My next-door neighbor has asked for help for his PC and I mentioned upgrading his PC to him. He currently has a Intel Pentium-something 3.something GHz, 2GB RAM, no video card, Windows Vista. Runs like a rock glued to the pavement. I actually had to wait for it to open IE... if I had MSE scanning in the background, nothing else would work.

I am hoping to help him upgrade to a newer-ish system, not really gamer-type. More like cheaper-is-better sort. Might not even do a full upgrade straight away, but just buy bits and pieces as his budget allows or things come up on eBay. At the moment I am thinking AMD Phenom II quad core, motherboard to match, at least 4GB DDR3 though I may convince him to go for 8GB what with only a £10-15 price difference, an el-cheapo GPU, maybe around £60, maybe a 6770 or so, and a 1TB hard drive. Oh, and a wireless keyboard and mouse --- he's still using a mouse with that little ball inside, fer cryin' out loud!

I need more help with the CPU and motherboard choices though. I understand that the motherboard choice depends on the CPU chosen. I am going for AMD simply because I remember that newer AMD chips work with even old AMD boards so this may be a good choice allowing him upgrade options later on without having to change his motherboard.

Thanks!

Does he really NEED a new pc? Despite what people like to say, Vista is a perfectly fine OS, especially for a non-gamer. There's not much reason for it to run slow based on the hardware he's got, depending on what he does with it, but I'd bet it's chock full of crap installed, possibly more than on AV. If it's the usual browsing/email use, a new system isn't really warranted.

What I'd offer to do in a case like this:
--open case cleaning
--back up whatever he's uncertain about doing on his own, bookmarks, mail settings etc
--add another gig of memory
--format and reinstall, get OS fully up to date
--MSE only, in case he's also got Norton's or something on there

Probably run like brand new again and hold him over for a couple more years or more before needing an upgrade.
Agreed on the kb/m, getting rid of the cables can feel like a major upgrade.

Well, he DEFINITELY NEEDS a new mouse!

As for a new PC, well, not really NEEDS a new one, but could sure use an upgrade. That is why part-by-part or going for second-hand eBay stuff is an option. You are 100% correct on the user though. He's got loads of toolbars, maybe 2 or 3 other AV programs (though I've installed MSE already before! He probably just clicked "Yes" on some random program)... he even has 3 other Microsoft Operating System processes running, but were clearly not OS as it was from /Program Files or some such directory. I will admit that the PC could use a whole new cleaning routine, maybe even a total re-wipe and install from scratch, however, I am not doing that unless he at least buys a clean HDD that I can transfer his backups to.

Cheaper is better. The average non-gaming "user" needs very little. Below opinions on a high-end low-priced system based on Newegg USA prices.

Phenom II 4X is still a darned good CPU -- sometimes cheap. Alternatively, I have a computer in house that uses the FX4100 -- it does everything and plays CPU limited Skyrim quite well using an HD7750 GPU (not suggesting such an expensive GPU in this case). However, the Phenom II is much better than an FX4100. So, a great performing (for common tasks) CPU can be close to $100.

A socket AM3+ motherboard (handles Phenom and FX series CPUs) 970 chipset would do it. Has up to date SATA and USB connectors. Under $100.

Agree 8GB cheap DDR3 memory -- does not even need a heatsink on it. Either 1333 or 1600 speed -- a non-power user will not see the difference (nor will anyone else "see" the difference). I "see" 8GB of 1333 goes for roughly $40 -- 1600 $43.

An HD6570 for about $55 (sometimes less) looks like the price/performance sweetspot (for a cheap system) -- will handle video decoding (need HD55xx or better for that). I think the HD6570 is a re-badged HD5570 (we own one for an HTPC).

Such a system would probably last until it broke. That is, he would never need anything better.

On the other hand, you could buy yourself a new system (CPU, motherboard, memory) and sell yours to your friend cheap. He gets a super system for the price and you get a subsidized upgrade Basically how I rationalize things -- give away the old system to a family member (can't charge family) -- making them happy -- then buy newer -- making me happy

All merely opinions FWIW.

Not to mention the Zosma PhenomII x4 960 can in most cases be unlocked to a PhenomII X6, and it uses the DDR1600 Memory Controller instead of the DDR1333.

you'd have to upgrade the Harddisk and re-install everything (well you'd have too anyway, as windows doesnt play well with mainboard or chipset changes).

Most of the new Mainboards dont have more than one PIDE connections, if Any.

Running a ATA100 HDD with a IDE Optical will limit the HDD to ATA33/66.

no point in updating the system and keep the Storage running at abysmally slow IDE Specs even slower with IDE Optical on the same channel.

SATA-II max Speed DVDRWs are $13 or so (I got like 5 of them ASUS DVDRWs):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

A SATA-2 Green drive will be substanially faster than any IDE /66/100 Drive.

Ah, exactly the guy I had hoped to hear from. Thanks for the advice, Allen! Yes, a quad-core AMD was my plan --- more horsepower than he could ever need. What AM3+ motherboard brand/type would you recommend though?

Skate, I hear ya on the HDD. With a 1TB going for aobut £60, it's a no-brainer! His optical drive might stay on IDE though.

His son is entering secondary school next year and the dad did mention about gaming and racing games (arcade NFS World IIRC) so that's why I'd pop a cheap GPU there... better that than the on-board anyway, right?

I'd argue that for a general user, a Sandy Bridge Pentium (G620/G840) would give better price/performance - indeed better performance outright with single threaded software.

The Phenom II looks to be a great chip for someone who would definitely require more cores. The amazing thing is, the fx4100/6100's are now cheaper than the Phenom, due to the AMD cashback deal - and still the Phenom is the better deal.

Motherboard wise, I can only speak about ASUS, GigaByte, and ASRock from recent hands on experience.

I would only recommend ASUS or GigaByte to someone else -- either one -- depending on features and price (some Gigabytes have dual BIOS which can recover from a bad BIOS flash). My ASRock experience was not so hot (although I have it working in an HTPC) -- and some models are panned in user comments -- having owned the brand, I can see why (compared to ASUS and GigaByte). Other brands may be good enough, but I have no direct experience.

Not having direct experience with a specific product, I would pay attention to user feedback (just today I was halfway considering a very much marked down ASRock 990FX -- until I read the user comments). Think I will stick to ASUS and GigaByte myself.

During the AMD 7xx and 8xx chipset years, I virtually always bought a motherboard with on board graphics. The graphics worked (my sister's computer uses only the on board graphics -- but she only browses and checks email). However, its useless for games -- literally less than 1 FPS with some games (on board graphics usually had well under 100 slow clocked shaders). Not stellar for decoding video. And, the up to date 9xx chipsets don't have on-board graphics. So, I suggest a low cost graphics card -- like the HD6570.

Again, my opinions based on USA prices and my direct experience. Other countries and experience may vary

I guarantee if you get him a new kb/m and a clean install he'll be happy as a clam. Even without a memory upgrade.
Do that, tell him to let you know after a few weeks if he really thinks he needs a new system. Got to think about the user's needs, not your own preferences. Costing someone hundreds of dollars for no good reason isn't going to be doing him any favors. He'll remember the good advice when it DOES come time to get a new system, or he may just decide that since this system has been saved, that it's good enough to pass down to one of the kids and to then get a new pc for himself. Either way, someone gets some good out of what's currently a paperweight.