Help me tighten up this computer build

Seattle Thread

I'm building my ma a new compy for Christmas, and I could use some advice on paring-down cost and excess equipment. She won't use it for anything other than internet use and data processing. This be what I have so far. What can I do to trim this thing back?

embrik

Well, you don't need the SATA cable, the mobo comes with one.
What OS are you going to load? If it's XP, and all she needs is web and office apps, you could probably go with a slower processor/mobo.

Seattle Thread

I'm 80% sure it's XP. She uses Outlook, QuckBooks and DAcEasy Payroll, primarily. No gaming on this thing, either... it'd probably be best if it couldn't handle any games at all.

proXimity

If that's all she's using the computer for, pretty much ALL of those parts are excessive, by quite a bit.

saltiness

What's wrong with her old computer?

Seattle Thread

What's wrong with building her a new one? I could certainly streamline her old one, yes, but that's not part of the question.

I did a little bit of tweaking and pared it down quite a bit. The problem is that she would like a bit of longevity, just like every other computer owner, and I'm hesitant to buy on the cheap if it means said part will be replaced within a year or two.

saltiness

There's nothing wrong with building her a new one but if the old one works just fine, you might consider just reformatting it and maybe getting a nicer case like a Sonata and maybe a new monitor/mouse/keyboard.

I did this with my parents' computer and they appreciated it a whole lot more than having something faster. It made the computer quieter and more pleasant to use which was important to them.

proXimity

That looks quite nice. The only thing I can really comment on longevity is that it only has 2 slots for ram. It does have the PCI-E slot, which is good if the integrated is ever not good enough. The only other odd spot I see is a 500gb HD, but I guess it's not that much cheaper to go smaller anyways.

Also, I'd use a bit of that money you'd be saving and put it in a nicer case, possibly something by Cooler Master. They have some pretty good inexpensive cases like this You'd probably want to replace the light up fans, though.

Seattle Thread

I have a plain Centurion 5 myself... she likes the look of this white piece o' shit. Hey, it's ma, y'know?

I appreciate the thought salty, but the reason I'm going this is because it's been reformatted and cleaned up many, many times and it's just showing its age.

Besides, a Sonata/monitor/mouse/keyboard set will cost almost as much as a new box.