It depends what you want incorporating in it Skylark. Will it be just for the net and music or is gaming involved?

That said desktops are supposed to be better for gaming

Hi onetoo...he was on World Of Warcraft but off it now. Its really just FB networking, he plays XBox Live tournaments, so is on that forum for keeping scores etc. Just basic stuff really. We will be keeping this desk top one, i have a printer etc. He likes his music and likes to download stuff.

I had a look on Dell, but the time i added speakers, earphones, insurance etc it was nearly £500, cant go to that ......

It seems to me that you need a comp with a fair bit of storage space, at least 160 gig, but I think the norm to go for these days is 250. And also get one with as much memory as you can for your money. I've had mine since last year (a Toshiba 160 gig) and I'm happy with it. I paid £399 but it was end of sale stuff and if you look around with christmas coming up I think there should be some good deals coming

I don't want to put you off, but I've read a lot about Dell's after sales service. Mostly bad, but some good.

Oh, and Hi  

Yes, it was just an idea, but i would rather go to a shop not an online company. I had a look at Amazon, but its the same thing really. Thanks for your advice x

Dont know where that red face came from ???

LOL. I've noticed it happens occasionally.


The best thing to do is go scouting around the shops just to see what you can get at the minute, but under no circs buy one yet. Like I say there will be offers coming up, and you'll get a 'feel' for what's around

Thanks, as you know i am a comp thicko

 You're not. Peeps just presume that everyone can deal with comps these days, and anyway, what I know is self taught. I'm not trying to sell it to you, but my niece's hubby's uncle runs a computer shop and he reckons Toshibas are very good comps. I've just had a look at John Lewis site and have come up with one that might be ok. I can ask about it for you if you want  Only problem is, it's only got two USB ports


http://www.johnlewis.com/230986934/Product.aspx

Fine, i value your opinion. Two USB ports, what does that mean exactly ?  x

The holes where you plug a mouse or memory stick or a webcam or the like in  the more you can get, the better and I think the norm is about three. If you can find/need four for your budget you're on a roll

Oh right   Its the lingo i dont get

Oh, and if your son will be moving the comp from room to room, I don't think you'll need speakers, as it will be a faff unplugging them and plugging back in. Ask to have a listen at the built in ones in any shops you go in. They are deffinately getting better for sound quality these days

He is not having a webcam, end of

No he lives in his room, only comes out for food and the loo

PMSL!! they come with a built in one anyway, but you can disable it

Boys will be boys

   He is a good lad, i wouldnt be spending this amount of money on him if not, oh for the days of an apple and orange in Santa,s sack

PMSL!! I used to get a Milky Way in mine too!

£400 should get a reasonably good one that's reasonably fast with around 3gb RAM and with a sizeable hard drive around 300gb with Windows 7 64bit.  Personally, I wouldn't bother touching store warranties but if you do, it will probably be around £75-£100.  I recently bought a desktop pc for around that cost and that spec and it's fine for almost everything bar the very few things that are more memory intensive.

I've read that not everything works with 64 bit though Carnelian  I was trying to keep it as easy as I could for Skylark

Thanks Carnelian , i write everything down and go to Google

Thanks x   I dont wish to sound stupid, but me and computers just dont get on! Now if you were ill i could save you , i am so savvy at my work, we all have our gifts   I have a comp at work but its just writing up stuff and looking at Xrays etc its easy because its all pre-programmed

I know you have said you prefer not to buy online but this company is worth having a look at - have used them for several years now and any problems they are ace -  take a look and use their prices as a guide to what is available in the market place 

http://www.ebuyer.com/search?q=laptops&x=0&y=0

also keep an eye on this website for any special deals that come along - a lot of the info provided here is from staff from the various places as well as general public 

http://www.hotukdeals.com/

Ooooh, I've just put that Hot deals site in my favs and will keep an eye on it. Ta Mrs H

Thanks so much MrsH, very much appreciated

Good point onetwo, as I found out to my (albeit quite small) cost.  I've found memory sticks to be a problem with Win 7, even without 64bit.   I've found that a few other bits of software won't work with 64bit but nothing too dramatic.  32bit versions of Win 7 available on cheaper models.

Thanks, have to get off now 

I love Hot deals - have just had a browse and have a list for tomorrow