Desktop for Merdeka gen parents

[education]

Hi bros,
I'm planning of getting a desktop for my Merdeka gen parents, mainly for low intensity stuffs like surfing web and watching youtube. I need decent warranty support because any issues they encounter I want to just let their tech support handle instead of DIY troubleshooting, so SLS is out of the option.

Are the big companies like Dell, Acer still the go-to or are there better options?

Budget <$800.

 

[Bumiputera]

Hi bros,
I'm planning of getting a desktop for my Merdeka gen parents, mainly for low intensity stuffs like surfing web and watching youtube. I need decent warranty support because any issues they encounter I want to just let their tech support handle instead of DIY troubleshooting, so SLS is out of the option.

Are the big companies like Dell, Acer still the go-to or are there better options?

Budget <$800.

Why not a cheap laptop or even a tablet?

 

[education]

Why not a cheap laptop or even a tablet?

I tried the laptop option but I found they require alot of USB ports.
Big monitor is a must because they are old folks, hence I'll need an external keyboard and mouse.
Then they surf in Chinese so they have a writing pad, an external HDD for all their files and they even a USB printer because they sometimes like to print articles to read on paper instead off the screen. So it gets quite messy or bottom line... they just like the desktop design.

 

[86technie]

Get Branded like Acer, Dell and etc.
$800 should have but exclude monitor.
Need to top up another $200 for the monitor.
If you want to last at least three years that consider Intel i5 but not cheaper option with Intel i3 or Pentium.
However that is if you have budget.

 

[education]

Get Branded like Acer, Dell and etc.
$800 should have but exclude monitor.
Need to top up another $200 for the monitor.
If you want to last at least three years that consider Intel i5 but not cheaper option with Intel i3 or Pentium.
However that is if you have budget.

Will gaming PCs be a mismatch for old folks?

I'm looking at this:
https://www.dreamcore.com.sg/product/dreamcore-ghost-v3/

At $600, it beats any that Acer and Dell have to offer in both price and specs.
Just not sure what kind of issues I'll face if they use those.

 

[LiLAsN]

Wouldn't an iPad or Android tablet or Windows Tablet be a better purchase?

Can surf the web and Watch YouTube. And iPad especially lasts a long time unlike laptops.
And if you have most 2017 TVs and up, a press of the TV cast button on the Youtube video will cast the video over to the TV automatically. No need to change inputs to watch YouTube on the TV. Quite useful for people like them. Since not many things to remember.

 

[alamakazim]

Yes get a tablet

Don't learn computer liao la

 

[yoyokid]

Hi bros,
I'm planning of getting a desktop for my Merdeka gen parents, mainly for low intensity stuffs like surfing web and watching youtube. I need decent warranty support because any issues they encounter I want to just let their tech support handle instead of DIY troubleshooting, so SLS is out of the option.
Are the big companies like Dell, Acer still the go-to or are there better options?
Budget <$800.

No matter what laptop is acquired, one still need at least some basic IT technical and software knowledge to survive...

.. otherwise, even a small problem can be a huge hassle, especially with old folk... Lol...

 

[Northernray]

Tablet and laptop is out of the question for users of that age group.

Get an entry level desktop system with a FHD 27 inches LCD monitor. 1920 x 1080 on a 23 or 24 inches LCD is not ideal as the fonts are little too small for comfort for that age group. Good to have a discreet graphic card but not needed , 8GB ram on Windows10 will be good enough for years to come.

 

[Koenig168]

Assuming a problem does crop up, does the OP expect the parents to call tech support? ("hello, my computer spoil. How ah?")

Unless you have Dell Premium Support, it will probably turn out to be an exercise in frustration.

 

[Nelia8686]

I think best to go with tablets. Easiest to use. Not much troubleshooting to do. If know how to use modern smartphone using tablets is about the same. Can even buy those small keyboard or mouse and hook it up to use with tablet. Or output the display on LCD TV also can if feel the screen too small. Lots of choices.

Unless for some reason your parents really like the feel and really like to have a physical keyboard or mouse to use. Or really just prefer a traditional desktop pc. Then get those cheap basic build from dreamcore aftershock with their technical support can already.

Not sure if typhoon systems still around. Minimum 27 inch monitor 1080p will do. Don't need discrete gpu go with the amd 2200 or 3200 use the igpu vega 8 or 11 can already. Customise it with those boutique pc builder like dreamcore etc.

 

[windwaver]

Hi bros,
I'm planning of getting a desktop for my Merdeka gen parents, mainly for low intensity stuffs like surfing web and watching youtube. I need decent warranty support because any issues they encounter I want to just let their tech support handle instead of DIY troubleshooting, so SLS is out of the option.

Are the big companies like Dell, Acer still the go-to or are there better options?

Budget <$800.

An entry level laptop hooked to a large monitor may be more suitable.

I used to have a desktop for my parents but few years back, I converted their setup to a more mobile version.

Nowadays, older folks also appreciate the convenience of portability (it is also easier for them to pop over in case they have a support issue when I'm really busy).

 

[Rashkae]

Will gaming PCs be a mismatch for old folks?

I'm looking at this:
https://www.dreamcore.com.sg/product/dreamcore-ghost-v3/

At $600, it beats any that Acer and Dell have to offer in both price and specs.
Just not sure what kind of issues I'll face if they use those.

Forget it. Just get a Dell. They're designed to keep working, and often have "on site" warranty.

 

[tsteo77]

With your budget you can only go for slower and used computer. But computer and old folks is a mismatch.

 

[firezero10]

Laptop most suitable I feel. Lack of ports can just use dongle or something. Desktop got problem harder to request for tech support unless got onsite warranty.

 

[tigerwoods]

old folks need a big monitor to see better, laptop screen is too small

 

[ghgan1]

Get a chromebox or chromebook and you will be free from desktop support. Also chromebox is very reliable, light weight and fast.

If you get windows pc, you probably need to provide desktop support to your parent on endless issues on anti-virus, data corruption, malware and so on.

 

[86technie]

Will gaming PCs be a mismatch for old folks?

I'm looking at this:
https://www.dreamcore.com.sg/product/dreamcore-ghost-v3/

At $600, it beats any that Acer and Dell have to offer in both price and specs.
Just not sure what kind of issues I'll face if they use those.

DIY for those who are not IT savvy isn't recommended.
Cheapest and decent you can consider this:

https://www.lenovo.com/sg/en/desktops-and-all-in-ones/ideacentre/500-series/510A-AMD/p/99IC95A0269

However that model is online exclusive only.

 

[ragnarok95]

Just get a all-in-one. One display, one KB, one mouse. Settle.

 

[watzup_ken]

Either you get an Aftershock Vision Mini, or you can consider getting a Raspberry Pi 4 with 4GB of ram. The former comes with warranty from Aftershock, and the latter is a cheap yet sufficiently powerful ARM based mini computer. You can connect up to 2 monitors for the Raspberry Pi.