Braycen Jackwitz builds an Internet PC for his grandmother.
Braycen Jackwitz built this computer for his grandmother at the beginning of 2009. He says: "All she needed was a computer to access information on the internet for her masters degree and to write her assignments. With this in mind I went for the lower end products that would suit her purposes, such as Windows XP, but which would also work with Vista or Windows 7 in case she decided to upgrade later. I was also working to a budget of approximately $800."
Braycen is 15-years old and is studying Year 11 this year through home schooling. He wants to pursue a career in computer engineering and IT. His hobbies include digital photography and film making.
CORE SYSTEM
CPU: Intel Celeron Dual Core E1400 - $75This CPU is powerful enough for internet browsing and Microsoft Office plus whatever other programs my grandmother will be using. It will also run Vista or Windows 7 if she decides to upgrade.
MOTHERBOARD: MSI G31M3-L V2 - $55This motherboard does everything it needs to do and has great upgrade potential. Plus it has integrated audio and graphics. What more could you want for a PC like this?
GRAPHICS: Onboard - $0Good enough for anything my grandmother throws at it and it can run Aero if she upgrades to Vista or 7. Also It's not like my grandmother is going to be playing Crysis.
RAM: Kingston DDR2 2G (Single Stick) PC6400 800Mhz - $59These sticks by Kingston are very reliable and well priced. 2 GB is more than enough for this PC but if it is upgraded to Vista or 7 this will come in handy.
HARD DRIVE 1: Western Digital 250G Sata II 7200rpm - $51Western Digital drives are good quality at a decent price. This drive runs quite well and has heaps of space. My grandmother won't be using up this space in a hurry.
OPTICAL DRIVE: Liteon 20X DVD Burner - $35I haven't had any problems with Liteon in the past and this burner was well priced.
PSU: Came with case - $0It came with the case and it was all that I needed.
CASE: ASUS TA661 ATX - $59This case is laid out quite well and is easy to work with. It has enough room for any upgrades and comes with a powerful enough PSU. It also looks very good.
Core system cost: AUD $334
MONITOR: LG W1942T-BF 19inch wide - $14919 inches is big enough for a computer like this and the quality of it is good.
KEYBOARD/MOUSE: Microsoft Basic Black Value Pack with Optical Mouse - $25This keyboard and mouse combo is good quality and inexpensive.
WIRELESS ADAPTER: D-link DWA-110 Wireless G USB adapter - $35My grandmother needed this to access the internet from the wireless network set up in her house. She was only going to use it for the internet and not transferring files so I bought a 802.11g wireless adapter.
SPEAKERS: 600w 2.0 speakers - $9This computer didn't need really good speakers, so these will do, also because they are white and match the case.
CARD READER: Generic internal 5.25"" card reader - $15This was to cater for her need to include photos in some of her course work.
OPERATING SYSTEM: Microsoft Windows XP Home (OEM) I didn't want toput my grandmother through the agony of Vista computability issues andUAC, so I installed XP because she was already used to it. Windows 7wasn't out when I built this for her.