egafd.com

Try and buy one with more than 256MB of RAM - 1GB is usual these days. If purchasing a desk-top consider a flat screen one. I've heard that 'Dell' products are crap.

I've heard the same about Dell but cheap is cheap

To fudgeflaps (great name BTW) as i said not sure on any of that besides the above 1GB being the usual. I know very little about, Hard disk space and add-ons and graphics cards.

Cheers to Jacques & Deuce Bigolo for the links. Not sure i'll be able to build my own but i'll take a look.

The links header is misleading

It goes into some depth about all the components needed to build a computer and what it all means ie CPU RAM etc

Think of it as a help file when trying to decide which computer from Jacques link to settle on

If you can possibly avoid Windows Vista, avoid it like the plague. You need TONS of RAM to get the best out of it, which is why you see 2GB and upwards of RAM becoming more common.

You could try Dell's outlet shop, which is on their UK site, or look on eBay for Dell's outlet on there. I can't remember the shop name, but looking for any Dell machine will bring up listings with SOLD BY DELL or 3-YEAR DELL WARRRANTY on. That's them. You can get a decent machine for a good price on there but you sometimes have to get lucky as to stock levels. You can also find machines still running Win XP on the Dell site.

Dell are ok. You'll get exactly what you are looking for - something not too complicated and powerful - at a decent price and nobody I know who's actually owned one has any problems with them at all.

It doesn't really sound like you'll be wanting to massively upgrade the machine you buy in the future?

ive just bought a vista machine and im pretty happy with it overall the only thing i do miss/cant find are the simple file and folder tasks on left hand side of a window/publish to web etc etc etc
ye mine has 2gb of ram so like you say vista does need quite a bt of ram apparently

apparently pressing the alt key will bring back the file/edit/view/tool/help in windwos explorer,IE and a host of other programs...straight from the dummies guide to vista filed under the heading

"where the fuck did that go then"

cheers deuce,i meant ,like if you open my documents in xp you get all the simple file and folder tasks like move this folder publish this copy this delete this etc etc but cant see it in vista
ive got the file edit tools help etc
soz to go off topic big ass lover

usually when in doubt,right click on where something used to be is as good a place as any to start

As I don't use 99 percent of my xp pc i haven't a clue to be honest

I'd be posting your questions on a vista forum like here

Vista isn't as good as xp, but I'm coping. It's a learning process, and isn't as bad as many make out IMHO.

It is a Microsoft cash-in, though: you have to but a separate, specialised USB cable to transfer data xp to vista if you haven't got the nous to back it all up to DVD, and there is the pisser that MS Office is not default package and, again, has to be bought.

Looks nice, and you have to do some annoying tweaks.......... but I haven't got broadband set up on my vista laptop yet, so I don't know how it is with t'Internet. Reasonably intuitive, but there should be an option of an xp-style view/ template for exploring.

I would summarise by saying it was an unnecessary upgrade, but, hey, Microsoft needs your dollar.

I wish I hadn't bought my Dell dimension 9200 and wish I'd bought a mac instead.