I am planning to build my mother a new computer. Even though her computing requirements are extremely modest the Avast Antivirus is using too much of her resources. She uses MS Word 2003 and a web browser. Her e-mail is Yahoo -- she doesn't use Outlook and she doesn't IM. She doesn't use a VPN or anything sophisticated.
I would like to build a "greener" pc preferably with a small form-factor such as a mini-itx. Despite a recent re-install, removal of crapware, registry clean, and disk defrag, her WinXp computer still runs slow. I could upgrade memory but the machine is so old (2004) that it isn't worth it and I'd like to start fresh. Even though I have to keep Word 2003, I will upgrade to Windows 7 Home Premium.
The most resource intensive application she runs is Avast Professional. She is running the default shields: Mail shield, Web shield, P2P shield, IM shield, Network shield, Behavior shield. Are all these necessary for her?
What cpu should I get? I was thinking of something in the AMD family. Is there an advantage to a dual core processor for her? I was planning on 2 GB of RAM.
If there is an FAQ that discusses this topic, my apologies and I will RTFM.
Thoughts?
Thanks in advance.
