Deciding which PC to get relative in his 70s

[AudiMan9000]

Which is the best?

The two choices…

LENOVO IdeaCentre AIO 3 27" All-in-One PC - Ryzen 7

Or

ACER Aspire C24-195ES 24" All-in-One PC - Intel® Core™ Ultra 7

The only differences that I don’t understand are these…

Processor is either amd ryzen 7 or intel core ultra 5

Number of cores is either Octa-core or 16-core

Which is the best? He only uses it for word, excel, and internet.

Many thanks for any advice.

[Pincher]

No idea but I can’t imagine it makes much difference at all - I’d be buying based on price point personally.

[mikeiow]

So he is familiar with Windows?
Only I’ve found chromebooks to work very easily and reliably for older relatives.
Generally cheaper, faster, less visible update issues…

[vaud]

Pincher said:

No idea but I can’t imagine it makes much difference at all - I’d be buying based on price point personally.

Agree - either should be fine. I'd consider budgeting for O365 or Google Drive as well then you don't have to worry too much about backups, etc

[Brainpox]

Probably the the bigger screen. Might be helpful if your relative struggles with vision at all

[mmm-five]

mikeiow said:

So he is familiar with Windows?
Only I’ve found chromebooks to work very easily and reliably for older relatives.
Generally cheaper, faster, less visible update issues…

A Chromebook AIO?
https://www.hp.com/gb-en/chrome/chromebase-all-in-...

How about an Apple iMac?
https://www.apple.com/uk/shop/buy-mac/imac

[boyse7en]

Macbook or iMac

My Mum is 91 and uses her elderly Mac for email, a little light browsing, video calls etc.
It has very few worrying warning messages that pop up, a real boon for me as it means i don't get calls asking whether she needs to update her Antivirus or whatever.

[Keypad]

I'd be seriously considering a chromebook.
Maybe get one with as big a screen as possible / affordable as eyesight might not be as sharp as it once was.

[mmm-five]

AudiMan9000 said:

Which is the best?

The two choices…

LENOVO IdeaCentre AIO 3 27" All-in-One PC - Ryzen 7

Or

ACER Aspire C24-195ES 24" All-in-One PC - Intel® Core™ Ultra 7

The only differences that I don’t understand are these…

Processor is either amd ryzen 7 or intel core ultra 5

Number of cores is either Octa-core or 16-core

Which is the best? He only uses it for word, excel, and internet.

Many thanks for any advice.

With the issues Intel are having, I'm not sure I'd recommend one.

Have you got the links to the 2 products as the 'tier' of CPU doesn't really tell us a lot without the specific model, and I don't know any Ultra 7 with 16 cores (for example the Core Ultra 7 155U I've seen in some AIOs has 14 THREADS, but only 2 performance cores and 8 efficiency cores).

However, what's more importan than the 'tier' of CPU (i.e. AMD Ryzen 3, Ryzen 5, Ryzen 7, Ryzen 9 or Intel i3, i5, i7, i9), is the generation and specific model. For example a Ryzen 7 could be a 1800, 2700, 3800, 5800, 7700, 9700 CPU).

Ryzen 7 is equivalent to an Intel i7 (or Core Ultra 7 as they now call them), Ryzen 5 is equivalent to an Intel i5 (or Core Ultra 5 as they now call them). But the CPUs they put in AIOs tend to be - but not always - the lower power laptop version.

But if it's not for heavy processing then any current AMD Ryzen 5/7 or Intel i5/i7 will suffice...and you won't notice any difference in normal use.

[grumbledoak]

Either of those will do word, excel, and internet.

At the same money I would get him the Lenovo Ryzen mostly for the bigger screen and slightly to avoid Intel's recent issues.

[OutInTheShed]

I'd be considering RAM as well?
Also a lot of us still want an optical drive now and then?
What deals can you get with the office software or are you up for a 365 subscription?

I bought my latest from John Lewis, 2 years guarantee instead of one is worth a look?

Also beware of Win11 in S mode, I googled the two options listed and one came up with offers of FreeDOS, which might be a brave move?

I've been quite unimpressed by both Acer and Lenovo branded products in the last year or two.


To counter the predictable calls from the Appleheads, what you really need is a Raspberry Pi5

[Paul Drawmer]

Does he want or need a keyboard and mouse and has he the room for it on a desk?
What's he using at the moment?

Personally, as a 78yo I'd advise as little change as possible.

I have an android tablet, which is fine for looking stuff up in front of the TV, but to actually do anything, I revert to a proper PC on a desk with keyboard and mouse.

[eeLee]

For the use case of Word, Excel and Internet, I would say anything would do. I would perhaps avoid an all-in-one and get a NUC-sized unit with a good external screen (27" with resolution greater than 1920x1080).

I even think that the crappy latest CPUs from Intel will cope with that and continue to do so for many years.

If the old person does not regularly install lots of software then Windows is OK, a Mac Mini might be an option if the person is already in that ecosystem (I think not based on the proposed machines) or is able and willing to adapt (expect unlikely).

[AlexC1981]

As per usual, everyone has different advice

Anything half decent made in the last few years will fulfil his requirements. If you look 2nd hand, generally 8th generation+ Intel processors are supported by Windows 11. Personally I don't like all-in-ones because if one component breaks, you have lost your computer and your monitor. They are also harder to repair and upgrade.

Stick with Windows if that's what he is used to. It is nowhere near as bothersome as is used to be as pretty much all updates happen automatically. The only real fly in the ointment with Windows 11 is the Onedrive integration, which seems to be designed to be as confusing as possible and use up your free allocation as quickly as possible, so it can spam you to cough up for a subscription.

[Timmos1974]

Old mac easy to use and bullet proof.

[danb79]

Why is a PC needed?

Wouldn't an iPad with a keyboard case be much easier? All in one then, touch screen, works spot on and access all that's needed with ease

That or a refurbed Macbook Air via Apple maybe?

My wife lost her MBP back to her old company when she changed jobs; I got her the 11" iPad Pro and she uses that for all her MS Office stuff as well as the likes of email, FB, Chrome etc and has zero issues

[vaud]

Familiarity is possibly important with an older user. My dada is 80 and okay with Windows, but I could see him transitioning to a new OS.

[Riley Blue]

My choice would be a laptop + a monitor for the versatility; having two screens is very useful at times.

ETA: BTW, I'm 75 and been using Windows since 3.1, now on 11 and have seen no reason to change OS.

Edited by Riley Blue on Sunday 8th December 14:28

[FlossyThePig]

Timmos1974 said:

Old mac easy to use and bullet proof.

71 year old BOF here. It took me ages to get to understand the way Apple insist on doing things when I bought my iMac after years of using Microsoft. If the 70 year old knows and uses Windows stick with it.

[BenS94]

All I can say is don't just get anything basic, even if it will get light use - as it'll still grind to a hault rapidly.