, and I happen to be quite fond of the lady (seeing as she brought me into this world and all). The likelihood of her calling Dell and ever getting any sort of help from them is slim to none. I have helped her with a number of computer problems and not one of them had anything to do with Dell. And I am not going to suggest that she pays $50 an hour or whatever the going rate is for someone to figure out the problem.

Point being, you do not get out of tech support by buying a Dell. You simply don't. Like Zap said, the best thing to get you out of a lot of tech support is to buy nice quality stuff to make a system snappy for the end user. Going from an archaic IDE HDD and a P4 2.8GHz with HT and 1GB of RAM to a newer model SATA HDD, an Athlon X2, and 4GB of RAM with Windows 7 was a monumental improvement for my mother. That pretty much ceased the "it's slow" business. Now I get the occasional Internet Explorer doesn't work. Okay, well, looks like you've check the Work Offline mode. Now you're all set.

 

[VirtualLarry]

No it wouldn't.
You do realize that the Pentium Dual-Core is FASTER than an Athlon II clock for clock, no? You do realize that unless she's doing something like video encoding that she's not using four cores, right?

Oh look at this -- a 2006 Inspiron E521 with a WD800JB hard drive. How AWFUL! How could anyone ever be burdened with this low level of performance?

And a Pentium Dual-Core with a SSD would probably blow your computer away in terms of "snap" if you're stuck on a spindle. And that can be had for ~$410.
SB quad with no SSD for $500 isn't even close.

Interestingly enough, I basically did this upgrade myself a few weeks ago.

I have a computer at a friend's house. It used to be a P4 2.4Ghz / 2GB DDR / Radeon 2600Pro AGP / 40GB IDE, now it's a G31 / E5200@3.0 / 2GB DDR2 / Onboard X3100 / 500+1TB Seagates. Both running Win7.

To be honest, the P4 wasn't really all that "snappy", opening links in new tabs in FF4 took a couple of seconds, but it wasn't really slow either. It was acceptable for web browsing.

The G31/E5200 combo is slightly snappier, I would say that web browsing is better now, and I can full-screen videos, but the best benefit was the power-consumption.

P4 idle: 81W
P4 load: 130W

E5200 idle: 40W
E5200 load: 80W

So now I can run DC on both CPU cores, for the same power budget as my P4 took at idle. It's great. (Power consumption was one motivation for upgrading.)