another what pc question

[richhead]

First of all apologies for another what pc question.
Its not for me but my 82yo mum.
She likes a tower type pc, problem is i have only had laptops for years so i have no idea about towers.
She has an very old one, that still works, but isnt win 11 compatible , i know there are work a rounds, but i think she secretly fancies a new one.
Security is important as she does online banking on it, so a win 11 machine is the preferred route.
She does lectures on gardens, shes has done this for years and is something of an expert, so uses power point alot, the then puts these on a projector that she takes with her if you get my meaning, and shes a bit set in her ways.
She needs a fairly big hd, although ive got most of her pics on an external drive, so 1tb would do.
Other than that its only used for emails and web use. So it doesnt need to be a super computer.
Money isnt really a problem, but obviously cheaper is better.
What sort of make and model should i look for, and what sort of price.
She has a screen and keyboard etc, altho her screen is old so an upgrade might be worth it.
Oh and a dvd drive is also preferred. as she has alot of her work on them.

[the-photographer]

Any Dell OptiPlex either mini or micro size will do

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/127169532722

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/285862806793

[richhead]

thank you for that, but she doesnt like dell, she had one go wrong a thousand years ago, so wont touch them, you know what 80yr old mums are like.
oh and cant be ebay for the same reasons.
something she can buy from a shop would be better, even if i end up getting it from somewhere else.

[Greedydog]

Does it have to be a tower form factor or is it just she prefers a separate keyboard, mouse and screen?

If it’s the latter, why not just get a suitably specified laptop and a dock and plug in her existing screen and peripherals etc?

Failing that there are numerous mini windows pcs, NUC is the Intel mini pc brand but there are examples from lots of different manufacturers.

Finally, what about a Mac mini?

[richhead]

She is used to a tower, and change doesnt sit well with her, but a mini might work, think she might be a bit old to change to apple. All good ideas tho, we will be going to the shops at the weekend to have a look at a few.

[Sticks.]

I had a HP desktop for years which was very good but eventually died, so I bought another one, much the same. Problems from the outset, HP helpdesk was useless, JL helpdesk, similar. Wouldn't recommend either.

A friend told me she just buys renewed ones from Amazon, guaranteed for a year, and if it goes wrong after that, replaces it. From @ £150, if it only lasts a year its £12.50pcm. Mine was £180 3 years ago and is fine so it's cost me £5pcm so far. You have to make sure it's backed up, obviously.

Only issue is they're mainly Dell and you don't own Windows, it's installed. MS Office is extra.

[mmm-five]

As others have said. If she can get over the 'mini-pc' size then a MinisForum, Asus/MSI NUC, Beelink, Geekom one will be perfect (I'd probably go for an AMD-powered one with decent APU/iGPU).

https://www.minisforum.com
https://www.bee-link.com
https://www.asus.com/uk/displays-desktops/nucs/all...
https://www.msi.com/Business-Productivity-PC/Cubi-...
https://www.geekom.co.uk/amd-series

Of course, as a Mac fan I should say the £550 Mac Mini would be perfect for most people, but it does mean learning a new OS...which may not be ideal at her age.

[nikaiyo2]

We use the refurb Dell Optiplex like previously mentioned at work, I just changed our 80 year old MD to one very similar (but smaller SSD) I was dreading doing it and having to go through loads of stuff, but the transition was fine.

Is your mum on Win10 ? Can you do a Win11 upgrade on what she has (the Rufus installer is very simple), so she gets used to the new OS, then upgrade her physical equipment?