Is it worth resurrecting this PC with Puppy Linux?

[SirBongyTheSecond]

My mother is on the market for a new PC to install in the living room as a machine to do some work and browse the internet. Her requirements is something that is small and has a big screen. The thing is, we have a PC recently demoted to the storage, and it feels like a waste to have a perfectly functional piece of hardware left to rot while we splash out on a PC that doesn't need to do intensive tasks. She's not too fond of the idea, as (a) The PC is not exactly petite, though I'm sure we can shove it under the table out of sight, and (b) she wants a big screen. While more screen space is nice, the screen isn't too bad (1024x768) in my opinion. Is it worth ressurecting the PC, and if it is, how do I convince her that it's worth it? Or, alternatively, what's a decent PC that doesn't break the bank?

Oh, and before I forget, here's some infomation about said PC:
AMD Athlon 2000 XP+ clocked at 1.66 GHZ
512mb of RAM
250GB HDD
1024x768 screen
Currently running Windows XP SP2. The PC has slowed down significantly. I used to be able to run Firefox with it at its default resolution, but now I have problems opening Windows Explorer at 800x600. I plan to run Puppy Linux 5.5 Wary on it, first from the USB stick and maybe later on, install it to the HDD.
One problem I should note: Office programs. My mother doesn't need a Nvidia Titan machine, she just needs something that can run productive programs and browse the web at a good pace. She uses primarily Microsoft Office on her main machine, so I'm unsure about how well the documents would translate to Linux programs. There's also the problem of features, as Puppy comes installed with Abiword and Gnumeric by default, lightweight programs that are less intensive on low end hardware but come with less features than say, Libreoffice. Doubtful that WINE (Wine is not an emulator) would run well at all.

[SirBongyTheSecond]

引用自 dontekdope：

To run team fortress you need at least 2 giga ram, and also buy a bigger screen like 24". And also upgrade xp sp2 to sp3 if you want to dual boot xp/linux.
On puppy linux forum there is a steam .pet ready to install.

FYI, this is for my mother. She doesn't need a gaming machine. Please read next time, though I appreciate all the help I get.

引用自 senseidongen：

引用自 Rove：

What I understood was that he wanted it cheaper than a Mac Mini.

PC specialist (or other sites like it) should allow the OP to spec the PC he wants at whatever size that may be (NUC/mini ITX/micro ATX) at cheaper than a similarly powerful Mac mini.

What I don't understand is why the OP keeps mentioning screen size - if this is going in the living room, surely it will be hooked up to the TV by HDMI?

Apologies if I wasn't being clear enough. This isn't meant to be a living room media PC- it's meant to be a productive one. There are two sections in my family's living room- one is the TV area, with sofas centered around it. The other area focuses on two tables, behind the TV area. One of the tables is used for eating, while the other is used for mostly praying. My mum plans to install a PC in the praying area, where she can work.
So, it's not meant to be a Steambox (nice as that would be), but a fallback PC to do simple tasks- which is why I wanted to install Puppy.
Though I'm probably making this more complicated than I should be, my mum wants a big screen- she hasn't specified a particular reason, but it's on her requirement list. And a compact one. It should be simple, especially since I saw my mum considering PCs in the £800 range- but I believe that the PC doesn't need to be a powerhouse, nor should it be expensive, as it's simply not necessary for the kind of tasks she wants.
So, to summarise: Big screen. Compact size. Enough performance to browse the web and work at a acceptable pace. Doesn't mind Linux, but would prefer Windows. A touchscreen would be nice, but not neccessary.
To add another stubborn complication, I have never utilised custom PC specialists to build me a PC. Probably infintely better than OEM PCs, yes, but still less flexible than I would have hoped for. I'm sure within these companies, some are better (customer service/warranty/value etc), so, in order to ensure the best possible value, I'm going to be a mule and insist on evaluating dfifferent companies, and their builds.

I did see this build: http://www.dinopc.com/shop/pc/NEW-Minisaur-E350-124p1807.htm
My mum should be happily served by this PC for her work, but I can see several problems with this already:
1. The CPU is fixed. You can't upgrade it.
2. The CPU is pants. Though it's fine for work, and it beats the Pentium 4 PC she normally works on, it's relatively weak.
3. I've read that AMD has improved drivers for Linux, but worth considering.
4. Doesn't specify if it's running Ubuntu 12.04 LTS, or the outdated 12.10.

[Rove]

Get a Dell Inspiron Slim and a 21.5 to 27 inch 1920*1080 monitor.

Those are cheap low performance (or no performance for demanding gaming at least) prebuilt PCs that are pretty much only good as "spare PCs" for light office work. Exactly what you are looking for!

The case is small, you can probably lie it on the side if you really want to, specially since the DVD if any has to be vertically slot loaded since the case is too small for it to be horizontal.

Personally I hate those things but it sounds EXACTLY like what you are looking for.

This is probably the one you want:
http://www.dell.com/uk/business/p/optiplex-3020-desktop/pd?oc=sm005d3020sff4&model_id=optiplex-3020-desktop

Just add monitor and peripherals, don't buy from Dell, shop around for the best deal on PC Part Picker. If it's from Dell then go for it but usually their stuff is more expensive and not better so not worth it.

[Xplosive_R4ms3s]

Actually I'm running a Laptop with nearly the same setup (a little bit more RAM - but that shouldn't be too hard to get for free). I use it with Xubuntu and Windows 7 (dual boot). Both systems run smoothly (except when you're used to an SSD or try too much multi-tasking)

When she would like a smaller tower and a bigger screen - why not just take the parts, put them in a smaller case (a flat one you can screw under the Desk) and use the money to buy a better screen?